LeEco, Chinese tech giant getting too ambitious?

LeEco might not be a familiar name in the tech realm, but this company is surely hellbent on stepping into the scene to challenge the established brands on innovation, quality and affordability.

In a keynote event held on October 19 in the US, the company unveiled a number of smartphones, televisions as well as a bicycle that runs Android and an electric, self driving car. Intros aside, let’s jump into the details.

LeEco Le S3

An upper midrange smartphone with a 5.5 inch FHD display, a 16MP rear camera capable of taking 4k UHD video and an 8MP camera in charge of selfies, 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage with no SD card slot.

It features also a fingerprint scanner, a USB Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, Snapdragon 652 processor and a 3000mAh battery.

Like the iPhone 7 it comes with no 3.5mm headphone jack, which for me would be a complete deal breaker but they incorporated something they call ‘Continual Digital Lossless Audio (CDLA)’ which is an audio chip integrated in their headsets that they claim provides high resolution lossless audio output via the USB Type-C port. Some form of consolation maybe for depriving us of the long serving headphone jack.

LeEco Le Pro 3

The most powerful of their smartphone range comes in 2 variants, a 4GB RAM/32 or 64GB version and a 6GB RAM/64 or 128GB version with no SD card slot as well.

It also packs a top of the line Snapdragon 821 chipset as well as an above average 4070mAh battery. No headphone jack here as well but you get the same audio witchcraft from the Le S3 with an addition of stereo speakers. I wonder if it won’t be an  issue that they are located at the bottom of the phone which I foresee affecting the stereo output in landscape mode.

Display is a 5.5 inch FHD panel, that I feel is not flagship worthy in terms of sharpness when other manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, ZTE and Motorola have moved to QHD panels.

Fingerprint scanner is also present as well as NFC. Camera department features a 16MP rear/8MP front combo with the rear camera capable of capturing video in crystal clear 4K.

Fancy life on the big screen, LeEco also launched 4 new 4K UHD smart televisions that include 43 inch, 55 inch and 65 inch version

These feature Harman Kardon speakers, built in Dolby Digital Plus, 32GB storage, 3GB RAM, optical audio out and HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the most realistic looking images.

The 4th is a massive 85 inch UHD tv with all the above features but differs on memory options with RAM up to 4GB and internal storage up to 64GB.

Fancy a bicycle running Android? LeEco has you covered as well with its Le Syvrac. It is a 30 gear mountain bike with a 4 inch android smartphone embedded in it.

The smartphone is capable of making and receiving calls, GPS positioning, playing music and monitors your vitals using heart rate sensors integrated in the handlebars.

It also features a headlight automatically activated by an ambient light sensor (or manually at will via dedicated button), turn signals placed at the ends of the handlebars, a camera for taking pictures or video of the bike ride, laser beams that beam red lines on the road surface along the bike marking the safe distance that a car can pass the rider.

It also features a button for fully locking it up which acts as a parking brake and anti theft system.

Last but not least they have an electric self driving car dubbed the LeSEE. A rival of the American Tesla, the LeSEE is an autonomous sedan with a planet of features. It is fully electric and makes use of inductive charging to top up the battery. It has no bonnet or boot but rather some retractable storage spaces located between the taillights and headlights respectively.

It is a pretty good looking car though it is still a concept and there are no details yet of range as well as availability.

Some pretty bold moves from this Chinese tech giant throwing punches at Smartphone, vehicle, home entertainment and bicycle manufacturing veterans in the business.