LeTV S1 unboxing and hands on, a super sexy device!


letv s1 review

Earlier today we finally received the much-anticipated Elephone P7000, now it’s time for another much talked about device, the simply sexy LeTV S1!

After seeing the LeTV S1 launched, checking out those killer specifications and seeing it sell out in a matter of seconds I’ve not really given the phone much thought. I had heard that the build and OS were good, but I didn’t realise it would all be THIS good!

Just to recap. The LeTV S1 is the entry-level LeTV phone of the 3 which were launched in April. The S1 boasts a 5.5-inch Sharp FHD display, Mediatek Helio X10 chipset, 3GB RAM, 5 mega-pixel front camera, 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 rear camera, 3000mAh battery and Android 5.0 Lollipop! All that amazing hardware sits in a glass, metal and plastic body with dual SIM tray, IR remote, USB type C, dual speakers, metal power and volume buttons and a switch for putting the phone in to silent mode.

letv s1 review

Oh, but that isn’t all! There is also MHL support, LTE, DTS HD and Dolby sound. Believe it or not all of this fits in a phone measuring 147.8 x 74.2 x 9.5mm and costs an incredible 1499 Yuan ($242)!

Not only is the hardware amazing, the build way above rival device, but the presentation of the phone is excellent too. See for yourself in the video below.

Gizchina News of the week


LeTV S1 unboxing and hands on video

LeTV S1 gallery

LeTV S1 first impressions

The LeTV has really shocked me, I was not expecting a phone this good from a company who have never made a phone before. Compare the 1499 Yuan LeTV S1 to the flagship Meizu MX4 Pro and the newcomer blows the Meizu away. There are very few phones that can touch the S1 on build, only perhaps the LeTV S1 Pro and the Mi Note.

letv s1 review

As you saw in the video the LeTV EUI is simple and uncluttered. It also lacks Gapps out of the box, but fortunately it is super easy to install Google service (although YouTube isn’t working yet) and I will post instructions how to do this soon.

This is only a first hands on and I might find issues with the phone as time goes by, but judging by what I have seen so far LeTV have the potential to make some serious waves! OnePlus and Meizu (in China at least) better watch out.

Thanks to HonorBuy for shipping the LeTV S1 out to us for review.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

Previous First: Elephone P7000 Pioneer unboxing and hands on
Next Windows 10 for Mi4 will be available from 1st June!

174 Comments

  1. Dr Solom
    May 29, 2015

    Please , where to buy from china

    • Chandra Mohan
      May 31, 2015

      Even in china, you can buy from taobao only through resellers, Letv 1 16GB available with lot of resellers—> you need to pay 1799 RMB for the 16GB model–>300 RMB reseller price!!!!, Software wise it is deeply modified version, so never expect letv will realease source code—> Therefore no custom rom

  2. Aa
    May 29, 2015

    First look: ah, small bezels – excelent!
    Second look: LoL, there are giant black bars around display when turned on.

    • Manniefred86
      May 29, 2015

      Well “Giant” might be exaggerating a bit but I see your point (especially on a white phone). I personally think though that people care way too much about the size of bezels these days.

      • Stef
        May 29, 2015

        Well try to use an iphone plus and then this phone. While they have the same screen size they’re night and day in terms of handling merely due to Apple’s giant bezels. While looks can be an acquired taste -I think- there’s no question in ragards the gain in ergonomics.

        • Manos
          May 30, 2015

          I don’t care I have a ZenFone 2 with big bezels….

          • Stef
            May 30, 2015

            Yeah, but my point is that it would had been easier to handle if it was smaller. That may not be an issue to you personally, but it’s still a well known finding ( smaller sizes collerate with ease of use).

            • Manos
              May 30, 2015

              Sure smaller it will better ease to use At the end they will make them small.

  3. Sere83
    May 29, 2015

    ahh so the OIS they said it would have was just a lie then, knew it. Looks amazing though still

    • Rob
      May 29, 2015

      I’m pretty certain that IOS is only on the 2 more expensive models

  4. mf1gt3r
    May 29, 2015

    Seriously? No OIS? It’s a shame.

  5. Tizz
    May 29, 2015

    This phone looks fucking amazing, i’m waiting for the review!

