Thanks to Letv for inviting me to Beijing, China, for the launch of their new mobile phones along with other Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India media. This is the first time Letv is venturing into the smart phone market.
For the unaware, Letv was founded in 2004 by Jia Yueting (net worth US$3.7 billion) and is one of China’s biggest and fastest growing Internet companies. The company employs more than 5,000 people and is listed on the Growth Enterprise Market in China with a market capitalization of more than US$12 billion (Source: Wikipedia).
Letv delivers world-class content and experiences across platforms, smart devices and applications – including all six screens: mobile, tablet, TV, cinema, computer and electric car. Letv is powered by the “Letv Ecosystem,” a next generation Internet engine that is vertically integrated to offer an online platform completed with content, devices and applications. Letv Group is engaged in a rich array of businesses, spanning from Internet TV, video production and distribution, smart gadgets and large screen applications to e-commerce and Internet linked super electric cars, which were announced in late 2014.
Letv announces three phones during the launch event on 14th April 2015, Le 1, Le 1 Pro and Le Max.
Design
The Le 1 is the lower end phone running on MediaTek processor with a plastic back. It is only available in silver.
Le 1 Pro is the elder brother of Le 1 running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and the whole phone is made up of aluminium. It comes with 4GB of RAM. Le 1 Pro is available in both silver and gold.
Le Max is the phablet version of Le 1 Pro, it has a screen size of 6.33″ with a resolution of 2560×1440 (same as Le 1 Pro) and it comes with a fingerprint sensor at the back of the phone. Le Max is available in both silver and gold as well.
The Le 1, Le 1 Pro is almost bezel-less through it their press release, they claim it to be bezel free. When the phone is switched off, it looks bezel-less but when the phone is switched on, there is still some bezel around the display area. For the Le Max, it has a 1.5 mm bezel.
When I first saw the phones, it looks like a mashup of HTC and iPhone. When you look at the back of the phones, the top portion resembles HTC and the bottom portion resembles iPhone 6/6 Plus.
The Le 1, Le 1 Pro & Le Max are the first three smart phones in the world to use the USB Type-C port. The first tablet to use the USB Type-C port is the Nokia N1 Android Tablet and the first laptop to use the USB Type-C port is the new Apple MacBook.
Pricing
The price of the Le 1, Le 1 Pro & Le Max is the one that makes it special. It is the first time that a smart phone company sells a product based on Bill of materials (BoM). That means that they just sell you almost at cost price or rather the price that the company pay to buy the materials to make the phone. Letv will share the costs of the materials used to built their phones on their website soon.
The Le 1 retails for CN¥1,499 (S$328) for the 16GB, CN¥1599 (S$350) for the 32GB and CN¥1,799 (S$394) for 64GB.
The Le 1 Pro retails for CN¥2,499 (S$547) for the 32GB and CN¥2,699 (S$590) for the 64GB.
For the Le Max, the price is not set yet because they are letting their users set the price based on the publicized BOM cost at a later date.
Personally, I think Letv can set the price based on BoM because they make most of their money from their content and not their hardware.
Availability
The initial 200,000 phones will be available for reservations from 5th May 2015 in China and they will get to purchase it on 19th May 2015.
The phones will definitely come to Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India, but there is no date set yet.
