LeEco made a lot of hype in India earlier this year with it’s budget smartphone lineup. The company is back with the next generation of their flagship offering to compete with the more popular smartphone manufacturers.
LeEco Le Max 2 follows the same high end specs at a low price formula giving a direct competition to OnePlus 3 and the Xiaomi Mi 5, both of which are amazing devices.
Specifications
- 2.15GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 820 Processor
- 4GB RAM + 32GB ROM / 6GB RAM + 64GB ROM
- 5.7 Inch QHD Display
- Dual Nano SIM
- 21 MP Rear Camera With LED Flash
- 8MP Front-Facing Camera
- 4G LTE
- Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth
- USB Type C
- Fingerprint Sensor
- 3100 MAh Battery
Design
The design has improved a lot when compared to it’s predecessor. The Le Max was a huge disappointment in terms of design and aesthetics. Unlike the Le Max, the Le Max 2 feels more like a smartphone and less like a tablet.
The device although heavy, is much more ergonomic now with a smaller display and slightly chamfered edges. To be clear, this is in no way as ergonomic as a OnePlus 3, but it’s usable.
The front part of the device has got the resemblance to its previous edition. The rest of the body is redesigned and holds a premium look to it. Like the earlier launches, it appears as if the device is not having any bezels around the display. However, this is not the case as it has black colored bezels.
The unibody aluminium feels really solid, and there’s no misalignment on the speaker grilles and other ports. One thing worth noting, though, is that the LeEco Le Max 2 is basically a larger version of the Le 2.
Display
The 5.7-inch Quad HD panel with pixel density of 515.3 ppi excels in sharpness and colors. The blacks are deep, and viewing angles are great. The lack of Gorilla Glass is a bit of a downside as the touch becomes a little sticky and it also makes a little compromise to the strength of the glass. It’s also not the brightest display around, with what seems like about 450nit maximum brightness. This is fine indoors, but sunlight visibility isn’t the best.
The glass is 2.5D and has a slight curve at the edges but it doesn’t add anything to the display or viewing experience. Overall there sure are better displays in the market but this seems to do the work if your main focus is on indoor use.
Camera
The camera works surprisingly well for the price segment. The Le Max 2 can take great shots under good outdoor lighting conditions and under well lit indoor conditions. The low light shots do have some noise to them, that’s expected though but the shots are still decent enough to be used and the colors don’t distort as much. The Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and autofocus lock, makes taking snaps and videos very easy. The device supports 4K video recording.
That’s all the goodness you get with it but to it’s downside, the focus capability isn’t all that great on Le Max 2. You can miss a few candid shots with the slow focus but that’s still managable. When it comes to videogarphy the lack of focus does seem to affect your experience to a large extent, the camera may take a few seconds to focus on an object while a video is being shot and in some case it may take even longer or might not focus at all.
Battery
The 3100 mAh battery performance isn’t the the worst but it could have been improved. This has been a trend in the recent smartphones that they go for a slimmer profile and are forced to fit in a smaller battery which also leaves us with a camera hump as well as things like missing headphone jacks. It will last you a day with moderate or low usage but you will find yourself looking for a charger by the end of the day if you switch to an intense usage.
Le Max 2 does include Qualcomm 2.0 Quick charge.
Software
Like all LeEco devices, the LeEco Le Max 2 also features a similar custom skin. The latest version of the software is called the EUI 5.6 and is based off Android v6.0. All features of Marshmallow are available on the device, along with some tasteful additions.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Good build quality.
- All-round performance.
- High-fidelity audio via USB.
- Camera performance.
Cons
- Heavy and a bit difficult to handle.
- No NFC or FM radio.
- No expandable storage.
The Verdict
The Le Max 2 is a powerful smartphone, and it’s every bit the value-for-money device that we’re used to seeing today. It goes up against the toughest competition out there, and though we can’t call it the best, it’s definitely worth buying. Overall the device is a great performer. So, if you are able to cope with the cons that we mentioned above and are ready to go through the cumbersome flash sales, we would definitely recommend the device.
Price and Availability of LeEco Le Max 2 in India
LeEco Le Max 2 will be exclusively sold at Flipkart via flash sales. Buy Le Max 2 via Paisawapas and get extra rewards!
