Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Samsung had a hard task in making the Galaxy Note 7 stand out from its two already impressive phones of 2016, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. But it seems to have done a fantastic job, if my first impressions are anything to go by. The Korean giant’s latest phablet is a tantalising prospect. Yet, a lot of the actual specs have been plucked straight from other Samsung phones. But the typical Note mainstays are still here, S-Pen included, and it’s the first phone to possess iris-scanning tech and a mobile-HDR display. It’s been the case that the Galaxy S series is for mass-market and the Note line is for the enthusiast, but I think that might just change here. During my demo I was told you’ll be able to use HDR when watching videos on Amazon Prime, but it wasn’t confirmed whether it’s a benefit of the screen itself or if the selected app can simply harness the screen's capabilities better. The display didn’t look noticeably brighter than the one on my S7 Edge, but I didn’t get to try out any video. I'll just have to wait until I get a full review model before I can test out Mobile HDR. The iris scanner is another exclusive feature that beefs up the Note 7's security. There’s a small sensor above the display that, once set up, will read your eyes and unlock the phone. It sounds simple, but I doubt I’ll be using it instead of the fingerprint scanner. During my tests I found the scanning process to be a little slow, and I could open the phone quicker with my thumb than my eye. You have to turn the screen on, press the home button and wait for it to scan your eye before it unlocks. I'm also concerned it won't work very well for people with glasses – the person demoing it to me had to repeatedly remove his specs to get it to work – and that it'll struggle in poor light. The biggest Galaxy Note 7 feature, and the thing that really sets it apart from the S7 Edge and pretty much every other phablet, is the S Pen. If you’re new to the Note series, the S Pen is a stylus that fits snugly into the bottom of the phone, popping out when you want to jot down a note. I've never been a fan of styluses, though – they seem unnecessary when my finger is good enough to jot notes and navigate menus. But I know a lot of you love the S Pen and for existing fans it's a great stylus with a bunch of really nice abilities. It’s slim and sturdy, and it’s water resistant just like the phone. Pop it out and a menu will appear, highlighting all its functions. The most basic is jotting down notes, but its 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity make it great for arty drawing too.

The S Pen has some other tricks, too. Hover over text and you can instantly translate it, or press down on a YouTube video and you’ve got yourself a GIF. Cooler still, bring out the pen while the display is off and you can write a note on the blank panel. The Note 7's battery is actually smaller than the one in the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, measuring in at 3,500mAh rather than 3,600mAh. It's a small difference, but I've found the S7 Edge’s battery life to be wildly inconsistent, so I have some initial concerns about the Note 7's. Thankfully there’s Fast Charging on board – both wired and wireless – and this is the first Samsung phone to utilise USB-C, which was a surprising omission from the Galaxy S7.