  6. SnowyCat
    May 29, 2015

    Does it have OIS like on all specsites and resellers listed?

    doest it have a notification led?
    how muchs torage is free after a fresh install?
    and if i marry you will i get the phone? just kidding 🙂

  7. meini
    May 29, 2015

    does anyone know when it will be able to purchase? and the price (242$) seems to be pretty low. unlike elephone (:P) letv was a bit hard to follow these past weeks so im not up to date… 🙂

    • Jason45
      May 29, 2015

      The price is as always only in China. You pay 40-50 USD Dollar more on international reseller websites.

  8. Stef
    May 29, 2015

    Veeery similar size to IUNI/LG phones. IMO the only size 5.5 inchers should come (everything else gets way too unruly, i.e. iphone plus).

  9. realjjj
    May 29, 2015

    Nice , too bad it doesn’t have microSD, it just makes it unusable.
    Wish they would make some tabs too, would be interesting to see what they can come up with.

  10. May 29, 2015

    Did you flash Google Apps already? 🙂

    • May 29, 2015

      Yep, Google Apps already installed and working. Same method as Xiaomi super easy

  11. bojan radovanovic
    May 29, 2015

    almost 1 cm, 5,5′ screen and still small battery!?
    why Letv, why?

  12. Parmenion
    May 29, 2015

    This phone looks really awesome but unfortunately it does not have the LTE 800 🙁

  13. yutu
    May 29, 2015

    what i read from a seller on aliexpress: original rom is chinese but sellers made a custom english rom if updated will lose english

  14. Mario
    May 29, 2015

    Hope for some talented devs who brings aosp on the letv devices! 🙂

    • david
      May 29, 2015

      Dream on… Noone wants to work on chinese closed source crappy software with 0 (zero) support. I’m dev and I prefer focusing on devices like OPO that opensource kernel and userspace

      • Manu
        May 30, 2015

        they might release the source code if the community asks enough for it or ppl like cyanogenmod write a custom kernel^^ but that´ll take a while

        • Mario
          May 30, 2015

          Yes i hope for that….. i posted on the letv fb site but no reaction yet 🙁

  15. Denny Meinel
    May 29, 2015

    Has this Phone German Language?

    • May 29, 2015

      No only English and Chinese

    • Claymore
      May 29, 2015

      No need for an even worse german translation… Plus sometimes it really looks odd, i.e. “Einstellungen” in the App Drawer where it is like “Einstellung” new line “en”. This happens all the time with various App names and really annoys me. English names do always fit one line 😉

  16. EvolvedApe
    May 29, 2015

    This looks really nice.

    The one thing that bugs a bit is the lack of symmetry in the placement of some of the ports and sensors. I guess it’s to cut manufacturing costs, but it mars an otherwise great design.

    Also, the screen colors look way off.

    Really curious how the camera performs.

    • May 29, 2015

      Camera is performing pretty well. Just posted some HDR shots taken in the rain and slow mo video on the GizChina Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gizchinatechfans/

      • amirexpressir
        May 29, 2015

        In chinese reviews,I saw lots of people were admiring the sound quality of the device which is really sth Letv must have had its attention on.
        Please, if you are able, having a comparison between letv phones in Screen quality&color production/camera/heat handling/battery with nubia z9 or the same SD810 phones are really appreciated
        I think one thing which gizchina is really unattended to,is shortcoming of comparison of real usage(not just specs) of phones….with these hands-on comparisons, it makes the best impact on customers choice.

      • G'n'T
        May 29, 2015

        Hi Andi

        Will you be posting these pictures elsewhere as well? I don’t have a facebook account. Cheers.

  17. Tyerlo
    May 29, 2015

    Can you do an unboxing video and review of the letv max? I’m interested if the fingerprint sensor work as in the huawei ascend mate 7.
    Edit: Where do you find that price for the phone, do you live in China or do you import the phones? Which sites offer that low price tag?

    • May 29, 2015

      Once it is available I’ll do my best to get one 😀

  18. Dr Solom
    May 29, 2015

    Please , where to buy from china

    • Chandra Mohan
      May 31, 2015

      Even in china, you can buy from taobao only through resellers, Letv 1 16GB available with lot of resellers—> you need to pay 1799 RMB for the 16GB model–>300 RMB reseller price!!!!, Software wise it is deeply modified version, so never expect letv will realease source code—> Therefore no custom rom

  19. Aa
    May 29, 2015

    First look: ah, small bezels – excelent!
    Second look: LoL, there are giant black bars around display when turned on.

    • Manniefred86
      May 29, 2015

      Well “Giant” might be exaggerating a bit but I see your point (especially on a white phone). I personally think though that people care way too much about the size of bezels these days.

