For this price you’re getting a phone that measures 143.8mm high by 69.5mm wide by 7.5mm thin, all while weighing 136 grams and featuring a stainless steel metal frame. The 5-inch JDI IPS LCD screen up front sports a 1080p resolution and PPI count of 441. The rear camera is a fourth-generation 1/3.06-inch Sony 16-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 lens and dual-LED flash, while the front is a 13-megapixel third generation Sony sensor with f/2.4 77-degree angle lens and a single-LED flash. Inside is a 1.3GHz Octa-core MediaTek MT6735 processor, Mali-T720 MP3 GPU and 3GB of RAM as well. 32GB of storage gives some rather roomy space for apps and media, and if that’s not enough there’s a microSD card slot inside of the rather unique dual-SIM card tray. Last but not least is the 2,400mAh battery inside, Android 5.1, 4G LTE connectivity and a fingerprint scanner too.
MediaTek has really created a good name for themselves throughout the stellar 2015 product release period, and the MT6735 octa-core processor that powers the Leagoo Elite 1 fits right into that category. While it’s not the highest performer at this price range it’s definitely powerful enough for essentially anything you’re going to do on a phone. The extra juice that the Mali-T720 MP3 GPU gives it to support that 1080p resolution helps too, and keeps things moving along quickly and smoothly without any noticeable lag anywhere during use. A lot of this lag-free experience can also be attributed to the abnormally fast internal storage that Leagoo uses, with throughput speeds in excess of 3 times the average rate of speed in this price range. Gaming is fantastic and even more intensive 3D games ran perfectly on the phone with no issue.
Multi-tasking was also excellent, although the interface holds things back a bit. You’ll need to press and hold the physical home button to bring up the multi-tasking interface, something that takes far too much effort and time in an era where a single overview button on the face would bring it up instantly. Not only this but the interface is just plain bad and mimics Xiaomi’s horrendous row of 4 app icons instead of the superior thumbnail carousel that Android has been using for years now. Even if Leagoo didn’t want to use the stock 3D carousel of app thumbnails it could have done some other configuration of thumbnails, a far superior and easier way to multi-task other than having to stare at app icons until you find the app you want. At least the switching process is fast, and apps load instantly when called. You’ll also find that the 3GB of RAM keeps apps from closing forcefully, helping you feel like the phone is even faster that it already feels.