That does mean, though, that the Note 7 won’t work with your old Gear VR, but – surprise! – Samsung has you sorted. It’s selling an updated Gear VR with a USB-C port that comes in a sleek black colour and has an improved design. It’s also much comfier to wear, thanks to a toughened foam wrapping and more customisable headstrap. There’s also an external port, so in theory you can plug a Galaxy Gear 360 directly into the headset. Software has always been a sore point on Samsung devices, due to their use of the TouchWiz UI. I feel like I say this in every Samsung review, but the Note 7 has the cleanest TouchWiz UI layer yet. It’s sparser than before and a lot of the annoying bright colours have been replaced with pastel shades. The default apps are a lot cleaner, and the icons are less childlike. A particularly nifty software feature is the Secure Folder. This is far more than just a folder that’s locked away behind a passcode, as it actually acts as a separate OS. Throw the Twitter app in there and it’ll be a clean install, letting you add a completely new account. It’s backed up by Samsung’s Knox software and can be secured by a fingerprint, iris, password or passcode. I can see this being useful to not only hide your secret second personality on Twitter, but to also, ahem, conceal those pictures you don’t want to accidentally scroll through in a business meeting.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Samsung had a hard task in making the Galaxy Note 7 stand out from its two already impressive phones of 2016, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. But it seems to have done a fantastic job, if my first impressions are anything to go by. The Korean giant’s latest phablet is a tantalising prospect. Yet, a lot of the actual specs have been plucked straight from other Samsung phones. But the typical Note mainstays are still here, S-Pen included, and it’s the first phone to possess iris-scanning tech and a mobile-HDR display. It’s been the case that the Galaxy S series is for mass-market and the Note line is for the enthusiast, but I think that might just change here. During my demo I was told you’ll be able to use HDR when watching videos on Amazon Prime, but it wasn’t confirmed whether it’s a benefit of the screen itself or if the selected app can simply harness the screen's capabilities better. The display didn’t look noticeably brighter than the one on my S7 Edge, but I didn’t get to try out any video. I'll just have to wait until I get a full review model before I can test out Mobile HDR. The iris scanner is another exclusive feature that beefs up the Note 7's security. There’s a small sensor above the display that, once set up, will read your eyes and unlock the phone. It sounds simple, but I doubt I’ll be using it instead of the fingerprint scanner. During my tests I found the scanning process to be a little slow, and I could open the phone quicker with my thumb than my eye. You have to turn the screen on, press the home button and wait for it to scan your eye before it unlocks. I'm also concerned it won't work very well for people with glasses – the person demoing it to me had to repeatedly remove his specs to get it to work – and that it'll struggle in poor light. The biggest Galaxy Note 7 feature, and the thing that really sets it apart from the S7 Edge and pretty much every other phablet, is the S Pen. If you’re new to the Note series, the S Pen is a stylus that fits snugly into the bottom of the phone, popping out when you want to jot down a note. I've never been a fan of styluses, though – they seem unnecessary when my finger is good enough to jot notes and navigate menus. But I know a lot of you love the S Pen and for existing fans it's a great stylus with a bunch of really nice abilities. It’s slim and sturdy, and it’s water resistant just like the phone. Pop it out and a menu will appear, highlighting all its functions. The most basic is jotting down notes, but its 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity make it great for arty drawing too.

The S Pen has some other tricks, too. Hover over text and you can instantly translate it, or press down on a YouTube video and you’ve got yourself a GIF. Cooler still, bring out the pen while the display is off and you can write a note on the blank panel. The Note 7's battery is actually smaller than the one in the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, measuring in at 3,500mAh rather than 3,600mAh. It's a small difference, but I've found the S7 Edge’s battery life to be wildly inconsistent, so I have some initial concerns about the Note 7's. Thankfully there’s Fast Charging on board – both wired and wireless – and this is the first Samsung phone to utilise USB-C, which was a surprising omission from the Galaxy S7.

That does mean, though, that the Note 7 won’t work with your old Gear VR, but – surprise! – Samsung has you sorted. It’s selling an updated Gear VR with a USB-C port that comes in a sleek black colour and has an improved design. It’s also much comfier to wear, thanks to a toughened foam wrapping and more customisable headstrap. There’s also an external port, so in theory you can plug a Galaxy Gear 360 directly into the headset. Software has always been a sore point on Samsung devices, due to their use of the TouchWiz UI. I feel like I say this in every Samsung review, but the Note 7 has the cleanest TouchWiz UI layer yet. It’s sparser than before and a lot of the annoying bright colours have been replaced with pastel shades. The default apps are a lot cleaner, and the icons are less childlike. A particularly nifty software feature is the Secure Folder. This is far more than just a folder that’s locked away behind a passcode, as it actually acts as a separate OS. Throw the Twitter app in there and it’ll be a clean install, letting you add a completely new account. It’s backed up by Samsung’s Knox software and can be secured by a fingerprint, iris, password or passcode. I can see this being useful to not only hide your secret second personality on Twitter, but to also, ahem, conceal those pictures you don’t want to accidentally scroll through in a business meeting.

