Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 review: from hardware to software to video
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 review
If there was a company that entered the world of gaming phones with arrogance in 2020, it was definitely Lenovo. This year, the company started over again Telephone Corps duel And it updates it with the latest circulating solutions, to present a more extreme smartphone to the end user. Let’s find out together.
Packaging
Inside the big package of Legion Duel 2 phone We find, of course, in addition to the smartphone, a 90W power supply, two USB-C / USB-C cables, a transparent plastic cover, and a USB-C adapter to a 3.5 mm audio jack.
Construction and ergonomics
If the first model is known as a gaming phone, this enhances this feature even further by going further with the design. The frame is still matte metal, but it’s on the back where we find the real changes. The crust is already glass Divided into three parts, With the central axis elevated compared to the other two, while maintaining symmetry. This is because Lenovo has completely redesigned the smartphone from the inside, bringing all the components of the motherboard into the central part, and the battery partition into two parts on its sides. That way, all of the ingredients that can create thickness and above all warmth during the game are now far from where you will put your hands. Design never before seen on a smartphone.
We were confused about daily use as a smartphone in this way different from usual, but we changed our mind. The central bulge does not cause problems, also bearing in mind that the Legion Phone Duel 2 is still a smartphone anyway. frequently (9.9 mm) and above Really heavy (259 grams). Inside this central part there are two fans, one of which pushes hot air out from the back and the other towards the long side of the smartphone.
hardware
Lenovo starts from last year’s excellent model and updates it with Qualcomm’s latest SoC. Obviously we’re talking about Snapdragon 888 Octa 2.8GHz with Adreno 660 GPU and 12 or 16GB LPDDR5 RAM to support it. The memory is not expandable but will still be available in 256 and 512 GB with UFS 3.1 technology, so it is very fast. Excellent Communication: We have support 5G two SIM cards (Both Sub6 and mmWave), Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and of course NFC. There’s also a good in-display fingerprint reader and excellent front-facing stereo sound: one of the best points of this smartphone.
One of the fronts in which the company has worked the most on this second alternative is the heat front. As mentioned, the company concentrated all the essential components in the central portion of the smartphone, surrounding it with copper panels and much larger steam chambers than it had been in the past and also on several levels. Everything is then connected to two active fan systems that spit out the hottest air. We have the Octa Trigger system that allows you to take advantage of 4 virtual ultrasound actuators on the long side of the smartphone, as well as two capacitive actuators on the back and two “virtual” actuators on the screen. There is also a ‘realistic’ haptic feedback system called Dual Haptix It is activated in some specific compatible games (such as PUBG).
The 3.5mm audio jack is missing, but there are two USB-C ports: so you can still charge your smartphone while using wired headphones.
Card: Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2
camera
There is no doubt that you do not buy a Gaming phone As for its camera, but at the same time it is clearly undeniable that it is an essential aspect of any smartphone, considering that it is also perhaps the only one we carry with us. Lenovo has “silently” carried out a fairly significant update for its photography sector. The specs tell us about a dual camera setup similar to last year, but the results looked better to us. So we have a camera from 64 megapixel ƒ / 1.9 16MP / 2.2 wide-angle. Images are of excellent quality in good lighting and may be slightly contrasting in low light. Additionally, the company seems to have listened to us by redesigning the camera app, bringing various functions at your fingertips (such as the wide-angle camera and auto HDR). Even with less lighting, captured photos are still fun and at night, private mode is more than hidden. Don’t expect the best results from Top of the premium range But you still have in your pocket a set of cameras that fit it perfectly, without the fussiness of the other useless 2 or 5 megapixel sensors.
In addition, the biggest surprise was found in the camera 44 megapixel front. It is positioned laterally and opens a retractable mechanical mechanism. The placement is also ideal for selfies and not just for live broadcasts. But the quality is the most surprising: It’s ridiculous that one of the best selfie phones on the market is a Lenovo gaming phone. Glory!
Also separate videos link to8 kg (o 4K @ 60Frames per second). It’s very unfortunate that for better stability it has to go down to 4K at 30Frames per second, But very high resolution. There is also the ability to record videos in HDR and also in dual camera mode by combining shooting from the main camera and the wide-angle camera, or from the front and the main camera (in Full HD).
Show
Once again, Lenovo used a great tablet for this Legion Duel 2. We’re talking about a gigantic 6.92-inch diagonal, to be precise Cd + (1080 x 2460 pixels) and AMOLED technology. It clearly supports HDR10 and has no interruptions at all, as the front camera is included in a retractable mechanism. The monitor supports a refresh rate of 144Hz, but you can also choose lower values and then let the software go up to 144Hz only in (a few) compatible games. This way you still get the exceptional experience, while maintaining a higher independence. We have 1300 nits peak brightness, support direct current dimming technology (to reduce flicker at low brightness), and we have 111% DCI-P3 color space support. There is also a customizable always-on screen but it shows notifications with a generic icon.
Programming
From Lenovo software point of view Legion Duel 2 phone It is based on updated Android 11 with February 2021 patches and with Legion customization. This is mainly reflected in the pre-made theme, because other than that it’s software very close to stock philosophy and without many customizations. However, the system is always fluid. However, as the company has worked a lot with its Legion Realm unit, which can also start with squeezing the two main spines. From here you can get a quick overview of all the installed games and you can customize some performance settings and above all the Legion Assistant, a contextual menu that can be opened within the games by swiping from the top down. From here you will instantly have a clear smartphone performance indicator (with a button to maximize it) and you can also get Wi-Fi status and real-time data at the same time, allowing you to choose which one to use at any time and switch from one to the other quickly. Among the other more useful functions, the built-in function definitely deserves a mention, allowing you to also cut or increase the transparency, so that you can do a live broadcast (live on YouTube or Twitch). Additionally, you can also record short clips directly from this board, by specifying the duration and quality in advance (so you don’t have to record massive gameplay and then look for clips to cut).
The software we tested is not final and is not 100% stable yet. This illustration may be useless to those who will buy the ultimate smartphone, but in case you have seen some imperfection in our video.
independence
The battery is great 5.000 mAh. The autonomy of this smartphone is really great, better in relation to that of other Snapdragon 888 smartphones. You can complete any day of heavy use without worry (in our case, we kept the screen at 120Hz). The cooling system will probably do its job very well and seldom get active fans even when playing games. Plus we probably have the fastest charging system ever. This is the ability to charge the smartphone from 0 to 100% in about half an hour: this value can still be reduced if you use both cables in the package and both USB-C ports. This is because the power supply is 90 watts, which is a record in the world of smartphones and more than the charging power of power supplies designed for laptops.
price
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is available for pre-order on the company’s website starting at 899 euros for the 12/256 GB model. That’s a fair price for a product that has decent hardware, but it’s clearly not yet known in its market niche.
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Final judgment
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is once again the most extreme smartphone. And we like the idea of implementing the idea of ”multiplying” in many aspects: dual battery, dual (triple) drivers, dual speakers, dual USB-C port and dual active fan. But not only that, exceptional solutions such as the side pop-up camera show great dedication to the concept of a gaming phone. There are some limitations, but this (like last year) is a gamer’s smartphone, without exception.
From
- Maximum power
- Lightning fast recharge
- Front camera popup
- Refresh rate: 144 Hz
- Audio jack with accessory only
- Non-expandable memory
- Wireless charging is missing
- A little lean program
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2
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