LeEco Le Pro line has been quite successful as these phones bring a lot of value for the price. The Le Pro 3 is the newest model that brings all the latest specs and premium design for the price of just below $290. Is it any good? My name is Linus, you are watching Gizmochina, stay tuned for a full review.
Thanks to Oppomart for sending LeEco Le Pro 3 for a review.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: VIDEO REVIEW
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: UNBOXING
The phone comes in quite a premium box, where you can find all the usual items and some extras include a nice soft TPU case and the USB-C to 3.5mm headphone adapter since the phone does not have the headset jack.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: SPECS
Display |
5.5″ 1080p LCD (~403 ppi pixel density) |
Processor and GPU |
Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821, Quad-core (2×2.35 GHz Kryo & 2×1.6 GHz Kryo), Adreno 530 GPU |
RAM |
4GB |
Camera |
8MP Front/Dual 16MP Back |
Connectivity |
Bluetooth, 3G, 4G, GPS, WIFI, GSM,EDGE, GPRS, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, dual-SIM. |
Battery |
4.070 mAh (non-removable) |
Dimensions |
151.4 x 73.9 x 7.5 mm / 175g |
OS |
eUI 5.8 (Android 6.0) |
Storage |
32GB (not expandable) |
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY
The Le Pro 3 continues a familiar design language we’ve seen on previous LeEco models.
It is made entirely of metal and it sits comfortably in the hand. What is nice about this phone is that it has a relatively sleek profile despite the fact that it has a beefy 4070mAh battery.
We have a 5.5” 1080p display. Sure, some may say it is a downgrade from the 2k resolution panel but the display is still plenty sharp, bright and vibrant. However, the direct sunlight legibility could be slightly better.
We have an 8MP selfie shooter along with the notification LED light and nicely backlit capacitive buttons.
When it comes to optics, there is a 16MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture and a dual tone dual-LED flash. However, the camera lacks OIS.
The fingerprint sensors have been great on all the LeEco phones and the Le Pro 3 is no exception. The scanner is fast, accurate and it allows you unlock the phone straight from the standby mode.
The buttons are nice and tactile, and they do not rattle.
We have the IR blaster to control devices like TVs but gone is the headset jack, so you would need to use the included adapter or Bluetooth earphones. On the other hand, the sound quality via the USB-C port is very good.
As for loudspeaker, it is definitely one of the better ones you can find in this price range of phones.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE
When it comes to hardware, the LeEco Le Pro 3 is yet another powerhouse that sports the newest Snapdragon 821 chip.
My review unit comes with 4GB of RAM and just 32GB of non-expandable storage, which is a shame for LeEco.
On the other hand, you can opt in for the top-shelf model that has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
These kind of specs allow you to play any 3D games without any issues. Also, the phone does not overheat even after extensive playing sessions.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: USER INTERFACE
I have always liked the LeEco’s eUI, which is built on top of Android 6.0.
The user interface is clean-looking and there are quite a few features to play with. One of my favorites is the multitasking window, where you can also access your quick settings toggles in one place.
Also, you can customize the phone with themes, fonts, wallpapers or use the search bar to quickly find stuff.
After using the phone for quite a bit of time, I can tell you that it is fast and fluid on the daily basis.
However, you have to know that the Chinese version comes with some bloatware, there is the Letv services button instead of a home button, the Google services are not pre-installed and there are no multi-languages.
On the other hand, you can always throw in a third-party launcher and the Google Now launcher finally works on the eUI.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: CAMERA
As usual to the LeEco phones, you can take pictures very fast thanks to the PDAF system.
There are just some basic settings and there aren’t too many shooting modes to choose from. Most of the users may miss the pro-mode but I really miss the auto-HDR mode, which really helps in some tricky situations.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: IMAGE QUALITY
IT IS HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TO DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE QUALITY. THE PICTURES UPLOADED ON THE WEBSITE ARE 50% SMALLER IN RESOLUTION.
The daylight images taken with the Le Pro 3 look pretty sharp and detailed for a sub-$300 phone. However, most of the shots turned out to be a little underexposed and the colors seem to be over-saturated to me.
Most of the indoor pictures were taken in poor lighting and thus, there is quite a bit of noise and less detail.
The low-light camera performance is a disappointment, to be honest. There is such a low amount of detail and there is plenty of noise. I expected a lot more from the Le Pro 3 in this department.
The selfie image quality leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the pictures I took just look soft and there could be more detail.
When it comes to the 4k video quality, I would say it is above average. The footage could definitely look a little sharper. Also, I didn’t like the sound recording quality and the lack of OIS makes the video look a little shaky. See the video review for a video sample.
Download full resolution camera samples
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: CONNECTIVITY
When it comes to connectivity, the Le Pro 3 is a great performer in almost all departments.
My biggest frustration is that there is no microSD card slot as I have a version with only 32GB of storage, which is not enough for me.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: BATTERY LIFE
The phone ships with a beefy 4070mAh battery, which will let you use the phone for at least a few days, depending on your usage habits.
I could constantly get way over 6 hours of screen-on time on kind of heavy usage, which is a good result.
Also, the Le Pro 3 comes with the fast charger to make the most out of the Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 tech. I was able to fully charge the phone in just around 1 hour.
LeEco Le Pro 3 Review: CONCLUSIONS
The LeEco Le Pro 3 is a very solid phone that does not even cost $300 but it does not mean it is perfect.
The device sports a premium all-metal build, nice and sharp display, some bleeding-edge hardware components that assure a great day-to-day and gaming performance. Also, the Le Pro 3 has a great battery, a reliable and fast fingerprint reader.
However, you have to know that there is no headset jack, so would need to use the supplied adapter or Bluetooth earphones. Also, there is no microSD card slot, the user interface has some Chinese bloatware and last but not least, the low-light and the selfie camera performance is poor.
At the end of the day, the LeEco Le Pro 3 is still a solid phone for the price but you have to consider if the previously mentioned shortcomings are important to you or not.
