Lenovo P2 review: Charge & Go

Performance

The Lenovo P2 is not a powerhouse by any standards. It utilizes the mid-range Snapdragon 625 SoC with a total of eight Cortex-A53 cores, running at 2.0 GHz. But the real ace up the sleeve of this chip is that it is manufactured using a 14nm FinFET process. The immediate benefits of this fabrication process is the amazing energy efficiency and lower thermal emission.

When picking the competitors below, we chose devices with display size at about 5.5 - 5.7 inches and a price not much higher than €340, which is the launch price of the P2. Phones like the Axon 7, the Moto Z Play or the OnePlus 3 may be a bit over budget, but it's not by a huge margin (€+50).

First, let's check how the A53 processor stacks against the competition. Naturally, nobody expected a single A53 core to fare well against a Kryo (Mi 5s Plus, OnePlus 3, Axon 7), but it does well for the mid-range segment.

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  1815
• OnePlus 3
  1719
• ZTE Axon 7
  1702
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1546
• Lenovo P2
  840
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  795
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  681
• Lenovo K6 Note
  635

The multi-core performance of a bunch of A53s is also a lackluster experience, yet we shouldn't forget the Lenovo P2 is a mid-ranger and those points are great for the class.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  4456
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  4333
• OnePlus 3
  4045
• ZTE Axon 7
  3990
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3294
• Lenovo P2
  2965
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  2621
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2027

The Snapdragon 625 SoC comes with Adreno 506 GPU, which won't be acing any tests, especially at 1080p resolution. An interesting contender, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 costs half as much as the P2 and yet its Helio X20 chip delivers somewhat 30% better graphic performance.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  31
• ZTE Axon 7
  31
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  30
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.5
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  7.2
• Lenovo P2
  6.2
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  6.2
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  6.2
• Lenovo K6 Note
  4.4
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.2

GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3
  18
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  18
• ZTE Axon 7
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5.4
• Lenovo P2
  3.4
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.4
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.4
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.5
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  1.9

The onscreen tests paint pretty much the same picture. The Axon 7 is the only one to fall through the ranks because of its 1440p display.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  32
• OnePlus 3
  30
• ZTE Axon 7
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.4
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  7.3
• Lenovo P2
  6.7
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  6.7
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  6.1
• Lenovo K6 Note
  4.4
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.2

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  19
• OnePlus 3
  18
• ZTE Axon 7
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  5.4
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.9
• Lenovo P2
  3.7
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.7
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.4
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.4

The same goes for the BaseMark X test - its puts the Lenovo P2 around the middle - not too good, but not too bad either.

Basemark X

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  36062
• OnePlus 3
  32715
• ZTE Axon 7
  32243
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  13666
• Lenovo P2
  10472
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  10445
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  10401
• Lenovo K6 Note
  7480
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  5383
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  5160

Finally, it's time to look at compound tests such as AnTuTu and BaseMark OS II. These tests gauge not only the CPU and GPU performance but memory and web browsing, among others. And, as expected, the Lenovo P2 does very well for a mid-ranger, scoring between the flagship models and the low-tier K6 Note and Galaxy A3 (2017).

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  155185
• OnePlus 3
  141764
• ZTE Axon 7
  129926
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  85162
• Lenovo P2
  63493
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  62818
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  62217
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  49094
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  45742
• Lenovo K6 Note
  44972

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2434
• OnePlus 3
  2365
• ZTE Axon 7
  2346
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1728
• Lenovo P2
  1235
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  1222
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  1031
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  1007
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  999
• Lenovo K6 Note
  288

Nobody expected Lenovo P2 to ace tests and crush the competition. It's a mid-range device, and its octa-core processor is among the better ones in the class. In fact, the Snapdragon 625 chip is an excellent SoC thanks to the high-end manufacturing process, snappy processor, up to date connectivity options, and camera support. It's the Adreno 506 GPU that is hurting the all-in-one package, but thankfully, not enough to ruin the positive impressions.

Sure, the Lenovo P2 will have some hard time with the heaviest of games. But we guess hardly anybody would be interested in the P2 solely for its gaming skills. Even if this is the case, you can rest assured we tried quite a few games and they all ran smoothly with very rare freezes.

So, in spite of our reservations, the Lenovo P2 seems geared well enough to handle some pressure and in the meantime, it won't get hot thanks to its energy efficient chipset. It may not be the best future-proof device, but as things stand today, it easily gets a B- in performance and an excellent mark for power efficiency and thermal emissions.