    • Stef
      May 29, 2015

      Well try to use an iphone plus and then this phone. While they have the same screen size they’re night and day in terms of handling merely due to Apple’s giant bezels. While looks can be an acquired taste -I think- there’s no question in ragards the gain in ergonomics.

    • Manos
      May 30, 2015

      I don’t care I have a ZenFone 2 with big bezels….

    • Stef
      May 30, 2015

      Yeah, but my point is that it would had been easier to handle if it was smaller. That may not be an issue to you personally, but it’s still a well known finding ( smaller sizes collerate with ease of use).

    • Manos
      May 30, 2015

      Sure smaller it will better ease to use At the end they will make them small.

  20. Manu
    May 29, 2015

    hey andy, where did you order your s1 from if i might ask? also can you share a link/method on how you installed google apps? Thanks 😉

  21. kiki
    May 29, 2015

    I order this phone. It was one of the best for me. but, I read on they offical forum a big problem with battery, wifi, gsm… :((( im quit this order and i will see for the elephone p7000 or Elephone Vowney.

  22. Sere83
    May 29, 2015

    ahh so the OIS they said it would have was just a lie then, knew it. Looks amazing though still

    • Rob
      May 29, 2015

      I’m pretty certain that IOS is only on the 2 more expensive models

  23. mf1gt3r
    May 29, 2015

    Seriously? No OIS? It’s a shame.

  24. Tizz
    May 29, 2015

    This phone looks fucking amazing, i’m waiting for the review!

  25. justarandomperson
    May 29, 2015

    That looks actually quite promising except of course the lack of FDD 20. Hmm. I’m currently trying to decide between this and the Xiaomi Mi Note (I know weird choices …)

    @Gizchina:disqus Off topic, do you have plans to publish a full review of the Mi note?

  26. SnowyCat
    May 29, 2015

    Does it have OIS like on all specsites and resellers listed?

    doest it have a notification led?
    how muchs torage is free after a fresh install?
    and if i marry you will i get the phone? just kidding 🙂

  27. Guest
    May 29, 2015

    does anyone know when it will be able to purchase? and the price (242$) seems to be pretty low. unlike elephone (:P) letv was a bit hard to follow these past weeks so im not up to date… 🙂

    • Jason45
      May 29, 2015

      The price is as always only in China. You pay 40-50 USD Dollar more on international reseller websites.

  28. May 29, 2015

    non removable battery = big fail.
    that according to devicespecifications website.

    • Yeti hand
      June 2, 2015

      why?

      • June 2, 2015

        wow, seriously?… you cannot think of any reasons???
        1) Batter goes bad and you need to replace it. Ie, fixed batter could shorten device lifespan.
        2) You want to bring an extra battery or two on a trip for extended use
        3) after market has higher capacity battery that you want to use instead of the factory one.

        • Yeti hand
          June 2, 2015

          You serious? By the time the battery goes bad your phone is obsolete and you’re going to buy another one.
          a fixed battery lifespan is 2 year at least!!

          • July 15, 2015

            I had my last phone for 7 years! Obsolete is subjective.

            • Yeti hand
              July 15, 2015

              Nope not subjective at all!!! it means there are others products that blow your phone out the windows without having to sell an organ to get it!!
              Now if you’re satisfied with your old phone it’s up to you. last time I checked obsolete products are stil usable!!! They just can’ compete with the current generation.

            • August 5, 2015

              The want or need to replace something that is “obsolete” yet still usable is particular to an individual – that is the very definition of the word “subjective”.

              You want to play the game of competition, fine it’s your money and the electronic companies love that you are so easily manipulated. Do you also upgrade your car every 2 years to “compete” with the cars everyone else has? And your house? And everything else you own? Why are phones any different? To me they are not.

            • Yeti hand
              August 5, 2015

              Are you comparing cars and always evolving products with a short lifespan?
              Bad example. A car is made to last WAYYY longer than any smartphone and the evolution of the engine is not significative. A car from the 2000s which has been well maintained still holds its value cars from the 2010s have NOTHING on it, what about a smartphone from the 2000s now?? hu??
              Every 2 years the hardware and software take a huge leap that makes the old generation looks like bad cartoon.
              Stop that!! A non removable battery is NOT a bad thing!! in 2017 cheap phones that make this look like shit will be ALL OVER THE PLACE.
              Who would decide to keep its old product when the new one will be head and shoulder above this for like 150 dollars ? Beside people with emotional attachement of course!!!