Apple Watch review - now from just £259

For some people the Apple Watch was just too expensive, particularly compared to other manufacturer's smart watches. Well, now that's not true, as Apple has dropped the entry-level price of the Watch Sport to just £259 for the 38mm version and £299 for the 42mm version, down from £299 and £339 respectively. That will certainly help the entry-level Watch shift off the shelves, particularly as it now has a greater range of straps, including the new woven nylon case, which looks a bit more watch-like, compared to the Sports band. Apple hasn't touched the price of the standard Watch, although the entry-level model now ships with a woven nylon strap. This looks a little classier for the stainless steel Watch model and distinguishes this range from the Sports edition. To my mind, Apple's decision to continuously grow the range with new straps and body colours is the right decision to make, as it means that you're not likely to bump into someone with the same combination as you. This is really one of the keys to Watch's success. You see, the problem with the vast majority of smartwatches is that they’ve been designed as a bit of technology, not also as something that you’d be happy to display on your wrist the entire time. It’s a trap that Apple has been keen to avoid with its Watch, aiming to design a smartwatch that’s both more powerful than what’s come before and more customisable than any other watch available. While I found that Apple achieved most of these goals, the first version of the WatchOS was a little limited. In particularly, there were few watch faces, customisation was limited to what Apple gave you and apps didn't run natively on the Watch, making some of them rather slow. That all changes with WatchOS 2, which is now available for all users to download. As a result, I've completely updated this review to refer to the latest OS. Before I get into the details, I can completely understand why Apple took its time to add these new features: with the first OS, it was about getting the look and feel of the Watch right, while showing developers how the new features should work; with everybody used to the Watch, Apple could open up the OS to developers safe in the knowledge that they'd understand how the product worked. Our colleagues over at Alphr agree, calling it 'one superb smartwatch'.

I've also managed to get all of the Sport Edition models, which are available in Rose Gold and Yellow Gold in both 38mm and 42mm, complete with a new range of strap designs. What the new colours do is give you more choice when you're buying. With plenty of new strap options, too, the Sport Watch can be dressed to be as classy as you like or, with the bold new Sport straps, as flashy as you like. I have to say, having started out with a Stainless Steel model, that the new Sport colours would make be seriously pause and think about the model that's right for me.

Since this review first went live, I've also updated with my impressions of the Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock, the first official charging accessory from Apple. Previously, third-party manufacturers had made their own stands, integrating the USB wireless charging adaptor that ships with the Watch, but with Apple's accessory it's a neater all-in-one design that you don't have to worry about cable management with. Check out page two of this review to take a look at my impressions. Design As Apple says, the Watch is its “most personal device yet”: that ethos even stretches to the way that company sells the product, with the in-store experience more jeweller than technology retailer. Even the packaging says high-end watch, rather than tech product.

I have to say that Apple has been rather triumphant in both of its goals, with the wide range of models letting you choose a Watch that looks different to what other people may be wearing; crucially, every model has the same experience, so you’re only really choosing on looks, not features. Available ranges What makes the Apple Watch more flexible than any of its competition is the sheer range of design choices available. At the base level, you have the choice between two sizes: 38mm and 42mm. Where possible, I recommend the 42mm version, but the smaller version at least means that there’s an option for people with smaller wrists, which is something that other manufacturers have completely ignored: the Moto 360, for example, looks ridiculous on some people. Once you know your size, it’s a matter of choosing the model that you want. The differences here aren’t in features but in the build materials. The entry-level Sport edition has an aluminium body, with a textured feel to it, and ships with the soft-touch fluoroelastomer Sport Band available in lots of colours. Unlike rubber, which looks and feels cheap, fluoroelastomer looks classy and feels nice to wear. Apple's clasp design is also brilliant, with the strap clipping securely on, while the end tucks out of the way; why haven't other watch manufacturers ever been so innovative with their strap design? The Sport Edition costs £259 for the 38mm version and £299 for the 42mm version. It's now available in silver, gold, rose gold and black, so there's definitely a model that will suit you (click the image to view the full gallery). As of the most recent launch, there are even more strap choices available: see the Apple Store for more information.

