China’s Letv started making headlines in India back in April 2015, and less than a year later, the company has arrived here to compete in the gruelling smartphone race. Originally one of the largest online video companies in China, Letv has added a couple of ’firsts’ to its name within a short span. Its Le Max Pro is the world’s first smartphone with Qualcomm’s highly anticipated Snapdragon 820 SoC, and the company also had the world’s slimmest 65-inch TV to its credit this CES, with a depth of just 3.9mm thick. Other than phones and televisions, the company has a diverse range of products too, which it plans to launch in India over time.
Look and feel
If you love big screens, then the Le Max is right up your alley. The display measures a colossal 6.3 inches diagonally. It’s manufactured by Sharp and has a Quad HD resolution with Gorilla Glass protection. The screen isn’t edge-to-edge but you get a sense of it being almost bezel-less when it’s off or if you have a dark wallpaper.
Specifications and software
The Le Max is packed with flagship specifications including the proven octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and 64GB of internal storage. There’s also Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, IR, GPS and USB OTG. It would have been nice to also have expandable storage, wireless charging, and FM radio.>
Performance
The Le Max is not the easiest phone to live with. It’s large, cumbersome, heavy, and not the most practical if you commute by public transport. The design isn’t exactly ground-breaking either and feels like pretty much any other unibody phablet. The aluminium back offers decent grip but tends to pick up dirt and smudges very easily, so it’s good thing the company bundles a case with it. Call quality is good and we didn’t face any issues with 4G either.
Battery
Battery life of the Le Max is good for daily usage and we found ourselves easily going an entire day before needing to charge the phone. In our video loop test, we manage to clock 11 hours and 19 minutes of continuous video playback. The phone also supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge feature which can juice up the Le Max from zero to about 25 percent in 30 minutes.