LENOVO PHAB PLUS
$499

The first thing you notice about the Lenovo Phab Plus is its 6.8-inch display, which puts it close to tablet territory. The Phab looks sleek with a metallic chassis and rounded sides similar to the Apple iPhone 6 Plus.

But unlike the iPhone, it lacks a physical home button at the front. It is comfortable to hold with one hand. You can even use it one-handed with the special Micro Screen mode that shrinks the display for this purpose.

The large screen is perfect for watching videos. Audio is punchy, too. The display, however, can appear cold and sterile because of its cool colour temperature. It is not helped by the screen's relatively low brightness.

The Phab Plus uses a midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chip. This octa-core processor is snappy enough to run most apps smoothly, though the Phab Plus will load games slower than high-end phones. There is also a slight shutter lag when taking photos.

The performance hit is probably acceptable, since the $499 Phab Plus is half the price of a high-end phone.

Vincent Chang