Next up is the standard Apple Watch, which has a stainless steel body and sapphire glass. It starts at £479 for the 38mm and £519 for the 42mm version, with the woven nylon strap, which looks nicer and more 'watch-like' than the old Sports band. Here you get more choice of straps to buy with the Watch, although prices rapidly increase: I've got the Milanese Loop on the 42mm version, which costs £599; at the top is a special black Watch with a Space Black Stainless Steel Link Bracelet that costs a whopping £949; fortunately, the black version is now available with a nylon strap for £479, so you can have this version without having to pay a fortune. At the very top is the Apple Watch edition, which has a gold body and costs between £8,000 and £13,500, with each model having a unique strap. It’s fair to say that the standard or Sport editions are going to be the right choice for most people. All of the standard Watch’s straps are available to buy separately and fit any edition of the Watch. Apple’s proprietary strap fitting means you can change a strap within a minute, giving you the option to have different straps for different occasions. This connector is available for licensing, so third-party straps will be available for less although I can’t vouch for their quality. Design and build quality No matter which version you choose, the Watch is beautifully designed and has the quality that I've come to expect from Apple. From its rounded edge to the way that the screen curves down to meet the metal body, the Watch is superbly designed and is a cut above any other smartwatch currently available. It’s also much thinner than you may expect, making some of the Android watches I've reviewed look rather chunky. The same level of detail has been put into the straps. Our Milanese Loop was beautifully finished, with the magnetic clasp making sure it stayed tight against our wrist while remaining comfortable at all times. Once I had it on, the Watch looked and felt as though I was wearing a regular watch, not just a bit of tech. Setup - Bluetooth and Wi-Fi You need an iPhone 5 or later to use the Apple Watch. Setting it up for the first time is simple: you turn on the Watch, open the Watch app on your phone and then use the phone’s camera to take a picture of the pairing animation. After that, your Watch uses Bluetooth LE to connect to your iPhone. You only have to perform a few simple steps to complete the process, including setting a four-digit passcode. Not that you should have to enter it often, as the Watch stays unlocked while it remains on your wrist (it locks automatically when you remove it) and you can tell it to unlock with your iPhone, which is particularly handy if you’ve got Touch ID. For most people, then, they’ll only need to put their Watch on in the morning, tap Touch ID on their iPhone and they’ll be set for the day.

During setup, you can also choose which apps you want to install on the Watch, or just to install all that are available from your phone. For most applications, the Watch talks to your iPhone using Bluetooth, but it also has 2.4GHz Wi-Fi built in. You can’t select which network the Watch should join, but it will connect to any 2.4GHz network that your phone has connected to before, automatically. If you use dual-band Wi-Fi at home, such as with an 802.11ac router, make sure that you’ve connected your phone to both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz networks in the past. Wi-Fi means that Watch keeps working when your phone is out of Bluetooth range. It automatically switches from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi when it can't detect your iPhone, so the Watch can communicate with your phone provided they're both on the same physical network. It’s great news, as it means that your Watch keeps working, for example, when your phone’s upstairs on charge and you’re elsewhere in the house.

OnePlus 3 Review

If anything, OnePlus was a victim of its own success, as expectations for its second installment went above and beyond what the still-small firm was capable of. OnePlus founder Carl Pei told me during a briefing for the OnePlus 3 that "people have very, very high expectations. We got very lucky with the first device, and people wanted more. We have to balance expectations with what we're capable of". As you may expect then, from a flagship handset costing just US$399 (£309, around AU$450), OnePlus has indeed had to balance features against expectation, but with the OnePlus 3 the compromises are more acceptable. With a Snapdragon 820 processor, 6GB of RAM, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front snapper, fingerprint scanner and 3,000mAh fast-charging battery, the OnePlus 3 has the tools – on paper at least – to take on the big names. The OnePlus 2 claimed to be the 2016 Flagship Killer, and while it fell way short of living up to that boast, the OnePlus 3 may just be able to claim the title.

