Lenovo Sisley Vs UMi Zero : which would you choose?


umi zero vs lenovo sisley

Both have alloy bodies and SUPER AMOLED display, but which of these two stylish smartphones would you like in your pocket?

Chinese phone makers are really pushing the boat out to build, thin, stylish phones, that offer both great looks and design while being packed to the brim with tech.

We take a look at two similar phones that would suit fashion conscious, tech savvy users, one from a global smartphone giant and the other from an up and comer.

Lenovo Sisley

lenovo sisley

Lenovo have taken a lot stick over their Sisley S90 phone and just looking at it and it’s advertising material should stop any ‘Why?’ questions you might have. The design, and even the renders officially from Lenovo look like there were plucked right off the Apple website and Jony Ives desk.

Still the phone does offer a slim, and attractive all alloy body (even if the touch buttons up front do look a little out of place), and a 5-inch SUPER AMOLED display up front makes for good viewing.

lenovo sisley

Under the hood the Lenovo Sisley is driven by a Snapdragon 410 processor from Qualcomm, which runs at 1.2Ghz, plus there is 1GB RAM. This choice of SoC also give the phone native LTE.

UMi Zero

This really is a Jason and Goliath type of show down. Lenovo are a global player who just bought Motorola from Google, where as UMi are still quite a small brand who are in the process of rebranding themselves.

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The UMi Zero embodies UMi’s desire to change. It features an all alloy construction (rumoured to be made in the same factory as the chassis of the Meizu MX4 and MX4 Pro) and features glass front and rear for a slim, stealthy appearance.

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Like Lenovo, UMi have given the Zero a 5-inch SUPER AMOLED display but this time around a higher resolution FHD panel. Inside Mediatek provide a 2.0Ghz MT6592T chipset with 2GB RAM, and although there isn’t LTE there is room for either dual SIM or a single SIM and micro SD.

umi zero

UMi also ship the Zero in quite lovely packaging with a screen protector, fancy alloy USB cable, case and Texas instruments fast charger.

Lenovo Sisley Vs UMi Zero: Specs

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Lenovo Sisley Vs UMi Zero: The winner is?

With a price of only $199.99 with fast 2.0Ghz processor, more RAM and a more original (if not completely unique design) we have to say UMi have come out on top here. The design of the Zero is much more pleasing to the eye, and with the addition of a fast charger the UMi makes a lot of sense.

The Lenovo does give LTE support (check your network first), but at a higher price of $240, this iPhone 6 clone really doesn’t do it for us. Plus as far as we can tell Lenovo aren’t actually officially marketing the Sisley outside of China, where as UMi are going after the international market first.

Based on the design, cost and specifications which phone would you choose? The Umi Zero or Lenovo Sisley?

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

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30 Comments

  1. ufg
    December 6, 2014

    How did this comparison even happen? Cheaper phone with more ram, better processor, better screen, better battery, better camera, better body, vs a more expensive iPhone 6 clone.

    • December 7, 2014

      And the Lenovo would win the battle big miles ahead.

      64bit low power chip, better software, better GPU.

      And ANDROID LOLLIPOP updates unlike the MTK6592 crap.

      And Im writing from a DG550…

      Lenovo competes with a 600$ phone in plain specs, and got a better result in 2 months development than Apple’s bending trash.

      If the Zero gets a MT6752 or MT6595 then it may be a decent competitor.

      Guess why they had to slash the launch price to ridiculous levels…

      But for that range: Jiayu S3 looks a cracking deal at 162$.

      • Evgenij Nebotov
        December 8, 2014

        i would take umi zero any time a day, any day a week over lenovo and jiayu. adding 30$ is easy, add the factor, that jiayu s3 isn’t available and won’t be probably till the 2nd quarter 2015. it’s jiayu ffs.

        • December 8, 2014

          Then you might be blind.

          Have you read about Zero owner’s reviews? I didn’t before commenting and got it right. And you are wrong any time a day any day a week…

          Stop telling BS and put your money before your mouth. No you won’t because the Zero is buggy junk.

          The S3 will be available in January, waiting for Andy’s review as hell.

          • Evgenij Nebotov
            December 8, 2014

            lol, you believe owner reviews of the phone, which isn’t shipping yet and meanwhile, you believe in jiayu getting there release dates right, and santa claus stuff? okay, my BS is worse than yours, as you say, mate )

  2. Manos
    December 6, 2014

    Umi zero is better!!! FHD amoled 2gb ram!
    Lenovo does see clearly and making old spec phones again and again!
    No thanks Lenovo!

  3. December 6, 2014

    UMi Zero, hands down. Its such a shame a company as well-known as Lenovo is doing this!

    • Satya Narayan
      December 6, 2014

      Hi Yash can i order it to india? How to order it can you please tell me and how much shipping charge will come …
      Will this product reach to me safely?

  4. Rajat
    December 6, 2014

    Couldn’t have said it better than ufg.

