Review LeEco Le 2

In mid-September 2015, a new smartphone maker entered the mobile market, the company LeEco. New smartphones have already managed to attract close attention for its low cost combined with powerful specs. The release of smartphones, televisions, smart bikes, the development of cars, the launch of various services, and the creation of software and hardware ecosystems - all this cannot fail to attract the attention of people interested in technologies. Today we will focus on the smartphone called LeEco Le 2. Its cost is only $130, and the specs is comparable to much more expensive models. If you want to know detailed information on the device, then you should watch the article below. 

The phone received 7,61 points in our system.

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Package

LeEco Le 2 is sold in a black box that looks stylish and solid. If you buy a device as a gift, you can save on additional packaging – you can present Le 2 unwrapped. Inside there is everything you need: a smartphone, an envelope with manual and a SIM-needle, a power adapter, a USB Type-C cable and headphone adapter for those who want to listen to music in the old way. There are no headphones in the package and we think this is the right decision. Anyway, each of us has our favorite headphones, so we do not see much sense in overpaying for unused ones that come in the box.

As a bonus, the manufacturer added a transparent silicone case.

Design 

In terms of design, the manufacturer did not improvise with it and preferred to use popular solutions: a thin metal body and a large 5.5-inch display with edge-to-edge screen protector. The only exception was the screen protector - it is smooth without the now popular 2.5D effect at the edges. The top and the bottom of the front panel has large bezels. The top bezel has camera and sensors. The bottom one is empty. 

LeEco also paid attention to details in the design of the smartphone body, so it can hardly be confused with other devices. At least if you look at the back panel. For example, the manufacturer uses a large space for a camera with a relief structure and the surface of the fingerprint scanner is mirrored, which has not yet been found in any smartphone. 

The right side has power button and volume rocker. SIM tray is on the left side. 

At the top of the smartphone is installed IR-blaster to control TV devices developed by LeEco.

The bottom of the device has a USB Type-C, which is also used as an audio jack with the help of the adapter that comes in the package, as well as two acoustic grilles on the sides.

The design of the phone gets 8,05 points.

Display

The display is a matrix with a diagonal of 5.5 inches with Full HD resolution, manufactured using IPS technology. Brightness, contrast and color accuracy are good, viewing angles do not cause any complaints. Separately, we want to note a special mode for reading in the dark, which reduces the blue colour and makes it warmer.

In our system, the display receives 6,37 points.

Hardware

As a rule, a low price forces buyers to be ready for problems in the smartphone - a small battery life, an average camera, a lack of memory for data storage, or insufficient performance. In the case of LeEco Le 2, we do not even know where to find flaws. The processor is powerful - octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652, which pulls all modern games from Google Play. 3 GB RAM is enough for multitasking and 64 GB ROM - for data storage. Probably, you can complain about the lack of a space for microSD card, but this can hardly be called a problem with the availability of music streaming services, storage of images in Google Photos and the availability of various cloud services. LeEco Le 2 performance will be good enough for the majority of tasks and the majority of buyers. However, if you want more and money is no object for you, we advise you to pay attention to LeEco Le Max 2. It has a flagship specs with the most powerful and modern components.

The performance got 8,04 points.

Camera

As a solution for mobile photography, LeEco Le 2 shows results that are satisfactory for a budget device. In good lighting conditions, the quality of the photos is nice with good color reproduction. However, in difficult lighting conditions, the quality of photographs drops dramatically and noise appears. If you compare LeEco Le 2 with devices “under $130”, the quality of pictures will be high and will surpass many competitors, but it seems to us that the camera of this smartphone is capable of more. Do not forget that the quality of photos depends not only on the lens aperture and matrix resolution, but also software algorithms for image processing. It is possible that with the upcoming updates of the LeEco Le 2 operating system, the company's programmers will be able to squeeze even more out of the camera than it can now. The only question is what priority will be for the manufacturer to improve the photo capabilities of the device taking into account the already satisfactory quality of the camera and the belonging of the smartphone to the devices “under $130”?

The rear camera is 16 MP and the front camera is 8 MP.

Cameras receive 8,78 points.

Battery

Among other features of the LeEco Le 2 smartphone, it is worth noting the average battery life due to the use of a 3000 mAh battery and proprietary energy-saving technologies. With average use, the smartphone works for about a day and a half, but this figure will vary depending on user scenarios and other factors such as temperature and network signal quality.

The battery gets the mark of 5,29 points. 

Operating system

A pleasant surprise for us was the EUI 5.8 operating system. LeEco has reworked many of the interface elements and significantly expanded the functionality regarding Android 6.0.1, on which the software of the Le 2 smartphone is based. There is no unuseful applications. In other words, the smartphone has only all the most necessary apps. For example, browser, calculator, email client, camera, gallery, contacts, and the like. The only exception the company LeEco made for the weather app - instead of a proprietary application, a popular solution from Yahoo is used. We like this approach; it’s better to install all the necessary apps on your own than to overwrite the smartphone’s memory with duplicate software due to the manufacturer’s desire to impose as many branded or partner applications and services as possible. 

The main disadvantage of the skin is its difficulty in use. 

Selecting the “settings” field through the notification curtain does not transfer you to the advanced settings. It takes you to the notification settings menu, and rapping the back arrow in the upper left corner simply returns you to the home screen. To open the advanced settings, you should find the “settings” shortcut on the main screen. 

OS receives 4,32 points.

Conclusion

If we objectively evaluate the mobile device market, LeEco has made the best offer in the budget segment. We could not remember a single smartphone, which would offer customers similar specs at the same price. The choice is yours!