OnePlus X vs LeTV Le 1s: Battle of the budget flagships

This week we have seen the launch of 2 phones that redefine what how much a premium phone should cost. So of the OnePlus X and the LeTV 1s which phone is right for you? Which are you going to buy?

Today OnePlus launched the OnePlus X, and earlier in the week LeTV announced their new phone named the LeTV 1S. Readers have already been comparing these phones in the comments, and that got us wondering, “Which phone would I buy?”

OnePlus X vs LeTV Le 1s

The following details are based on the specifications and what we learned about each brand from their previous phones. You can learn more about OnePlus in our OnePlus 2 review here, and OnePlus 1 review. To give you an idea of what LeTV are capable of here is our LeTV Le1 review and LeTV Max review.

LeTV Le 1s

This week started with the launch of the LeTV Le1s so that’s exactly where we are going to start. To start with the LeTV has a larger 5.5-inch display than the OnePlus X with the same FHD 1920 x 1080 resolution. The screen also has slight black borders around it making the overall dimensions even larger than the 5-inch X.

RAM for both phones is 3GB but there is 32GB internal storage on the LeTV as standard but no space for a micro SD card. The gold body of the latest LeTV houses a 3000mAh battery and is charged via a Type C usb plug.

LeTV have gone down the Mediatek route for the Le1s, the SOC in place is a Meidatek Helio X10 aka MT6795T octacore model. We’ve seen this chip in the Redmi 2, LeTV Le1 and Meizu MX5 and it has proven to be an amazing chipset.

The Le1S also has a 13 mega-pixel F2.0 rear camera with Phase detection auto focus, while a front camera of 5 mega-pixels is on selfie duty.

Finally there is a fingerprint scanner on the rear of the LeTV which is missing from the OnePlus X. For some this might be a decision maker, but if not there are a few other details to take in to consideration. Let’s now take a look at the OnePlus X.

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OnePlus X

First of all the OnePlus X is a 5-inch phone with the same resolution 1920 x 1080 screen. With a smaller screen that means the OPX has a higher pixel density, but in reality the use of an AMOLED display is going to make more of an impact on the X. With an AMOLED display we can expect bright colours and dark blacks, which in turn can be used to improve battery life.

Speaking of battery life, this is one area the OnePlus X might lose out to the LeTV. The X has a capacity of only 2525mAh, but then again it only has to power a 5-inch screen rather than a 5.5-inch. The smaller battery also means a thinner body of only 6.9mm compared to 7.5mm on the LeTV Le1s.

OnePlus haven’t given the X a fingerprint scanner, and the 13 mega-pixel main camera has an aperture of F2.2, however the front camera is 8 mega-pixel and the phone can handle either dual SIM cards or micro SD cards of up to 128GB.

Finally the chipset in the OPX is a 32bit Snapdragon 801 with 3GB RAM, this is last years chip, an oldie but a goodie.

OnePlus X vs LeTV Le 1s: Specifications

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OnePlus X vs LeTV Le 1s: Conclusions

We still have to get both phones in hand to see how they compare but from what we know about each company and their previous phones we are confident that they are both going to be premium contenders.

Which is the best all comes down to what is most important to you. The OnePlus X has the more compact, stylish body and an AMOLED display, plus the very useful addition of micro SD support. The LeTV with only 32GB memory and no SD is a disadvantage, but then again it does have a fingerprint scanner, larger F2.0 aperture and larger battery and doesn’t require an invite to buy.

Speaking of buying these phones. The OnePlus X will be officially available in Europe and the U.S from $249, while Chinese resellers are already listing the standard version with 3GB RAM for $294.99 (no invite needed). At this time the only way to order a LeTV is from resellers, but pricing for the LeTV Le1S is only $249.99.

It’s a tough decision and I’m having trouble deciding which I would choose. Do you know which you would buy?

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.

About the author
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Lars-Peter Dijkstra
October 29, 2015
ik would sure go for the Le 1s! have a Le 1 at the moment, but love the metal finish on the Le 1s. Also the fast charging is a deal maker. have it on the oppo find 7 and it’s really amazing, can’t live without it anymore 😉
Ivan Garcia Torregrosa
October 29, 2015
I would rather get a bluboo Xtouch than a one plus X. The only bad of the Xtouch is the MTK6753. The rest of the specs are much more impresive in the Bluboo
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  As long as you don’t play a lot of games or need a lot of power (such as editing large videos) the 6735 is a very good chip.
  - Joel Adames
    October 29, 2015
    - balcobomber25
      October 30, 2015
      That is what I said…. It is a very good chip depending on your usage needs. If your not a power user and want something highly efficient, there is no better chip on the market. If you play a lot of games it is not good. It all depends on the end user.

Virgil
October 29, 2015
one of those two would be my spear phone , changing them very often I want to have a solid back up phone ,,,as a le 1 pro user and ex OP2 , I must confess that the fight is very tight , 1s is more powerfull from any almost aspect , the only draw back would be the software support and the amoled screen wich I guess Is an old panel like almost everything on Opx…

Lars
October 29, 2015
Prefer the looks and build of the 1s, but the size of the X. The 1s has a fingerprint reader but lacks support for SD-cards and LTE band 20. I’m also guessing the X will get more software updates (as in new Android versions) as it features a Snapdragon SoC instead of a MediaTek.
Then again, I might still go for the Honor 7 which has it all but is slightly more expensive.

Joel Adames
October 29, 2015
As Ivan said I’d rather buy a booboo xTouch than the opX and keep the X . but the LeTV Le 1s is the obvious winner here to me. The SD card being absent on it will require some planning but is easier to get and cheaper to buy. If a phone is not enough for what you get out of the box then is not mine as updates are good but is not a sure thing to happen when everyone else does.
Le 1s it is, for me at least.

