[Device Reviews and Information] Alberto96:
Review

Introduction

Low-End smartphones are nowadays common in the Chinese market, but LEAGOO with the Alfa 2 managed to create a nice compromise by adding some features that almost all other low-end smartphones are missing.

This is the LEAGOO Alfa 2.

Hardware

The device features a low-end SOC, MT6580, that is just enough for basic tasks and for ultra-light gaming. Also the RAM isn’t high, just 1 GB, reducing multitasking efficiency. But, there is also something that can’t be considered as low-end. Rear Camera is a Sony IMX219 (13mpx), Soft-Touch keys are retroilluminated and there is a nice TouchPad on the back. Maybe we shouldn’t consider it a real low-end device, should we? Follow my next paragraphs to know more.

Unboxing

Packaging comes with some accessories: 1x Screen Protector (Plastic) with Wipes, 1x SIM/MicroSD tray Eject Tool, 1x Headset (not in-ear, but still better than nothing), 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/1.5A USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate and the Smartphone (of course).

LEAGOO choose to give to the device a nice and clean design, similar to devices with Metal chassis, but this is made of Plastic. It feels pretty solid though, even better than my Galaxy S4.

The Alfa 2 is 14.4x7.3x0.7cm and weights 149 g. A compact device that can be handled easily in your hands.

On the front side there is the 2.5D Curved Display. On 5 inches smartphones this feature is now becoming pretty common. The glass is enclosed in a Plastic Frame, while on the upper front side of the device features a Front-Facing Camera supported by a Flashlight, an Earpiece and the Sensors hole that includes Light, Proximity and Gesture Sensors.

The lower front side of the device there are the Soft-Keys Navigation Buttons (retroilluminated), and the Home Button (circle key) works as a Notification LED. Sincerely i love this feature, I hope that also other smartphones from LEAGOO will have it.

On the back side, there is the Plastic back cover. The upper rear side of the device features a slightly protunding Camera supported by a dual-tone flashlight, and a particular TouchPad used to interact with the UI.

The lower rear side of the device features a noticeable Brand Logo and a large Speaker hole.

Chassis is Slim and well-built with all keys on the right side. There is no key rattling here.

Device

Screen

The device has an IPS Screen made by Himax, and it seems to be pretty good. Screen Brightness is decent, good enough to be used under direct sunlight.

I have used my Galaxy S4 Light Sensor to measure its maximum brightness. I don’t have a professional Lumen Meter, so this (Lux) is the only value that I can provide you.

About Viewing Angles the screen behaves pretty well, one of the best screen I have ever tested as regards this area.

Image Contrast and Saturation are accurate, you can use the MiraVision menu to customize this values.

Camera

Back Camera (Sony IMX219) seems to work pretty good, but, just like almost all Chinese Smartphones, the noise level is a bit high. As I always say, if a company works a bit on the Camera Software this issue can be easily fixed.

With (left) & Without HDR (right), photos under direct sunlight aren’t pretty bad.

Flashlight works pretty well on both sides. Yes, this device has also a front flashlight.

Back Camera

Front Camera

About Videos, there is no Optical Stabilization here. Maximum Supported Resolution is 1080p (named as Video Quality – Fine). Even if it reaches 1080p, quality isn’t good, the software needs to be optimized a lot.

[YOUTUBE]s4wDW1-ejvk[/YOUTUBE]

Audio

Speaker isn’t extremely loud, lacks low-frequencies but there are no issues with Sound Clarity.

Unfortunately, it is positioned on the back, and, as I have already said for many other devices, if you place the device on a table you could experience volume issues, but this doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. As always, what matters here is the quality.

Nothing negative to say about the in-call/telephony quality.

Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi

Being a low-end device, there is no 4G support. 3G Signal Reception is accurate though, with no issues at all with Mobile Data speed or Signal Stability.

Built-in Wi-Fi supports 2.4GHz networks, and using my Home internet connection I managed to get decent speed. (I have a 100/20 VDSL connection, WiFi gets connected to 135mbps – probably not real -)

Battery Life

Battery seems to be enough to get at least one day of medium-usage, unfortunately PCMark crashes after a long while (probably due to low RAM).

This is the GeekBench Battery Benchmark result: https://browser.primatelabs.com/battery3/298994

Anyway, built-in Battery Real Capacity seems to be a bit lower than declared value (2600mAh vs 2313mAh).

Software

Almost everything has been customized. LEAGOO OS, based on Android 5.1, seems to have some nice features that help users to enjoy Android even better. (just like Xiaomi does with its MIUI ROM). I’ll show you some customized parts of the system with some screenshots.

Just like other last-gen Mediatek Devices, there are some typical features such as Gestures, Scheduled Power On/Off, etc…

The UI is always responsive, but there is a serious software issue. Screen Refresh rate has been set to 43hz, so the device doesn’t fell smooth at all. I have already asked LEAGOO to fix this bug, because using the device with this Refresh Rate causes headaches. It is like slow motion.

As regards the Rear TouchPad management (called Ion Smart Touch), it can be configured via the Settings apps and its configuration is extremely user-friendly.

Even LED Notification Light can be configured easily. You can even disable the Hall Sensor if you are using a Flip Cover.

[YOUTUBE]SRFGviaYTCU[/YOUTUBE]

Benchmarks

I have used 3DMark, Antutu Benchmark, Epic Citadel, GeekBench 3, GFXBench, AndroBench and PCMark (Work) to stress the device to the limit. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites. I won’t be able to show you Vellamo benchmarks because this device isn’t able to handle it. (low RAM issues, it keeps crashing after some minutes)

3DMark – GPU Performance isn’t too bad, but you have to consider that there is no OpenGL 3.0 support here so only OpenGL 2.0 tests can be executed.

AndroBench – eMMC Performance is much better that expected, pretty good considering the low-end SOC.

Antutu Benchmark – I won’t say a lot about this benchmarks, this isn’t as reliable as others. I’m providing this just for benchmarks lovers.

Epic Citadel – As you can see, Gaming performance isn’t extremely low, there is enough power to handle games without major issues, you just won’t get ultra-high framerates. Consider also that there is the screen refresh rate bug that limits FPSs to 43 maximum.

GeekBench – CPU Performance is as good as other CPUs with the same configuration (4x Cortex-A7).

GFXBench – GFXBench result is….ultra-low. You have to forget heavy games on this device.

PCMark – Except for Video Playback Score, it isn’t pretty bad.

Summaring all results, I would have expected lower performance but I was wrong. Device’s performance is good enough for basic tasks, and it can be used also for some light gaming without having to deal with major issues.

Conclusions

This is my first time that I have to express an opinion about a low-end device. LEAGOO managed to add some mid-range features on a cheap device, something pretty rare to find nowadays.

I can recommend it if you want a cheap, but complete, device for basic usage.

Pros:

Sharp and Bright screen

Thin bezels

Decent Sound Quality

Lightweight

Cheap

Cons:

Declared battery capacity doesn't match real capacity

Serious Software bug regarding Screen Refresh Rate

It doesn’t come with Android 6.0

Camera Software needs huge improvements

Rating: 8.2

Packaging and Accessories: 8.5

Design and Materials: 7.5

Performance and Heat Dissipation: 6.5

Screen: 8

Camera: 8

Sound: 8.5

Battery Life: 8.5

Software: 8.5

OEM Support: 8

Price: 9.5

You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here:

http://imgur.com/a/Q8n7P

Official Website

http://www.leagoo.com/mobile/Alfa_Series/Alfa_2.html

The device is now on sale on many e-shops.​