Picking a flagship phone is often a choice between a handful of established brands.
Similarly looking at budget devices can boil down to getting the best price for a chosen
minimum specification.
What about the middle of the pack though?
You want a smartphone that’s going to last a couple of years but don’t want to break
the bank.
You want to save money but also make the most of what you do spend.
There’s a huge array of devices to choose from that sit around the £2-300 price bracket.
Some may seem under or over priced, especially if they’ve been on the market for a while
already.
Others have heavily advertised features that you might not need.
So what about the X Screen?
Priced at £220 it would seem to be on the lower edge of middle tier of phones, although
it’s advertised as having some premium features.
Let’s take a closer look.
The X Screen is a mix and match of middle of the road hardware.
A few compromises appear to have been made to hit a lower price point, although there’s
nothing here that shouts underpowered.
The main screen is probably the one thing to stick out as odd.
For a phone that by its very name wants you to pay attention to the screen, the choice
of a 720x1080 panel is an odd one.
It’s a relatively minor gripe as there’s nothing wrong with a 720 panel, this resolution
is very common, and at 5 inches it’s well sized enough.
A proper full HD 1280x1920 panel would have far better suited the phone’s moniker.
Clearly this is a cost-saving measure as the higher resolution panel would add a fair bit
of change to the final price.
I think this phone could have justified that however.
The processor is a bog standard Snapdragon 412 – 1.2 GHz quad-core – this chip is
used in dozens of phones and is the understated workhorse of many well-performing modern devices.
Coupled with 2GB of RAM and Android 6.0, the X Screen ticks off a few more standard boxes.
Connectivity wise all of the usual suspects are considered with standard Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
4.1 and GPS.
There’s also high speed 4G / LTE support and NFC for quick sharing and Android Pay
if supported by your bank/card provider.
LG clearly want the X range to look like premium level phones.
The price tag of course belies that and when you get the X Screen in your hand you realise
that ‘looking’ premium is all it manages.
Only from a distance too.
It’s a bit like an oil painting, stand away from the phone and sure it looks like something
that should command a much higher price; chamfered edge, glossy glass back, silver trim, all
very stylish.
On closer inspection though and it becomes more obvious this is a phone skirting closer
to the lower tier of current design than the higher.
The chamfered edges are in fact two tapered plastic blocks between a silvery plastic trim
that look nowhere nears as good as the curved edge glass I first thought the phone had.
Also, unlike the premium coated glass of say an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, the X Screen’s
glossy plastic back is a dirt and scratch magnet.
The camera bumps out of the back panel slightly so the lens cap may get more easily scratched.
Finally the overall lack of weight (normally a good thing) kind of make the X Screen feel
like a child’s toy rather than a plus £200 piece of consumer electronics.
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh on the X Screen.
It’s a functional design and for the most part it doesn’t look bad on any level.
However when you try hard to emulate something of demonstrably higher quality, you’d better
do a good job.
Android 6.0 is installed on the X Screen although it’s an LG skin (LG UX).
Out of the 16GB base storage you’ll find just shy of 10 available for your own use
which is fairly standard.
The preinstalled LG extras are few, however unlike the budget K4 we reviewed recently
[link-through], these additional programs are marked as system apps and cannot be uninstalled.
If you don’t mind forever having Evernote, QuickMemo+ and LG SmartWorld installed it
won’t matter too much though.
Android purists won’t like it but LG’s new UX removes the app drawer.
There’s no longer a button on the home screen to list all your apps.
Instead, every installed app has a shortcut à la iOS.
Shortcuts can be grouped into folders as normal of course.
I don’t mind this approach and can see the benefit – novice users aren’t left confused
between the distinction of a shortcut and an installed app.
Unfortunately for the home screen obsessed who like to keep their interface clean, there
will always be one extra folder sat around with things in it you don’t want to see.
One gripe is that one of Marshmallow’s best features hasn’t been included.
I’m talking about the ability to merge an SD card with the phone storage, allowing for
true memory expansion.
The software on the X Screen I’ve tested only sees the memory card as external storage
for media.
