The LG X Power Review

by Brandon Chester on 8/31/2016 9:03 AM EST
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  • velanapontinha - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Why oh why do they release two phones with same brand and model and so many different specs?
  • DanNeely - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    MediaTek offers more bang for the buck; but doesn't have the CDMA support needed for the VZW/Sprint networks. At the low price this thing is selling for they can't afford a few extra dollars on the BOM without wiping out their entire margin on the device.
  • Samus - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Yeah, it's annoying, but because of our carrier saturation in the USA we generally get unique versions (or two versions) of phones. This is one reason why Apple arranged with only one carrier for so many years, and many phones are carrier exclusives.

    There is nothing preventing you from importing the international version for T-mobile but the LTE bands don't line up so you will only get HSPA+ (which isn't a bad thing on T-mob) however, I'd be surprised if the performance difference between these two models is even relevant, both SoC's are bottom barrel and will be outperformed by SoC's from years ago. The .5GB difference is probably more relevant, and both camera sensors suck so the pixel difference is a wash.
  • psyside1 - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Opens article.

    See MT6753

    Close article.
  • WPX00 - Friday, September 2, 2016 - link

    It's not even MT6753. The 53 is an octa-core chip. This is the MT6735 with a quad-core chip.
  • okp11 - Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - link

    Based off of the LG and Sprint site it looks like this is a completely different phone then what is listed for sale by them.

    The Sprint site lists the X Power as an LS755, which has a MediaTek 1.8 GHz Octa-Core MT6755M and 2GB of RAM.

    The LG site also has a spec sheet for the Cricket and U.S. Cellular versions of the phones under the names K450 and US610. These both use quad core Snapdragon processors and 1.5GB of RAM...So it appears that almost everything negative about this phone is only applicable to those carriers, not Sprint or Boost's versions.

    Very disappointed that none of this was mentioned anywhere in the review, as I'm sure the largest market for this phone will be people on Sprint, which is offering a vastly different set of specs under the same moniker.
  • jgarcows - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Thank you for reviewing a sub-$200 phone. They aren't as flashy, but this is the price point a lot of us want to shop at. Please do more reviews like this. I would be especially interested in some handsets with smaller screens.
  • Teknobug - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Wow all the hardware skimped out but has a huge 4100mAh battery? Most top end phones barely has a 2800mAh.
  • zeeBomb - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    The NA version is a slap in the face tho. You're getting smartwatch power/Cortex A7 on a device like this where a 410 would be just as good as the mediatek version...okay display for a budget phone but sluggish performance. If it wasn't for the battery, this phone would easily be forgotten. Also the call quality is pretty abysmal too.
  • DanNeely - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    "Unfortunately, I think LG's strategy has really missed the mark. Consumers definitely do value some things more than others in smartphones, but just by looking at LG's smartphones you can see that they sacrifice the quality of other aspects to focus on a single feature. No consumer wants a phone that only does one thing well, they just have priorities about what a phone should do best. In that situation, a phone that tries to provide a good all-around experience is going to win every time,"

    Potentially I see this as a valid strategy; but at a slightly higher pricepoint. Instead of adding a single halo feature to a phone that does everything badly to hit an ultralow pricepoint, use something like the Moto G - which does everything adequately - and add the halo feature to that instead.
  • sorten - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Impressive battery life, but 3.5 hours charge time? I charge my Lumia 950 for 30 minutes in the morning and I'm good for the full day.
  • MonkeyPaw - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Not quite a fair comparison. I've used both the 950 and the 950XL, and while they charge very fast, they also will burn through the battery quickly in some circumstances (Edge can really use the juice with Disqus sites). The Lumia 640 rubs circles around either of those devices when it comes to battery life. A low power SOC (SD400/212) and a 720p screen will never push the power draw limits. A phone like this will have very predictable battery life, regardless of use case.
  • Tams80 - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    I thought we had put the removable battery argument to bed, but apparently not.

    All you had to do was add 'may be seen as' before "good" and you'd have a perfectly good argument.
  • Samus - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Yeah, comparing battery charge times is inherently bias. I mean the iPhone battery is 1/4th the capacity of course it's going to charge in less than half the time.
  • Systab - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    The idea of focusing on a single aspect while keeping rest cheap is an intriguing one.

    However, I was disappointed to learn that LG X Screen has some sort of gimmicky 2nd screen not a great primary screen as I was expecting.

    Where is a phone with a fantastic screen suitable for prolonged reading while keeping the rest of phone in low/midrange?
  • ToTTenTranz - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Wow, this is quite the random uninteresting phone IMO...

    Have you guys completely given up on the HTC 10 review?
  • JoshHo - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Brandon isn't responsible for the HTC 10 review. I'm working to finish the HTC 10 review but life often gets in the way of such things.
  • Vagabondjonez - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    I understand.
  • jtang97 - Friday, September 2, 2016 - link

    If you don't have the time to finish the review, why not pass it on to someone else, instead of constantly delaying it?
  • fanta666 - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Why not take time to review the HTC 10, instead of random phones?
  • KAKAnuran - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    You don't understand? Money talks here. If anandtech does not receive the check from HTC, they would hold the review until the next generation is coming while no one is paying any attention to the current gen. EVEN THE REVIEWER THINKS THAT HTC 10 IS AN AMAZING PHONE
  • jtang97 - Thursday, September 1, 2016 - link

    Yeah, and people are wondering why the HTC 10 doesn't seem to be selling well.

    Could it be because a very respected website appears to be stalling in publishing their review of the phone?

    In my many years of visiting this site and reading their phone reviews (some of which I agree with and some I don't), I've not seen a phone review delayed for so long. Over 3 months and counting now.