            • August 6, 2015

              If that were true, no phones would have removable batteries yet some of the best selling phones do-have… LG G4, Samsung Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 4, as well as many models from Xiaomi, Huawei, and tons of other cheap Chinese brands. You are clearly wrong.

            • Yeti hand
              August 6, 2015

              oh come on, aren’t you tired? Get your removable battery phone and leave me alone. Btw what you said is just as silly as your whole justification. So why are there non removable phone out there then?
              pffff stop that I’m starting to wonder if you even think before you speak

            • August 7, 2015

              How old are you, like 15? You really are not very bright if you cannot think of why they would make phones with fixed batteries. Because they want to make SURE your phone cannot be used more than 2-3 years. This is probably because most of the phones are bought in tandem with a contract from a carrier (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) who have 2 year contracts. There is a reason, whatever it is, you can be sure it’s purpose is to extract MORE MONEY from consumers. Please go read a book on logic and then come back and tell me what a phone USER gains by gluing a battery into a phone versus not using the glue. Then think about what the phone companies gain by using the glue. doh!

            • Yeti hand
              August 7, 2015

              29 here not sure if you’re serious about asking my age cuz I don’t think you realize how silly and childish your arguments sounded!
              Seriously you bring the ‘a lot mean right’?? Ok how about this brad, a lot of people eat at mc donald that must mean mc donald food is the way to go right?? Catch my drift here??
              To answer your SILLY question a lot of brands use removable AND not removabe batteries to give us CHOICE, I actually can’t believe I answered you on more time…
              You don’t want a non removable battery cool!! In 3 years YOU WON’t be using the smartphone with that so precious “removable battery” nor would someone using a non removable battery
              btw the more I read what you say the more I realize how useless it is to talk with you. DID YOU SERIOUSLY bring “contract” on gizchina?? The website about chinese cheap phones for people who don’t want contract??
              MY GOD THINK before you speak it’s getting ANNOYING!!

            • August 8, 2015

              If you knew that CHOICE was the reason, then you should have not asked “Why?” that started this useless thread. My CHOICE… and millions of other people… is to have a removable battery. And my OPINION is that any phone which does not, is a bad design for the user. That’s was MY opinion I expressed at the start, and none of your illogical and misdirection blather is going to change that. So go TROLL somewhere else you dolt! I’m done with you.

            • Yeti hand
              August 8, 2015

              hey hey did I ever question your choice? Maybe you missed the part where I said “GET YOUR REMOVABLE BATTERY AND LEAVE ME ALONE” You said a non removable battery was bad for wrong reasons like you were the center of the universe and every words you said were to applied to everybody, I proved you wrong now suddenly it’s a question of choice and NOW those reasons only work for you?? Why did you involve others people mentioning cars,contrats and all then hu?….. Can’t even make sense but try to act smart…
              BUZZ OFF
              Next time try using the “troll” expression against someone with a lesser iq than you but IMO it’s going to be hard….

  29. SPLEND1D
    May 29, 2015

    I am going for this one!

  30. Uzeir Mansuri
    May 29, 2015

    well. i cant see $242 anywhere at honorbuy 🙁

    • jalebi Singh
      May 29, 2015

      try oppomart

      • Jay
        June 2, 2015

        Oppomart is selling it at $299!

    • Jay
      June 2, 2015

      +1

      $299 is the lowest one can find.

      @Gizchina:disqus, could you help us with a store that offers the phone at $242?

  31. Stef
    May 29, 2015

    Veeery similar size to IUNI/LG phones. IMO the only size 5.5 inchers should come (everything else gets way too unruly, i.e. iphone plus).

  32. realjjj
    May 29, 2015

    Nice , too bad it doesn’t have microSD, it just makes it unusable.
    Wish they would make some tabs too, would be interesting to see what they can come up with.

  33. Kristián Hrušovský
    May 29, 2015

    Did you flash Google Apps already? 🙂

    • Andi Sykes
      May 29, 2015

      Yep, Google Apps already installed and working. Same method as Xiaomi super easy

  34. bojan radovanovic
    May 29, 2015

    almost 1 cm, 5,5′ screen and still small battery!?
    why Letv, why?

