Hands on photos of the Cool 1


cool1

LeEco and Coolpad really took us surprise with the Cool1 launch and keen pricing today, now it’s your turn to decide of the two have made a decent enough phone.

At a starting price of 1099 Yuan, the Cool1 has really managed to surprise the Chinese smartphone industry today. The pricing means that the CNC alloy phone is lower priced than the Xiaomi Redmi Pro, and what’s more the Cool1 matches the Xiaomi’s dual cameras, and powerful hardware spec.

Feature highlights of the Cool1 include a dual 13 mega-pixel camera set up which uses one camera for colour and the other for monochrome shots (just like the much more expensive Huawei P9), a large 4060mAh battery, IR remote, and Snapdragon 652 1.8Ghz chipset.

cool1

Real photos of the Cool1 show a phone that has seen heavy design influence from LeEco, and in particular the original LeTV Le1 which the smartphone maker launched early last year. The 5.5-inch display has large black borders and navigation buttons on the chin are only visible when pressed.

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cool1

Due to the huge battery size the Cool1 comes in a thick CNC alloy body but in addition to promised long battery life, it has also meant the Cool1 has retained it’s 3.5mm headphone jack.

cool1

The dual camera design on the back matches up with a dual tone LED flash and below those is a fingerprint scanner for keeping everything nice and secure.

After seeing these hands on photos of the Cool1 I have to admit that the design is a little lacking, it’s very “last year” but with this level of hardware, and dual camera design and pricing of only 1099 Yuan, it’s still hard not to be impressed with the Cool1.

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54 Comments

  1. george
    August 16, 2016

    Now to the hard part in R&D. Make the camera to produce sharp pictures. Otherwise it’s just a smoke screen

  2. slartiblart
    August 16, 2016

    This looks very promising. Let’s go hard on coolpad to send you one Andi. We are all really fascinated by this phone. I’ve always had my Huawei Honor 6 plus since 2014 and never changed it as my prime phone as I love the camera and dual camera setup. But it’s getting old now. So i need a replacement. Redmi Pro or Cool 1??

  3. Lukas
    August 16, 2016

    hideous black borders…

  4. Jh1
    August 16, 2016

    Not overly impressed with the looks…. But specs and price are very impressive. Definitely considering this one

  5. MattD
    August 16, 2016

    I like the rear design: lg g5 and the upcoming letv device (the one with that creepy face) taught us it’s really hard to nail a good looking camera setup… The front is the LeBlackBorders usual design, so I wish there’ll be a black version of the phone as well…

    More importantly, there are both ir and 3.5 jack, and that’s a big plus (I would never imagine to say something like this just a couple of years ago, but still…). If there’s a microsd slot as well, it would be even more interesting.

    Overall, redmi pro’s camera is just for bokeh, this one could bring some actual improvements thanks to b&w sensor…

    Let’s wait for reviews!

  6. george
    August 16, 2016

    Now to the hard part in R&D. Make the camera to produce sharp pictures. Otherwise it’s just a smoke screen

  7. slartiblart
    August 16, 2016

    This looks very promising. Let’s go hard on coolpad to send you one Andi. We are all really fascinated by this phone. I’ve always had my Huawei Honor 6 plus since 2014 and never changed it as my prime phone as I love the camera and dual camera setup. But it’s getting old now. So i need a replacement. Redmi Pro or Cool 1??

  8. Assefa Hanson
    August 16, 2016

    sweet jesus! i MUST buy this phone i dont even care for reviews lol

    • MattD
      August 16, 2016

      Go for it asap, then tell us how it’s going into one of the firsts in-depth review published on a totally OT thread on disqus ?

  9. Lukas
    August 16, 2016

    hideous black borders…

  10. Ceza-BR
    August 16, 2016

    Look at the size of the borders, what a ridiculous thing!!!
    And there isn’t physical button in the front (Home button).
    Terrible. Next Please!

  11. Jh1
    August 16, 2016

    Not overly impressed with the looks…. But specs and price are very impressive. Definitely considering this one

  12. balcobomber25
    August 16, 2016

    Not a huge fan of the rear design and really sick of silver on phones.

  13. MattD
    August 16, 2016

    I like the rear design: lg g5 and the upcoming letv device (the one with that creepy face) taught us it’s really hard to nail a good looking camera setup… The front is the LeBlackBorders usual design, so I wish there’ll be a black version of the phone as well…

    More importantly, there are both ir and 3.5 jack, and that’s a big plus (I would never imagine to say something like this just a couple of years ago, but still…). If there’s a microsd slot as well, it would be even more interesting.

