Editor's Choice

Lightweight Flagship: LG K8 Smartphone Review (2019)

With its K series, the company has tried to combine an affordable price with decent cameras, a removable battery, and an attractive design.

This strategy worked with K10 (2017), and now we will look at a lighter version of K8 (2017).

In addition to the fact that the smartphone has a smaller display size, it is equipped with a slower LTE module.

Also, a weaker processor was installed in it and it has less RAM, but at the moment its cost is about $ 50 less than that of the "big brother".

At first glance, there seems to be no difference in the cameras.

We compared it to other smartphones in this price range, including the Asus Zenfone Go ZB500KL, the Gigaset GS160, the Huawei Y6 II Compact, and the Lenovo K6.

We did not notice much difference, so the smartphone deserves a full review.

Specifications

• Processor: Quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6735
• Screen size: 5 inches,
• Screen resolution: 1.280×720,
• Rear camera: 13 megapixels
• Front camera: 8 megapixels,
• Storage space: 16GB,
• Wireless networks: 3G, 4G,
• Dimensions: 145x72x8.7mm,
• Weight: 157g
• Operating system: Android 6.0.1

General view

Comparing with other products of this manufacturer, we can say that the smaller brother has a high-quality plastic case that fits comfortably in your hand.

It is ergonomic. Despite its small size, the LG K8 turned out to be quite heavy.

It's only 8.1mm thicker than the K10, which means it's still quite thin.

Devices of two colors went on sale: titanium and gold. This only applies to the color of the back cover and frame, the front remains black.

The smartphone is designed with a removable back cover, which means that the user can open it and change the battery.

This is not an entirely unusual factor for gadgets in this price class, but, for example, in Lenovo K6, the battery is not removable.

I do not think that a simple user will pay attention to this, but we tried to bend the phone, and a clear creak was noticeable.

Front and back, it is quite sensitive to pressure: even with light pressure, we can see the formation of waves on the liquid crystal display.

Peculiarities

16 GB of space is a completely normal parameter in this price range. 1.5 GB of RAM is also quite average for this class of devices, although there are currently many variations with 2 GB. Comes with a USB-OTG cable.

Features include support for Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi Direct, and.

The list of features is quite comprehensive for this class and price.

Although the fingerprint sensor is of increasing interest to potential buyers, LG has decided not to install it on this version.

In addition, the storage can be expanded with a card.

The manufacturer indicates that the maximum possible volume that the device supports is 32 GB.

We installed a 64 GB card and accepted it. Therefore, this is more of a marketing question than an actual limitation.

Software

It's good that LG made a bet to upgrade to Android 7 even for such an inexpensive smartphone.

Security patches are released from January 1, 2017, which means that there is a chance that the device will be updated from the current version 6 to version 7.

At the time of our testing, the update was not yet available. It's just logical that in low-cost devices, the manufacturer is in no hurry to release a free update.

LG doesn't use "stock" at all. They install their own user interface, which differs in some details.

The user gets advanced features such as a special code to unlock apps and slightly more customization options.

It comes with several pre-installed applications that support smartphone management and provide advanced features.

LG offers the user only three pre-installed applications, including Facebook. Everything else is customizable.

Communications and GPS

Although the SoC supports 802.11ac WLAN, the WLAN level is limited to 802.11 b/g/n bands on this device.

During testing, it became obvious that the reception speed is even a little faster than most devices from the comparison list.

Subjectively, all pages load quickly, and even when scrolling, the image practically does not freeze.

But, if there are ten meters and three walls between the smartphone and the access point, then noticeable problems appear: pages load noticeably slower and images often do not appear when scrolling.

There is no need to talk about the quality of the video at such a distance.

LG K8 (2017) supports LTE, which is now the standard even for cheap smartphones.

The maximum speed that can be achieved slower than LG K10 (2017): 150 Mbps for download and up to 50 Mbps for upload.

Of course, in a country with more stable LTE coverage, the difference in speed is likely not to be noticeable.

Inside city buildings, the reception is decent, we always had at least half the signal when connected to Vodafone.

Satellite positioning does not work in enclosed buildings. On the street, the satellites quickly determined our coordinates with an accuracy of 9 meters, which is an average result.

