Why it matters to you
LeEco addressed one of the faults we found with the Le Pro 3 and Le S3 and introduced some further improvements.
Android fans in the West seem to enjoy their app drawers, seeing how the likes of LG and Huawei were criticized for having exorcised the drawers in their Android overlays. Digital Trends knocked Chinese manufacturer LeEco for this purposeful oversight on the Le Pro 3 and Le S3, but an upcoming software update for both phones will patch that right up.
It is a bit comical to have a highlight feature of an update be the inclusion of an app drawer, but that is where we are with LeEco, which wants to expand into the U.S. with its fleet of products. With the update, an app drawer is now prominently featured in the center of the dock. That area used to be occupied by LeEco’s Live app, which has been shifted to the right on the dock, though you can now move it anywhere you would like.
More: LeEco’s 2017 plans? Cracking open the brick-and-mortar space in the U.S.
The other major feature is camera improvements. For the Le S3, pictures taken in low-light environments will now appear a bit brighter, while the Le Pro 3’s camera will take HDR photos at a faster clip.
Other features include a change to the fingerprint sensor that will only make it vibrate once if your fingerprint is not recognized, parental control functions for the Le app, an improved Live apps interface and streaming quality, and improved Bluetooth functionality and Wi-Fi download speeds on the Le S3 when both are used simultaneously.
Finally, the update includes bug fixes for NFC and the gallery app, among others.
Unfortunately, the update does not bring Android 7.0 Nougat to the Le Pro 3 and Le S3 — both phones are still stuck at Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The security patch level does get bumped up to January 2017, with the update itself being pushed out to Le Pro 3 and Le S3 owners over the next three days.