The Super3 TV series from LeEco has got a decent response from the consumer base in India and amidst the rumors about the company not doing so good and almost leaving the market, the entry of the new series of 4K TVs from the same company puts out a strong statement that they are here to stay. Just recently, the company also made its entry into the big U.S. market and launched the same Super4 series of smart TVs with the 4K displays.
There are 43-inch, 55-inch, and 65-inch TVs in the Super4 series and I took some time to check out and use the LeEco Super4 X43 Pro 4K TV, the smallest of the lot. Before we jump into my views about the SuperTV from LeEco, let’s see what the company itself has to say about the best factors that define this series.
- 4K Ultra-High Definition Display
- True Cinematic Sound
- Quad-Core CPU/Multi-Core GPU
- Ecosystem User Interface (eui)
- Google Voice Search
- Onboard High-Speed Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 4.1 Connectivity
- Ultra-Slim Form Factor
The design
Starting with the design, the X43 Pro is a beautiful TV with the looks, having a slim profile and narrow bezels around the display. The back of the TV takes away any complications that the standard TVs would have, as there is a two-tone color aluminum body with the slimmer area on the top having a flat matte finish surface while the bottom part that is thicker and holds all the hardware of the TV is darker and has a brushed-metal finish.
A TV of this thickness looks good on a stand if you are choosing to not have it mounted on the wall. It won’t look any bad even there but some users who prefer a table-top setup, this would look lovely. The speakers are located on the thicker back base, and the entire TV rests on two cornered legs that are sturdy enough to hold this strong.
There are a number of ports given on the LeEco Super4 X43 Pro, starting with the USB 3.0 port on the top, which is the solitary one on the top for an easy access, while the entire section of other slots is towards the bottom left side, on the back of the TV. It houses two HDMI ports, an additional USB 3.0 port, 3.5mm audio in and out ports, ethernet port, and a standard cable hook-in port. The bigger models have an extra USB 2.0 port, an extra HDMI port, and a VGA port as well.
The display
The display on any TV is as much important as the sound quality and the features. Often, the TVs in a budget have compromised display quality and that is understandable, but the LeEco Super4 X43 Pro has a 42.5-inch display with the 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution, i.e. 4K resolution.
To put it in a quick comparison with some of the models from top-tier brands, the TVs from Sony and Samsung having the specs like 60Hz with HDR10 and Fluid Motion 120 would easily cost over Rs. 15000-Rs. 20000 more.
Playing low-res content would obviously not make any justice to the colorful and sharp display of the X43 Pro, and we played a few 4K videos specifically to see how well does it do that – and it was all very satisfactory with the color output. There is enough brightness and you can play around with a few other settings like saturation and contrast to personalize how you want to watch the content on the TV.
Interface, Software and Apps
When you call it a Smart TV, it sure needs to have all the smartness to do justice to the tag. The Super4 X43 Pro runs on Android TV, which is surely one of the factors for one to consider it. The only problem with the unit we have is that the Google Voice search button on the remote doesn’t work as it says “Coming soon.” on the screen, though it works for the units available in the U.S. We might have to wait for an update for the same.
The features include the built-in Google Cast, ability to sideload apps from external sources, compatibility with gaming controllers, an App store for installing games and other apps, and for the Indian viewers, there is the partnership with YuppTV for playing TV channels using the Internet connection and you don’t need a cable / DTH connectivity for the same, if you are able to bear with the bandwidth it might use. There is a home screen with several apps on the front and navigating from there takes you to the different screens, like the widget area on the top, TV input on the left, and to choose the other sources, you have to get into the Settings.
It’s Android Marshmallow OS running here, and frankly, for how you use the TV, the version number doesn’t matter and you are good with any version. Even if it did, we won’t expect LeEco to push out the Nougat update for the X43 Pro. We were welcomed by a 622MB update to 5.8.052S_1226 version, though, which doesn’t have a change in the Android version.
The content available on the TV has a scarcity of 4K content. To start with, Levidi doesn’t work in India, and the included apps in the TV don’t serve any purpose for the Indian users. Still, thanks to Android, there is a lot that you can do by connecting any smart boxes or have subscriptions from Indian services to get rich content. In the U.S., there is Netflix.
The remote control
The remote is a decent one with proper connectivity and no loss of it for most of the time. A metallic front frame and tactile buttons, with the Netflix button on the U.S. model replaced with a Screenshot button on the Indian unit. Since the voice search doesn’t work, for now, the microphone on the remote is useless. The battery life is good, and we don’t have a measure for that because there was no need for a change in the battery during a month of use.
Other pointers about the LeEco Super4 X43 Pro TV
- The speaker quality is good, and even on the highest levels, the distortion was at the minimum when there was a loud bass music played for testing.
- The TV sits at its default settings when playing content from the regular sources, but those don’t change even when you have an external box like Roku, so you will have to fiddle with the settings and change it to 4K @ 60 Hz for the best experience and if you have the right content for it.
- Connectivity is never an issue with the TV as it was super quick and good on both, ethernet and Wi-Fi.
- The performance has been smooth, which is unorthodox for Android that has shown issues due to the customizations that are done by OEMs on smartphones, but here, the interface and even the content output while playing games on PS4 were streamed without any frame drops.
Final Verdict – Is the Super4 X43 Pro worth it?
4K Ultra HD resolution, Android OS, and the super slim and sleek design are all that makes me love the X43 Pro, but on the other hand, lack of 4K content (which is what I would need when I buy a 4K TV) makes me think otherwise.
The LeEco Super4 X43 Pro is priced at Rs. 63990 (currently, Rs. 57490 though) and to be fair to the other brands, this is nowhere close to the most affordable 4K TVs in India. The brands like Mitashi, VU, and others have been selling similar sized televisions with a smart interface and 4K resolution for lesser a price but let’s be clear – no such TV will have such an easy and user-friendly interface and compatibility to accept almost anything attached to it. I have a VU 50-inch 4K TV and I hate the interface of that, and now even more after I started using this Super4 X43 Pro from LeEco.
In the end, what you pay is what you get. I’ve used the WebOS from LG for quite a good time and there is rarely something that can beat it. For excellent displays, there’s Sony and Samsung as well. But, at the asking price of around Rs. 60,000, we will have very limited options available to choose from.
The LeEco Super4 X43 Pro is a true value-for-money product but I’d only recommend it when there is better content available, when Levidi works, and when the voice search starts working because typing with the navigation buttons and the on-screen keyboard is a pain. On the positive side, I’m told that since we are talking Android, the updates are on the way and things will start working pretty soon. Or maybe, they might already be doing on the retail units and I am using a test unit.