Michael Ogbonnaya
October 29, 2015
LeTV Le 1s is the definite winner. Aside from the larger screen which I like, there is larger ROM too. If you use dual SIM with your OPX (as I intend to use anyof them), then its not at all to be compared to the Le 1s. Also considering that the price is in great favor of the Le 1s too. When it comes to raw power, winner is Le 1s. And no fingerprint scanner on the OPX too.
C’mon… I’d pick up the Le 1s even when blindfolded.

jolu
October 29, 2015
Letv le 1s for me. I just like Letv more than I like OP.
Only thing that I would like to know is if/when there might come and update to Marshmellow.
balcobomber25
October 29, 2015
For me the winner is Mi4c.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  lol
- Julian
  October 29, 2015
  Haha, is it true that MI4C has heating issue? I was planning to buy it before I see weird comments from users on gsmarena. It is understandable that high tech devices like smartphones heat when we use them extensively but is it like the MI4I. Damn it, why is it so difficult to make the right choice when buying a phone?
  Thanks for your help!
  - balcobomber25
    October 29, 2015
    I used a Mi4c for about two hours and really put it through its paces, it heated up about as much as a normal Mi4 but that all due to MIUI not the SoC. MIUI runs a little hotter than other UI’s but it’s completely normal. People are so burned (no pun intended) by the disastrous SD810, that they freak out now when they feel any heat at all.
    - Julian
      October 29, 2015
      Great mate, thank you for your comment it is going to help me to purchase the Mi4c. It is going to be my first smartphone so I want to be sure about my choice. I am not a game player, probably I will only play FIFA sometimes. That being said, that LETV 1S is really amazing looking phone but will it have a nice community for issues fixing?
      - balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        If this is your first Xiaomi, MiUI will feel hotter than what your used to. Unless it burns your skin lol, it’s normal.
        Julian
        October 29, 2015
        Well, I used basic phones until now like Nokia and Blackberry IoI. I am really tempted to get the 32gb rom variant of the MI4C but this LETV 1S looks so attractive and very nicely built for the price. Only thing I am scared of is the community regarding updates and bugs fixing. Moreover I will save a bit money too if I go for the Letv 1S. I need to think about it before I make my decision.
        King
        October 29, 2015
        Think it will be worth the wait. LeTV Le 1s.

Hiwyx
October 29, 2015
Official price of Letv 1S is not 249. This is retailer price. Official price is roughly 170 dollars, not 250
- Hiwyx
  October 29, 2015
  My conclusion for this article is give me a Letv 1S with 64GB for another 100yuan, and b20 for another 100yuan, and we’ll have the best cheap flagship around for just 200 dollars.

MaxPower
October 29, 2015
In my opinion the winner is LeTV.
size,price,rom,fingerprint scanner,hifi audio blown the OPX sessi.
In the past I’ve seen people mocking a phone for the lack of sd card slot or band20.
well, for those people OnePlus is the winner.
Plus the difference of size should help people to make a choice.
I really liked the US LTE support of the OPX, but i can live without it, and the 32GB of the Letv should be enough to don’t make me miss the SD card.
PS: i can’t believe resellers are charging $75 over a phone of $173 value.
there’s no question that resellers are making more money than the manufacturers.
No risk, no investment, they simply collect the money upfront,buy the phone and ship it.
i should just move in China and be a reseller.
- Hiwyx
  October 29, 2015
  There’s a lot of competition and they all take about this same amount, I believe this is what they need to live. You have to consider cost of warehouse, lost packages, often the Delivery is included (can cost around 20 dollars probably)… anyway I live in China so I don’t have to pay those costs.
  I agree with your comment except for the 32GB. We’ll probably have 25GB, add a few musics, apps, and photos and video (especially as the sensor seems great) and your phone will fast be full.
  I especially don’t understand this decision as Letv is a media company and they rely on people buying their membership (in China, price of membership is 490RMB/y but if you buy it at the same time as the phone, you have a 300RMB discount, probably to push people to get to know it). Obviously people will preload some videos on the phone… This is a phone requiring lot of memory…
  - MaxPower
    October 29, 2015
    i know, i would charge the same money because i know people would pay for it anyway.
    this is business :-).
    I’m grateful that they gives us the chance to get all these goodies you guys have in China.
    speaking of storage, i know that 64GB would be better, but I’ve learned to survive with 16GB so i would be more than happy to “deal” with 32GB.
    anyway, I’m getting this LETV 1S as soon as a review comes out.
- Julian
  October 29, 2015
Guaire
October 29, 2015
Real competition gonna between Redmi Note 2, Meizu Metal and Letv Le 1s. My choice would Le 1s without a second thought.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  agree with you about the different league and agree with you that LeTV wins the battle.
  as for the OPX, i would put in competition with the ZUK Z1 due to the same specs or with the MI4C because they are both 5″ (usually who goes for smaller phone won’t consider the 5.5″ display not even if it’s a better deal)
  - Joel Adames
    October 29, 2015
    Sorry Max, I believed the Zuk Z1 was 5.5″ so let’s check that. Once again.
    - MaxPower
      October 30, 2015
      yes i know, i should have written in a different way.
      if we want to compare the phone by size then it’s between the opx and mi4c (same price range too)
      if we want to compare the phone by specs then it’s between opx and zuk z1 (same hardware and same price range if we consider that 64gb usually cost $50 more)
      while letv would compete with Meizu and redmi because of size, specs and price match.
  - King
    October 29, 2015

