LeEco Le 2 (India) Hands-on: Snapdragon 652, 16MP Camera and a whole lot more

LeEco launched the Le 2 and Le Max 2 in India today. Although we had known for some time, the company launched the Snapdragon 652 variant of the Le 2 in India instead of the MediaTek Helio X20 variant to take on the segment leader, Redmi Note 3.

The Le2 has been priced at Rs. 11999 and considering the specs, build it seems to be good value for money. We had some time to spend with the LeEco Le 2 and Le Max 2 before the launch and here are our hands-on impressions with the Le 2. If you want to see our impressions of the Le Max 2, just head over here.

LeEco Le 2 Key Specifications

• 5.5-inch 1080p Full-HD IPS Display, 1920x1080 Pixels at 401PPI, 500 nits brightness
• Octa-core, Snapdragon 652
• Adreno 510 GPU
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow based EUI 5.8
• 3GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage (Non-expandable)
• 16MP Rear Camera, dual-tone LED flash, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture
• 8MP Front Camera, f/2.2 Aperture Lens
• Thickness: 7.5mm, Weight: 153 grams
• 4G LTE, Dual-SIM (Nano), dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C
• 3000 mAh Battery with Fast Charging

Video: LeEco Le 2 Hands-on and Top Features

Build, Design and Features

If you look at the Le 2 from the front, you won't see many changes between it and its predecessor, the Le 1s. But there are some minor changes to the overall design which make the phone easier to hold. You still have shiny chamfers on the device to give it that premium metal look.

This time around as well LeEco has gone with a unibody metal build for the Le 2 which means that the 3000 mAh battery is non-removable. You do have two nano-SIM slots on the left inside a metal SIM tray, but there's no microSD card slot to expand storage.

The entire front of the phone is covered is a scratch resistant glass layer with a 5.5-inch display in between. Above it, you have the selfie camera, proximity sensor and light sensor. You also have capacitive buttons just below the display which light up only when touched, like the Le 1s.

The front panel sits flat with the side frame and doesn't do well for the drop resistance for the display but gives it a floating glass design as if the display is floating off the device, broken only by the black bezels of the display.

At the top you just have the IR Blaster to control house-hold appliances like your TV, AC, Set-top Box or you can use it to turn televisions off when you are at McDonald's. Moving to the right you have the metal volume-rocker and power button, both are sturdy, clicky and offer good tactile response without any irritating audible sound.

A USB Type-C port can be found at the bottom alongwith a speaker and the primary microphone. By now, you may already know that the Le 2 and Le Max 2 don't come with a 3.5mm audio jack.  The audio is routed through the USB Type-C port with their own CDLA codec for better sound fidelity. But you don't need to worry, your standard headphones can still be used with the included Type-C to 3.5mm jack convertor.

Now, in the brief time that I spent listening to music on the device, the audio seemed crisp but I didn't have any point of reference for comparison. We would take a deeper look at CDLA and its benefits when the Le 2 arrives in our Labs for review. There's just one thing here though, while listening to music over headphones I would not be able to charge my phone, atleast not without a specific dongle built for that very purpose.

Moving to the back, LeEco has also upgraded the cameras on the Le 2. You now have a f/2.0 rear camera which did take good images even though we were in artificial light. The front-camera looked equally impressive and the shots camera out well lit with good detail. You will also find a fingerprint sensor just below the camera module, which worked fast in our testing.

Overall the phone feels good to hold in hand and even with a 5.5-inch display it doesn't feel very hefty. The back is slightly rounded at the sides and coupled with the chamfered metal frame they make the device easier to grip.

Display

You have a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS display which is both bright and vibrant. Colors looked accurate and viewing angles were wide. The display has some scratch resistance, but I can't confirm whether its Gorilla Glass or an in-house solution.

Icons and text also looked sharp here and the touch response was excellent. Even the display on the Le 1s was good, apart from a slight reddish tint on it, that's not visible on the Le 2 though.

Software

The Le 2 is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow based EUI 5.8 which is both fluid and seems well thought off. You still have a separate notifications panel and app-switcher with quick toggles. Marshmallow hasn't brought any noticeable changes to the overall UI of the device but now there is support for some Indian languages and the company is working on bringing more region specific features including themes.

Under the hood improvements to performance and battery-life should give customers more incentive to buy this phone. Then you also have free streaming LiveTV bundled for a year, over 2000 movies for free to watch from Eros Now using the LeVidi app. The company will also add free music streaming through Hungama sometime later this year along with 5TB free storage on Le Drive. All this part of the LeEco Membership which they introduced with the Le 1s Eco. You will get 1 year subscription for free with the Le 2 which is worth Rs. 4900.

Storage

LeEco has brought the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant of the Le 2 to India. Out of the 32GB non-expandable storage you will get about 24GB when you get the device, which in my opinion is plenty especially when you have USB OTG support available as well. But the USB Type-C port does add a bit of a complication in that process.

Nevertheless, dual USB Type-C flash drives have started to come to the market.

First Impressions

Now, in terms of specs the Le 2 looks unbeatable. The company has beaten Xiaomi in its own game of providing the most feature-rich smartphone in this price bracket. To say, that the LeEco Le 2 has a solid chance of dethroning the current king of the segment would be an understatement.

But specs are not all that matters. LeEco has also built a very sturdy device, which feels good to hold in hand and use. The UI is fluid, display bright and cameras look impressive. With the right fit of specs, pricing and user experience, we may just have a hit on our hands with the Le 2.

As with all smartphones though, there is a lot to test and see, so do stay tuned for our full review of the LeEco Le 2.

LeEco Le 2 (Snapdragon) Specs and Photos