After months of rumors and leaks, ZUK finally unveiled its ZUK Z1 flagship at Beijing today. We already knew a lot about this device, thanks to the TENAA listing and recent leaks, but now everything has become official.
The ZUK Z1 comes with top-end hardware, and a customized UI, to give you the perfect flagship experience. The company had said earlier that it would focus on the UI, and this is the first time, we get a glimpse of the ROM.
But before we take a look at the ROM, lets check out the specifications. The ZUK Z1 comes with a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display. Under the hood is the Snapdragon 801 32-bit chip clocked at 2.5GHz. While this is an old chipset, it still quite capable. The company claims that on an average, the chip managed to score about 46,000 on AnTuTu.
Further, there’s 3GB of RAM on board, with 64GB of internal storage. It was important to have a large internal storage since there’s no option to expand it externally. At the back, there’s a 13MP camera with OIS and a front facing 8MP shooter.
One of the highlights of the ZUK Z1 is its large 4100mAh battery. This coupled with 2.5A fast charge, thanks to the USB 3.0 Type-C port will make sure that you don’t have to worry about battery life. It will easily give you more than a day’s usage. Further, even with the large battery, the body is just 8.9mm thick and weighs only about 175 grams.
Another highlight of the Z1 is the special multi-function U-Touch button. The user can perform five different kinds of function, like fingerprint, return/ back, switching back and forth between open apps, returning to home button and finally, opening up the multi-task management tool. All these functions can be used by slightly different gestures on the button.
As mentioned above, the ZUI is going to be a major attraction of the ZUK Z1. The company has incorporated a special security center in the background which automatically cleans up the device. The ICON designs are unique and the overall UI looks quite refined and beautiful. The lock screen color changes with the wallpaper. The company also adds that it has paid special attention in designing apps for the device. It took around 10 month to completely design the Calender app on the ZUI. In case you are wondering, the ZUI is based on the new Android 5.1 Lollipop version. You can even expect the Android M based ZUI version on the device later.
Overall, the ZUK Z1 turns out to be a great package. It looks good, has enough firepower underneath to handle any tasks thrown at it and finally, retails for a pretty decent price tag. You just have to shell out 1799 Yuan ($285) to get this 64GB version, which I personally feel is quite good.
Of course, we still have to see the device in action, and check out its 13MP camera at the back with OIS. There are other aspects to review like the new U-Touch button, but for now, the overall package looks quite good.
So, what do you think about the ZUK Z1? Worthy enough to be your next smartphone? Also, let us know whether you feel the company made a risky decision by using the year old Snapdragon 801 chipset inside.
ZUK Z1 SPECS SUMMARY
• Screen: 5.5 inches 1920 × 1080 resolution, full-bonded IPS screen
• CPU: 2.5GHz frequency of 32 Qualcomm Xiaolong 801 quad-core processor 46Kon AnTuTu
• RAM: 3GB
• ROM: 64GB (does not support MicroSD expansion)
• Front Camera: 8 megapixel
rear camera •: 13 million pixels (Optical Image Stabilizer)
• Battery: 4100mAh 2.5A fast charge
• body size: 155.7 × 77.3 × 8.9mm, 175 g
• Network mode: Mobile / Unicom / Telecom 4G / 3G / 2G ( Dual SIM)
• Operating system: Android 5.1 with ZUI
• Highlights: U-Touch, high-capacity battery, fingerprint recognition
• Price: 1799 yuan ($285)