Sain H
October 29, 2015
Letv is a bomb in the china smartphone market. Definitely will go for letv1s
fido futte
October 29, 2015
Letv ofcause is much better choise- Also AMOLED screen use much more Battery power than IPS screen , also OP-X use an 5-years old Cortex -A7 SoC = completely outdated.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  5 year old SoC? Talking about exaggerating, the SD801 was released in 2014 and was in the majority of Flagships last year..
  - fido futte
    October 29, 2015
    - balcobomber25
      October 29, 2015
      Except the SD801 doesn’t use Cortex it uses Krait. The only Qualcomm chips to use Cortex-A7 is the 200 and 400 which are both budget SoC’s from 2013.
      - fido futte
        October 29, 2015
        Nope -Snapdragon S801 is quad-core based on god-old high clock Cortex-A7 – just like the 15USD iPhone 6 clone sold downtown in Shenzen phone shops
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        Proof you have no clue what your talking about. The SD801 uses Krait 400 for it’s micro-architecture not Cortex. It is Arm V7 but that is COMPLETELY different than Cortex A7. Not all 7’s are created equally. Look at the two links below, find where it says “CPU” it will tell you the the micro-architecture each one uses. In these two examples the SD801 uses Krait 400, the SD200 uses Cortex A7 and Cortex A5. Cortex is designs by ARM, Krait is designed by Qualcomm. The closest Cortex to Krait is A15.
        
        fido futte
        October 29, 2015
        Krait 400 is COMPATIBLE with armV7 alias Cortex-A7 – which means 32Bit CPU with same Tech as Cortex A7, in the same way that other houses like Mediatek or Rockchip ect also have used/licens Cortex -A7 in their SoC- sorry to disapoint you but the SD801 is very old news in the SoC business
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        Arm V7 and Cortex A7 are COMPLETELY different technologies. Cortex A7 is only ONE Arm V7 CPU. There is also Cortex A5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, Krait, Krait 200, 300, 400, 450, Scorpion and Apple Swift. ALL of those are based on ARM V7, none of those have anything to do with Cortex A7. A Cortex A7 chip and a Krait 400 chip have nothing in common except Arm V7. And just because a chip is Arm V8 doesn’t mean it is a better or faster chip, it just means it uses a different set of instructions (64 bit). Sorry to disappoint you but you have no clue what your talking about.
        
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        it’s the first time i see you arguing about these BS.
        what’s happening to you lately?
        😀
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        I usually try to hold myself back but you know me….
        King
        October 29, 2015
        I loved that discussion. 🙂
        fido futte
        October 29, 2015
        Yes i have just check Cortex- A7 has only been used in Snapdragon 200 and 400 , however that does not change that the ArmV7 only is 32-bit and tech is back from 2014
        
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        And what is the major advantage of 64 bit?
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        you know he’s going to end up bringing Antutu right?
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        I am hoping he does, I love shooting down the Antutu posts! There are some clear advantages just want to see if he actually knows them and what it actually means for Android.
        
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        he’s the result of the marketing job in this industry.
        strange he’s not an Apple fan, i would totally collocate him in that sample.
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        The marketing department’s of smartphone companies and their components are some of the best in my industry.
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        big time.
        i won’t be surprised if soon people will think that they “need” a newer phone after 6 months.
        
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        I’m actually contemplating going to work for the PR department of Msoft. They made a really good offer.
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        Let’s see if Gionee will come out with a counteroffer. 😀
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        They already have but I’d have to go work in India. I like India but logistically it would be a nightmare.
        
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        I’ll be happy if someone would send me a unit to review (did you hear that Lei Jun?) 😀
        ps: I’m referring to the MI5, don’t send me Redmis 😀
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        You and me both, although I have been given numerous hands on with devices from brands so I guess that’s kinda cool.
        
        Joel Adames
        October 29, 2015
        It reminds me of that time Sony wanted a “flagship” every 6 months.
        fido futte
        October 29, 2015
        You are an Joke right ?
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        That’s a serious question to you. For someone adamant that 64 bit is far superior, you should know what your arguing.
        fido futte
        October 29, 2015
        it works both way-body FYI have you heard of Android lollipop and latest Android 6.0 ? How do you think ( if you are able to think at all) the 32-Bit SD801 will be able to use these new 64-bit OS 100% and 64-Bit APP in Google play market ??
        
        balcobomber25
        October 29, 2015
        Lol. All new versions of Android are written to work on both platforms and about 99% of apps are still 32bit.
        fido futte
        October 29, 2015
        most available also in 64bit-version by now or very soon ( in planning)
        
        MaxPower
        October 29, 2015
        it’s a last year technology used on flagship devices which fits nicely on a this year midranger.
        the 64bit is technology is still on early stage to benefit user experience.
        Vlada
        October 30, 2015
        Cortex-A53 as found in the MediaTek chipsets is the successor of Cortex-A7. Krait cores in SD801 are based on Cortex-A15 design and further improved. The successor of Cortex-A15 is Cortex-A57 which is only found in Samsung Exynos and SD808 and SD810.
        The Krait cores (although 32bit) are much more powerful then Cortex-A53 cores. Those 64bit bring no real advantage. A53 is more powerful the A7 and A57 is more powerful then A15 or A17. But A53 is not more powerful then A15 or A17.
        Guaire
        October 29, 2015
        Cortex-A7 is a CPU, designed by ARM for power efficiency based on ARMv7
        which is a micro architecture (not CPU) which is again developed by ARM. There are other ARMv7
        CPU designs from ARM like Cortex-A15, Cortex-A17 for high performance.
        Krait 400 is another ARMv7 CPU, but it designed by Qualcomm. Because they licensed architecture to make their own CPU design.
        Some of chipmakers like Mediatek, Kirin and Samsung licenses stock CPU designs called Cortex from ARM and implementing them on their own chips.
        To make it what you said is true, they should have used actual Cortex-A7 cores in their SoCs.
- yalok
  October 29, 2015
  AMOLED consumes less than IPS. Also, practically x10 doesn’t have any benefits over SD801, although the chip is one year younger.
  - balcobomber25
    October 29, 2015
    This guy has very little clue what he is arguing, don’t waste your time lol.
    - yalok
      October 29, 2015
      That was evident from the first post, but I thought, maybe he will provide some reason.
  - MaxPower
    October 29, 2015
    plus in my opinion you shouldn’t compare the SD801 to the helio x10.
    we are speaking of a midranger using a last year flagship SoC.
    for this reason i would compare it either to a last year mediatek MT6595 or this year Mediatek MT6753
    the Helio x10 is the flagship SoC of mediatek
    - Joel Adames
      October 29, 2015
      - MaxPower
        October 30, 2015
        yes, usually it’s the first parameter to take in consideration.
        at launch there’s a difference of $70 which it’s a lot (roughly 40%)
        the point is that right now, LeTV 1s is available from resellers at ….
        …$249!!! same price of OPX ( it doesn’t make any sense buying any Oneplus products from resellers).
        so when it’s about to pick a phone the price difference won’t solve the dilemma until the hype goes down and resellers will start pricing the Letv for about $210
    - yalok
      November 1, 2015
      However flagship is x10, yet, it has weaker gpu than sd801, it even manages to be outdone in some cpu benchmarks too.
  - fido futte
    October 30, 2015
    Have you any reallife data that confirm this ?- if you compare IPS towards AMOled the AMOled give an much stonger light on the screen – which in my book should cost more on the battery power- no one will have any 2 year old SD801 phone today. Here in EU everybody sell their old Samsung SD801 phone and get new models instead- you are an rare exception!!