  35. Parmenion
    May 29, 2015

    This phone looks really awesome but unfortunately it does not have the LTE 800 🙁

  36. Guest
    May 29, 2015

    what i read from a seller on aliexpress: original rom is chinese but sellers made a custom english rom if updated will lose english

  37. Mario
    May 29, 2015

    Hope for some talented devs who brings aosp on the letv devices! 🙂

    • Guest
      May 29, 2015

      Dream on… Noone wants to work on chinese closed source crappy software with 0 (zero) support. I’m dev and I prefer focusing on devices like OPO that opensource kernel and userspace

    • Frozzem
      May 30, 2015

      they might release the source code if the community asks enough for it or ppl like cyanogenmod write a custom kernel^^ but that´ll take a while

    • Mario
      May 30, 2015

      Yes i hope for that….. i posted on the letv fb site but no reaction yet 🙁

  38. Denny Meinel
    May 29, 2015

    Has this Phone German Language?

    • Andi Sykes
      May 29, 2015

      No only English and Chinese

    • Guest
      May 29, 2015

      No need for an even worse german translation… Plus sometimes it really looks odd, i.e. “Einstellungen” in the App Drawer where it is like “Einstellung” new line “en”. This happens all the time with various App names and really annoys me. English names do always fit one line 😉

  39. EvolvedApe
    May 29, 2015

    This looks really nice.

    The one thing that bugs a bit is the lack of symmetry in the placement of some of the ports and sensors. I guess it’s to cut manufacturing costs, but it mars an otherwise great design.

    Also, the screen colors look way off.

    Really curious how the camera performs.

    • Andi Sykes
      May 29, 2015

      Camera is performing pretty well. Just posted some HDR shots taken in the rain and slow mo video on the GizChina Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gizchinatechfans/

    • amirexpressir
      May 29, 2015

      In chinese reviews,I saw lots of people were admiring the sound quality of the device which is really sth Letv must have had its attention on.
      Please, if you are able, having a comparison between letv phones in Screen quality&color production/camera/heat handling/battery with nubia z9 or the same SD810 phones are really appreciated
      I think one thing which gizchina is really unattended to,is shortcoming of comparison of real usage(not just specs) of phones….with these hands-on comparisons, it makes the best impact on customers choice.

    • G'n'T
      May 30, 2015

      Hi Andi

      Will you be posting these pictures elsewhere as well? I don’t have a facebook account. Cheers.

  40. Tyerlo
    May 29, 2015

    Can you do an unboxing video and review of the letv max? I’m interested if the fingerprint sensor work as in the huawei ascend mate 7.
    Edit: Where do you find that price for the phone, do you live in China or do you import the phones? Which sites offer that low price tag?

    • Andi Sykes
      May 29, 2015

      Once it is available I’ll do my best to get one 😀

  41. Frozzem
    May 29, 2015

    hey andy, where did you order your s1 from if i might ask? also can you share a link/method on how you installed google apps? Thanks 😉

  42. Guest
    May 29, 2015

    I order this phone. It was one of the best for me. but, I read on they offical forum a big problem with battery, wifi, gsm… :((( im quit this order and i will see for the elephone p7000 or Elephone Vowney.

  43. justarandomperson
    May 29, 2015

    That looks actually quite promising except of course the lack of FDD 20. Hmm. I’m currently trying to decide between this and the Xiaomi Mi Note (I know weird choices …)

    @Gizchina:disqus Off topic, do you have plans to publish a full review of the Mi note?

  44. Adam Irvine
    May 29, 2015

    Shame that it is ‘soo chinese’ I mean I know you pointed out that the English translation is all there and seems good, but when there’s features like that ‘Siri’ thing that you can’t use unless you speak Chinese or all those LeTV videos/movies, then I find that hard to ignore…

    • Riccardo Benzoni
      May 31, 2015

      a chinese phone designed for chinese market only has to be “so chinese” 😀 It will have planty of third-party ROM development I believe (and hope), but forget to use it “as it comes”

    • pedro
      June 6, 2015

      man your avatar is SO CHINESE :DDDD

      • Adam Irvine
        June 6, 2015

        Ye its not though… Note the Cyanogen icon that I added into it, they’re American ye… So I’ve got a blend. Yours on the other hand, Huawei is it? That’s Chinese 😉

        • pedro
          June 7, 2015

          All phones are made in china man don’t see your point..
          usa does pretty shit stuff .. nobody is interested bout shitagoenmod..

  45. Brad
    May 29, 2015

    non removable battery = big fail.
    that according to devicespecifications website.

    • Yeti hand
      June 2, 2015

      why?

