Apple certainly did not participate in the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, Spain, but the brand was remembered as visitors passed by a booth set up by Chinese smartphone maker, Leagoo and feeling nostalgic after attending the Asus Zenfone 5 launch on Tuesday evening.
For those unaware, Leagoo is based out of China and currently sells smartphones in its home country. There is a wide range of models, and some of them have been reported internationally for their uncanny resemblance to popular flagships from brands like Samsung and Apple. Leagoo has done it again, and this time it is proudly flaunting at the world's most prestigious trade show, MWC.
Leagoo S9 has caught eyes at the MWC floor for two things. Firstly, it looks a lot like the lauded iPhone X and Asus Zenfone 5 and second for its name, which shares it with Samsung's new Galaxy S9. The one aspect where it doesn't clone an original is the pricing, which is by far the most attractive.
Leagoo S9 is priced at $150 and has a pretty impressive spec-sheet. But the main highlight is the bezel-less full-screen design, which is so identical to the iPhone X that it also has a notch. Dubbed as the "world's first Android iPhone X" as confirmed by Leagoo to MacRumors, Leagoo S9's notch houses a feature called "Face Access" to unlock the phone in less than 0.1 seconds. It's not clear if it is as accurate as the iPhone X's FaceID, but we'll have to give it the benefit of the doubt until we test it.
Leagoo also takes ownership of the S9 by placing the company's branding at the bottom of the phone's display. But the similarities with iPhone X don't just end at the full-screen display. Turn over the phone and you'll find a vertically placed dual camera setup at the back – much like the iPhone X. We wouldn't bet on its clarity to match that of Apple's flagship.
In terms of features, Leagoo S9 comes with a 5.85-inch display, 4GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage, Sony 13MP + 2MP rear camera setup capable of shooting 65MP Ultra HD photos, and an 8MP front snapper. The handset is powered by a 1.5GHz octa-core chipset, a 3,300mAh battery and Android 8.1 Oreo out-of-the-box.
On the rear, Leagoo S9 also has a fingerprint scanner, something even the iPhone X misses. The company claims it can unlock the handset in 0.1 seconds.
For $150, Leagoo S9 is certainly a great iPhone X-clone or at the very least a phone with a truly bezel-less display. The company also says there's going to be an S9 Pro in the offing. But details about the same are unknown at the moment.
Follow all the action from MWC 2018 by tuning into IBTimes India's coverage of the world's largest phone trade show of the year.