Yash Garg
October 29, 2015
It’s got to be the Letv for me. I just wish it had the fingerprint sensor on the front.
- Guaire
  October 29, 2015
  - Trust me I wouldn’t.
  - balcobomber25
    October 29, 2015
- G'n'T
  October 29, 2015
  Agree Yash. I am not a fan of the rear type finger print sensor and have gotten to used to a front finger print sensor. The LeTV looks really good other wise though.
Lars-Peter Dijkstra
October 29, 2015
ik would sure go for the Le 1s! have a Le 1 at the moment, but love the metal finish on the Le 1s. Also the fast charging is a deal maker. have it on the oppo find 7 and it’s really amazing, can’t live without it anymore 😉

Ivan Garcia Torregrosa
October 29, 2015
I would rather get a bluboo Xtouch than a one plus X. The only bad of the Xtouch is the MTK6753. The rest of the specs are much more impresive in the Bluboo
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  As long as you don’t play a lot of games or need a lot of power (such as editing large videos) the 6735 is a very good chip.
- Joel Adames
  October 30, 2015
  Did you meant to say “”even the 6735 is a very good chip.”” ??
- balcobomber25
  October 30, 2015
  That is what I said…. It is a very good chip depending on your usage needs. If your not a power user and want something highly efficient, there is no better chip on the market. If you play a lot of games it is not good. It all depends on the end user.

Guest
October 29, 2015
one of those two would be my spear phone , changing them very often I want to have a solid back up phone ,,,as a le 1 pro user and ex OP2 , I must confess that the fight is very tight , 1s is more powerfull from any almost aspect , the only draw back would be the software support and the amoled screen wich I guess Is an old panel like almost everything on Opx…

Lars
October 29, 2015
Prefer the looks and build of the 1s, but the size of the X. The 1s has a fingerprint reader but lacks support for SD-cards and LTE band 20. I’m also guessing the X will get more software updates (as in new Android versions) as it features a Snapdragon SoC instead of a MediaTek.
Then again, I might still go for the Honor 7 which has it all but is slightly more expensive.
greg
October 29, 2015
LeTV Le 1s easy , Oneplus X is at least $300 in resellers , so I think Oneplus just got themselves too arrogant pricing their two last devices

Joel Adames
October 29, 2015
As Ivan said I’d rather buy a booboo xTouch than the opX and keep the X . but the LeTV Le 1s is the obvious winner here to me. The SD card being absent on it will require some planning but is easier to get and cheaper to buy. If a phone is not enough for what you get out of the box then is not mine as updates are good but is not a sure thing to happen when everyone else does.
Le 1s it is, for me at least.

Michael Ogbonnaya
October 29, 2015
LeTV Le 1s is the definite winner. Aside from the larger screen which I like, there is larger ROM too. If you use dual SIM with your OPX (as I intend to use anyof them), then its not at all to be compared to the Le 1s. Also considering that the price is in great favor of the Le 1s too. When it comes to raw power, winner is Le 1s. And no fingerprint scanner on the OPX too.
C’mon… I’d pick up the Le 1s even when blindfolded.
jolu
October 29, 2015
Letv le 1s for me. I just like Letv more than I like OP.
Only thing that I would like to know is if/when there might come and update to Marshmellow.
waterresist
October 29, 2015
Compering Xiaomi Mi4 (Especially with the new reduced price) OnePlus X would make more sense to me. 5″ or 5.5″ is the most important difference between the two phones in the article. Am I wrong guys? However, I made myself a “dummy” paperphone with dimensions of Le1s and I am more and more convinced to move to 5.5″.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I used to think 5 was the perfect size for a phone, until I owned a 5.5, now I don’t think I could go back
  - Charlles Costa
    October 30, 2015
    I think the exact same thing , I had the Nexus 5 , than Huawei P8 and now the LeTV X600 ( One) and it’s the perfect size for me.
    - Vlada
      October 30, 2015
      I had a 5″ then 4,7″ and now 4,5″. This is the perfect size for me. Unfortunately they don’t make phones smaller then 5″ anymore. Anyway I won’t buy anything bigger then 5″ even those phones are too big for me.
      - Charlles Costa
        October 30, 2015
        Sorry but 4.5 inches? Even my daughter has a 5 inches phone. You must have a kids ✋.
        
