Santa’s elves have clearly been hard at work, because LG just launched five brand new smartphones a mere three days before Christmas.
In a last-minute announcement, LG confirmed four new smartphones for the K-series range, plus the new LG Stylus 3, all of which will be shown off in full next January. LG promises “best-in-class technologies”, although it’s clear that all of the devices in question are mid-to-low tier. These are the same devices that were leaked just last week, it’s worth bearing in mind.
Here’s a quick breakdown of all the new devices:
The top-end K-series phone is the LG K10, and sits firmly in the mid-range. It’s got a decently sized 5.3-inch display with a HD 1,280 x 720 pixel resolution, and is powered by MediaTek’s oct-core MT6750, clocked at 1.5GHz. There’s a generous 13-megapixel camera on the rear, and a 5-megapixel camera on the front – par for the course, really. Inside is a 2,800mAh battery, an NFC chip (great for Android Pay), and a 4G modem. The good news is that it runs on Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, and comes in Black, Titan, and Gold colour options. Oh, and there’s a fingerprint scanner to boot.
Next up is the LG K8, which features a slightly smaller 5-inch display, but the same HD resolution. That actually works out as a small advantage, because it means the pixel density is higher – 294ppi on the K8 compared to 277ppi on the K10. Other specs include 4G support, an NFC chip, and a 13-megapixel camera on the back. This model also runs on the new Nougat software, which is great news.
Then there’s the LG K4, which is a bit more of a step down. You’ve got a 5-inch screen with an 854 x 480 pixel resolution, two cameras at 5-megapixel resolutions each, and support for 4G connections. The chip is a low-power, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 210, so battery life should be respectable, even with a 2,500mAh battery (hardly giant) on board.
And then the LG K3 is the seriously budget option, featuring a4.5-inch display with a lowly 854 x 480 pixel resolution, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera (paired with a 2-megapixel selfie shooter). And just like the LG K4, it will also come running on last year’s Android 6.0.1 Nougat.
LG also announced a non-K series phone: the LG Stylus 3. Like the K10, it also features MediaTek’s MT6750, but has a larger 5.7-inch screen with a HD resolution. There are two cameras: 13-megapixels on the back, and 8-megapixels on the front. And the battery is a generous 3,200mAh, plus it’s removable, which seems to be increasingly uncommon these days. It’s got support for 4G connections, sports a fingerprint scanner, and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. There’s also a bundled stylus pen, and options for ‘Metallic Titan’ and ‘Pink Gold’ colours.
“Our 2017 mass-tier, mid-range smartphones focus on giving our customers a wide variety of options and choices for their smartphone lifestyles,” said Juno Cho, LG’s President of Mobile. “What’s consistent in all of our K-series and Stylus 3 devices is that they look and feel premium, offer replaceable batteries and all come with expandable memory slots – what customers consider key factors when buying smartphones in this category.”
All of these devices are expected to be on show at CES 2017, next month’s Las Vegas technology tradeshow.
Related: LG G6 news
Watch: CES 2017 – What to expect
What would you like to see from CES 2017? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
