Dear Apple, I like my Le 1s, you SE!

Le 1s

I love my Le 1s and I am not even interested in the iPhone SE! I am sure there are going to be people smirking at me or even making fun of me for the title. Endless hours in the bloggers Whatsapp groups mocking me. But all that is fine.  This is my stand and I have very very good reasons for saying this. Read on to see what they are

Le 1s

I got my Le 1s for 10,999/- and it is one of the best looking and well designed phones in the 10k-15k segment in India now. The Le1s captured the imagination of buyers because of its premium, all-metal design and compelling features that have made it a very popular choice among a large number of indian buyers. Compared to iPhone SE, Le 1S has a bigger display unit with the 5.5 inches and the  75 per cent body to screen ratio vis-a-vis 60.8 per cent screen to body ratio of the iPhone SE’s 4-inch gadget makes for a better and larger display packed in a powerful phone with precious little wastage of front real estate. And before you start, no, having a bigger display doesn’t always mean that a device is bulky. Le 1s is considerably slimmer and looks a lot more trendy than iPhone SE. The Le 1s has a 151.1 x 74.2 x 7.6 mm body compared to 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm body of iPhone SE.

iphone SE3

But let me stress here, it is not even about the dimension to dimension or spec to spec comparison between phones here. It is about the experience and Apple should understand that the iPhone SE, despite the innards being the same as the 6s, looks teensy and for people like me who are used to big vivid displays, the 4 inch screen is a no-no and a big one at that.

Le 1s bottom

Okay, for a second let’s assume that I get the iPhone SE, now when I want to transfer a photo from my phone to a friend via bluetooth, my Le 1s lets me do it, the iPhone SE, well you know the answer. Simple things like connecting a OTG are either messed up or awfully complicated! Why? Hey, it’s an Apple!

iphone SE1

While both the phones come with 4k video support, the Le 1s at sub 11,000 is far more attractively priced as compared to the disclosed prices of iPhone SE. In terms of the processor too, Le 1s is on a strong wicket given that it is powered by an octa-core 2.2 GHz CPU as opposed to Dual-core 1.84 GHz processor that powers the iPhone SE. Both phones at two widely varying points of the price spectrum boast of similar mirror surface finger print scanners. While iPhone comes up with its proprietary v2.0, reversible connect, the Le 1s matches up with iPhones with the latest USB Type-C connectivity port.

Apple trying to sell the smaller phone is slightly perplexing to me. They have either unearthed some “secret” market intel that says that the 4 inch displays are going to be a rage soon or they’re making the mistakes of their lives by pushing down display size and a price that can fetch multiple bigger screen android devices that are by no means a pushover.

All along it looked like Apple was play a masterstroke with the SE, but given the price and specs, it is very very clear that Apple will stay the “1% device” in India and mass adoption of android devices like the Le 1s that give brilliant specs and features at close to 1/4th the price of an iPhone SE is here to stay!

It is simple logic, four good fruits that taste good and add value at the price of an apple! And yes, the Apple a day thing doesn’t sound good in this case at all! All the best to apple trying to sell the “low-cost” iPhone SE (I am actually laughing hard when I say that) in India. See for yourself here

Product Name LeEco Le 1S iPhone SE
Price in INR 10999 Apprx 39,000
SIM / Band 1 Nano-SIM, 1 Micro-SIM 1 Nano-SIM
CPU Octa-core, 2.2 GHz, Helio X10 Turbo Dual-core 1.84 GHz Twister
Display 5.5 inches, FHD 1920 x 1080 pixels, IPS 4.0 inches (~60.8% screen-to-body ratio)
OS Android v5.0.2 eUI iOS 9.3
Fingerprint Sensor Yes Yes
USB Type C with Quick Charge Yes v2.0, reversible connect
4k Video Recording Yes Yes

 

So Dear Apple, I like my Le 1s, you SE!

 

Note: All iPhone SE images are copyright Apple

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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