The bezel-less trend has forced all smartphone manufacturers to think about releasing their own analogue of Xiaomi MIX. The popular manufacturer was followed by Doogee, Vkworld, Maze. Now it's the turn of the serious players.
Leagoo KIICAA Mix is a cheap frameless smartphone with serious hardware. Unlike its competitors, the device boasts a dual camera, a powerful processor and an excellent memory reserve. Considering its unique appearance, Leagoo KIICAA Mix can become one of the best devices of the year.
Characteristics of Leagoo KIICAA Mix:
Materials: metal, tempered glass
Screen: 5.5 inches, 1920 x 1080, 2.5D
CPU: MTK6750T (8x 1.5 GHz)
Operating system: Android 7.0
Memory:3GB RAM + 32GB ROM
Cameras: 13.0MP frontal; 13.0MP + 2.0MPdouble main
Sensors: fingerprint, proximity, accelerometer, compass
SIM: combined slot for 2 nanoSIM or nanoSIM + microSD
Navigation: GPS, A-GPS
Bluetooth4.0
Networks:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/900/1800/2100/2600MHz
Appearance, body materials and ergonomics
Leagoo KIICAA Mix is seriously different from all competitors. This is evident even from the outside: instead of the popular glass, the company’s engineers chose metal and plastic for the smartphone body. The decision is one hundred percent justified - where Xiaomi MIX or Doogee MIX gets broken or scratched, Leagoo KIICAA Mix will remain intact. Do you also place your smartphone with the screen facing up to see notifications?
It’s hard to call this solution cheap. The main body plate is made of anodized aluminum, and along the edges there are plastic inserts for antennas. And there is strength, and the signal will not be lost.
Otherwise, Leagoo KIICAA Mix resembles already familiar solutions from Doogee or Vkworld: the screen protrudes slightly beyond the body and ends with edges made using 2.5D technology. Beautiful and comfortable, the appearance is absolutely harmonious.
The color of all body parts is black, and no other options are expected. Perhaps this is the most advantageous option for such a smartphone: this way the metal blends better with the black display frames.
Arrangement of interface elements
For the sake of modern technology, Leagoo engineers abandoned the traditional audio jack. The only physical connector of the KIICAA Mix is the universal USB-C at the bottom. Exactly in the middle, between the speaker grilles. This is a stylish and proven move.
Interface elements are in the usual places: on the right there is a volume rocker and a power button, on the left there is a slot for SIM cards. The navigation buttons are replaced by a universal central key with a built-in fingerprint scanner. The button is touch sensitive and operates depending on the type of press. Double click, single and long press are supported.
Since there is no top frame, the front camera of the Leagoo KIICAA Mix had to be moved to the bottom edge, right under the display. Controversial, not the most convenient solution. The navigation button is too close, the user will have to get used to it so as not to block the camera while working with the smartphone.
Display
Of course, this is the most beneficial aspect of Leagoo KIICAA Mix. All (budget) Chinese frameless smartphones are equipped with a regular HD matrix. Leagoo KIICAA Mix boasts an excellent 5.5-inch Full HD display based on an IPS matrix. The manufacturer is Sharp, so you don’t have to worry about the quality of color rendering, viewing angles and other characteristics.
The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 4 - durable and lightweight. Thus, you don’t have to worry about the integrity of the display. And the absence of frames allowed Leagoo engineers to fit a 5.5-inch screen into a device with the dimensions of a regular 5-inch device.
Hardware platform
The heart of the Leagoo KIICAA Mix is an eight-core MediaTek processor. This is a mid-price, although not the most powerful solution. Its performance coupled with 3 GB of RAM is enough for most modern tasks - even for 3D games.
Perhaps the only problem area may be the multitasking use of a smartphone. But in this case, it’s up to the developers and the quality of the firmware. Usually Leagoo has everything in order with this.
Software
Moreover, Leagoo KIICAA Mix already comes with Android 7.0 from the factory. Already in September the developers plan to update operating system up to version 7.1.1. The next version of the system for Leagoo KIICAA Mix, Android O, is also indicated in the plans companies.
The shell is standard, no frills. The same can be said about built-in programs and the system menu. Classic AOSP build without unnecessary software.
Cameras
The main camera of the Leagoo KIICAA Mix sets the device apart from all its peers in the price range. It uses an interesting dual camera based on the OmniVision sensor. The main sensor is 13 megapixels. Additional - 2 MP. Each has an incredible f/2.0 aperture and tiny grain size of 1.12 nanometers.
This is the first time such a combination has appeared on the market. A second camera is needed for more accurate color rendering and bokeh. Leagoo is likely to make a small revolution in the world of budget smartphones: OmniVision modules can do a lot.
The front camera didn’t disappoint either - 13 megapixels. This is enough not only for video chats, but also for artistic selfies.
Battery
Like most stylish smartphones, Leagoo KIICAA Mix is equipped with a small 3000 mAh battery. By today's standards - not much, especially considering the rather power-hungry screen and not the most efficient processor.
On the other hand, 3000 mAh will last the whole day in standard operating scenarios. And you won't have to carry extra weight. A large capacity will not provide a significant increase in battery life, but will spoil the appearance.
Wireless interfaces
Like any modern smartphone, Leagoo KIICAA Mix is equipped with a full set of wireless interfaces. It can use GPS and A-GPS for navigation. Short-range communication is represented by a Bluetooth 4.0 module and single-band Wi-Fi.
Among the serious advantages of Leagoo KIICAA Mix is full support for all common 3G and 4G bands, including Band 3, 7, 20 used in Russia. You can stop worrying: will communication in a particular region with a specific operator work? Of course it will work!
Advantages and disadvantages of Leagoo KIICAA Mix
Despite the low price and positioning in the lower segment of mobile devices, Leagoo KIICAA Mix has a lot of serious advantages.
Pros:
- durable, ergonomic metal-plastic body;
- high resolution display;
- cool cameras;
- one connector supporting high-quality audio output;
- sufficient memory;
- support for all LTE bands;
- extremely low price for a frameless smartphone.
Minuses:
- front camera location;
- black frames on the sides of the display;
- small battery and autonomy reserve.
conclusions
As you can see, Leagoo KIICAA Mix has more pros than cons. For a $139.99 device, this is an incredible success. Thus, the smartphone can be safely recommended as a reference frameless device for lower price segment: it takes excellent photographs, displays content excellently, is convenient and ergonomic in use.
And most importantly, with an incredibly cool design, it doesn’t hurt your wallet at all. However, this state of affairs may change: Leagoo KIICAA Mix can be purchased at a promotional price in $139.99 during pre-sale only until September 9th inclusive.