Le 1 Specifications
- OS: Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
- Processor: MediaTek (MTK 6795) 64-bit True Octa-core Processor (2GHz)
- RAM: 3GB
- Storage: 16GB, 32GB or 64GB
- Display: Made by Sharp, 5.5″ Full HD (1920×1080) (400ppi)
- Camera (Rear): Sony BSI sensor 13MP, F2.0
- Camera (Front): 5MP
- Dimensions: 147.8 x 74.2 x 9.5mm
- Weight: 170g
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- SIM: Dual SIM Dual LTE
- Connectivity: WLAN: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS with A-GPS
Le 1 Pro Specifications
- OS: Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
- Processor: Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit Octa-core Processor (2GHz)
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 32GB or 64GB
- Display: Made by Sharp, 5.5″ Full HD (2560×1440) (534ppi)
- Camera (Rear): Sony BSI sensor 13MP, F2.0
- Camera (Front): 4MP
- Dimensions: 147.9 x 73.5 x 9.6mm
- Weight: 177g
- Battery: 3,000mAh
- SIM: Dual SIM Dual LTE
- Connectivity: WLAN: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS with A-GPS
Le Max Specifications
- OS: Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
- Processor: Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit Octa-core Processor (2GHz)
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 32GB or 64GB
- Display: Made by Sharp, 6.33″ Full HD (2560×1440) (464ppi)
- Camera (Rear): Sony BSI sensor 21MP, F2.0
- Camera (Front): 4MP
- Dimensions: 167.1x 83.5 x 8.95mm
- Weight: 180g
- Battery: 3,400mAh
- SIM: Dual SIM Dual LTE
- Finger Print Sensor: Yes
- Connectivity: WLAN: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS with A-GPS
Looking very good I must say. Thanks for the post Lester. Do you reckon it’s on par/better than the xiaomi counterparts?
In terms of Xiaomi phone in Singapore, the Le specs are better. The on-par specs Xiaomi (Xiaomi Mi Note and Mi Note Pro) are not here in SG despite launching it in January.
What makes Letv phones better are the content but I am not sure what strategy they have outside of China
Nice writeup, Lester. The photos look good as well. I’m from Europe and also very interested in especially the Le Max. Is there any information regarding Europe? I guess it would be pointless, as a European, to buy a Chinese version of this phone as there wouldn’t be any Google Services (?) and probably filled with LeTV streaming apps (the money maker)…
I read something about an international version, but god knows when that will be released. These phones are relevant now, but months from now, I doubt it. In my personal perfect world I’d be able to buy these phones on contract in Europe.
Hey Gideon,
I don’t think it will come to Europe. If it does, I am guessing it will be after the Asia market (Singapore, India, Indonesia and Hong Kong) and by the time, I think there will be a more powerful phones out there.
Wait a sec…… Does the Le Max have the Finger Scanner or the Le Pro??? U wrote that the Le pro has it but there is no sensor!
Ops that is a mistake. The Le Max has a fingerprint sensor. I have updated the article.
Thanks for the reply, Lester. Not very interesting for Europe then. I don’t know anyone who’d want to put 450 Euro’s on the table just like that for a phone brand that hasn’t proven itself yet. Imo, LeTV hasn’t carefully planned this. It would have been better if they’d laid the foundation prior all the big talk. People all over the world want their ‘superphones’ now, not wait months and months for an international version. I will probably go with either the p8max or the Mediapad x2 instead then.
Yea I guess they have no idea what to do outside of China and probably they are testing it with Asia first before going to US or Europe.
Good job on the Write up Lester. Came here looking exactly for this!!! I am impressed with this phone and it seems that it may be able to go head to head with the rest. I reckon it will come to Singapore quietly. The Le Max looks very interesting. Like a iPhone 6+, HTC mixup with huawei’s finger scanner on the back. Just want to clarify, will the software be able to translate to english? If not then I would turn to the Huawei P8 Max, but just want to know.
Anyway, hope this phone turns up in SG major carriers, it will be nice to see! USB type C tho…..Nice job Lester!!
Hey,
I think when it comes to Singapore, it will have English. But I doubt it will tie up with telcos to sell it. It will probably be a flash sales type of thing like Xiaomi because that is what they are doing in China.
Ya, That is probably true. But I can still have hope…..
Does anyone know a legit website where I can buy the Le 1 max from? – I’d like to ship it to the UK and would the default language be set to english?
looking for one myself. aliexpress has sellers but none in stock.
look at oppo mart
wow, Letv 1s has the antutu score up to 45623 scores, i saw Geekbuying starts to sell it at $242.49. When will you make the nice review about Letv 1s, ?
Good smartphone, the Screen looks very cool
But price may be a little high, same specs, like xiaomi maybe cheaper, also , the latest Bluboo Xtouch is also very cheap only $99 to $149
please, where i can find the guide ( the manual) of Letv x600 ? Thanks