The single biggest advancement from the OnePlus 2 to the OnePlus 3 is the design. I forgave the original OnePlus One's polycarbonate looks because the phone offered such fantastic value for money, but when the OnePlus 2 came round many people, myself included, wanted more than what was on offer. Thankfully OnePlus has answered fan's calls for a more premium design, delivering its first metal uni-body smartphone in the OnePlus 3, cut from a single slab of aluminum. The result is pleasing. The metal chassis signals the evolution of OnePlus brand from a slightly shaky Chinese startup to a brand that knows what it's doing, and knows what people want. It doesn't break any new ground in terms of looks, with flashes of iPhone, HTC and Samsung, but it's great to eyeball and hold in the hand. It's a shame that OnePlus hasn't taken smartphone design in a new direction, but a quick look at the top phones across all the major manufacturers shows that there's a fair amount of – how shall I put this – 'borrowing' when it comes to styling. Front-on the OnePlus 3 isn't anything special – it's a relatively standard black slab coated in Gorilla Glass 4, with the main feature being the indented fingerprint scanner-come-home-button oval below the display. The fingerprint scanner is much quicker at recognizing your digits and unlocking the OnePlus 3 than it was on the OnePlus 2, with a quoted time of just 0.3 seconds. While I can't vouch for the exact speed I can see that it's impressively quick, and I didn't have any issues when using it. OnePlus says it's faster than Apple's Touch ID, and I'm inclined to agree. Either side of the scanner you'll find touch-sensitive navigation keys which are only visible when tapped, with a single white LED illuminating for a couple of seconds before disappearing into the bezel.

These are responsive and easy to hit, and you can program them in the settings menu, enabling you to perform extra functions with a hold action rather than a tap. You can also swap them round – so if you prefer your back key to be on the right rather than the left you can do just that. As well as the toughened Gorilla Glass on the front of the phone, OnePlus has also included a factory-fitted screen protector to prevent scratches, but it's a little annoying. It doesn't cover the whole screen, and at times I could see the edge of the protector running down each side of the display, which distracts from the on-screen action. Fortunately you can remove it pretty easily, and it doesn't leave any nasty residue on the glass – but you're unlikely to get the bubble-free finish if you try to re-apply it, so make sure you really want it gone before peeling it off. Along the left side of the 7.35mm-thick OnePlus 3 are the volume rocker and notification slider. The latter has three positions: all notifications, priority notifications and silent, enabling you to quickly adjust the setting without waking the screen.

It's a hat-tip to Apple's mute switch on the iPhone, and it's something I found very useful during my time with the OnePlus 3 – especially when it came to quickly muting the phone during meetings and cinema trips. On the other side is the power/lock key, which sits below the dual-SIM tray. Yes that's right – the OnePlus 3 can handle two SIMs. On some other devices, such as the Huawei P9, the second SIM slot also doubles as a microSD slot, but that's not the case here – as mentioned, there's no expandable storage option. The explanation given to me by OnePlus's Pei for why the company continues to shun expandable storage comes down to user experience. "MicroSD is a big ask [from our fans]," Pei explained, "but it's not a good ask. It's not a good user experience". You may not agree, but that's the thinking over at OnePlus. The buttons are well positioned, and as long as your hands are big enough to grapple the OnePlus 3 you'll be able to hit them without issue when using the phone one-handed. There's nothing on the top edge, while the base is packed with a speaker grille, USB-C port and headphone jack – OnePlus certainly isn't ready to ditch the 3.5mm jack just yet, unlike Motorola with the Moto Z.

