While LG G6 was a great phone, it somehow failed to be a runaway success amid the fierce flagship market. Apart from the premium tier, the South Korean brand was unable to make its mark into the mid-range and budget segment too. The new ‘FullVision’ display with an aspect ratio of 18:9 is the major highlight of G6. So, the brand trickled down some of the features of its flagship and retained this popular feature in its latest offering; LG Q6 for the mid-range market.
The brand launched three versions of Q6 in July 2017, and one with 3GB RAM was released in India. Priced under Rs. 15,000, the brand is hoping that it would attract buyers looking for a feature-packed phone at a pocket-friendly price. Apart from the large display and 3GB RAM, the handset has a host of impressive specs like Android Nougat OS, Snapdragon processor, dedicated SD card slot, and a large 3,000mAh battery.
Redefining Budget-Segment Smartphones
• Design and Display
One of the major highlights of the device is its display. LG has done a fantastic job of bringing the design of its flagship into the budget segment with Q6. The ‘FullVision’ display is slightly taller than the standard 1080p resolution and offers a resolution of 2160 x 1080p. The bezels have been minimised drastically to further add up to the looks of this beautiful device. Slim bezels mean that while the display is 5.5-inches, the phone is not much larger than a standard 5-inches phone.
As for the quality of the display, it is undoubtedly one of the best display panels available in the market. Viewing angles are great, and colour saturation makes all the different types of content look alive. The brightness is good too, no matter if you are outdoor or directly under the sunlight. There is also Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to protect the display. Overall, the display along with the metal sides and plastic back makes Q6 look upmarket.
• Performance
Apart from the display and design, the phone has impressive internals too. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor, it comes with Adreno 505 GPU for great graphics. For everyday use, the phone performs very well without any major lags. However, the fluidity suffers at times when using multiple heavy apps. Also, this is not a phone dedicated to heavy gaming. While there is a feature known as ‘Game battery saver’ to enhance the battery life when playing games, on the performance front, don’t expect the performance of a flagship from this mid-range phone.
• UI and Software
The phone runs on Android Nougat with the Security patch launched by Android in July 2017. The phone lacks the app drawer feature, and all the apps are directly displayed on the home screen. However, you can download the app drawer if you want. Users also get the option to customize the navigation button at the bottom. Apart from the standard return, home and multitasking, you can add two additional rows of buttons.
There is also an option to scale the size of the apps you download. The display size can be adjusted as per your preference. There is Comfort view with four options- medium, high, low and black & white. Even the notification drawer can be customised. To optimise the overall performance of the phone, there is a great Smart Doctor app which you can use to monitor and improve the battery, performance, and much more.
Other Specs and Features
• Optics
LG Q6 has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP camera on the front with a wide-angle lens to take group selfies. The interface of the camera app is similar to other latest apps from LG. On one side, you’ll have the settings, filters, several modes, flash, current mode, and camera change toggle. The shutter button, gallery, back option and video button are all situated on the opposite side.
In well-lit environments, both the cameras capture impressive pictures. But they suffer a bit when the lighting is low. If you look from the budget segment perspective, the optics is surely much better than what is offered by a number of other phones in the same price band.
• Storage and Battery
The LG Q6 comes with a built-in storage of 32GB, and it can be further expanded up to 256GB. The phone has a dedicated slot for the microSD card. The phone runs on a 3,000mAh Li-Po battery which is non-removable and does not support fast charging or quick charging. While the battery can last an entire day with standard usage, watching videos on a loop or a lot or graphic-intense games can make a huge dent in the battery life.
Some other important specs of the phone include dual Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS with GLONASS, Stereo FM, NFC and micro USB 2.0 with support for USB OTG. It also has the standard set of sensors like gyro, accelerometer, compass, and proximity but lacks fingerprint sensor which is a letdown as many of the mid-range phones now do sport one.
Pros and Cons
Pros: What’s So Good?
• Great display- The FullVision display is very impressive. Right from the colours to the brightness and viewing angles, you are definitely in for a visual treat with LG Q6.
• Striking build quality- With Q6, LG has done a commendable job of offering a phone with premium looks and build quality at a budget-friendly price.
• Clutter-free interface- The phone runs on Android Nougat with LG UI 5.0 on top. The interface is neatly designed and is mostly free from clutter.
• Dedicated slot for microSD- The phone has a dedicated microSD card slot and not the hybrid slot which one can commonly see on a lot of mid-range phones.
• MIL-STD 810G certified- The phone has also passed the 810G military standard testing which includes environmental and temperature extremes, vibration, shock, and pressure.
Cons: What Could be Better?
• No fingerprint sensor- The phone lacks the fingerprint sensor which is something very common in a lot of mid-range phones.
• Battery life could have been better- The phone has a 3,000mAh battery which might not last an entire day if used heavily. Moreover, it does not support fast charging.
• Mediocre cameras- While the cameras take great pictures in daylight, their performance suffer under low lighting conditions.
• Gaming performance is average- If you love playing graphic-intensive games, LG Q6 might not be the phone for you.
• No notification LED- Like a lot of mid-range phones from brands like Samsung, LG Q6 also lacks notification LED.