    Overall, redmi pro’s camera is just for bokeh, this one could bring some actual improvements thanks to b&w sensor…

    Let’s wait for reviews!

  14. Assefa Hanson
    August 16, 2016

    sweet jesus! i MUST buy this phone i dont even care for reviews lol

    • MattD
      August 17, 2016

      Go for it asap, then tell us how it’s going into one of the firsts in-depth review published on a totally OT thread on disqus 😁

  15. yoselife
    August 17, 2016

    please have gorilla glass and FM radio

  16. August 17, 2016

    Sure glad LeEco decided to stick with big bezels!

  17. Guest
    August 17, 2016

    Look at the size of the borders, what a ridiculous thing!!!
    And there isn’t physical button in the front (Home button).
    Terrible. Next Please!

  18. balcobomber25
    August 17, 2016

    Not a huge fan of the rear design and really sick of silver on phones.

  19. Max
    August 17, 2016

    WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???????????????????

    It was turning out to be the perfect phone until I saw the picture of the front. And the design on the back was sexy as fuck. What a shame. My ideal phone is absolutely crippled by its huge black bezels.

  20. Simion Florin
    August 17, 2016

    I think Redmi Pro is fine with that full HD Oled after seeing those huge bezels. Everything was fine until that… people just dont like gorilla bezels, only gorilla glass.

  21. yoselife
    August 17, 2016

    please have gorilla glass and FM radio

  22. realjjj
    August 17, 2016

    Was looking forward to this launch but after seeing what it is i lost any interest.
    It’s not better value than the leaders, it’s doesn’t differentiate enough in design or features and that ROM this year is not good enough/.
    It’s quite good value ,no doubt but was hoping for more- guess i am rather bored by the phone maker’s lack of ideas.
    Comparing the dual cam with Xiaomi is misguided. Sure they both have dual cams but use them for different purposes. Xiaomi does depth of field while this once uses dual to capture more light. It’s like the difference between corrective glasses and sunglasses, both are glasses but serve very different purposes.

    • Assefa Hanson
      August 18, 2016

      if they had ois for this type of dual cameras they would be GODS, the imx258 isnt amazing i agree imgaine if they used the imx 298 :O

      • realjjj
        August 18, 2016

        Single cam and OIS not dual since doing OIS with dual camera is rather difficult.
        IMX298 would be a very poor idea, the entire point of dual cam here is to capture more light and the 298 has 1.12um pixels so utterly inappropriate for that.
        A single IMX260 or IMX377 would be nice but , to differentiate, they could also have went with a good 23MP sensor. Everybody going 12-13 MP is annoying.

        • Assefa Hanson
          August 18, 2016

          http://youtu.be/L35dSFHW54w

          According to this @5:29 its imx258

          • realjjj
            August 19, 2016

            It is what it is, at this price it’s normal to get this kind of sensor but if they invest more in the cam i would prefer a good sensor. IMX260 with OIS and all that should be some 15$.

        • Michael
          December 16, 2016

          IT IS IMX258.
          WE DEFINETELY NEED SOMETHING LIKE IMX377 🙂

      • Michael
        December 16, 2016

        ” the imx258 isnt amazing i agree imgaine if they used the imx 298 :O:”
        IMX377 WOULD BE MUCH BETTER.

    • Michael
      December 16, 2016

      “In the end both chose marketing over quality. A great sensor with OiS would be preferable.”
      AbSOLUTELY!!
      LEECO GIVE US A BETTER SENSOR NOW!

  23. Steven Fox
    August 17, 2016

    Sure glad LeEco decided to stick with big bezels!

  24. VMortens
    August 17, 2016

    Front is awful. No black front – typical for Chinese market phones – I’m guessing goldish pink shite is on the way too. Huge black bezels, but no black front to mask it …
    Very decent specs and battery – shocker for the price.
    I can also tell you, that – as it would be usual fo LeEco – initial ROM versions will suck.

    Don’t expect any ‘wooow’ effect in the camera department too – I simply see no chance for that at the price.

  25. NextHype
    August 17, 2016

    that’s one ugly moth*f**k** from LeBezels but SD652 / 4050mAh / Dual Cam at 1099RMB… no wonder why they pay their designers with cupnoodles.

  26. Max
    August 17, 2016

    WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???????????????????

    It was turning out to be the perfect phone until I saw the picture of the front. And the design on the back was sexy as fuck. What a shame. My ideal phone is absolutely crippled by its huge black bezels.