Moving round the back, the gently curving rear and the antenna bands at the top and bottom of the handset are reminiscent of the HTC One M9, while the square camera bulge has something of the Samsung Galaxy S6 about it. It's a pleasing premium look, if a little understated, and its arched backed means the OnePlus 3 sits nicely in the palm, enabling you to get a decent grip around what is a large handset. The OnePlus 3 is a phone I really do enjoy holding, flipping it over repeatedly in my hand and gazing at it as it resides on my desk. There's nothing complex going on here, but it's that simplicity that I find alluring. In that sense it's similar to Apple's iPhone design, although the curved rear beats the flat backs of the Cupertino firm's handsets. Design-wise, OnePlus has done something special then. The OnePlus 3 doesn't look out of place alongside the iPhone 6S, Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and LG G5, yet it's almost half the price. For that, at least, it must be applauded.

iPhone SE review

WHAT IS THE IPHONE SE? The iPhone SE is a strange proposal, but it makes complete sense. With phones getting bigger and bigger, it’s becoming rare to see a device which is comfortably usable in one hand. The Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and iPhone 6S Plus are all great but for many they’re simply too large. With the iPhone SE, Apple has given these people a choice. Its 4-inch screen and compact body are rare these days, but it’s still one powerful device. There’s the same internals as the iPhone 6S, a snazzy pink (sorry, Rose Gold) hue and support for Apple Pay. Normally small phones are hamstrung, but this isn’t. It has an impressive camera, a battery that can last, an iconic (if recycled) design and the latest version of iOS. It’s also the most affordable iPhone yet, starting from £359/$399. IPHONE SE – DESIGN, SCREEN AND AUDIO A surprising amount of people I speak to say they want a small phone that packs all the features of a full-fat flagship. Sony is the only manufacturer to have previously attempted anything like this, but even its Xperia Z5 Compact has a not-so-tiny 4.6-inch screen and it's quite thick. The iPhone SE is much smaller and much easier to handle. Anyone who's used an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S will feel at ease with the iPhone SE – it looks and feels almost identical, except now you can get it in a fetching rose-gold colour and its cut edges are matte rather than shiny chrome. Those phones have an iconic design and I have no problem with Apple reusing it, especially if it means they can keep costs down and pass the savings on. The best thing about the design of the iPhone SE is that it still feels quality. The brushed aluminium back is both hard and cool to touch, the buttons are solid, and it’s easily small enough to use one-handed, regardless of the size of your hands.

Coming from using the giant iPhone 6S Plus and Huawei Mate 8 I also found it a relief to be able to bend my leg again when I put a phone in my front pocket. In other ways it’s taken me time to adjust to the smaller screen. It’s not just that I have to move it closer to my face to read text, like my granddad reading the morning paper, I also struggle with the small keyboard. Ironically I often have to use both my hands and thumbs on the phone to minimise the potential for embarrassing autocorrect fails. I've gotten more used to it, but I still don't find it comfortable after a few weeks of using the phone non-stop. The small screen also means watching video is a little cramped and, while the iPhone SE is more than powerful enough to play all the best games, trying to maneuver precisely requires daintier digits than mine. While the iPhone SE still looks good there are a couple of aspects of the design that aren’t perfect, and others that feel dated. For starters, if you don’t use a case with the iPhone SE you might find the edges a little harsh, particularly if you’re more used to the rounded metal sides on contemporary phone designs. The screen bezel is also rather wide – especially at the top and bottom – and that means you don’t get a lot of screen for the size of the phone.

That’s not the only problem with the screen. It packs the exact same display as the 5S. While the 1136 x 640 resolution provides a perfectly sharp 326 pixels per inch the screen lacks punch and has a reddish tinge that is exacerbated when it’s tilted at some angles. Compare it to Samsung’s colour-packed Super AMOLED screens or even the newer LCD technology on a phone like the HTC 10 and it really starts looking its age. Still, it's quite acceptable – bright enough to be used outdoors and sharp enough to read websites on the go without noticing any fuzzy edges to letters.

