Introduction
NOTE: Most parts of this review have been taken from my M8 (not PRO) review since they are identical except for the Camera and Motherboard.
This is the
LEAGOO M8 Pro.
Hardware
Named as PRO, this is the 4G variant of the good M8 (not PRO), with an MT6737 SOC instead of the outdated MT6580 which means that this device has 4G support. Everything else is exactly the same, with the same Main Rear Camera (8MP), 2GB of RAM (DDR3_1600 instead of DDR3_1066), 16GB of ROM, and so on.
Unboxing
Packaging comes with some accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/1A USB Charger, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate, 1x 3.5mm Earphones (not in-ear) and the Smartphone (of course). No TPU Cover is included, and a plastic screen protector is pre-applied.
Talking about the dimensions, this isn't the smallest device available, a real phablet in my opinion. It is 15.7x8.03x0.94cm, with medium bezels, and weights 221g, a bit heavy.
As already said, the design is the same found on Mx devices, a nice metal chassis, with not-so-rounded corners and solid build quality.
On the front side there is the usual 2.5D Curved Display and the upper front side of the device features a Front-Facing Camera, an Earpiece, and the Sensors hole that includes Light, Proximity and Gesture Sensors. No Notification LED is here.
On the lower front side there isn't anything at all, on-screen keys are used instead.
On the back side there is the removable back cover, that looks awesome in my opinion, even though it doesn't feel premium.
The upper rear side of the device features the slightly protruding Dual Camera Sensor supported by a Single-LED Flashlight, together with the fingerprint scanner.
Here you can see the M8 Pro together with the M8.
On the lower rear side there is the Model Name together with the usual large speaker hole.
Device
Screen
Screen Quality is great, especially considering that this is HD-only with low pixel density. I wasn't able to notice any pixel. I don't like the deafult color temperature though, MiraVision is here luckily.
The Light Sensor supports almost-smooth light changes, with a proper auto-brightness management. This is its maximum brightness. Excellent Brightness.
Viewing Angles matches IPS screen capabilities, with no major issues.
5-points multi-touch panel has been used here.
Camera
NOTE: Being the main camera sensor identical to the one found on the M8 (not PRO), here you will find the same photos. I have only tested the Blur Effect and the Flashlight (no more Dual-LED).
A nice amount of details is here, low-light shots are decent and the level of noise isn't really high.
"HDR off" on the left and "HDR on" on the right. No great improvements noticed between the two modes.
Macros are not great too, unlike Wide photos. Auto-Focus management needs to be improved.
Unfortunately the Flashlight has been downgraded, now Single-LED, and seems to be weaker, barely enough for low-light shots.
Here some photos taken using the Blur Effect. (or bokeh if you prefer)
As regards Video Recording, 720p videos are decent, with no serious stuttering or low-light framerate issues, but the resolution is lower compared to the M8 (not PRO), no more 1080p.
Front Camera records sufficient photos for video-chat and occasional shots. Also, it seems to be a Wide-Angle variant.
Audio
Luckily, the Speaker Quality doesn't any previous Mx device. It is much more powerful here, even though it still lacks low frequencies. It isn't the best i have ever tried, but it might be one of the loudest without distortion on maximum volume.
As regards the Microphone, it works decently well in any case (in-call, VOIP, etc...), and the earpiece is loud enough (not too much though) to be used in any condition.
GPS
Confirming my theory about the MT6737 devices, also this one doesn't have a good GPS signal reception. Mediatek messed up this SOC somehow.
Indoors on the left, outdoors on the right.
Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi
Finally a real upgrade compared to the M8 (not PRO), 4G Support is here thanks to the MT6737 SOC.
Signal Reception is accurate, with pretty standard 4G speed i got also on other devices. Remember that i test the 4G connection in the same position i test all other devices so this can be a good reference point to make comparisions.
WiFi 5GHz isn't supported here. With my 2.4GHz network, i was able to reach almost 30mbps, connected at 65mbps, just like on the M8 (not PRO), so i assume that the WiFi Antenna isn't so good.
Battery Life
As always, i have measured the real battery capacity using my USB Tester, and it seems that the real battery capacity is slightly lower compared to the declared value (declared 3500mAh, real ~3380mAh).
This is the PCMark Work 2.0 Battery Benchmark, as expected the battery runtime is lower compared to the M8. (more power required to handle 4G + faster CPU/GPU)
As regards battery charging times, the 5V/1A charger doesn't allow any fast charging. More than 3 hours are required to charge the device completely, a bit disappointing. Even with a faster charger you won't get any improvement, this is a software limit.
Software
Just like previous Mx devices, also this one is using FreemeOS 6.0 (based on Android 6.0) that provides some extra features to the OS without customizing lots of stuff. Basically you can get rid of almost all FreemeOS apps by using an alternative launcher.
All Mediatek features are still there such as Gestures, Scheduled Power On/Off, etc…
Even though the OS has been customized, it feels as smooth as others that haven't been customized.
This is a Malware-Bytes Scan, with a malware detected in the Dual-Tag app.
Fingerprint Scanner management is as easy as on all Android 6.0 devices. I admit that you won't find the best fingerprint scanner on this device, but it is still better than nothing, just do not expect lightning fast unlock times and perfect accuracy.