  27. Simion Florin
    August 17, 2016

    I think Redmi Pro is fine with that full HD Oled after seeing those huge bezels. Everything was fine until that… people just dont like gorilla bezels, only gorilla glass.

  28. realjjj
    August 17, 2016

    Was looking forward to this launch but after seeing what it is i lost any interest.
    It’s not better value than the leaders, it’s doesn’t differentiate enough in design or features and that ROM this year is not good enough/.
    It’s quite good value ,no doubt but was hoping for more- guess i am rather bored by the phone makers’ lack of ideas.
    Comparing the dual cam with Xiaomi is misguided. Sure they both have dual cams but use them for different purposes. Xiaomi does depth of field while this once uses dual to capture more light. It’s like the difference between corrective glasses and sunglasses, both are glasses but serve very different purposes. In the end both chose marketing over quality. A great sensor with OiS would be preferable.

    • Assefa Hanson
      August 18, 2016

      if they had ois for this type of dual cameras they would be GODS, the imx258 isnt amazing i agree imgaine if they used the imx 298 :O

    • realjjj
      August 18, 2016

      Single cam and OIS not dual since doing OIS with dual camera is rather difficult.
      IMX298 would be a very poor idea, the entire point of dual cam here is to capture more light and the 298 has 1.12um pixels so utterly inappropriate for that. Doesn’t make sense to use small pixels instead of larger ones and then boost it with a second sensor – funny enough that’s what they are doing here, assuming it is IMX258, haven’t seen anyone else mention the sensor used.
      A single IMX260 or IMX377 would be nice but , to differentiate, they could also have went with a good 23MP sensor. Everybody going 12-13 MP is annoying.

    • Assefa Hanson
      August 18, 2016

      According to this @5:29 its imx258

    • realjjj
      August 19, 2016

      It is what it is, at this price it’s normal to get this kind of sensor but if they invest more in the cam i would prefer a good sensor. IMX260 with OIS and all that should be some 15$.

  29. August 17, 2016

    LeEco and Coolpad rolled back the clock with this one.

  30. VMortens
    August 17, 2016

    Front is awful. No black front – typical for Chinese market phones – I’m guessing goldish pink shite is on the way too. Huge black bezels, but no black front to mask it …
    Very decent specs and battery – shocker for the price.
    I can also tell you, that – as it would be usual fo LeEco – initial ROM versions will suck.

    Don’t expect any ‘wooow’ effect in the camera department too – I simply see no chance for that at the price.

  31. Öysan Kulbay
    August 17, 2016

    LeBorder has struck again.

  32. NextHype
    August 17, 2016

    that’s one ugly moth*f**k** from LeBezels but SD652 / 4050mAh / Dual Cam at 1099RMB… no wonder why they pay their designers with cupnoodles.

  33. 10basetom
    August 17, 2016

    LeEco and Coolpad rolled back the clock with this one.

  34. Pezzo
    August 17, 2016

    LeBorder has struck again.

  35. Muhammad Yasir
    August 18, 2016

    great phone … just tell me what do i do when i run out of the goddarned 32 gb memory WITHOUT SD CARD SLOT !

    • realjjj
      August 18, 2016

      Why do you think they don’t have one? LeEco offers online storage so they cripple their own product to extort a few more $.

      Don’t know about prices in China but in India they were offering their video services and 5TB of storage for under 8$ per month.
      Ofc one has to ask , even if they have no decency why would they screw over the user and degrade their own product like that when a microSD can store so little compared to the online storage offered by their services.
      So they don’t really do it to extort a few more $, they do it because they are morons.

      • Muhammad Yasir
        August 19, 2016

        exactly … exclusion of an SD card slot is just moronic behavior !

  36. Guest
    August 18, 2016

    great phone … just tell me what do i do when i run out of the goddarned 32 gb memory WITHOUT SD CARD SLOT !

    • realjjj
      August 18, 2016

      Why do you think they don’t have one? LeEco offers online storage so they cripple their own product to extort a few more $.

      Don’t know about prices in China but in India they were offering their video services and 5TB of storage for under 8$ per month.
      Ofc one has to ask , even if they have no decency why would they screw over the user and degrade their own product like that when a microSD can store so little compared to the online storage offered by their services.
      So they don’t really do it to extort a few more $, they do it because they are morons.

    • Guest
      August 19, 2016

      exactly … exclusion of an SD card slot is just moronic behavior !

  37. Michael
    December 16, 2016

    Cool1 has an IMX258 sensor
    Not too good enough
    We need for that excellent phone an IMX377 sensor!
    Ps does anybody knows the sensor of new Cool Charger 1C ?