LG’s budget X Power phone has an exceptional battery, but it’s otherwise a rather plain phone.
When you buy a cheap phone, you accept all sorts of compromises compared to devices that play in the mid-range or over $1000 premium space. Cheaper processors, cheaper design, and, all too often smaller battery capacities are the norm in this space.
That clearly wasn’t the case with the LG X Power phone. While it retails for an affordable $349, its key selling point is the inclusion of a 4,100mAh battery, way above what you would usually expect from a phone at this price point. But does the LG X Power deliver beyond its huge battery?
LG X Power: Specifications
LG X Power
OS
Android 6.01 ("Marshmallow")
Screen size
5.3in
Resolution
1280x720
Display density
277ppi
Storage
16GB
Weight
139g
Processor
Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53
Rear camera
13MP
Front camera
5MP
Battery
4100mAh
Upsides: Why you’d want the LG X Power
Battery is a monster: The LG X Power is well named, because that 4,100mAh battery is easily the best reason to pick one up. Single day battery life is ridiculously easy to attain, and multi day use should be quite feasible. Running Geekbench 3’s battery life test over the LG X Power saw it utterly destroy every other phone we’ve run that test over previously in terms of battery life, including models that cost triple its asking price.
Handset
Geekbench 3 Battery Test Duration
Geekbench 3 Battery Score
LG X Power
14:50:30
5714
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
11:55:00
7150
Huawei Mate 8
11:14:40
6659
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
11:11:20
6713
Samsung Galaxy J2
10:05:20
2689
Samsung Galaxy S7
10:01:20
6013
Motorola Moto X Force
9:46:50
3914
Motorola Moto 4G Plus
9:44:10
3977
Motorola Moto G Play
9:36:00
3840
Alcatel Pop 4
9:20:30
2490
Google Pixel XL
9:14:20
5543
Sony Xperia XZ
8:24:20
5042
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
9:18:00
5580
Alcatel Idol 4S
8:14:20
4943
LG Stylus DAB+
8:11:40
3278
LG G5
7:36:10
4561
To put it in perspective, the LG X Power managed more than double the battery life of LG’s own G5 premium smartphone, and while it did so with a much lower power processor, it also beat out the next nearest budget competitor, Samsung’s otherwise entirely unremarkable Galaxy J2.
Looks decent (from a distance): Most budget to mid-range phones tend to look plain, and while we’d never call the LG X Power a real looker, it also manages to look a little better than you’d expect at this price point, with a rear dimpled case that reminds us a lot of the Samsung Galaxy S5 and nicely rounded edges.
Simple integrated launcher: If you’re shifting from iOS and you don’t like the app drawer approach of Android, LG’s inbuilt launcher will appeal, with a straight flowing set of app icon pages that stack to the right.
The price is right: There’s little doubting that budget phones sell on their price. The LG X Power isn’t the cheapest phone you can buy, but it’s priced to sell given the feature set on offer.
Downsides: Why you might not want the LG X Power
Terribly ordinary performance: The X Power’s battery has impressive life, but that’s only partially down to the size of the supplied battery. The other factor in its battery life is the Mediatek MT6735 processor that runs the whole show. It’s not a processing powerhouse by any definition, and you’ll soon find that out when using the X Power, as it can be downright slow. Predictably, this led to some very ordinary benchmark scores. Here’s how the X Power compared using Geekbench 4’s CPU test:
Handset
Geekbench 4 CPU Single Core (higher is better)
Geekbench 4 CPU Multi Core (higher is better)
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3374
5649
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
1359
5333
Samsung Galaxy S7
1378
4718
Apple iPhone SE
2449
4171
Apple iPhone 6s
2465
4052
Google Pixel XL
1629
4051
Motorola Moto Z
1477
3853
Sony Xperia XZ
1636
3604
Google Nexus 6P
1293
3594
Motorola Moto X Force
1352
3581
Motorola Moto Z Play
799
2648
Sony Xperia X
1122
2626
LG X Power
554
1482
Motorola Moto G Play
522
1334
Here’s how it stacks up with 3DMark’s Ice Storm Unlimited test:
Handset
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result
Alcatel IDOL 4S
18186
HTC One X9
16877
Motorola Moto Z Play
13958
Oppo R9
11053
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
9757
Oppo R7s
8390
LG X Power
4953
Motorola Moto G Play
4475
LG Stylus DAB+
4321
Alcatel Pop 4
3863
Samsung Galaxy J2
3469
Feels cheap: From a distance the X Power looks acceptable, but as soon as you pick it up it’s clear where corners have been cut. We will give it the accolade of being surprisingly light, so much so that when we first picked it up we figured the battery hadn’t been installed. That light feeling does mean that you can feel just how plasticky the sealed body shell is. This isn’t helped by very thin and indistinct power and volume buttons either.
Sealed battery, but not water resistant: LG’s been notable in sticking to removable batteries for the LG G5 and V20 phones, but the X Power’s battery is sealed in place, which means that when it goes, you won’t be able to easily pop in another battery pack. For all that, it's also not rated for any type of water resistance. Boo!
Outright sales only: The LG X Power’s price isn’t so cheap that it would be beyond reason that a low-cost carrier (or a carrier looking for a low-cost phone for its entry level plans) might consider it, but no. If you want the X Power, you’ll have to stump up the cash upfront in one hit.
Who is it best suited for? What are my other options?
The X Power lives and dies on that remarkable battery performance, and that makes it a decent choice for anyone who’s very forgetful about charging their phone on a regular basis, because you simply won’t need to do so quite as often.
That being said, it’s otherwise a plain and unremarkable phone, and you’re not spoiled for choice at this kind of price bracket for phones that offer a little more in either performance or features, and sometimes both. Consider perhaps any of Oppo’s mid-range offerings, or for that matter Huawei’s. If you’re seriously cash-strapped and still want long battery life, consider the Galaxy J2, which is even cheaper, but at the cost of being considerably worse in the performance department compared to the X Power.
Where can I get it?
The LG X Power is sold on an outright basis through Harvey Norman stores for $349.
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