LG G Stylo Review: Another Affordable Stylus-Wielding Smartphone

Are you in search of an affordable stylus-wielding smartphone? Then you will be interested in this LG G Stylo review.

By Olatunbosun Adesoye | Updated February 24, 2023 | 13 minutes read | 3 Reads

This review will carry out a comprehensive analysis of the LG G Stylo’s features and components. To be precise, I will review the smartphone’s design, display, camera, storage, security & sensor, and battery life.

You will surely get answers to every question you have concerning the LG G Stylo. At the end of this review, you will also get to find out what our expert critique thinks about the smartphone.

My Initial Thoughts

Since its emergence in 2012 with the Optimus G, LG’s G series has gone through a lot of changes. We’ve seen the keys shift to the back, the laser autofocus take center stage on the function list, and bezels also shorten.

LG’s more budget-friendly phones have also adopted this design pattern. Aside from the fact that the LG G Stylo comes with a stylus, the smartphone is very much in line with the other G series smartphones.

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It wouldn’t be excessive to think that LG perhaps took a shot at creating a more affordable alternative to the Galaxy Note series. When you consider the price point of the LG G Stylo, you will be thrilled to find out more about the smartphone.

LG G Stylo Design, Dimension & Weight Review

The LG G Stylo is undeniably a product of LG’s new design style. It doesn’t deviate from the aesthetics I’ve seen on the other G series smartphones.

In fact, the LG G Stylo may be mistaken for the company’s flagship smartphone – the LG G4 – because of its size and slightly arched plastic covering. What makes it stand out is that it has a dimpled plastic back casing, which makes it feel a little more firm feel in the hand.

If you are familiar with LG smartphones, you will notice the difference in the grip of the LG G Stylo. To be honest, it is a relief that LG has abandoned the idea of slippery plastics.

Although the LG G Stylo has a similar look as the G4, it doesn’t quite match the G4’s quality of craftsmanship. Nonetheless, the LG G Stylo is built well enough for its price range.

The LG G Stylo is not the most good-looking smartphone, but it doesn’t look bad either. It is available only in black color, so you don’t get the luxury to choose amongst many colors.

The smartphone has a wide and rectangular display that makes it look big. However, it doesn’t really feel like a burden when you hold it.

Moving on to weight and dimension, the LG G Stylo weighs 164.4 g. Considering that the average weight of smartphones is 140 g – 170 g (based on GSMArena.com’s weekly polls), the LG G Stylo is not too heavy for its class.

Besides, the LG G Stylo’s nice feel makes you feel comfortable to hold it.

In terms of dimensions, it measures 155.7 x 79.5 x 7.3 mm.

Judging from this measurement, you won’t have to worry about fitting the smartphone into your pocket. However, you might not find it comfortable to use the smartphone with just one hand because of its width.

Aside from its wide structure that I find displeasing, every other design structure seems good enough. I like how thin the side bezels are.

Talking about bezels, the top bezel, on the other hand, is slightly chunky enough to accommodate the front camera and speaker grille. Likewise, the bottom bezel is chunky enough to accommodate the LG logo.

You won’t find any physical key on the bottom bezel. It features only the LG logo.

Similarly, either side of the LG G Stylo doesn’t feature any physical button. The smartphone follows LG’s recent signature design principle by positioning the volume and power buttons on the back of the phone.

These buttons are built with lightweight matte plastic. Hence, they make the smartphone feel a bit cheaper than LG’s higher-end smartphones.

Perhaps, LG knew this as well because they added a few horizontal lines on the back casing to give a little bit of texture to the smartphone. This design initiative added a pinch of style to the LG G Stylo’s design.

On the back of the smartphone, you will find a big single-LED flash located on the right side of the rear camera lens. Meanwhile, the famous laser autofocus module is located on the left.

You will also find a single speaker located on the bottom right, next to the bent side of the back cover.

Moving on to ports, the bottom of the LG G Stylo houses the micro USB charging port. Meanwhile, the top features a 3.5mm headset jack and the main feature of the smartphone – the stylus pen. 

To be honest, I find the stylus pen to be good enough. It is long, slender, and it feels good in the hand.

Overall, the build quality of the LG G Stylo is good and I find the design to be moderate. Hence, the LG G Stylo scores a seven in this review.

LG G Stylo Display Features Review

LG equipped the LG G Stylo with a 5.7-inch IPS display. This display offers an HD resolution of 1280 x 720.

Although the display is relatively beautiful, it is nowhere near the display on higher-end smartphones. For example, the pixels-per-inch on the smartphone isn’t as dense as the one you’ll find on LG’s higher-end smartphones.

Also, images and videos appear crispy but they aren’t the sharpest. One reason for this is its 258 PPI pixel density that makes fine text slightly tough to read.

In fact, when you look closely, you’ll be able to notice small pixelation and aliasing with text, icons, and images. Nonetheless, you won’t find the resolution to be distracting or irritating when you watch videos.

Videos and photos are smooth enough for you to enjoy your viewing. In addition, the display is responsive to touch and it has a wide viewing angle.