    • Brad
      June 2, 2015

      wow, seriously?… you cannot think of any reasons???
      1) Batter goes bad and you need to replace it. Ie, fixed batter could shorten device lifespan.
      2) You want to bring an extra battery or two on a trip for extended use
      3) after market has higher capacity battery that you want to use instead of the factory one.

    • Yeti hand
      June 2, 2015

      You serious? By the time the battery goes bad your phone is obsolete and you’re going to buy another one.
      a fixed battery lifespan is 2 year at least!!

    • Brad
      July 15, 2015

      I had my last phone for 7 years! Obsolete is subjective.

    • Yeti hand
      July 15, 2015

      Nope not subjective at all!!! it means there are others products that blow your phone out the windows without having to sell an organ to get it!!
      Now if you’re satisfied with your old phone it’s up to you. last time I checked obsolete products are stil usable!!! They just can’ compete with the current generation.

    • Brad
      August 5, 2015

      The want or need to replace something that is “obsolete” yet still usable is particular to an individual – that is the very definition of the word “subjective”.

      You want to play the game of competition, fine it’s your money and the electronic companies love that you are so easily manipulated. Do you also upgrade your car every 2 years to “compete” with the cars everyone else has? And your house? And everything else you own? Why are phones any different? To me they are not.

    • Yeti hand
      August 5, 2015

      Are you comparing cars and always evolving products with a short lifespan?
      Bad example. A car is made to last WAYYY longer than any smartphone and the evolution of the engine is not significative. A car from the 2000s which has been well maintained still holds its value cars from the 2010s have NOTHING on it, what about a smartphone from the 2000s now?? hu??
      Every 2 years the hardware and software take a huge leap that makes the old generation looks like bad cartoon.
      Stop that!! A non removable battery is NOT a bad thing!! in 2017 cheap phones that make this look like shit will be ALL OVER THE PLACE.
      Who would decide to keep its old product when the new one will be head and shoulder above this for like 150 dollars ? Beside people with emotional attachement of course!!!

    • Brad
      August 6, 2015

      If that were true, no phones would have removable batteries yet some of the best selling phones do-have… LG G4, Samsung Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 4, as well as many models from Xiaomi, Huawei, and tons of other cheap Chinese brands. You are clearly wrong.

    • Yeti hand
      August 7, 2015

      oh come on, aren’t you tired? Get your removable battery phone and leave me alone. Btw what you said is just as silly as your whole justification. So why are there non removable phone out there then?
      pffff stop that I’m starting to wonder if you even think before you speak

    • Brad
      August 7, 2015

      How old are you, like 15? You really are not very bright if you cannot think of why they would make phones with fixed batteries. Because they want to make SURE your phone cannot be used more than 2-3 years. This is probably because most of the phones are bought in tandem with a contract from a carrier (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) who have 2 year contracts. There is a reason, whatever it is, you can be sure it’s purpose is to extract MORE MONEY from consumers. Please go read a book on logic and then come back and tell me what a phone USER gains by gluing a battery into a phone versus not using the glue. Then think about what the phone companies gain by using the glue. doh!

    • Yeti hand
      August 8, 2015

      29 here not sure if you’re serious about asking my age cuz I don’t think you realize how silly and childish your arguments sounded!
      Seriously you bring the ‘a lot mean right’?? Ok how about this brad, a lot of people eat at mc donald that must mean mc donald food is the way to go right?? Catch my drift here??
      To answer your SILLY question a lot of brands use removable AND not removabe batteries to give us CHOICE, I actually can’t believe I answered you on more time…
      You don’t want a non removable battery cool!! In 3 years YOU WON’t be using the smartphone with that so precious “removable battery” nor would someone using a non removable battery
      btw the more I read what you say the more I realize how useless it is to talk with you. DID YOU SERIOUSLY bring “contract” on gizchina?? The website about chinese cheap phones for people who don’t want contract??
      MY GOD THINK before you speak it’s getting ANNOYING!!

    • Brad
      August 8, 2015

      If you knew that CHOICE was the reason, then you should have not asked “Why?” that started this useless thread. My CHOICE… and millions of other people… is to have a removable battery. And my OPINION is that any phone which does not, is a bad design for the user. That’s was MY opinion I expressed at the start, and none of your illogical and misdirection blather is going to change that. So go TROLL somewhere else you dolt! I’m done with you.