Comparing the performance of the smartphone with the professional Garmin Edge 500 navigator, we noticed a lot of inaccuracies in location detection.

Often the graph is displayed as just a straight line if the satellites are unable to determine the position for a long time. Therefore, while navigating, you should not rely on the accuracy of this smartphone.

Phone and call quality

The stock calling app has been tweaked slightly by LG, but basically, in terms of features, it works just like the stock app from .

The call quality is surprisingly good and better than the LG K10 (2017), and also: the earpiece clearly transmits the voice of the interlocutor.

Sensitive and even conveys whispered words. Too loud speech is slightly distorted. Hands-free mode worked great.

cameras

The smartphone compares favorably with a 13-megapixel rear panel. Many manufacturers claim similar characteristics, but in practice everything does not look so impressive.

No, we were pleasantly surprised by the clarity of the image.

The sharpness score is quite tolerable, although autofocus concentrates too much on close subjects, even if they are at the very edge of the image.

Everything else looks blurry. But if necessary, it can be manually adjusted. The rest of the parameters are pleasing, the color reproduction is good.

In the focus area, the sharpness of the image also pleased.

In low light conditions, the main camera shots quickly become very grainy and therefore look washed out.

Videos can be recorded in HD.

The quality is good: even in dark areas, the details are still recognizable; exposure quickly adjusts to new conditions, only from time to time you need to manually adjust the focus.

The front camera, 5 megapixels, takes pretty sharp pictures.

The exposure is good, but details are quickly lost in the lighter areas. The front camera can also record Full HD video, and the quality here is also on top.

Sharpness is good; the lens adjusts quickly and the dynamics are decent. Zoom step can be changed in one click

After testing the main camera under controlled lighting conditions in our test lab, the score is "good".

The emphasis is thought out, right, because the image has only one level of depth.

However, text in front of a colored background is always accompanied by small colored edges. At the edges of the image, clarity is clearly lower.

Colors are reproduced slightly lighter than in reality.

Sample photos on LG K8

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Accessories and Warranty

Unlike the K10 (2017), the K8 does not include headphones. Charger and USB cable are included.

Additional accessories are not included on the LG website.

The manufacturer provides a 24-month warranty for LG K8 (2017).

Input and processing devices

The virtual keyboard developed by LG is perfectly supported by this device.

Anyone who prefers the standard application from Google can download it for free on PlayMarket.

The touch screen works very well. In games, you can control both corners and edges.

The menu buttons are on the screen, but can be hidden if desired.

The hardware buttons are on the left side of the case.

And on the back cover under the camera there is a Standby button. The location is a little unusual, but after a while it is perceived intuitively.

Naturally, there is a regime for people with special needs. The volume buttons can bring up special functions when pressed for a long time. For example, among such functions is the launch of the camera.

Today we have a review of an interesting smartphone LG K8 2017. What changes have been made to the model? Is it worth buying it today for the price offered (8,500 r)? This is what we will look into.

The smartphone is packed in a gray cardboard box with the inscription of the model. Inside lies:

• A gadget where the main advantages are indicated on the shipping film: 13 and 5 megapixel cameras, 2.5d curved glass and 4g LTE support.
• Instructions and warranty card.
• 1 A charger.
• MicroUSB cable for connecting to a computer and charging.

Headphones are not included, so if you need them, you will have to purchase separately. But if you look at it from the other side, it's better to have no headphones than cheap, disgusting quality headphones that no one ever uses.

Appearance

The LG K8 2017 body is made of plastic: black on the bottom, silver-gloss on the sides and corrugated at the back. Thanks to the special structure of the back cover, the state employee will not slip in his hand, and also quickly get dirty. There are two colors to choose from: gold and indigo (blue-black).

Smartphone LG K8 2017 looks good.

On the front is a 5-inch display and company logo. Above the display is a speaker and a front camera. On the left side is the volume control button. On the right, the manufacturer decided not to prescribe anything. Below is a microUSB port and a microphone. At the top is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

Let's move on to the back side. Here you can see the peephole of the main camera, LED flash and a button to turn on, turn off and unlock the device, again the LG logo and a slot for the speaker at the bottom. The on / off button is shaped like a fingerprint scanner, but it is not here. It is available only for the older model K10.

