LeEco X920 (DVT2) Review

Overview

The following text is an in-depth and unbiased review of a design verification test unit of LeEco X920. All facts and observations, mentioned in this text, regard solely the sample we have in our hands. This model is not officially announced by LeEco, therefore we will refer to it with its model alias name - X920. As mentioned above, this is not the final version of the product. Here's some insight on the product design process, which has several stages. First, a mockup model is created with a concept description. Based on that a prototype is made. This is a product with partial functionality and its purpose is to test the overall design, separate modules and pinpoint potential risks related to them. Up to ten prototype units may be produced to fulfil this stage. The next one is creating EVT - engineering verification/validation test units. These are fully functional units that may not be the same form/fit as the end product. The purpose is to reach production-worthy configuration by using the intended materials and the intended manufacturing process that meets desired product specifications and performance. Hardware components are tested in a way that offers engineers direct access to them. At this stage, up to 1000 units may be produced. It is followed by the DVT stage - the creation of design verification/validation test units. Their form, fit and function may be the same as those of the final product, but they may lack some final touches. The idea is to verify mass production yields with one production-worthy design. It includes functional, usability, performance, environmental, product reliability and regulatory compliance testing. Finally, the PVT (production validation test) units or Qualification units are created. These are pre-production or production units that are tested to verify the design has been correctly implemented into production. If everything goes well, these units may be sold as a final product. They are usually manufactured in quantities from 1000 to 20000 pieces. This process automatically continues with the mass production one. Our X920 sample is from the second tier of DVT units. It is logical to expect that while it looks and functions as a final product, it will show elements that need further finalisation. As long as it concerns the official name of the model, we can only speculate. It is very often confused with LeEco Le Max 3, which however has the X850 alias, a 5.7-inch screen, Snapdragon 821 chipset, and two rear cameras. X920 is the third generation of the 6.33-inch LeEco phablets after the LeTV One Max and LeTV Le Max Pro. Probably the official name of the model (if announced eventually) will be a combination of Max and Pro with 2 or 3, depending on the nomenclature choice, e.g. LeEco Le Max 2 Pro or LeEco Le Max 3 Pro. We have received the sample in a basic non-branded box with the most basic battery charger and USB cable, which are not original LeEco ones.

Specifications

LeEco X920 is equipped with a 6.33-inch IPS display with a QHD resolution (1440 x 2560 pixels) and pixel density of 538 ppi. The display panel is made by Sharp. Power is supplied by a 3700 mAh battery. Hardware-wise, the model is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 system-on-chip that integrates two 2.15GHz and two 1.6GHz cores in a quad-core Kryo CPU along with a 624MHz Adreno 530 GPU. There are 4GB of double-channel, LPDDR4 RAM on board, clocked at 1866MHz. The built-in memory measures 64GB. The primary camera of X920 features a 22.5-megapixel Sony IMX318 Exmor RS sensor coupled with a f/2.0 lens, hybrid AF, and dual-tone LED flash. The front-facing shooter packs an 8-megapixel OmniVision OV8865 CMOS BSI-2 sensor with an 81° wide-angle lens with a f/2.0 aperture. It is accompanied by an iris scanner that utilises an OmniVision OV2281 PureCel monochrome sensor with a 1/7.5" size and a 1.12-micron pixel that is infrared sensitive and recognises the iris under any circumstances. On the back of the device, below the camera module, a fingerprint sensor is located. According to the specifications of previous LeEco models, we suppose that the X920 supports 2G GSM (850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz), 2.5G CDMA (800 and 1900 MHz), 3G W-CDMA (850, 900, 1900, and 2100 MHz), 3G TD-SCDMA (1880-1920 and 2010-2025 MHz), 4G LTE-FDD (1800, 2100, 2600 MHz), and 4G LTE-TDD (1900, 2300, 2500, and 2600 MHz) bands. 4G LTE speeds should be Cat. 12 ones. LeEco X920 also supports dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC with Android Beam. It works with the GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou satellite positioning systems and is equipped with a USB Type-C 2.0 port. There's no 3.5 mm jack. Finally, the device is equipped with dual stereo speakers and supports Dolby Atmos. It runs EUI 5.6 based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. For complete details, here are the full LeEco X920 specifications.