    • Yeti hand
      August 9, 2015

      hey hey did I ever question your choice? Maybe you missed the part where I said “GET YOUR REMOVABLE BATTERY AND LEAVE ME ALONE” You said a non removable battery was bad for wrong reasons like you were the center of the universe and every words you said were to applied to everybody, I proved you wrong now suddenly it’s a question of choice and NOW those reasons only work for you?? Why did you involve others people mentioning cars,contrats and all then hu?….. Can’t even make sense but try to act smart…
      BUZZ OFF
      Next time try using the “troll” expression against someone with a lesser iq than you but IMO it’s going to be hard….

  46. SPLEND1D
    May 29, 2015

    I am going for this one!

  47. Some person
    May 29, 2015

    well. i cant see $242 anywhere at honorbuy 🙁

    • jalebi Singh
      May 29, 2015

      try oppomart

    • Jay
      June 2, 2015

      Oppomart is selling it at $299!

    • Jay
      June 2, 2015

      +1

      $299 is the lowest one can find.

      @Gizchina:disqus, could you help us with a store that offers the phone at $242?

  48. William Coertez
    May 29, 2015

    Record video slow motion at 480 fps?

    • hans
      May 30, 2015

      sharp showed one with 2100 fps

      • Steve B
        May 30, 2015

        Didn’t that just duplicate frames though, most comments I saw wrote it off as a gimic.

      • William Coertez
        May 30, 2015

        I say this because among the features offered by the mtk helio x10 This native support and processing for recording 480 fps slow motion.

  49. MaxPower
    May 29, 2015

    It would be nice to see a head to head review of this phone with the Zenfone 2 since they fall into the same price range and they are two different alternatives to Qualcomm or MT6752.
    Not that I care much of the SoC, but it would be nice to see how they perform on daily usage, which software gives a better user experience and last but not least the quality of GSM,GPS,WiFi and camera.

  50. Adam Irvine
    May 29, 2015

    Shame that it is ‘soo chinese’ I mean I know you pointed out that the English translation is all there and seems good, but when there’s features like that ‘Siri’ thing that you can’t use unless you speak Chinese or all those LeTV videos/movies, then I find that hard to ignore…

    • Riccardo Benzoni
      May 31, 2015

      a chinese phone designed for chinese market only has to be “so chinese” 😀 It will have planty of third-party ROM development I believe (and hope), but forget to use it “as it comes”

    • Guest
      June 6, 2015

      This comment was deleted.

    • Adam Irvine
      June 6, 2015

      Ye its not though… Note the Cyanogen icon that I added into it, they’re American ye… So I’ve got a blend. Yours on the other hand, Huawei is it? That’s Chinese 😉

  51. G'n'T
    May 30, 2015

    As there is no SD slot, Andi would you recommend the 32Gb model as a minimum? How much space is taken up by the Android OS on the phone in the 16Gb model?

    • Jean Carlo Palmisano Rademaker
      June 1, 2015

      Some sites says there is an sd card slot. Not sure a what to believe now

  52. William Coertez
    May 30, 2015

    Record video slow motion at 480 fps?

    • Guest
      May 30, 2015

      sharp showed one with 2100 fps

    • Steve B
      May 30, 2015

      Didn’t that just duplicate frames though, most comments I saw wrote it off as a gimic.

    • William Coertez
      May 30, 2015

      I say this because among the features offered by the mtk helio x10 This native support and processing for recording 480 fps slow motion.

  53. realjjj
    May 30, 2015

    Design wise the front looks more like Coolpad than Meizu , a bunch of Coolpad models are similar.

  54. MaxPower
    May 30, 2015

    It would be nice to see a head to head review of this phone with the Zenfone 2 since they fall into the same price range and they are two different alternatives to Qualcomm or MT6752.
    Not that I care much of the SoC, but it would be nice to see how they perform on daily usage, which software gives a better user experience and last but not least the quality of GSM,GPS,WiFi and camera.

  55. Xalis
    May 30, 2015

    Here is a word of advice never buy a phone mean for the Chinese market only, you will only face problems and 0 solutions.

  56. G'n'T
    May 30, 2015

    As there is no SD slot, Andi would you recommend the 32Gb model as a minimum? How much space is taken up by the Android OS on the phone in the 16Gb model?

    • Jean Carlo Palmisano Rademaker
      June 1, 2015

      Some sites says there is an sd card slot. Not sure a what to believe now

  57. realjjj
    May 30, 2015

    Design wise the front looks more like Coolpad than Meizu , a bunch of Coolpad models are similar.

