LeEco isn’t a brand that most U.S. consumers will be familiar with. It’s typically described as “the Netflix of China,” but it’s actually far more than a streaming provider. The company makes an incredibly diverse range of products, ranging from cars and bikes to smartphones. At an event yesterday, LeEco announced it is bringing a large swathe of its portfolio to the U.S., including a virtual reality headset, 85-inch television and Android-powered bike.
In comparison to these products, the Le Pro 3 could seem mundane. It’s a highly competitive phone aiming to gain market share from Apple — on the company’s own turf. It’s part of Le Eco’s “Ecophone” line, itself part of the larger LeEco ecosystem. The company’s extensive product range links together into a complete family of devices.
The Le Pro 3 has a 5.5-inch Full HD display. It’s made of aluminium with a brushed metal finish. The back of the phone contains elements of most popular Android flagships. The body looks like recent HTC devices but the slight camera bump is distinctly Samsung. There’s also a hint of the minimalism of OnePlus and Apple. The result is a good-looking phone, even if it doesn’t do anything that hasn’t been seen before.
LeEco has concentrated its engineering efforts on the Le Pro 3’s internals. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor is widely regarded to be the fastest mobile chip currently available, excluding Apple’s A10. It’s a brand new processor that’s so far only been used on Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL.
The phone has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The main camera has a 16MP sensor capable of shooting 4K video. Alongside the main specs, you’ll find a fingerprint sensor, NFC, USB Type-C, Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and a huge 4,070mAh battery. The battery capacity is all the more remarkable considering the Le Pro 3 is just 7.53mm thick. Apple would do well to take notes.
The Le Pro 3 isn’t all about the hardware though. LeEco realises that it needs to do more than sell smartphones if it’s to succeed in the U.S. The Le Pro 3 runs LeEco’s Ecosystem User Interface (eui) on top of Android, providing “open access to Android apps, entertainment, games and content.” More significantly, eui also enables “seamless navigation” between LeEco’s range of connected devices. The company thinks that once customers have bought one product they’ll start to buy more. Soon, all their devices will be manufactured by LeEco, due to the ties between each one.
The plan is bold and critics are divided on whether LeEco is being too ambitious. The company is hinging its platform on a competitive entry price. At just $399, the Le Pro 3 is significantly less costly than rival high-end phones. For comparison, Google’s Pixel starts at $649. However, some analysts doubt whether consumers even want another ecosystem. With Apple, Google and Microsoft already touting their own families of devices, LeEco may find it hard to promote its platform.
“There’s no clamoring for another ecosystem in the U.S. right now,” Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, commented to WIRED. “People don’t want something completely new or different — they want the stuff they have to get better.”
Despite this warning, there is evidence that budget products can convince customers to adopt ecosystems. Amazon’s success with its range of Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers is testament to this. Amazon had the advantage of an existing brand reputation though. LeEco is entering the market as a complete outsider likely to be overlooked by consumers.
The Le Pro 3 will go on sale in the U.S. on November 2. It will be available in grey and gold colours for $399. A lesser-powered sibling, the Le S3, will be available for $249. To try to get customers hooked into the LeEco ecosystem early on, LeEco will be offering a $100 “LeRewards” loyalty voucher with purchases of either phone.
