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First Impressions: The LeEco Le 1s Eco

Chinese manufacturer LeEco offers us a new more affordable version of the Le 1s dubbed, the Le 1s Eco in India at a price of Rs 9999

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At a lower price (and slightly bumped-down specs,) here's an all-metal body phone that offers a surprising lot
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Chinese manufacturer LeEco offers us a new more affordable version of the Le 1s dubbed, the Le 1s Eco in India at a price of Rs 9999. However, the similarities between both these devices is the fact that they look identical, offer very comparable specifications and are priced almost identically. The only new element added to the device is its “Make in India” factor, along with the company’s ‘Supertainment services’—a bouquet of content offerings comprising television, movies and music.

Build and Design

There’s no surprise with the body and design for LeEco’s brand new smartphone. It is, literally, identical to the previously launched Le 1s early this year. We received the gold color variant, which could be easily mistaken for a lighter version of the iPhone’s 6s rose gold variant. Sporting the rather old LeTv logo, the Le 1s Eco features a 5.5-inch screen with a mirror-finish fingerprint sensor at the back. Adopting the same body dimensions as the Le 1s, the new smartphone has the slimmest of bezels, almost unnoticeable. The headphone jack placed up top, while the power and volume buttons rest on the right side of the device. The USB Type C connector is at the bottom along with the dual speakers. A small LED notification indicator has been placed to the left on the earpiece. The key buttons are almost invisible, which are placed just below the screen.  It gives the illusion of a “button-less” smartphone.


Display

The LeEco Le 1s Eco offers a 5.5-inch Full HD In-cell IPS LCD display  having a pixel density of 401ppi. It also includes Gorilla Glass 3 for protection against scratches and impact. At first glance, the colors look dynamic and offer satisfactorily brightness levels. Viewing angles aren’t too bad either. But given the price of the device, the fact that it doesn’t pack a 2K screen is quite acceptable.

Software/OS    

Running on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, the smartphone runs the company’s UI on top. No argument here that the device is heavily customized. It doesn’t offer an app drawer, and the quick shortcuts stack up a lot on screen, including the option to kill apps, connectivity and music.

Talking about the promising content ecosystem, here’s where LeEco has put in all its efforts. The Le1s Eco comes bundled with the company’s Supertainment services, which is priced at Rs 490 per month and Rs 4900 per year. The services are literally pushed right to your face, with the a LIVE button smack at the center bottom of the display, offering live TV broadcasts in both Hindi and English, such as Sony, Colors, Times Now, CNN IBN and many more. In addition, it has also announced a tie up with Hungama, Eros and YuppTV for its own entertainment services. With Le Vidi, users can also watch Hindi movies, which is powered by Eros Now. The company’s in-house Cloud and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) will be offered in 10 cities across the country as well.  

Hardware

Just like the previous Le 1s, the LeEco 1s Eco packs in a Media Tek Helio X 10 processor paired with 3GB RAM. However this phone’s processor is clocked a tad slower at 1.8GHz compared to the 2.2GHz of its earlier sibling. The device offers an internal storage off 32GB and lacks expandable storage, which might be one of its biggest disappointments. It offers Dual-SIM support and includes connectivity features such as 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 along with support for Indian 4G LTE bands.

Battery

The LeEco Le 1s Eco is powered by a 3,000mAh battery. Some interesting features added include smart power saving, super power saving and ultra-long standby time. It also claims to offer a smart battery feature for certain apps, which might tend to consume more battery than the rest. The smartphone uses a USB Type-C connector and charges the device with its SuperCharge technology.

Conclusion

At a price of Rs 9,999, LeEco’s Le 1s Eco does challenge many comparable phones from the likes of Xiaomi, Micromax, Lenovo and Huawei. However, what sets the new smartphone apart from the others is its feel-good aluminum unibody, which certainly delivers the heft of a high-end smartphone. With an average battery capacity, the main USP of the device is its content ecosystem, which LeEco is heavily focusing on. Though the lack of a microSD card slot is a buzz kill, this affordable smartphone is worth a shot.

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