  58. Guest
    May 30, 2015

    Here is a word of advice never buy a phone mean for the Chinese market only, you will only face problems and 0 solutions.

  59. vittorio
    May 30, 2015

    soft touch buttons are not back lighted?

  60. did4skalia
    May 30, 2015

    More! More about tis phone, pls!

    Screen quality, audio quality & how about heating after gaming.

  61. vittorio
    May 30, 2015

    soft touch buttons are not back lighted?

  62. Guest
    May 30, 2015

    More! More about tis phone, pls!

    Screen quality, audio quality & how about heating after gaming.

  63. Sansa
    May 31, 2015

    Any shop in Europe selling this phone?

  64. Sansa
    June 1, 2015

    Any shop in Europe selling this phone?

  65. Jean Carlo Palmisano Rademaker
    June 1, 2015

    Is there or isnt an sd card slot on this phobe? Really loving this design and your review made me want it even more but sd card is a must with only 16gb memory

    • June 1, 2015

      No SD card. There are options for more memory, but not sure when those 32GB versions will launch

    • Thang Cheong Pin
      June 5, 2015

      No Sdcard slot. I’ve noticed ed there are choices of 16, 32 or 64gb version. I’m targeting at the 32gb version.

  66. Jean Carlo Palmisano Rademaker
    June 1, 2015

    Is there or isnt an sd card slot on this phobe? Really loving this design and your review made me want it even more but sd card is a must with only 16gb memory

    • Andi Sykes
      June 1, 2015

      No SD card. There are options for more memory, but not sure when those 32GB versions will launch

    • Thang Cheong Pin
      June 5, 2015

      No Sdcard slot. I’ve noticed ed there are choices of 16, 32 or 64gb version. I’m targeting at the 32gb version.

  67. Elégedetlen Állampolgár
    June 1, 2015

    Please smbdy explain one thing, if LeTV is a subsidiary of Lenovo, then LeTV phones, are Lenovo phones a bit? Now for real, it is ok that LeTV is a newcomer in smartphone market, but they have Feng Xing as leader of smartphone section of the firm, so he bring some knowledge, and maybe some other heads from lenovo, whhere he was vice president for a long time…

  68. Elégedetlen_Állampolgár@SZBKTY
    June 1, 2015

    Please smbdy explain one thing, if LeTV is a subsidiary of Lenovo, then LeTV phones, are Lenovo phones a bit? Now for real, it is ok that LeTV is a newcomer in smartphone market, but they have Feng Xing as leader of smartphone section of the firm, so he bring some knowledge, and maybe some other heads from lenovo, whhere he was vice president for a long time…

  69. Enzo Francescoli
    June 1, 2015

    Well well well… So this is the bezel-less phone that you were writing about every single day for few months period? It seems they “forgot” to mention that awful black square on the screen ) Chinese marketing…. Me I lost FULLY any interest on these.

  70. Enzo Francescoli
    June 2, 2015

    Well well well… So this is the bezel-less phone that you were writing about every single day for few months period? It seems they “forgot” to mention that awful black square on the screen ) Chinese marketing…. Me I lost FULLY any interest on these.

  71. Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
    June 2, 2015

    Why no black version, why….

  72. Mr.Flying Zoom3rz
    June 2, 2015

    Why no black version, why….

  73. Oil
    June 4, 2015

    help ANDY!!!! :O

    I waith too long to see LeTV 240 and 480fps slow motion and Iphone 6 slow motion commparison. Can you please do this??? There is no video of Letv slow motion and super slow motion on internet.

    Andy do this!!! 🙂

  74. Guest
    June 4, 2015

    help ANDY!!!! :O

    I waith too long to see LeTV 240 and 480fps slow motion and Iphone 6 slow motion commparison. Can you please do this??? There is no video of Letv slow motion and super slow motion on internet.

    Andy do this!!! 🙂

  75. Le Andy
    June 5, 2015

    This phone looks awesome, but hows battery life?

  76. Le Andy
    June 6, 2015

    This phone looks awesome, but hows battery life?

  77. pedro
    June 6, 2015

    that is THICK mobile

  78. Guillaume SONRIER
    June 11, 2015

    Hi, just wanna to know if the phone have more than english or chinese from the choice of language. Maybe a picture of the settings ? Thanks

  79. Guillaume SONRIER
    June 11, 2015

    Hi, just wanna to know if the phone have more than english or chinese from the choice of language. Maybe a picture of the settings ? Thanks