Lenovo's ZUK Z1 running Cyanogen OS 12.1 officially launched; shipping starts in mid-Oct

Lenovo-backed ZUK officially launched the international version of its much acclaimed Z1, which is currently available only in China. This will be the maiden global venture by the company.

According to the official statement by ZUK, the international version of the ZI will be run on Cyanogen OS 12.1 out of the box based on Android 5.1.1. Earlier this week, ZUK entered into a software partnership with Cyanogen specifically for launching the international version of the ZUK Z1. The device will be preloaded with the commercial Cyanogen OS 12.1.

Zuk said that the Cyanogen enables deep customization of the UI with its various theme app, including wallpapers, fonts, icons and boot animations .The report further mentions that Cyanogen provides users with granular control of their personal data to third party apps. Other leading privacy and security features include PIN Scramble, Blocked Caller List and Protected Apps to name the few.

The ZUK Z1 is the first product of the Lenovo-backed company, established in May 2015. It is packed with a 5.5-inch Full HD 1080p display and is powered by Snapdragon 801 quad core processor with 3GB of RAM. The smartphone will have 64GB of internal storage. The device also sports a 13MP SONY IMX214 rear camera and an 8MP front shooter.

Other key features include USB Type-C port and fingerprint scanner and the handset houses a massive 4100 mAh battery. The device will be supported by 4G, 3G, 2G, Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity options.

On a Google+ post, Cyanogen reveals that Z1 will be available for sale from mid-Oct. Online retailer Gearbest listed the smartphone in both white and gray at $340 (AU $468). The retailer will start shipping the phones after Oct.15.

As reported by Android Police , initially announced in China earlier this month, ZUK Z1 has managed over 2 million pre-orders in a week. The Chinese version is priced at 1,799 Yuan (AU $385). The international version is expected to be shipped in October with the higher price tag.

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