The Viewing angles are so good that the color on the screen doesn’t change. Instead, the brightness dims a little when viewing from extreme angles.

Color reproduction is also great. The LG G Stylo delivers an accurate scale that’s not oversaturated like many other displays tend to be.

I must say, for a 720p display of this size, it holds up well. Although there are some shortcomings in this display like the notably faint light that bleeds from the edges of the phone, none is a deal-breaker.

Moreover, the stylus featured on this smartphone makes it more interesting to use the display considering how large the display is.

The LG G Stylo’s display is coated with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to ease your worries and concerns for sudden minor drops.

In conclusion, the LG G Stylo scores a seven in this review for its average display quality.

LG G Stylo Camera Features Review

The LG G Stylo comes with a 13 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera.

Both cameras offer good performances. In fact, image results were better than that of most smartphones in the LG G Stylo’s range.

To those who have used a G series smartphone in the past, the quality of this smartphone won’t seem different. Image colors are quite accurate and there is barely visible digital noise on the pictures it captures.

In fact, the smartphone comes with a denoise filter that cleans up digital noise on captured images while keeping details sharp. However, it’s not as effective when the lighting in the environment dims.

Nonetheless, low light captures were quite bright. I’m convinced it’ll be hard to find smartphones in this price range that offer good picture quality like the LG G Stylo does.

Moreover, the LG G Stylo comes with a laser-guided auto-focus that helps improve its picture quality.

The camera software is another weapon in the LG G Stylo’s camera armory. Though the software seems too simple, it helps to get the job done.

You will be able to take good pictures without having to worry about the technicalities of the camera software. The HDR, for instance, is one of the modes the software uses to capture and process images.

Overall, the image processing done with the HDR is awesome. It helps to brighten dark scenes and tone down extremely bright scenes.

Video quality is also good. The LG G Stylo’s camera was able to pick up audio clearly while focusing on moving and stationary objects.

In conclusion, the camera performance of the LG G Stylo is excellent. Though it doesn’t offer better image quality than the LG G4 or the LG G Flex 2, it fares quite well in comparison.

Therefore, the LG G Stylo scores a seven in this review.

LG G Stylo Battery Life and Talk Time Review

The LG G Stylo comes with a 3000 mAh battery.

The combination of a Snapdragon series processor and a 720p display always bodes well for battery life. Add this combination to a 3000 mAh battery and it gets more interesting.

It is as though this smartphone doesn’t consume battery. You will be surprised by how long the LG G Stylo can last.

Even with video streaming, web browsing, playing music, and games, the LG G Stylo’s incredible battery life makes it last throughout the day.

LG advertises this smartphone’s battery to last up to 18 hours of talk time. Perhaps, LG is only trying to be modest because the results I got in my tests were significantly better.

As I stated earlier, the LG G Stylo lasted a day of web browsing and other regular activities. LG also advertises the LG G Stylo to last up to 18 days and 5 hours of standby time.

Overall, the LG G Stylo scores a eight in this review for its impressive battery life.

LG G Stylo Storage Options & Performance Review

LG G Stylo features an internal storage capacity of 16 GB.

This might not be sufficient enough going by modern-day storage needs. However, 16 GB internal storage for a smartphone of this price range is considerably impressive.

If you barely store large files, this storage capacity will suffice for your regular file storage.

However, the smartphone’s operating system uses a portion of the internal storage. Hence, you will have only about 9 GB for your file storage.

On the bright side, LG allows you to expand the smartphone’s storage via a microSD card. You can expand the storage with a microSD card of 32 GB maximum size.

In conclusion, the LG G Stylo scores a seven in this review for its storage options.

LG G Stylo Security Features & Sensors Review

Advancements in technology have brought about the development of different mind-blowing things. Every sector has recorded improvements either in their mode of operation or in the product and services they offer.

Likewise, mobile technology has recorded its fair share of improvements. Modern smartphones now serve a wider range of purposes.

In fact, smartphones can be regarded as little machines that serve as our personal assistants. They are now capable of collecting data from their user’s environment for the purpose of improving user experience.

This is made possible thanks to little components known as sensors. The LG G Stylo also comes with a collection of sensors.

The smartphone comes with an accelerometer that helps to detect its orientation. Apps use this sensor to detect if the smartphone is portrait or in landscape mode – then, adjust their orientation accordingly.

In addition, the phone features a proximity sensor that detects when a user is holding the smartphone near their face during a call. This sensor turns off the display to reduce battery consumption.

Unfortunately, the LG G Stylo doesn’t come with a fingerprint sensor. In conclusion, the LG G Stylo scores a six in this review for its limited number of sensors.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Final Thoughts

The LG G Stylo is basically a more affordable version of the LG G4 that will get the job done in every category. When you purchase this smartphone, you get so much more for your money.

For the most part, the LG G Stylo feels like a premium smartphone. However, you will be reminded of its low price when you use it to carry out heavy tasks, or try to multitask with it.

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