The speaker located at the bottom of the phone is decent rather than outstanding. Top-level volume isn’t as high as some other phones, but the quality of the audio output is surprisingly good from such a small package – sound is balanced, if a little thin, and there’s no distortion at the highest volume. Call quality is also strong. The ear speaker is clear and loud and the noise-cancelling mic does a good job of clearing up any distracting external noises when you're on a call. There are louder call speakers out there but I didn't have any problems hearing or making myself heard even on windy days with lots of traffic noise around me. Neither the design, screen or sound quality excites the blood much – so far the iPhone SE isn't very different at all when compared to its predecessors. That all changes, though, when I scratch the surface and take the camera for a spin around London.

review leeco Le2

LeEco held a massive event in Beijing, China, to make few new product announcements. They touched upon a lot of different topics, including television sets and a particularly ambitious project involving making an electric car in cooperation with Aston Martin. However, the meat and potatoes of the event were the three new phones being launched, the Le 2, the Le 2 Pro, and the Le Max 2. The 2 in the name makes it clear that these are successors to LeEco's current line of smartphones, the Le 1s, and the Le Max. As such, they aren't dramatically different and represent a spec refresh for the most part. The Le 2 and Le 2 Pro are the cheaper models. The biggest difference between the two is the chipset; the cheaper Le 2 has the MediaTek Helio X20 with 3GB RAM whereas the Le 2 Pro has the MediaTek Helio X25 and comes with 4GB RAM. Visually, the two phones are practically identical. The only difference is that the Le 2 has a thin body colored bezel along the side of the display but on the Le 2 Pro it has been painted black to make it look like the display flows over the side. In reality, both phones have sizable bezels that become visible once the display is on but maintain the zero bezel illusion as long as the display remains off.

The hardware on both devices is solidly built and feels remarkably premium in hand. The design is very similar to the Le 1s; the three phones look identical from the front, except maybe the Le 2 Pro that has the black borders. On the back, the camera module is slightly raised and placed in the center whereas it was flush and in the corner on the 1s. The fingerprint sensor is right below and now squarish instead of a circle. Both the phones run LeEco's EUI, which again looks identical to the one on the older 1s, even though it now runs on the newer Android 6.0 Marshmallow underneath. In our limited time with the phone the performance was good, and there were no signs of lag or stuttering. There's also the Le Max 2, which is the real deal and LeEco's new flagship. Except you probably wouldn't know it just by looking at it, because it, again, looks pretty much identical to the other two LeEco phones announced at the event. The Le Max 2 runs on the Snapdragon 820. The phone comes in multiple memory configurations, which go up to 64GB storage and a massive 6GB RAM. The Max 2 has a bigger 5.7-inch that has a resolution of 1440x2560px. It also packs in a 21 megapixel Sony IMX230 sensor and is the first phone in the world to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon Sense ID biometric fingerprint scanner. The software is once again EUI, but this time, it is running on top of Android 6.0.1. You would be hard-pressed to spot the difference to the UI on the other two phones or even the older LeEco phones for that matter. The consistency across devices is admirable, and you can download themes if you want to customize the UI. Performance during our hands-on was great, and the phone felt fast and responsive.

One thing, in particular, to note about all three of these devices is that they all lack traditional 3.5mm headphone jack. It's not because these are particularly thin devices but LeEco has decided to take the bold decision to route all audio through the USB Type-C connector at the bottom. To achieve this, LeEco is using a technology called CDLA (Continual Digital Lossless Audio) to output sound through USB, and they claim improved audio quality over the standard analog headphone output. The company announced two products, an in-ear headset and an over the ear pair of headphones, both with a Type-C connector, and eventually, you will be able to get more headphones with this connector. Unfortunately, it also means you can't use any of your existing headphones with the phones.

Review: THL T6C 3G Smartphone with 5-inch Display for RM320

THL T6C is one of the budget smartphones for people who need more than a feature phone without breaking their bank. Read on for my THL T6c smartphone review to learn more about its specs, performance, and price.