The back cover of the LG K8 2017 is removable, which can be attributed to the undoubted pluses. She sits harshly, so, on the one hand, it is difficult to remove it, but on the other hand, when the gadget falls, it will not open. Below it are:

• Lithium-ion battery 2500 mAh.
• Two slots for NanoSim.
• Separate microSD card slot for memory expansion.

Device dimensions:

• Height - 147 millimeters;
• Width - 73 mm;
• Thickness - 8.2 mm;
• Weight - 148 grams.

Screen

The display of the state employee has an IPS-matrix. The 5-inch display has HD resolution, i.e. 1280 by 720 pixels with 294 pixels per inch. The screen material is protected glass Gorilla Glass 3. Multi-touch supports 10 touches, at least the manufacturer says so, but in fact there are only five. For some reason, the device does not see it anymore.

The display is bright with good viewing angles.

The buttons here are on-screen, and not pre-applied to the case.

Processor and operating system

Specifications are as follows:

• Processor Mediatek MT6737, clocked at 1.3 GHz. This is a quad-core, 64-bit processor.
• Video accelerator Mali T720.
• RAM - 1.5 GB.
• The built-in memory is 16 GB, but about 9 GB will be available to the user. Additional expansion with a card up to 32 GB is possible.

In synthetic tests, the smartphone shows the results:

1. GeekBanch 4 551 single-core score and 1505 multi-core score. The video accelerator test shows 1064 points.
2. AntutuBanchmark scored 29793 points.

The above is just benchmark scores, but how does the LG k8 x240 perform in real games? If we take as a basis such a heavyweight as Asphalt 8, which requires a lot of resources from the device. At maximum settings, of course, if there are quite strong slowdowns, but when you lower it, you get pretty steel fps.

The gadget is running Android 6.0. He does not observe any complaints in his work, menus and applications open quickly without sticking. A huge plus is the lack of a huge number of pre-installed programs.

Let's talk a little about the autonomy of the state employee. A 2500 mAh battery is installed inside. Batteries will last from morning to evening with medium loads, but you still have to put the device on charge at night, like most modern Android devices.

Camera

The smartphone has two cameras: a 13-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel front camera.

The pictures on the main camera turn out to be quite good, but only under the condition of good lighting, in fact, almost like in any budget device. When shooting at night, graininess and fuzziness appear. All this is expected.

This phone is positioned as a selfie phone, so the front camera is equipped with a wide-angle lens, so a lot of people can fit in the picture. Plus, one of the chips is automatic face retouching, that is, removing all irregularities. And to take a picture you need to squeeze and unclench your fist three times.

Outcome

K8 is a re-release of a fairly popular LG smartphone. LG K8 2017 is for those who are not very demanding on their gadget in terms of hardware, but at the same time want to get good cameras, especially for selfies.

If you do not trust smartphones from China, but want to take something proven, then the LG K8 is worth a closer look.

Video

Video review of the phone

January 31 company LG Electronics brought us to the so-called round table to present K-series smartphones of 2017 with updated cameras and convenient user features inherited from premium models. The line is represented by devices LG K10 2017, LG K8 2017 And LG K7 2017 and belongs to the middle price category - i.e. below 20 thousand rubles.
The main pride of the K-series, the manufacturer considers the improved front camera, which will delight selfie lovers. As representatives of LG themselves admitted, it was communication with journalists that inspired them to make some modifications. Firstly, the top-end K10 has a widescreen selfie camera: an angle of 120 ° will allow you to fit a large company in one frame or capture yourself against the backdrop of some sight. If the situation is not favorable, you can make the frame narrower, “more private”.

All K-smartphones now have the popular functions of Selfie, Hand Gesture Time-Lapse and Front Camera Virtual Flash, and you can now take selfies with the handy multi-function button on the back cover.

At first glance, the K10, K8 and K7 are very similar, especially from the front, but the back covers differ in design. However, all three with their plastic sheen, lightness, streamlined shapes, and “soft” corners evoke strong associations with some kind of funny toys. These unpretentious gizmos are devoid of unnecessary pretensions for flagship elegance and chic: they look simple, cute, democratic and original in their own way.