  5. Han Lubach
    December 6, 2014

    Perhaps , better to compare the UMI against the new upcoming phones .
    Looking forward to an comparison between some of the mtk6752 phones

    • ferdi
      December 6, 2014

      ya especially because no1 has recieved there umi zeros yet!So people are afraid to order now.
      the company has a problem with getting the stock even out to the presale customers, like myself an waiting 1 month now and was suppose to ship the 20th presale. I donno accoring to the Fb page they will have some stock ready soon but there appears to be some issue with production faults and must be something wrong with the phone IMO They promise to ship soon and say that they dont want to send faulty phones so are making sure all models are checked again or something. its looks to be a great phone, hope they sort the issues and bang out some phones 24/7 in factory this week.

  6. Konstantin Vorobiov
    December 6, 2014

    UMI

  7. Raul
    December 6, 2014

    100% would choose UMi Zero, I really want to like Lenovo, but they keep making stupid stupid decisions one after another regarding their smartphone line, they think that only having a name they will sell phones regardless of how bad it is, but aside from people who don’t know anything about smartphones, anyone else would most likely choose another brand.

  8. Konstantinos Natsios
    December 6, 2014

    actually none, lenovo is too pricey for what it offers, and umi zero doesnt have a good reputation, i read in many sites that some phones went dead after a week(i think i read something like that even here) and i am concerned about the build quality.

    umi zero is good for what it offers but its the stability of the phone i am worried about…

  9. Adam Irvine
    December 6, 2014

    Umi Zero, I’ve recently purchased one for my father and it really is a fantastic phone for the money! My only quibble with it is that it really needs it’s version of Android optimizing… (No smart wake gestures, no quick toggles at the top of the notification pull down etc…) But hopefully that’ll come as an update at some point…

  10. Steve B
    December 6, 2014

    Dakele 3

  11. litte Burg
    December 6, 2014

    Is there a better phone for the money `? If so please name it. I am dying here by not being able to make up my mind. A full month of reading reviews and as torn as ever. I have $250 – $300 to spend. please list the top three in this price range, Andy ……. ANYONE !!

    • balcobomber25
      December 6, 2014

      For $250-300? I would get a Mi3 which is better than either of these phones in just about every way. Or an OPO if you can find it for that price. If you want to max out your budget there is the Nubia Z7 Mini, Honor 6 and IUNI U2 which can all be found for around $300-330.

      • litte Burg
        December 6, 2014

        Thanks for the swift reply. The Mi3 or IUNI U2 it is

        • iKosh
          December 6, 2014

          I wanted to recommend the IUNI U2 but probably the Mi3 is the safest bet.

          • ferdi
            December 6, 2014

            the u2 can be picked up for >$200 now.

  12. Arnold shitz
    December 6, 2014

    Can anyone advise if i will be able to find an Mi3 in Bangkok ? if so where. Bit nervous about buying from a small stall but not seen any big shops with them yet.

    Hope someone can help

  13. Álvaro Gonzålez
    December 7, 2014

    Umi zero is better, but i advice not to buy it on Antelife. They are a big stealers. I bought it on 31th of October and it’s still “preparing” the mobile. Not BUY IN ANTELIFE

    • Jeep âœ“á”›á”‰Êłá¶Šá¶ á¶Šá”‰á”ˆ
      December 9, 2014

      That is true. My UMI Zero is bought on the beginning of October, still nothing. I keep sending them polite e-mails but they only tell me to wait 2 more days. Every time they tell me to wait 2 more days and they dodge the question about why it hasn’t been shipped yet. So many weeks I’ve been waiting.

      if you check their Facebook, on every post about UMI, lot’s of people complain about the fact that they are waiting so long. Some people are waiting for 2 months! And it hasn’t even been shipped yet.

      I’ve bought more phones from Antelife and most of the time everything went pretty fast but this is a disaster.

      Maybe Andi can help us out a bit by only politely asking when the problems will be over? o:)

  14. RRRobert
    December 7, 2014

    I wouldn’t buy either one of them. The Lenovo lacks ram memory (I’m currently using a device with 2 Gb of ram, which IMHO is the absolute minimum these days) and UMi dares to sell a phone in the mid-price category without LTE Support? Ridiculous.

  15. NahĂșm PĂ©rez Mesa
    December 7, 2014

    What about Umi Zero vs Kolina k100+ ?

  16. dutchgio
    December 7, 2014

    Lenovo > umi.
    But too bad its an iphone clone with different specs, not a good comparison with the umi

  17. Konstantin Vorobiov
    December 8, 2014

    support UMI has promised to release Android 5.0 ROM in January

  18. deedhoet
    December 15, 2014

    Without no doubt UMI ZERO is the winner for me 🙂

  19. Zdeněk StarĂœ
    December 15, 2014

    i see price around 300 dollars for umi zero…not 199. Where is this lower price?