The LG X Power Review
by Brandon Chester on August 31, 2016 9:03 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- LG
- LG X Power
Camera Quality
The camera is another aspect of the LG X Power that differs between the international and North American models. The international model sports a 13MP camera with a f/2.2 aperture and 1.12µm pixels, while the North American model drops down to an 8MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. The North American model also gives up 1080p video support and can only record at 720p, which is honestly sad for a smartphone launching in late 2016. The reason for this is simply a limitation of the SoC's image signal processor, and so it's just another situation where the North American model is crippled as a result of its SoC.
I'm really not a fan of LG selling two different phones under the exact same name just because they look the same, but I can really only work with what I have. I've done two photo comparisons with the LG X Power just to get an idea of what one can expect from the 8MP rear-facing camera on the North American model.
I actually haven't reviewed many phones in the $100-150 price bracket lately, so it's difficult to find direct comparisons to the LG X Power as far as camera quality goes. The 2015 Moto G is now available for around $150, so it's a decent point of comparison even if it has been replaced by a newer but not really better model. In this situation, the LG X Power's image quality leaves much to be desired. The overall sharpness isn't really any better than the 5MP Moto E from early 2015, and it's not near as good as the 2015 Moto G with its 13MP IMX 214 sensor from Sony. LG is likely running into ISP limitations as well, but that's what happens when you put an SoC for $50 phones in a $150 phone.
Low light photos on the LG X Power actually aren't that bad considering the phone's price. In this scene it's able to hit focus, which is something other phones actually struggle with. There's clearly chroma noise throughout the frame, but detail isn't being washed away by heavy noise reduction like it is in the Moto G4's photo. I think the quality and overall exposure is actually very similar to that of the 2015 Moto G despite the difference in resolution between the two. As far as low-end smartphones go, the LG X Power actually isn't half bad shooting in the dark, although it's not going to be at the level of a $250 smartphone like the Moto G4 Plus.
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Notmyusualid - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link
This is truly a talkers phone - on a budget! Can't argue with that price at all.But Josh - if you want to reivew a phone with a BIG battery, that isn't terrible, and seems to be popluar out here in Asia, I'd be happy to send you my < week old Samsung A9 Pro for review (assuming I get it back when you are done!).
Specs: 5000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 (fastest charging phone I've seen), 6" 1080p, 16MP camera, 5MP front, DUAL sim slots, Snapdragon 652, 4GB RAM, 32GB internal + internal microSD slot.
Incidentally, PC Mark work score 5499.
Let me know...
serendip - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link
+1 on the A9. It's almost twice the price of cheap Chinese competitors like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 but it packs a heck of a bang with the massive battery and huge AMOLED screen.I can't make sense of this LG phone though. For $150, a Redmi Note 3 (again) uses a proper chip like the Snapdragon 650 instead of puny A7 cores that can barely do anything.
Cliff34 - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link
This is not the same price range as LG X right? Love the specs though.Notmyusualid - Sunday, September 4, 2016 - link
Indeed it is not.But performance on par with S6, and half the price of the Note 7.
rhysiam - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link
Thanks for the review!I know you can't review everything, but I'm wondering whether the ZTE Axon 7 is on your review-list anywhere? It's getting positive reviews elsewhere and I'm seriously considering buying one, but if I knew an Anandtech review was in the works or even on the horizon, I'd hold off for a couple of months.
Seems like most people suggest it matches or edges out the OnePlus 3 in most (not all areas) for a similar price.
JimmiG - Thursday, September 1, 2016 - link
Too bad there are so many compromises with this phone. I was hopeful when I saw it was coming out, because battery life is really important to me.I've always found the battery life that reviewers (including AT) manage to squeeze out of their phones to be completely unrealistic and made-up. If a reviewer gets 8 hours of web browsing, that typically means I'll get 3, maybe 4 hours. So 13.5 hours with the LG X Power should translate to at least 5 hours of actual battery life..
serendip - Thursday, September 1, 2016 - link
I'm wondering how AT got 12 hours for WiFi web browsing on the Redmi Note 3 and Meizu something-or-other. I can get 10 hours with mostly web browsing but that's with CM13, a custom kernel and lots of tweaks, whereas AT got their number with a stock MIUI install. How?Matt Humrick - Saturday, September 3, 2016 - link
We calibrate the screen to 200 nits at 100% APL and minimize background processes. If you have third-party apps such as Facebook installed, you're going to get less battery life. Even just being signed into Google will reduce battery life. We also turn off the cellular radio (we have a separate test for that) to isolate Wi-Fi performance.Again, aside from PCMark, the goal of the battery life tests are to try and isolate the affects of different parts of the system on battery life rather than tell you how long your phone will last on a charge, which is impossible. Each person uses their phone differently, has different apps installed and running in the background, different signal strengths for Wi-Fi and cellular, different screen brightness, etc.
nikon133 - Thursday, September 1, 2016 - link
Without googling around... anyone has rough idea how is this SoC comparing with SnapDragon 400 and Adreno 305 combo?My personal phone is currently Lumia 830 which runs above combo. While noticeably slower than my work phone, Nexus 5X, it is actually very acceptable and smooth. But SoC is couple of years old, if not more.
Just trying to put this new phone into correct perspective.
zodiacfml - Friday, September 2, 2016 - link
It can be fixed by a price drop.And, can't flagship phones have huge batteries? Flagship SoCs deserve fat batteries!
There is an exception for the S7 active but I don't need the builtin case.