        Vlada
        October 31, 2015
        5″ was too big for one hand use. The 4.7″ is OK. But I would like to have a compact phone because of portability.
    - balcobomber25
      October 30, 2015
      Yea I went from Nexus 4 to Blu Life Play, Mi3, Mi4 and about a dozen others lol.
  - Josef Izchaki
    November 3, 2015
- Guaire
  October 29, 2015
  Don’t judge phones with screen sizes, judge them with their dimensions. LG G3 and iPhone 6 Plus has same size displays, but one of them is like a shovel. Maybe you can find a physically similar phone on a local store like Huawei Mate S. It can provide you a better idea than a paperphone.
  I’m using a 5.2 incher and next one will definitely be a 5.5 incher or 5.7 incher depending on the other factors.
  - waterresist
    October 29, 2015
    I was thinking about that ~1 cm/~0.5 cm difference in dimensions. This is why I was a fan of Alcatel/TCL Idol X and Jiayu S2. Those phones had perfect balance in style and size, especially the S2.
  - waterresist
    October 31, 2015
    I constantly do this in the last few weeks. Unfortunately the safety chain is always connected to the back of the phones so I have to test them for size with screen in my palm. Also it is not an option to check pocketproofness. By the way is pocketproofness a real word? 😀

balcobomber25
October 29, 2015
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  lol
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  Haha, is it true that MI4C has heating issue? I was planning to buy it before I see weird comments from users on gsmarena. It is understandable that high tech devices like smartphones heat when we use them extensively but is it like the MI4I. Damn it, why is it so difficult to make the right choice when buying a phone?
  Thanks for your help!
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I used a Mi4c for about two hours and really put it through its paces, it heated up about as much as a normal Mi4 but that all due to MIUI not the SoC. MIUI runs a little hotter than other UI’s but it’s completely normal. People are so burned (no pun intended) by the disastrous SD810, that they freak out now when they feel any heat at all.
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  Great mate, thank you for your comment it is going to help me to purchase the Mi4c. It is going to be my first smartphone so I want to be sure about my choice. I am not a game player, probably I will only play FIFA sometimes. That being said, that LETV 1S is really amazing looking phone but will it have a nice community for issues fixing?
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  If this is your first Xiaomi, MiUI will feel hotter than what your used to. Unless it burns your skin lol, it’s normal.
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  Well, I used basic phones until now like Nokia and Blackberry IoI. I am really tempted to get the 32gb rom variant of the MI4C but this LETV 1S looks so attractive and very nicely built for the price. Only thing I am scared of is the community regarding updates and bugs fixing. Moreover I will save a bit money too if I go for the Letv 1S. I need to think about it before I make my decision.
- King
  October 30, 2015
  Think it will be worth the wait. LeTV Le 1s.
Astorian
October 29, 2015
Does LeTV have a good software support? So, are they going to release update to 6.0?
- King
  October 29, 2015
  From the posts and experiences posted on Gizchina (including Andi’s own experience), it looks like they support their phones with updates.
  - Astorian
    October 30, 2015
- Maciek Buczkowski
  October 30, 2015
  The support is there, quite regular experimental updates that don’t basically improve anything and quite bad battery life. It’s the software for patient people :).
  - Astorian
    October 30, 2015
- - October 29, 2015
    Oh I See (ois) 😉
    Ok… now that a day has passed, I am back on the contemplation wall. which side do I jump. And suddenly Moto X Style has caught my fancy last evening. 😛
    - MaxPower
      October 30, 2015
      - Vlada
        October 30, 2015
        And smaller. It is very nice phone but quite pricey in EU.
      - King
        October 30, 2015
        will keep an eye on it … maybe it could drop a few bucks on thanks giving sales or the cyber monday sales.
        
        MaxPower
        October 30, 2015
        always looking for the best deal.
        😉
        King
        October 30, 2015
        hahaha. marriage makes a man an extreme couponer! 😛
        MaxPower
        October 31, 2015
        who would have thought!
Guest
October 29, 2015
Official price of Letv 1S is not 249. This is retailer price. Official price is roughly 170 dollars, not 250
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  My conclusion for this article is give me a Letv 1S with 64GB for another 100yuan, and b20 for another 100yuan, and we’ll have the best cheap flagship around for just 200 dollars.

Nikos Dim
October 29, 2015
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  That;s a preorder price, never go by that on a reseller. Whenever a new phone comes out resellers will estimate what they think it will sell for and post that price. Once the phone is actually out it will cost around $299 on Oppomart.

