The LG G4 Stylus is pitched at a buyer who wants it all but is not willing to spend ‘top dollar’ on LG’s impressive G4 flagship.
If you ever used a Windows Phone (they weren’t yet called smartphones back then) in the aughts, you’d know something about navigating with a ‘pokey’ stylus. Those touch screens were almost impossible to use without a stylus. Then came the iPhone and the Android devices which almost put the stylus out of business until Samsung’s Note series made them ‘sexy’ again. Except the reinvented stylus added a serious productivity element especially for creative professionals who could save and share all their jottings or doodles. LG opted to used the stylus as a value-add to the skimmed down version of it’s LG G3 flagship in 2014 and has done a redux in 2015.
The LG G4 Stylus is pitched at a buyer who wants it all but is not willing to spend ‘top dollar’ on LG’s impressive G4 flagship. But does that buyer really need a stylus? With two successive stylus devices, LG clearly thinks so. First up, the LG G4 stylus looks a tad more expensive than its Rs 21,000 price tag. That’s something we are seeing a lot in the 15,000 – 25,000 segment where device manufacturers are wooing ‘aspirational’ buyers with better build quality. Don’t look for the leather (No faux leather too) back similar to the G4 but the all-plastic back has a classy textured design (Our review unit was an elegant grey). It’s removable – yes LG is still not sold on unibody devices and there’s room for two Micro SIM slots and a Micro SD card under the cover.
LG has added a Micro SD (16 GB) card and a flip cover to the box; it isn’t Christmas yet but with India’s festive season around the corner, this is a nice touch. LG’s now customary rear key and volume rocker keep the left and right spine absolutely clean. The camera lens is flanked by a dual LED flash and a laser autofocus sensor on the top half of the back. The build quality is impressive given its price tag; that’s one major box the device ticks off.
The display unfortunately is not one of those boxes the G4 Stylus does tick off – 720 x 1280 pixels / 258 PPI (Pixels per inch) might have been impressive for this segment in 2014 but there are quite a few devices that offer more vibrant displays at this price point. LG manages an impressive 73.3% screen to body ratio with the 5.7-inch display though. The device’s 13MP shooter is par for the course. We love how quick the shooter is (courtesy the laser autofocus) and also the presence of OIS (Optical image stabilisation) at this price point. Lowlight photography was average while the 8MP front cam snaps decent selfies.
The LG G4 stylus is powered by the Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 (1.2GHz Quad-core) processor with disappointingly just 1GB of RAM. The limited RAM doesn’t slow things down too much even while multi-tasking. The device clocked 21534 – slightly below the XIaomi MI2, on our AnTuTu benchmark test. The corresponding PC Mark (Work performance) score was 3129. There’s 16GB of onboard memory plus support for Micro SD cards up to 128GB; no cribs on that front. The device’s 3000 mAh battery is one of its big strengths; you don’t have to worry about lugging your charger to work unless you are going to be spending all day with the device. We were equally impressed with the LG G4’s battery life too.
The Stylus – the device’s main talking point, is nestled in the top right corner. Functionality-wise it is not a major step up from the stylus in its predecessor. We wish LG could add some small touches – like activating the memo app when you pull the stylus out of its cradle. The Memo App itself needs more pizzazz to make it more engaging and useful to wean away customers who are hooked on to Samsung’s range of ‘Note’ devices. However this new stylus is a tad easier to use and write with thanks to a slightly improved build.
Overall the LG G4 Stylus has quite a few things going for it, especially the build quality and stellar battery life. Don’t buy this phone only for its stylus but if you are looking at a solid performer in the sub Rs 25,000 segment, the LG G4 stylus merits consideration but so do quite a few other competing devices.
What we liked: Build quality, Battery life
What we didn’t like: Dated UI, Stylus needs more functionality
Price: Rs 21,000
Specifications:
- Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 (1.2GHz Quad-core) 2GB RAM
- 16GB onboardmemory with Micro SD Card support up to 128GB
- Dual SIM
- 5.7-inch screen -1080 x 720 pixels with a 258 PPI pixel density
- 13MP primary shooter (Dual LED flash with Laser focus sensor) / 8MP front Camera
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 "LG G4 Stylus")
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