Who is THL? Have not heard about THL? It is okay, neither I know about the brand when I was contacted by DD4.com in the end of 2015. Apparently, THL (Technology, Happy, Life — technology-based happy life) is an established smartphone brand in China with over 300 brand experience stores in 2012. It is founded by Shenzhen Hongjiayuan Communication Technology Co., Ltd in 2008. Design In the white package box, you get a THL T6C smartphone, a quick start guide, microUSB cable, USB power adapter, and a back cover phone case.

My review unit is White colour, Black colour is also available. The smartphone has curved edges at the top and bottom. Chrome lines at the left and right sides. The power button at the right side and volume rocker at the opposite are transparent buttons. Both microUSB port and headphone jack are located at the top. 3 permanent non-back-lit capacitive buttons (options, home, back) at the front bottom. The protruding rear camera has single LED flash. The rear bottom is a row of speaker grills. The patterned rear cover improves grip, reduce oily finger prints. Open up the rear cover to reveal the 1900mAh removable lithium-ion battery and dual sim slot with microSD memory card slot. Overall, THL T6C design is simple and nothing too fancy (chrome line and transparent buttons). The build does not feel cheap or frangible.

THL T6C front THL T6C has a 5-inch IPS 5-point multi-touch display with FWVGA 854×480 pixels resolution (16:9 aspect ratio). It is bright and vibrant, the viewing angle is good. You seldom get a 5-inch IPS display smartphone at this price range.You seldom get a 5-inch IPS display smartphone at this price range. You seldom get a 5-inch IPS display smartphone at this price range. Software THL T6C stock ROM runs Android 5.1 Lollipop with an active wireless update (latest update version on January 16th, 2016). The skin applies material design and cheerful icons. I am impressed that it does not pre-installed useless 3rd party bloatware. Only total 26 apps in app drawer consist of basic Android apps and Google apps. *thumb up* Plus, THL smartphone has an “App Permission Manager” allows you to monitor each app’s permission and block as you wish. Performance THL T6C is powered by a Mediatek MT6580 quad-core 1.3Ghz processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB storage, supporting microSD memory card up to 32GB. The usable free storage out of the box is 5GB. In AnTuTu Benchmark v6.0.1 test, the budget smartphone scored 18,688 and failed in 3D test. Yes, it is very far far behind the top smartphones that scored over 70,000 points. THL T6C ain’t your top performance phone. In my real-life test, it is okay for most people’s daily phone usage. No problem for web browsing, watching online video and playing a game (Temple Run 2). The mono speaker has high volume output but lost in details. The WiFi reception is kind of weaker than my other smart devices. By the way, T6C is a 3G smartphone with Dual SIM Dual Standby mode. Camera THL T6C has 5MP auto-focus rear camera and 0.3MP front camera. The cameras’ performance is disappointing. Photos are blur and lost of details as if it is over post-processing to reduce noises. Check out the original photos below: (full-size image available)

THL T6C Specification CPU: Mediatek MTK6580 Quad-core 1.3GHz processor RAM: 1GB Storage: 8GB (support up to 32GB microSD memory card) Display: 5-inch (854×480 pixels), IPS Battery: 1900mAh Camera: 5MP (rear) with LED flash , 0.3MP (front) Standby: 2 SIM 2 Standby Data Transfer: GPRS, EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+ Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, micro USB, audio jack Dimensions: 143.9 x 71.6 x 8.2 mm Weight: 123 g Competition THL T6C competitions with similar specs and price range are: LEAGOO Alfa 6 — Mediatek MTK6580 Quad-core 1.3GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, 4.5-inch IPS display, 1600mAh battery, 5MP/2MP cameras ASUS Zenfone C — Intel Z2520 processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage (support 64GB microSD card), 4.5-inch TFT display, 5MP/0.3MP cameras Conclusion THL T6C is an affordable Android smartphone that works for most people. I like its clean custom ROM and app permission manager. Performance is okay with a quad-core processor and 1GB RAM. The camera quality is disappointed. I do not understand why the rear camera has to be protruding, it is not super-resolution nor optical zoom. THL T6C is selling on DD4.com for USD$74.99 (~RM320).