LeEco (originally called LeTV) was founded in China in 2004 and has been manufacturing various electronic devices - from all kinds of mobile gadgets to electric cars. Following the merger with Coolpad, a major Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, LeEco Corporation has mastered the release of smartphones running the Android operating system.
The article will discuss one of the company's latest smartphones, a competitor to Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 - the LeTV LeeCo Cool 1 phone. Reviews about the device are mostly positive. The device is a vivid example of the ideal ratio of "price-quality". So let's get started!
Unpacking your LeEco Cool 1 smartphone: what's in the box?
The hero of our review comes in a nice white cardboard box of small dimensions. On the packaging lid you can find the name of the device model, at the bottom there is information on the technical plan and the main characteristics of the smartphone.
The delivery set is modest, it includes the following components:
- smartphone;
- power adapter;
- USB Type-C cord;
- clip for opening the SIM tray;
- warranty card;
- User's Manual.
The package bundle is poor, but this is not surprising: most modern manufacturers of mobile gadgets offer the buyer exactly the same Spartan kit.
Appearance: met by clothes
Users in their reviews of LeEco Cool 1 praise the device primarily for its attractive design.
The smartphone received a metal case, only the upper and lower ends are closed with plastic inserts that ensure the operation of the gadget's antennas.
The side frames of the display on the front panel of the device are painted black, only above the screen and below it there are areas painted in the color of the rest of the case. Such a design decision is misleading regarding the scope of the screen. While it is turned off, it seems that these same side frames are missing and the display occupies the entire width of the front panel of the device. But it’s worth turning on the screen backlight and the fairy tale ends: there are frames, they are quite wide and in black do not look very presentable.
Above the display is a standard set of sensors, a speaker, a frontal optical module and a notification LED. Under the screen are touch control buttons, when the backlight is off, they are not visible.
The entire front panel is covered with a protective glass Gorilla Glass third class.
The back of the smartphone is rounded off at the ends of LeEco Cool 1. According to reviews, this provides a comfortable hand grip. At the top edge, in the center, there is a noise reduction microphone, below, in a single line, a dual module of the main camera, a fingerprint sensor with a mirror surface (convenient for selfies), and, at the bottom edge of the back panel, the Coolpad logo are lined up. To the right of the camera is a two-color LED flash.
On the left side of the smartphone is a pull-out tray for SIM cards, on the right - the power button and a double key to adjust the volume level.
An audio jack and an infrared port for controlling consumer electronics are placed on the upper edge. On the bottom are the USB Type-C port, the main speaker of the device and the earpiece microphone.
The dimensions of the smartphone are as follows: length - 152 mm, width - 74.8 mm, thickness - 8.2 mm. The device weighs 167 grams.
Display and its properties
The display on the smartphone LeEco Cool 1, according to owners, is excellent. Its diagonal is 5.5 inches, it is built on an IPS matrix, resolution is 1080 x 1920 pixels, which corresponds to FullHD.
The color rendering of the screen is excellent, you can adjust it manually by choosing one of the four proposed modes. There is no air gap between the screen and the glass, which increases the clarity and contrast of the image, there is an oleophobic coating.
The screen supports multi-touch, allowing you to handle up to ten simultaneous touches of the sensor.
The viewing angles are maximum, the colors are not inverted and do not fade with any tilt of the device screen.
Sound component
The head speaker of the smartphone produces a loud and fairly clear sound. Of course, the frequency range is incomplete, there is not enough bass, but quality is enough for listening to music and watching videos by a small company.
The call is loud, it will be difficult to miss it.
The quality of the conversational speaker LeEco Cool 1, according to reviews, is excellent, the interlocutor is well audible, the voice is not distorted, there are no metallic notes.
Using good headphones when listening to music dramatically changes the attitude to the sound part of the device. In the "ears" the sound is clear, both the top and the bottom are fully issued, the vast majority of users will satisfy the quality, except for those who have absolute hearing.
Software, hardware and performance
The device runs on a bundle of the Android 6 operating system and the EUI proprietary shell. “Own” firmware changes the appearance of the system interface and adds many useful functions. The disadvantages include the difficulty in mastering the shell after working with the usual “Android” and the very weak localization of the Russian-language version (about 30% of the menu items are not translated from English).
The heart of the technical stuffing of the device is the eight-core Qualcomm Shapdragon 652 processor with a core frequency of up to 1800 MHz. The graphics chip is Adreno 510, operating at a frequency of 650 MHz.
The amount of RAM is 3 GB, the size of the internal drive is 32 GB. There is a version with 4 GB of “RAM” and an internal disk capacity of 64 GB. The smartphone version LeEco Cool 1 3/32, according to reviews, will satisfy the needs of most users. The rest can take the "older" version of the device. The choice of the required amount of internal memory must be approached wisely, because the device does not support the use of micro-SD memory cards.
In the AnTuTu synthetic test, the smartphone scored a decent 82 out of 100 points. Thanks to the impressive amount of RAM, the firmware interface works quickly and smoothly, no braking was noticed.
As for gaming applications, then the hero of the LeEco Coolpad Cool 1 review, according to reviews, everything is in order. On a smartphone, you can safely play Asphalt 8 or Mortal Combat X at the maximum graphics settings. Even when playing in WOT Blitz there was no braking, except that there was a twitching of the picture in especially intense battles.
Camera: stop, a moment!
The head optical module of the device consists of two matrices with a resolution of 13 megapixels each. In fact, only one camera shoots, the second helps it when working in difficult lighting conditions and to create the effect of blurring the background when photographing in portrait mode. It is possible to manually configure the basic parameters of photographing.
The quality of LeEco Cool 1 images, according to many smartphone owners, is the best in its class. A direct competitor, Redmi Note 4X, with one main camera, cannot boast the same quality of shooting in low light. And in the light of day, LeEco shoots better. And color reproduction at a high level.
The main camera can also shoot video in 4K resolution.
The front camera of the device has a matrix resolution of 8 megapixels and copes well with the main function: shooting yourself as a loved one. Also able to shoot video in FullHD resolution.
Wireless interfaces, navigation, communication
The smartphone has a standard set of wireless interfaces: Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, operating in two frequency bands. I am glad that there is an infrared port, which, with a proprietary application, allows you to turn your smartphone into a universal remote control for any household appliances. The phone did not receive the NFC contactless payment module.
Navigation is carried out by GLONASS, GPS and Beidou satellite systems. A cold start is quick, the first satellites are in seconds. The connection is stable, in motion, communication with satellites does not disappear.
The phone can work with two nano-SIM cards. There is only one radio module in the gadget, so the SIM cards function in turn: when one is involved in the conversation, the second becomes inaccessible. The quality of communication claims did not arise. LeEco Cool 1 supports 4G (LTE) networks.
Battery and autonomy
The smartphone has at its disposal a battery with an impressive capacity of 4060 mAh. With an average load of the battery, it will be enough for two days without problems, but if you strain yourself, you can squeeze out the device and three days of work without an outlet.
The power adapter has an output current of 2 amperes, which allows you to fully charge the battery in two and a half hours.
Conclusion
LeEco Corporation managed to release an excellent smartphone. Of course, the device does not claim to be the flagship or the title of an image device, but the reviews for LeEco Cool 1, the characteristics and price of the gadget speak for themselves. At the moment, the smartphone has no competitors among Chinese counterparts in this price category (10-12 thousand Russian rubles). Yes, the device has some drawbacks like ill-conceived design elements or the lack of the possibility of expanding the memory capacity with micro-SD cards, but you can close your eyes to these points.