A curious moment - all devices have a removable battery, as in the good old days. A rare design solution today will allow you to easily replace the battery when it stops holding a charge normally, and will also give you a chance to save the phone if it gets wet.

As for the differences in hardware, functionality and other details, now we will explain everything.

LG K10 2017

New LG K10, the top model of the series, is rightfully considered the “highlight of the program”: a wide-angle selfie camera with a viewing angle of 120 degrees (with the function of switching to standard) and an aperture of F2.2, a multifunctional control button (by the way, it takes a screenshot when double-tapping) with a fingerprint sensor and an interesting design - a good offer in its price category. (In any case, the fingerprint scanner built into the control button is clearly borrowed from flagships and is rarely found on smartphones for 15-17 thousand rubles.)

LG K10 2017 differs from K8 and K7 in a more strict design and almost smooth lid, faster hardware and a new OS - Android 7.0 Nougat with an individual modification from LG. The interface allows you to connect a flash drive to your smartphone through a special adapter for information exchange, as well as type text messages and letters using an external keyboard.

SpecificationsLG K10 2017

• Processor: 8-core 1.5GHz (MT6750)
• Display: 5.3" HD In-cell Touch (1280 x 720 / 277 dpi)
• Memory: 2 GB (operative) / 16 GB (built-in) / microSD (up to 32 GB)
• Camera: front 5 MP (wide) / rear 13 MP (standard)
• Battery: 2,800 mAh (removable)
• Operating system: Android 7.0 Nougat
• Dimensions: 148.7 x 75.3 x 7.9mm
• Weight: 138g
• Networks: LTE / 3G / 2G
• Color: black / titanium / gold
• Optional: Fingerprint scanner, Selfie mode, Hand gesture time-lapse shooting, Front camera Virtual Flash, One-touch shooting, 2.5D display glass

LG K8 2017

LG K8 2017 a little simpler than the "Tens" in terms of hardware and characteristics: it no longer has a fingerprint sensor and costs a simple Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). But "Interval shooting by hand gesture", "Virtual flash" and the same 13 megapixel main camera are available.

SpecificationsLG K8 2017

• Processor: 4-core, 1.3 GHz (MT6737)
• Display: 5.0" HD (1280x720) with On-Cell Touch
• Memory: 1.5 GB (RAM) / 16 GB (built-in) / micro SD (up to 32 GB)
• Camera: front 5 MP / main 13 MP
• Battery: 2500 mAh (removable)
• Dimensions: 73.2 x 147.1 x 8.2mm
• Weight: 147.8g
• Networks: LTE / 3G / 2G
• Connections: Wi-Fi (802.11 b, g, n) / Bluetooth 4.2 / USB 2.0
• Colors: indigo / gold
• Optional: One-touch shooting, Hand gesture time-lapse shooting, Selfie camera's Virtual Flash

LG K7 2017

LG K7 2017- the most democratic representative of the series: the main camera is 8 megapixels, the front camera is 5 megapixels, there is a “Virtual flash” and “One-touch shooting”. However, a 1.1 GHz quad-core processor and 4G LTE support will be enough for comfortable Internet surfing, posting photos and videos on social networks, watching YouTube videos, online games and downloading content.

SpecificationsLG K7 2017

• Screen: 5.0-inch FWVGA On-Cell Touch
• Processor: 1.1GHz 4-core
• Camera: Rear 8 MP / Front 5 MP
• Memory: RAM: 1 GB ROM: 8 GB
• Battery: 2500 mAh
• Operating system: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
• Dimensions: 145.8 x 74.1 x 8.1mm
• Weight: 143 g
• Network: LTE / 3G / 2G
• Colors: titanium / mocha
• Optional: Hand gesture time-lapse shooting, One-touch shooting, Selfie camera's "Virtual Flash"

Results

According to statistics, up to a million selfies appear on the network every day, which is why many people when buying a smartphone are guided precisely by the number of megapixels and the quality of shooting. Yes, expensive flagships with sophisticated hardware have the best characteristics... But if a person just needs good photos on Instagram and communication in social networks, and is of little interest to the smoothness of 3D games? It is for such a consumer that LG K-series smartphones are designed. No transcendental characteristics, but the emphasis is on the most used functions.