MaxPower
October 29, 2015
In my opinion the winner is LeTV.
size,price,rom,fingerprint scanner,hifi audio blow the OPX away.
In the past I’ve seen people mocking a phone for the lack of sd card slot or band20.
well, for those people OnePlus is the winner.
Plus the difference of size should help people to make a choice.
I really liked the US LTE support of the OPX, but i can live without it, and the 32GB of the Letv should be enough to don’t make me miss the SD card.
PS: i can’t believe resellers are charging $75 over a phone of $173 value.
there’s no question that resellers are making more money than the manufacturers.
No risk, no investment, they simply collect the money upfront,buy the phone and ship it.
i should just move to China and become a reseller.
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  There’s a lot of competition and they all take about this same amount, I believe this is what they need to live. You have to consider cost of warehouse, lost packages, often the Delivery is included (can cost around 20 dollars probably)… anyway I live in China so I don’t have to pay those costs.
  I agree with your comment except for the 32GB. We’ll probably have 25GB, add a few musics, apps, and photos and video (especially as the sensor seems great) and your phone will fast be full.
  I especially don’t understand this decision as Letv is a media company and they rely on people buying their membership (in China, price of membership is 490RMB/y but if you buy it at the same time as the phone, you have a 300RMB discount, probably to push people to get to know it). Obviously people will preload some videos on the phone… This is a phone requiring lot of memory…
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  i know, i would charge the same money because i know people would pay for it anyway.
  this is business :-).
  I’m grateful that they gives us the chance to get all these goodies you guys have in China.
  speaking of storage, i know that 64GB would be better, but I’ve learned to survive with 16GB so i would be more than happy to “deal” with 32GB.
  anyway, I’m getting this LETV 1S as soon as a review comes out.
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  Amazing looking phone, I am lost now I don’t know if I should go for the MI4C even if MI4C will have better community!
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  they are two great phones at an amazing price so you won’t be disappointed either way.
  The first thing to decide about it is the size. if you like bigger phones then go with the Letv, otherwise go for the MI4c.
  I’ve grew tired of 5″ phones so for this reason I’m leaning towards the Letv (plus a series of more cons)
  i love Miui, and I’ll be missing it.
  Even if Letv rom is pretty clear,there’s some chinese bloatware that you can’t uninstall.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  i can’t watch the video because that lady makes me angry with that tapping on the phone.
  on a quick look i have some concern about the screen though:
  it’s not bright (hopefully it can be fixed in the settings) plus it has a yellowish tint.
  I’m going to wait for a review, hopefully there’s nothing wrong with it.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I thought I would miss MIUI, but I’m starting to like Flyme better.
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  Thanks for sharing your point of view here. I agree with you both phones are amazing even if it is hard to judge when looking at videos on the web. However, this Letv 1s has very nice built quality and offers 3gb ram and 32gb rom like the MI4C. In terms of performances, it has a pretty good mediatek cpu too. The dimensions of the Letv 1S are 151.1 x 74.2 x 7.5 mm and for the MI4C 138.1 x 69.6 x 7.8 mm. The difference is not that huge for the width. Moreover, the pricing is much better for the Letv 1S. I am lost now, it is really difficult to make the right choice. Maybe I should wait some tests for the Letv 1s.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  there shouldn’t be surprises with the Letv, but I’m waiting for reviews as well, and if everything is OK then I’m gonna buy it.
  I actually own a MI4 and even if the MI4c is a nice phone i wouldn’t go for it because it doesn’t feel like an improvement to me while the Letv does.
  but this is simply my point of view.
  wait for reviews and then make your decision
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  That’s exactly how I feel even if I never had a chance to use the original MI4. MI4C looks much more like a mid range phone (i mean it has a basic design using cheaper plastic body and probably not the top quality electronic components inside). Moreover, because of Xiaomi MI logo on it the pricing made by resellers is quite often exaggerated. Sometimes I am thinking to move to China and become a reseller to make good money and faster. I need a 5 inch screen size phone and I would have preferred an upgrade of the MI4 with the same electronics, a better SOC and additional storage offered inside a brand new design instead of copy and pasting Mi4i’s design. Honestly, if the MI4 in black color (wcdma version, no lte for europe) had 32gb of storage I would have gone for it without any hesitation. The MX5 by Meizu is an amazing device too but I mainly used small devices until now so buying a phone with a width higher than 75 mm scares me a bit.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  The components in all Xiaomi phones are top quality regardless of the model. You pay a premium for buying a Xiaomi (or Oppo, Vivo, Huaweii etc) but these brands do deliver when it comes to not using cheap components. The Mi4c features the following on the inside:
  Memory – Hynix (Apple also uses them for several products)
  Hard Drive – Toshiba
  SoC – Qualcomm
  Display – Sharp/LG
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
  Thanks balcobomber for the additional information, sorry for asking but what kind of job you are doing? It seems that you know a lot about the smartphone industry. Are you planning to hire someone soon? 😀
  I will wait for some reviews regarding the Letv 1s then I will decide which one I will get (Letv 1s or Xiaomi MI4C). That being said, I could order the MI4C before going to bed. Wish I had the budget to get the MX5 from Meizu. Meizu Metal is also interesting!
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I work in PR/Marketing for Asian tech companies. I used to be with an agency but the last year I’ve been working on my own freelancing. It’s good money but a lot of travel and long hours. I have had some of the top Chinese smartphone companies as clients, that’s how I get hands on with phones and samples. I’m actually getting ready to work for Microsoft in their PR department.
- Guest
  October 29, 2015
- on the normal x600 there is a working miui 7 rom.
- SnowyCat
  October 29, 2015
  do you use flyme 5? i’m using 4.5 on my old mx4 but i switched to xiaomi a while ago because i like all those features in miui that i missed in flyme, but i also heard they added a lot of stuff in flyme like multiwindow or such stuff
- MaxPower
  October 30, 2015
  i don’t like third party ROMs because i don’t know who’s been working on it and what kind of surprise you are going to find.
  someone already mocked at me for saying that, saying that i shouldn’t be safe with Chinese stuff anyway.
  i don’t know how true it is, but i think that Xiaomi or LeTV are billions dollar companies that have too much to lose with putting malwares on their software, while the Ivan or Igor of the moment can easily pollute the rom without losing anything.
  I’ll stick with Letv rom until i find either CM or Miui officially supported.
- King
  October 30, 2015
  +1 for the review.
- King
  October 30, 2015
  When Mi3 was lunched in India, the first few weeks they have the “sync data to Mi Servers” setting switched on by default. Some security company identified that and it was plugged in an update.
- King
  October 30, 2015
  you are in love again… Mx5 this time. But we will wait for the E7 review that @yash3339:disqus promised. 🙂
- balcobomber25
  October 30, 2015
  I love Gionee, but I already know I won’t love the E7 more for one reason: Amigo. Amigo is crap compared to Flyme.
- Charlles Costa
  October 30, 2015
  I had many phones brands before, but somehow I just had fallen in love with my LeTV X600. It’s so good phone phone, almost perfect. I am using the LeTV rom experimental rom on it. I have a Meizu M2 Note almost new on the box which I have used for a few weeks before I bought the LeTV.
- Guest
  October 30, 2015
  Whoa I love UFO videos!!! In 2015!!!
- King
  October 30, 2015
  Did you try this ROM – Slimkat? Kitkat based but should be better than Amigo. ROM is here http://forum.xda-developers.com/elife-e7/development/port-cleankat-rom-bycandar77-t3200798
- balcobomber25
  October 30, 2015
  I have used Slim Roms in the past, they aren’t really my cup of tea though.
Guaire
October 29, 2015
Real competition gonna between Redmi Note 2, Meizu Metal and Letv Le 1s. My choice would Le 1s without a second thought.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  agree with you about the different league and agree with you that LeTV wins the battle.
  as for the OPX, i would put in competition with the ZUK Z1 due to the same specs or with the MI4C because they are both 5″ (usually who goes for smaller phone won’t consider the 5.5″ display not even if it’s a better deal)
- Joel Adames
  October 30, 2015
  Sorry Max, I believed the Zuk Z1 was 5.5″ so let’s check that. Once again.
- King
  October 30, 2015
  OPX with a 808 would have kept my attention. Now, its a pass.
- MaxPower
  October 30, 2015
  yes i know, i should have written in a different way.
  if we want to compare the phone by size then it’s between the opx and mi4c (same price range too)
  if we want to compare the phone by specs then it’s between opx and zuk z1 (same hardware and same price range if we consider that 64gb usually cost $50 more)
  while letv would compete with Meizu and redmi because of size, specs and price match.

