LeEco launched three phones to introduce its second generation of Superphones. The phones, namely Le 2, Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2 have so far been launched in China.The phones are priced at 1099 RMB (approximately Rs 11,500) for the Le 2, 1499 RMB (approximately Rs 15,500) for the Le 2 Pro and 2099 RMB (approximately Rs 21,500) for the Le Max 2 for the 4GB RAM + 32GB storage variant and 2499 RMB (approx Rs 25,500) for the top of the line 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant of the Le Max 2.
Post the launch we got to spend some time with the devices and here are our first impressions.
Build and Design
In terms of looks, nothing much seems to have changed with respect to its first generation phones – the Le 1s and the Le Max. You cannot tell the Le 2 and Le 2 Pro apart thanks to the similar design language. The Le Max 2, thanks to its larger footprint is still distinguishable. All the phones employ metal in their build and the phones comes with chamfered edges, antenna cuts on the top and bottom on the rear side, centrally aligned camera module and fingerprint scanner and so on. The phones looks good, no doubt, but do not lend themselves well to one handed use. These are also the first phones to come with LeEco’s new logo embossed on their rear sides.
One thing that is missing on all the phones is a 3.5mm audio jack, which may be a matter of concern for potential buyers who have already invested in a headphone. LeEco is instead offering buyers its own USB Type C audio for its CDLA audio standard. On the left hand side you have the SIM card slots, on the right you have the volume rocker and power standby buttons and the USB Type C charging and data transfer port is present on the base surrounded by the speaker grille section.
While the Le 2 and Le 2 Pro sport a 5.5-inch display, the Le Max 2 has a 5.7-inch display. LeEco has ensured that the bezel on the size is really slim, giving it a better screen to body ratio. Overall, LeEco Le 2 phones have no issues with the build quality – they exude premium quality.
Display
The Le 2 and Le 2 Pro come with a 5.5-inch full HD display and the Le Max 2 sports a 5.7-inch QuadHD display. All the phones offer really good viewing angles and sharp displays. Although we noticed that all three had a tendency to attract smudges. Yes, the display does tend to get too reflective. There wasn’t any mention of the Corning Gorilla Glass presentation, so we will need to check up on that.
Chipset, RAM, Storage and Connectivity
The Le 2 comes with a MediaTek Helio X20 chipset which has a 10-core processor in a tri-cluster mode. It is paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The Le 2 Pro comes with a Helio X25 chipset with 4GB of RAM with either a 32GB storage variant or a 64GB storage variant. The flagship Le Max 2 sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset which has four Kyro cores clocked at 2.15GHz along with Adreno 530GPU. The Le Max 2 comes with a 4GB RAM + 32GB storage variant or a 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant. None of the phones come with expandable storage.
We did not notice any major lag or slowdown with any of the three phones. But we will still need to test it in real life to get a hang of how these phones perform. Plus considering all the phones have a metal body, equally important will be how they are able to manage the heat.
In terms of connectivity, you get a dual SIM card slot, Wi-fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.1, USB Type-C port and so on.
OS and Software
All the three phones are running Android 6.0 OS and come with LeEco’s proprietary eUI skin atop it. The skin seen on the Chinese handsets is markedly different from what we have seen on the Indian phones, thanks to the LeEco content layer atop it. At the launch event, LeEco also announced a multi-stream feature which will let you stream 9 live TV casts in one screen. Another feature that LeEco talked about was having multiple camera angle views for sports events in a similar 3×3 layout. These features are yet to come to India, although LeEco has already announced partnership with content providers such as YuppTV and ErosNow.
The user interface does not seem to have much bloatware apart from the bouquet of LeEco apps. The notifications drop down menu is divided into two tabs for quick notifications and settings. It does not look drastically different from its predecessors.
Camera and Battery
The Le 2 comes with a 16MP rear and 8MP front camera whereas the Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2 come with a 21MP rear and 8MP front cameras. The camera module on the rear side protrudes out slightly from the plain of the body. The LeEco phones use Sony sensors which f/2.0 aperture on the rear camera.
Camera user interface is similar to the one seen on the Le 1s and the Le Max. All phones sport the phase-detect autofocus feature for quick focusing and the Le Max 2 also comes with optical image stabilisation. The demo zones aren’t really ideal conditions to test out the cameras, so we will reserve our judgement till we actually use them.
In terms of battery, the Le 2 and Le 2 Pro sport a 3,000 mAh battery which will support LeEco’s proprietary USB Type-C fast charging feature. The Le Max 2 comes with a 3,100mAh battery which supports both QuickCharge 3.0 as well as LeEco’s own fast charging feature.
Conclusion
The three phones have been aggressively priced for the Chinese market, something for which LeEco is known for. The India launch prices aren’t yet out, but the phones are expected to launch in India soon. Its first generation Le 1s did quite well, and LeEco will be looking at repeating that with the Le 2, but a lot will depend on its Indian pricing.
All three phones look elegant. But the lack of 3.5mm audio jack will not go down well with a lot of uses who are very particular about their audio and are heavily invested in multiple earphones / headphones for different listening experiences. The fact that you have to buy the USB Type C earbuds separately itself is bound to piss off a lot of potential buyers. LeEco stressed a lot on the CDLA audio experience, which it claims improves the overall audio experience. We will need to check it out in depth when reviewing the device.
LeEco’s real draw is its software and content ecosystem, something it is renowned for in China. In India though, LeEco is still known as that company which launched the Le 1s. The software side of the equation is still an incomplete story. Its latest feature seem good for a content consumers. But how soon that will happen, is anyone’s guess. So check back for the full reviews of these devices.