As for the bold black frames that consumers do not like so much, they are here - there is no escape ... However, the journalists asked to deal with this problem. A previous proposal for a selfie camera with a 120° field of view was implemented in just six months. Let's hope that this time LG will quickly take into account the practical advice of the press.

As part of the round table, LG representatives were actively interested in what colors of phones would please consumers. If you have any ideas, write in the comments!

Introduced the K line (2017). No, we will not see anything new: Elgy followed the example of most modern companies like Samsung and just updated the existing lineup, offering a more relevant alternative. The line is mid-segment, but to be completely frank, these smartphones can be attributed to entry-level gadgets. One of these we will consider in the review is LG K8 (2017).

What changed

As already noted, the device has updated the existing model range. Compared with LG K8 in the new LG K8 (2017) The processor has been improved and a fingerprint scanner has been added. The display remains the same - 5 inches with eychdi-resolution. Are the designs more expressive than before? It's hard to say: on the one hand, the 2.5D glass on the front and the striped pattern on the back make the smartphone stylish and fresh. On the other hand, the appearance is not as "image" as before, it is just different. In the old K8, instead of a scanner, a branded volume rocker was visible under the camera, but here the rocker was moved to a rounded shiny side face. Much more interesting will be technical changes.

Filling

The old gadget did not stand out except for the design. After all, the simplest media library MT6735 was installed there. RAM was 1.5GB, which is certainly better than just a gigabyte, as in most entry-level gadgets. The battery received a capacity of 2125mAh, the camera was distinguished by 8 megapixels. Here, there are improvements. Firstly, there is a fresh processor, and not a mediatech one, but a Qualcomm one - snapdragon 425. It is noteworthy, but the amount of RAM has remained the same. Secondly, the camera resolution has been increased. Now the device has 13 megapixels, as befits any modern smartphone. Well, and most importantly, the battery has increased, albeit not by much, in the new product - 2500mAh. An increase in autonomy is always good.

Of course, many may not change their outdated gadget for a new one. But if we talk about relevance, it's worth doing it only for the sake of the new version of the OS. The device works with the new pre-installed Android OS V7.0. Whatever one may say, many will want a new OS in the new year, the sixth Android is no longer so relevant, although many last year's devices did come with the fifth pre-installed. And as always, the last deciding factor will be cost.

Smartphone LG K8 2017 is a representative of a series of budget gadgets of the South Korean brand, which are characterized by a representative design and a balanced ratio of price and quality.

Excellent ergonomics

Compared to competitors in the budget price category, LG K8 has a stylish body and well-thought-out ergonomics. High-quality case with embossed coating and 2.5D-glass on the screen create the most pleasant impression. The smartphone lies in the hand like a glove due to the thin body of 8.1 mm and low weight (147.8 grams), and it is simply impossible to find fault with the appearance.

The power button is placed on the back panel. Although this is unusual for classic budget smartphones, you get used to this placement instantly.

Expanding the possibilities of the state employee

Perhaps the main feature of the LG K8 is its advanced NFC module and USB OTG function. The ability to make contactless payments, as a rule, goes to the top flagships. In gadgets of the middle price category, it occurs every other time, and for state employees this function is not considered at all. However, LG understands that even an affordable smartphone must meet modern requirements, so the NFC module here works smartly and without failures.

Another extremely useful feature is USB OTG, with which you can connect your smartphone to a scanner or printer, and also use it as an external drive.

The amount of internal memory is very solid for a smartphone that can be bought for 7 thousand rubles. Initially, you have 16 GB available, which can be expanded with an external card up to 32 GB. However, tests have shown that the smartphone is able to recognize the card and 64 GB.

Screen, cameras, hardware - something that pleasantly surprises

The smartphone is equipped with a high-quality 5-inch IPS-screen with HD resolution, which is able to produce a high-quality picture even at wide viewing angles. Quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor at 1.3 GHz and 1.5 GB of RAM works quickly and without lag. And the Adreno 308 graphics chip will provide good performance in games at medium settings.

The smartphone uses 13 and 5 MP cameras with the most necessary functions. For example, you can quickly process a finished picture using filters and publish it on social networks.