Now this doesn’t make the X Screen any different to many other similar Android phones out there
but it feels like LG missed a trick.
Overall though I’m impressed with LG’s UX design.
The flat iconography feels modern and core apps such as Dialler, Contacts and Messaging
have been skinned efficiently and consistently.
It’ll depend on your tastes but I think they look a lot friendlier than stock Android’s
utilitarian approach.
There’s also a decent amount of customisation options available including a few fonts, font
sizes and personalised ringtones in a well laid out Settings menu.
The aforementioned LG SmartWorld app also lets you download new launcher themes, fonts,
high resolution images etc. giving you a more direct route to customisation – something
a novice Android user might struggle working out on their own with the stock system.
Some might call it a gimmick but after a short time with the X Screen I can see the benefits
of this little addition.
First seen on the limited release V10, the second screen is an always-on display that
sits in the top-right corner above the main screen.
By default it displays a short personalised signature or message.
This shows even when the main screen is off.
You also get notification details usually reserved for the notification shade on the
main screen.
The second screen uses AMOLED technology so only draws the power when pixels are not black.
Seeing as it’s a tiny black and white display only showing small amounts of text, the overall
power draw on the phone is negligible.
The display doesn’t end there though as you can customise it further.
Aside from the signature message you can have the second screen show details of one or more
of the following:
• Quick Tools (Wi-Fi toggle, flashlight toggle etc.)
• Recent used apps • Music player
• Permanent app shortcuts •
Quick contacts • Upcoming events / tasks from Calendar
You can swipe across the second display to switch between any of the active modules you’ve
set up.
With the main screen locked, only basic information is shown such as date, time, signature, notification
content (hiding sensitive info if you’ve set that).
It’s a really well implemented hardware feature and once set up, it becomes second
nature to look up to the corner for a notification or access a regular app.
For instance a flashlight app shortcut or Wi-Fi toggle widget is something I might not
want on my home screen but conversely want quick access to.
Here is where the second screen becomes a kind of utility belt for the phone.
No matter what else I’m doing on the phone, I can swipe away at the second screen and
get to it quickly without interrupting my main app.
For instance if I’m live streaming full screen but need to turn on a torch or switch
Bluetooth on to connect to my headphones, no longer do I have to close the screen to
switch app or cover it with the notification shade.
Neat.
There’s a good quality 13 megapixel camera on the back of the X Screen and an impressive
8 MP one to the front.
LG could have skimped on these – at this price an 8 / 5 configuration wouldn’t have
been bad.
Of course it’s not all about the megapixel rating, how the images get is much more important.
The X Screen does a fairly good job for the most part.
Unlike the high-end camera app found on the flagship LG G series you won’t find many
options in this app.
There’s no manual adjustment for white balance, ISO, or preset modes other than ‘auto’.
This does mean you’re slightly at the mercy of good conditions for your pictures.
Low light can cause a noticeable drop in quality which is expected.
Your best images will probably outside in the sun or indoors under bright lights.
The X Screen is a mixed bag.
There’s some great ideas and specifications mashed up with a flimsy design.
I want to love the X Screen for its clean interface, innovative second screen and fair
camera.
I also want to wear gloves so I don’t feel its cheap feeling construction.
Finally I want to shout at the designers and shove a new Moto G4 in their faces to show
them how slick a low/mid range phone can look and feel for about the same price.
I started this review by saying how picking a mid range phone can be hard.
There are compromises to be made in price, performance, design, features, everything
really.
It’s a struggle to see where the value of any phone lies in this range when there’s
so much choice.
Personally I think the X Screen is about worth the £220 price tag.
If you like the LG brand, want to try something a little different and aren’t too fussed
about having a “pure Android experience”, then sure, give it a whirl.
The LG UX is simple to get to grips with and overall this is a well-rounded specification.
The phone is more than capable and won’t disappoint the casual user with a bit of interest
in new tech.
However if you prefer a basic, no-frills Android and want the nicest looking and feeling handset
on a slightly limited budget, then perhaps take those pennies elsewhere.