Sain H
October 29, 2015
Letv is a bomb in the china smartphone market. Definitely will go for letv1s
fido futte
October 29, 2015
Letv ofcause is much better choise- Also AMOLED screen use much more Battery power than IPS screen , also OP-X use an 5-years old Cortex -A7 SoC = completely outdated.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  5 year old SoC? Talking about exaggerating, the SD801 was released in 2014 and was in the majority of Flagships last year..
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  OK- but 2014 and Cortex-A7 feels like 5-years. We are nearly in 2016 now – remember ??
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  Except the SD801 doesn’t use Cortex it uses Krait. The only Qualcomm chips to use Cortex-A7 is the 200 and 400 which are both budget SoC’s from 2013.
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  Nope -Snapdragon S801 is quad-core based on god-old high clock Cortex-A7 – just like the 15USD iPhone 6 clone sold downtown in Shenzen phone shops
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  Proof you have no clue what your talking about. The SD801 uses Krait 400 for it’s micro-architecture not Cortex. It is Arm V7 but that is COMPLETELY different than Cortex A7. Not all 7’s are created equally. Look at the two links below, find where it says “CPU” it will tell you the the micro-architecture each one uses. In these two examples the SD801 uses Krait 400, the SD200 uses Cortex A7 and Cortex A5. Cortex is designs by ARM, Krait is designed by Qualcomm. The closest Cortex to Krait is A15.
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  Krait 400 is COMPATIBLE with armV7 alias Cortex-A7 – which means 32Bit CPU with same Tech as Cortex A7, in the same way that other houses like Mediatek or Rockchip ect also have used/licens Cortex -A7 in their SoC- sorry to disapoint you but the SD801 is very old news in the SoC business
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  Arm V7 and Cortex A7 are COMPLETELY different technologies. Cortex A7 is only ONE Arm V7 CPU. There is also Cortex A5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, Krait, Krait 200, 300, 400, 450, Scorpion and Apple Swift. ALL of those are based on ARM V7, none of those have anything to do with Cortex A7. A Cortex A7 chip and a Krait 400 chip have nothing in common except Arm V7. And just because a chip is Arm V8 doesn’t mean it is a better or faster chip, it just means it uses a different set of instructions (64 bit). The SD410 is Arm V8, the SD801 blows it out of the water in every single way. Sorry to disappoint you but you have no clue what your talking about.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  it’s the first time i see you arguing about these BS.
  what’s happening to you lately?
  😀
- yalok
  October 29, 2015
  AMOLED consumes less than IPS. Also, practically x10 doesn’t have any benefits over SD801, although the chip is one year younger.
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  Yes i have just check Cortex- A7 has only been used in Snapdragon 200 and 400 , however that does not change that the ArmV7 only is 32-bit and tech is back from 2014
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  This guy has very little clue what he is arguing, don’t waste your time lol.
- Guaire
  October 29, 2015
  Cortex-A7 is a CPU, designed by ARM for power efficiency based on ARMv7
  which is a micro architecture (not CPU) which is again developed by ARM. There are other ARMv7
  CPU designs from ARM like Cortex-A15, Cortex-A17 for high performance.
  Krait 400 is another ARMv7 CPU, but it designed by Qualcomm. Because they licensed architecture to make their own CPU design.
  Some of chipmakers like Mediatek, Kirin and Samsung licenses stock CPU designs called Cortex from ARM and implementing them on their own chips.
  To make it what you said is true, they should have used actual Cortex-A7 cores in their SoCs.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I usually try to hold myself back but you know me….
- yalok
  October 29, 2015
  That was evident from the first post, but I thought, maybe he will provide some reason.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  And what is the major advantage of 64 bit?
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  it’s a last year technology used on flagship devices which fits nicely on a this year midranger.
  the 64bit is technology is still on early stage to benefit user experience.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  you know he’s going to end up bringing Antutu right?
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I am hoping he does, I love shooting down the Antutu posts! There are some clear advantages just want to see if he actually knows them and what it actually means for Android.
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  You are an Joke right ?
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  he’s the result of the marketing job in this industry.
  strange he’s not an Apple fan, i would totally collocate him in that sample.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  plus in my opinion you shouldn’t compare the SD801 to the helio x10.
  we are speaking of a midranger using a last year flagship SoC.
  for this reason i would compare it either to a last year mediatek MT6595 or this year Mediatek MT6753
  the Helio x10 is the flagship SoC of mediatek
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  That’s a serious question to you. For someone adamant that 64 bit is far superior, you should know what your arguing.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  The marketing department’s of smartphone companies and their components are some of the best in my industry.
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  it works both way-body FYI have you heard of Android lollipop and latest Android 6.0 ? How do you think ( if you are able to think at all) the 32-Bit SD801 will be able to use these new 64-bit OS 100% and 64-Bit APP in Google play market ??
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  big time.
  i won’t be surprised if soon people will think that they “need” a newer phone after 6 months.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  Lol. All new versions of Android are written to work on both platforms and about 99% of apps are still 32bit.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I’m actually contemplating going to work for the PR department of Msoft. They made a really good offer.
- fido futte
  October 29, 2015
  most available also in 64bit-version by now or very soon ( in planning)
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  Let’s see if Gionee will come out with a counteroffer. 😀
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  They already have but I’d have to go work in India. I like India but logistically it would be a nightmare.
- MaxPower
  October 29, 2015
  I’ll be happy if someone would send me a unit to review (did you hear that Lei Jun?) 😀
  ps: I’m referring to the MI5, don’t send me Redmis 😀
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  You and me both, although I have been given numerous hands on with devices from brands so I guess that’s kinda cool.
- Joel Adames
  October 30, 2015
  It reminds me of that time Sony wanted a “flagship” every 6 months.
- Joel Adames
  October 30, 2015
  To be fair the price difference between them both should be taken into consideration .
- King
  October 30, 2015
  I loved that discussion. 🙂
- October 30, 2015
  yes, usually it’s the first parameter to take in consideration.
  at launch there’s a difference of $70 which it’s a lot (roughly 40%)
  the point is that right now, LeTV 1s is available from resellers at ….
  …$249!!! same price of OPX ( it doesn’t make any sense buying any Oneplus products from resellers).
  so when it’s about to pick a phone the price difference won’t solve the dilemma until the hype goes down and resellers will start pricing the Letv for about $210
- fido futte
  October 30, 2015
  Have you any reallife data that confirm this ?- if you compare IPS towards AMOled the AMOled give an much stonger light on the screen – which in my book should cost more on the battery power- no one will have any 2 year old SD801 phone today. Here in EU everybody sell their old Samsung SD801 phone and get new models instead- you are an rare exception!!
- Vlada
  October 30, 2015
  Cortex-A53 as found in the MediaTek chipsets is the successor of Cortex-A7. Krait cores in SD801 are based on Cortex-A15 design and further improved. The successor of Cortex-A15 is Cortex-A57 which is only found in Samsung Exynos and SD808 and SD810.
  The Krait cores (although 32bit) are much more powerful then Cortex-A53 cores. Those 64bit bring no real advantage. A53 is more powerful the A7 and A57 is more powerful then A15 or A17. But A53 is not more powerful then A15 or A17.
- yalok
  November 1, 2015
  However flagship is x10, yet, it has weaker gpu than sd801, it even manages to be outdone in some cpu benchmarks too.

