LeEco | Le S3 Unlocked Dual-SIM Smartphone; 5.5" Display, 16MP Camera, 4K Video, 32GB Storage, 3GB RAM - Gray (U.S. Warranty)

Budget phones can be hard to rank because I easily give the product 5 stars when considering what I was looking for and what I paid, but it is no Galaxy S8. I will go over the pros and cons I see with my experience.Pros:Battery - I see negative reviews on this, but not the case for me. I am currently on day 3 of low to moderate use, and easily make it through the day with heavy use.Speed - The thing is surprisingly snappy, and without benchmarks would not be able to tell the difference between this and my Son's S8.UI -Yep, the user interface. Not sure why some have hated on the EUI. I am currently using 5.8, and it is the best interface I have used thus far. I love selecting the square in the lower left corner, and everything I need is right there, separated. At the top are things I commonly use, just under that any music you are playing, followed by things most commonly used (and in thumbs reach during one handed operation), and the bottom you can switch or close apps. There is an app tray as well in this version of the UI. Also, you can modify this area, as there is a place to move things around.Camera - Takes great pictures. I know some reviews don't seem to like the quality, and maybe the latest update fixed a few things, or maybe it is because my last phone camera was that bad. Either way, I am impressed here.Screen - Normal and Vivid look fantastic. I keep mine on vivid, and the colors look great and very accurate. Also, the screen is very responsive. it even came with a preinstalled screen protector.Build Quality - Feel good, but time will tell.Charging - thing charges fastOther - I like the way the password screen switches to the side in which you swipe. In other words if you swipe on the right hand side of the phone because you are using one hand, the numbers to enter your password are moved to thumbs reach. Same on the left if you are left handed. Comes with a screen protector already on it, and a case. And some USB-C earphones.Neutral:Looks - The phone doesn't look bad, but it doesn't look good either.Sound quality- is good enough when making and receiving calls.USB-C only - Some will complain, but I have a feeling all phones will be going this way at some point, and it does come with USB C earphones as well as an adapter.Con:Case - Hard to complain about a something you didn't even expect, but it doesn't fit all that well, and cases are hard to find stateside, so will be about a month or so before my new one arrives.Updates - For now this is a con. Newest build is on Marshmallow, but there is rumor that Nougat is on the way soon. But not sure how valid the rumor is.In summary:Is this the best phone you can buy? Of course not. Is it a great buy for the current price....absolutely. The phone is responsive, has great battery life, charges quickly, a great screen, a nice UI (I love it, but you can always use a different launcher) and works very well over all.

I am not giving 5 stars only for 1 factor.before i get to that I want to say the support from mallstop was honestly amazing they were better then the big places like verzion and they know more then Verizon. the support lets call it agent i have been speaking with in emails for the last 2 weeks roughly has been very helpful and very great. they even explained to me that verzion was a cdma company like spring. Verizon them self i asked the same question and never got any thing back. then we get to the problem. I think le technologys messed up when they pushed 6.0.1 I being a person who thinks 6.0 and 6.0.1 is and was the sweet spot when it comes to systems yet. I found that I kept getting a bootlooping once i turn the phone off and back on after some hours.the phone it self in every aspect is amazing for the price i payed. the cam needs a little work but again for the price point its a great cam I really mean it.the screen really popped and it felt great watching all media I even a few times found my self thinking i should of payed more for that screen lolmy personal rating for a budget smartphone 10/10 the mallshop support rating 10/10 the companys push of the software 5/10 as I cant understand how they did not rush a push to fix it. when I only updated to begin with as the update notes said it helped with low light shots. so I was like any thing that helps that why not.yes I returned my phone but I will be buying ether this or the pro once my refund is pushed to my account the phone it self I really like. Just cant live with a bootloop 6-7 times in a weekthere is only one thing i hate the website le technologys it is all in there lang and even when i found an english link it was still the china link. I once i got it to show some english i did not see any contact us or anything so i can email them what was happening so maybe they can push some type of fix.

Summary: Having come from a Nexus 6, I am delighted with the responsiveness, camera, display, price and 2-day battery life of the LeEco S3. The price paid ($139) is a great value -- unparalleled in this category. This phone has a Snapdragon 652 CPU which is a performant CPU... faster than some older 8xx series that draw more battery than this model. There are workarounds needed to unlock full value, which are detailed below.Here are tips to ensure success with the S3:• The included charging cord may be fragile resulting in inconsistent charging (you can see this is several reviews). If you don't have another USB 3.0 type-c already, strongly recommend ordering cords at the same time you order the phone. I got three for $9.99 on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2uDSC4j . I need for the car, work and around the house anyway. With these cords (averaging $3 each), charging is fast and flawless.• The phone will self-update its firmware, which addresses most issues posted. If you are a power user -- before your first firmware update, if you want to unlock it or install stock android, do that before the first firmware update (which locks the phone down more). You can unlock later, but its easier before the first update. For me, I found the LeEco updates fixed my issues, so I stayed with managed OS instead of unlocking/re-flashing.• To maximize battery life and features, google for "first things to do with every LeEco". Follow the guides and configure the phone accordingly. They will recommend steps like enabling Battery Assistant, etc., that really help.I love the gold color... it is very subtle and even looks silver to some of my friends. Here is the exact model & color I bought and am reviewing here:http://amzn.to/2uAbS3iI rate this five stars because I am delighted with this performant, beautiful, inexpensive phone and the workarounds are minor.