    I think we are entitled to an explanation a bit more than just "life". Whatever it is, it hasn't stopped him releasing other articles and reviews.

    It's almost like you are deliberately delaying the review now.
  • Meteor2 - Thursday, September 1, 2016 - link

    ^This.
  • sprockkets - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    I saw this phone at cricket. It surprisingly is lightweight. But the screen on it compared to the Escape 3 is horrible. I wouldn't buy it. I basically can confirm the poor light and colors tested here, and you will notice it next to other phones.
  • shadarlo - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    I wish my S7 or any high end phone would go 1-2mm thicker and make that entire space extra battery capacity. I really really really don't need a phone any thinner than my S7.... what I do need is a full day of USAGE on my phone.

    I have to carry a giant ass battery brick with me just to keep my S7 topped up on trips when I am driving around and going in and out of good coverage zones. I've had my battery drop from 90%-30% just driving around a national park for a few hours. This is the type of thing phone companies need to work on.... stopping massive drains and giving bigger batteries, not making a tiny phone even tinier.
  • Notmyusualid - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    As I alluded to earlier, check A9 Pro. I go more than a day with ease.
  • fanofanand - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    A7????? I am a fan of inexpensive phones but this is preposterous.
  • zeeBomb - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    When a phone like this uses a snap 212...huuuge turnoff. I wonder if it's rootable.

    And Brandon, any foresight of a Moto G play review? Kinda curious how it'll be.
  • zeeBomb - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Can anyone who has this (or Brandon) use the AIDA64 app and see what camera sensor it uses?
  • slashbinslashbash - Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - link

    Good idea but poor execution. If this phone had all of its limitations but 2X or 3X the battery life of everything else on the market, it might find its niche. But having all of its limitations and only 1.5X the battery life, why would anybody bother?
  • 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.
  • IUU - Friday, September 9, 2016 - link

    For me, a mobile phone must have a good battery life. The longer , the better. And they have a long way to go so they seem acceptable to me. If they have a screen you can read from easily enough, just enough RAM so that they do not hung hopelessly, they are good. Mobility requires that you don't run out of cyber assistance when you need it the most and this means long periods between charges.

    Weight is no issue today, by any means. Those who complain about weight they adhere too much into needless details. It does have to be the prettiest. What do you need the looks for in a device that is mostly a tool ? It doesn't have to be the fastest. Technology advances at such a pace that the flagship of today rapidly becomes the baseline of tomorrow. Chances are that you will replace your device in some years at the most. So buying them for the premium quality "feel" is a moot point.

    Conclusion is , battery life is quintessential, and it's about time manufacturers wake up from the fairy tale of fashionable and sleek devices.
  • fuelvolts - Monday, September 12, 2016 - link

    Top notch review, thanks for reviewing a budget phone! I've been using this phone for a few days now, and I got to say, I really appreciate what you mention. This phone has 2014 budget phone specs in a 2016 world. However, I'll say this: using it daily (and not in a "review" sort of method), it's not horrible to use. The screen is decent for a 720p device (it's a much better screen than the Blu R1 HD, i.e. the Amazon phone) and Knock On is really useful. The performance is "alright" to me. I'm more of a purpose user. I unlock my phone to use 1 application, then I usually lock it and move on with my life.

    I'll say the worse app to open is GMail. That always takes forever to load for some reason. Everything else seems to work fine, even Chrome. It's a decent phone, and if you're a Cricket user, this phone is only $50 after MIR, so for a $50 phone, it's a fantastic deal. The battery life is astounding. I got 10.5 hrs SOT the first day I charged it up. I purposefully was trying to kill the battery, and when I finally went to bed, I still had about 16% battery left with that much SOT. Amazing; makes it almost worth the hassle.

    This is a temporary/backup phone while I wait for the Nexus/Pixel phones.
  • FalconZ - Sunday, January 29, 2017 - link

    So many variants under single name ? LG This is horrible, dont give them same names pls and specify the lte bands supported on the website.
  • Sammisam - Monday, February 6, 2017 - link

    It sucks bad I got stuck wit snapdragon. It's just my luck this would happen to me. Unfair both phones should`ve been the same. I feel like a elementary kid who got picked last for softball game type way. Lame LG!
  • Sammisam - Monday, February 6, 2017 - link

    Sucks I get stuck wit snapdragon. Just my luck. Both phones should've been the same. I feel like a elementary school girl that got picked last to be on the softball game type way. How can they get away with selling this phone two difference types.Seems like they would lose money over this. No one I know wouldve bought this phone if they knew this. If I knew it I would've just bought an iPhone 6 plus.
  • Max.racer94 - Saturday, March 11, 2017 - link

    Cheap quality screen. Haven't owned the phone for more then a week and the screen crack in numerous places from being in my tight jeans pocket.

    Did not hit it against nothing, didn't drop it, just had it in my pockets and was walking some stairs and craaack!

    Very fragile screen!
  • Williepeck99 - Saturday, April 8, 2017 - link

    Interestingly​ my LG X Power came with a mediatek MT6755 octacore that clocked at 1.81 GHz and comes with 2GB of RAM. It's fairly fast and quite responsive. mine was bought as a Virgin Mobile phone.
  • c21secco - Thursday, August 10, 2017 - link

    I own an lg xpower cellphone. I love the phone. I had a samsung s4 till feb 2017 lol at&t. I changed to boostmobile because unlimited data. The phone was part of the service, is awesome. Even though yes lots of its core is reduced. Still works great. The battery is super. My question here. I can't find info of the xpower connectivity to hdmi tv. Probably not available!!. Does anyone have Info on this xpower to hdmi tv connectivity?

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