LG Tribute Empire: At First Glance
In a world where budget smartphones are increasingly becoming widely appreciated, expectations have also increased. What’s more interesting is the fact that these budget smartphones are made available at prices below the $100 mark.
The LG Tribute Empire is a smartphone that attempts to meet high expectations while being available at a price below the $100 mark. In fact, the appearance of this device will have you thinking it belongs to the premium range of smartphones.
However, as you would expect from a budget smartphone, there are some compromises in the LG Tribute Empire specs.
LG Tribute Empire: Design, Dimension, and Weight
The LG Tribute Empire is identical to the LG Tribute Dynasty. If you don’t take a close look, you could easily mistake LG Tribute Empire for the LG Tribute Dynasty.
Moving on to the phone’s design, the LG Tribute Empire smartphone follow the simple design model. Moreover, it has a plastic build just like most budget smartphones.
Despite its plastic build, it looks as though a lot of care and attention has been put into its construction.
Above the LG Tribute Empire’s display, you get a 5-megapixel camera, earpiece, and a light sensor. Meanwhile, beneath the display, you have just the LG logo.
Furthermore, the left side of the smartphone features a volume rocker. However, the right-hand side of the phone does not have any button.
At the bottom, you will find a headphone jack, a USB charging port, and a noise cancellation mic. Meanwhile, the top accommodates just a secondary microphone.
Thanks to its smooth black cover, the LG Tribute Empire feels very nice to hold. However, the back cover tends to retain fingerprints and oil stains.
The back cover of the LG Tribute Empire houses a rear camera, a LED flashlight, and a power button that looks like a fingerprint sensor. You’ll also find the LG logo and a speaker grille on the back of this device.
Furthermore, the LG Tribute Empire is thin and compact enough to easily fit into your pocket. It measures 144.7 x 71.8 x 8.1 mm and weighs 140 g.
Even though the overall design and build of the LG Tribute Empire are simple, it still looks almost good as a premium smartphone. Hence, it scores a seven in this review for its beautiful design.
LG Tribute Empire: Display Features
The LG Tribute Empire features a 5.0-inch IPS TFT display. The display has an HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels.
With the LG Tribute Empire off, its display looks like it doesn’t have bezels. This smartphone is designed such that the bezels stay hidden when the screen is off.
This bezel design adds to the beauty of the LG Tribute Empire.
Turning this smartphone’s screen on reveals a vibrant and clear display. Color representation is rich and looks as sharp as you get from an HD display.
Additionally, due to the sharpness of the LG Tribute Empire’s display, the smartphone can be used in direct sunlight. You might, however, need to increase the brightness level to the highest.
Although this smartphone’s display is nowhere near many higher-end smartphones display, it is excellent. Hence, the LG Tribute Empire scores a seven in this display review.
LG Tribute Empire: Camera Features
LG equipped LG Tribute Empire with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. This smartphone’s camera performance is not impressive.
Surprisingly, the rear camera does not deliver good pictures even when the shots are taken outdoors.
However, the front camera is much better. Compared to its rear camera, the phone’s front camera produces clearer pictures and videos.
Aside from the difference in the quality of images taken with the front camera compared to the rear camera, they both offer good color reproduction.
In conclusion, the LG Tribute Empire scores a six in this camera review because of the low-quality of its selfie camera.
LG Tribute Empire: Battery Life and Talk Time
The LG Tribute Empire comes with a 2,500 mAh replaceable battery. This is one of the strong points of the phone.
LG claims that this battery offers up to 15 hours of talk time. To verify the validity of this claim, I decided to carry out a battery rundown test.
The battery test involved continuous video playback. The LG Tribute Empire lasted up to 9 hours 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the LG Tribute Empire lasted a full day on regular usage like checking emails and making phone calls. However, the battery life on this device may vary depending on your usage.
Spending a lot of time on the phone playing battery-draining games or streaming videos on the internet can quickly run down the battery.
In conclusion, the LG Tribute Empire scores a seven in this review for its good battery life.
LG Tribute Empire: Storage Options and Performance
Budget smartphones with more than 16 GB of internal storage capacity are very rare. The LG Tribute Empire is one of those smartphones.
LG equipped the phone with with 16 GB of internal storage capacity.
For users who store few files on their devices, this storage capacity will be more than sufficient. However, the storage capacity will become an issue if you are a user who installs a lot of apps and stores a lot of media files.
Fortunately, the LG Tribute Empire supports SD card for storage expansion. You can expand this smartphone’s storage with up to 32 GB microSD card.
In conclusion, the LG Tribute Empire scores a six in this review for its limited storage capacity.
LG Tribute Empire: Security Features and Sensors
As you would expect, the LG Tribute Empire comes with some sensors. These sensors perform different functions.
LG equipped the LG Tribute Empire with an accelerometer that measures tilt and motion. It makes it easy for the phone to change orientation as you flip it from vertical to horizontal – and vice versa.
It also comes with 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.
Lastly, this smartphone is equipped with a fingerprint sensor that can be used to securely login to the phone. The fingerprint sensor can also be used for mobile payment authentication.
The LG Tribute Empire scores a seven in this review for its security feature and sensors.
Frequently Asked Questions
The LG Tribute Empire is a good phone for its price. It comes with cool features and good performance. Overall, this smartphone is well equipped to handle basic smartphone operations. However, you will have to manage a mediocre camera.
No, it is not. The Tribute Empire has not been rated as water-resistant. Moreover, it doesn’t have an IP rating.
No, it cannot charge wirelessly. Wireless charging is not one of the features that the LG Tribute Empire supports.
The LG Tribute Empire measures 144.7 x 71.8 x 8.1 mm and weighs 140 g.
The LG Tribute Empire was released in January, 2019.
Conclusion
Although the LG Tribute Empire has its shortcomings, it is a good phone for its price tag. It is an affordable smartphone with a nice design and great display.
However, you might be unimpressed with its camera quality. Nonetheless, the LG Tribute Empire is a good budget smartphone.
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