Yash Garg
October 29, 2015
It’s got to be the Letv for me. I just wish it had the fingerprint sensor on the front.
- Guaire
  October 29, 2015
  Then you would call it iPhone copycat.
- Yash Garg
  October 29, 2015
  Trust me I wouldn’t.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  Yash would?? Maybe some others on here but not him.
- G'n'T
  October 29, 2015
  Agree Yash. I am not a fan of the rear type finger print sensor and have gotten to used to a front finger print sensor. The LeTV looks really good other wise though.

greg
October 29, 2015
LeTV Le 1s easy , Oneplus X is at least $300 in resellers , so I think Oneplus just got themselves too arrogant pricing their two last devices
waterresist
October 29, 2015
Compering Xiaomi Mi4 (Especially with the new reduced price) OnePlus X would make more sense to me. 5″ or 5.5″ is the most important difference between the two phones in the article. Am I wrong guys? However, I made myself a “dummy” paperphone with dimensions of Le1s and I am more and more convinced to move to 5.5″.
- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  I used to think 5 was the perfect size for a phone, until I owned a 5.5, now I don’t think I could go back
- Guaire
  October 29, 2015
  Don’t judge phones with screen sizes, judge them with their dimensions. LG G3 and iPhone 6 Plus has same size displays, but one of them is like a shovel. Maybe you can find a physically similar phone on a local store like Huawei Mate S. It can provide you a better idea than a paperphone.
  I’m using a 5.2 incher and next one will definitely be a 5.5 incher or 5.7 incher depending on the other factors.
- waterresist
  October 30, 2015
  I was thinking about that ~1 cm/~0.5 cm difference in dimensions. This is why I was a fan of Alcatel/TCL Idol X and Jiayu S2. Those phones had perfect balance in style and size, especially the S2.
- Charlles Costa
  October 30, 2015
  I think the exact same thing , I had the Nexus 5 , than Huawei P8 and now the LeTV X600 ( One) and it’s the perfect size for me.
- Vlada
  October 30, 2015
  I had a 5″ then 4,7″ and now 4,5″. This is the perfect size for me. Unfortunately they don’t make phones smaller then 5″ anymore. Anyway I won’t buy anything bigger then 5″ even those phones are too big for me.
- balcobomber25
  October 30, 2015
  Yea I went from Nexus 4 to Blu Life Play, Mi3, Mi4 and about a dozen others lol.
- Charlles Costa
  October 30, 2015
  Sorry but 4.5 inches? Even my daughter has a 5 inches phone. You must have a kids ✋.
- Vlada
  October 31, 2015
  5″ was too big for one hand use. The 4.7″ is OK. But I would like to have a compact phone because of portability.
- waterresist
  October 31, 2015
  I constantly do this in the last few weeks. Unfortunately the safety chain is always connected to the back of the phones so I have to test them for size with screen in my palm. Also it is not an option to check pocketproofness. By the way is pocketproofness a real word? 😀
- Josef Izchaki
  November 3, 2015
Astorian
October 29, 2015
Does LeTV have a good software support? So, are they going to release update to 6.0?
- King
  October 30, 2015
  From the posts and experiences posted on Gizchina (including Andi’s own experience), it looks like they support their phones with updates.
- boober
  October 30, 2015
  The support is there, quite regular experimental updates that don’t basically improve anything and quite bad battery life. It’s the software for patient people :).
- Astorian
  October 30, 2015

- balcobomber25
  October 29, 2015
  That;s a preorder price, never go by that on a reseller. Whenever a new phone comes out resellers will estimate what they think it will sell for and post that price. Once the phone is actually out it will cost around $299 on Oppomart.
shmox
October 30, 2015