LG X Cam Smartphone Review

Name: LG X Cam
Brand: LG

Camera expert. LG's latest product line with an "X" in its name combines mid-range smartphones with handpicked features that are normally found in the smartphone premium range. LG's X Cam stands out with a special "x-tra" in the camera section. Find out whether the camera module's quality is also "x-tra" good.

Marcus Herbrich, ✓ Tanja Hinum (translated by Liala Stieglitz), Published 08/26/2016 🇩🇪 🇪🇸 ...

Android Smartphone Touchscreen

For the original German review, see here.

Like the present G5 flagship smartphone by the Korean manufacturer, LG's X Cam module features a rear-facing dual-primary camera with two modules: A 13 MP primary camera (75 ° standard angle) and a 5 MP wide angle module. Beyond that, it has a high-resolution front-facing camera (8 MP) for selfies.

The mid-range smartphone also sports a 2500 mAh battery besides a MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor alongside 2 GB of RAM. The internal eMMC storage has a capacity of 16 GB, which can be expanded via a micro-SD card.

At an RRP of 299 Euros (~$334), LG's X Cam finds itself in one of the most competitive smartphone sectors and the list of potential rivals is correspondingly long. We use Lenovo's Moto G4, ZTE's Blade V7, OnePlus' X, and Huawei's P9 Lite for comparison in this test. The "big brother" LG's G5 serves as the test reference.

Test device courtesy of LG Deutschland

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LG X Cam

Processor

Mediatek MT6753 8 x 1.5 GHz, Cortex-A53

Graphics adapter

ARM Mali-T720 MP4

Memory

2048 MB

Display

5.20 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 424 PPI, capacitive, multitouch, LCD, IPS, glossy: yes

Storage

16 GB eMMC Flash, 16 GB

, 10 GB free

Connections

1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm jack, Card Reader: micro-SD , NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: accelerometer, proximity sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, Miracast, Wifi Direct, Android Beam, DLNA

Networking

802.11 b/g/n (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.2, LTE (800/1800/2600 MHz), 3G (850/900/1900/2100 MHz), 2G (850/900/1800/1900MHz), LTE, GPS

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 6.9 x 147.5 x 73.6 ( = 0.27 x 5.81 x 2.9 in)

Battery

2500 mAh Lithium-Ion, Talk time 2G (according to manufacturer): 6 h, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 7 h, Standby 2G (according to manufacturer): 260 h, Standby 3G (according to manufacturer): 260 h

Operating System

Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Camera

Primary Camera: 13 MPix 75° standard angle: 4160 x 3120 pixels; 120° wide angle: 2560 x 1920 pixels
Secondary Camera: 8 MPix

Additional features

Speakers: mono, Keyboard: onscreen, LG Smart Keyboard, Keyboard Light: yes, headset, charger, USB data cable, quick start guide, LG UI, KnockCode, Easy Home, Capture+, 24 Months Warranty, SAR: 0.562 W/Kg (head), fanless

Weight

118.2 g ( = 4.17 oz / 0.26 pounds), Power Supply: 41 g ( = 1.45 oz / 0.09 pounds)

Price

280 Euro

Links

LG homepage
LG notebook section

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

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Case

Although LG's X Cam looks as if it is made of aluminum at first glance, the mid-range smartphone's casing is plastic. LG's X Cam makes a somewhat lower quality impression than devices with a glass (OnePlus X) or metal (ZTE Blade V7) back cover. The edges around the 5.2-inch display look relatively wide. This is also reflected in the screen-surface ratio of almost 69%. Nevertheless, the just 6.9-millimeter slim smartphone is pleasant to hold with its weight of 118 grams.

The plastic casing's stability is satisfactory. Despite the slim build, wave formation only develops on the screen when high pressure is applied on the back. The incorporated plastic keys provide a good pressure point and are easy to access.

Connectivity

The 16 GB eMMC storage is not very lush in view of the focus on camera. The user has approximately 10.15 GB for personal use after deducting the operating system. At least it is possible to expand the storage via a micro-SD card by up to 2 TB, and moving compatible apps to the SD card (App2SD) is also supported.

A micro-USB 2.0 port on the handset's underside is present for recharging the smartphone. It is not possible to connect external storage devices via USB OTG. A status LED for notifications and NFC chip are further features of LG's smartphone. LG's X Cam also supports wireless media streaming: Miracast, Wi-Fi Direct, Android Beam, and DLNA. Transmitting content to an external monitor wirelessly to a Sony Android TV functioned without issues in the test.

SD Card Reader
maximum SDCardreader Maximum Transfer Rate
average SDCardreader Average Transfer Rate

Software

As to system software, LG relies on a modified user interface based on Google's latest Android version 6 Marshmallow. The manufacturer's user interface hardly looks like Google's stock Android. The app and folder design, as well as the missing app drawer (ex-factory), correspond to the Korean manufacturer's design language. The animations are also very prominent, which does not really contribute to the system's subjective performance. The latter can be disabled in the developer options. Quick access to camera and notes (Capture+) are present. Furthermore, the handset can be unlocked via the "Double-Tap-to-Wake" gesture.

Communication and GPS

Fluctuations in transfer rates, Iperf-Client

Fluctuations in transfer rates, Iperf-Server

LG's X Cam features Bluetooth version 4.2 and NFC (near-field communication) for wireless communication between mobile devices. Beyond that, Wi-Fi standards 802.11 b/g/n are onboard. The reception quality of the installed Wi-Fi module is decent, and the attenuation of just below -42 dBm in the (Telekom Speedport, W921V) router's direct vicinity is low. The average data transfer rates of 50 Mbit/s (transmit) and 42 Mbit/s (receive) at a distance of 1 meter to our Linksys EA8500 reference router are on a typical level for entry handsets.

The LTE smartphone accesses mobile Internet with up to 150 Mbit/s in download and 50 Mbit/s in upload (LTE Cat.4). The 800, 1800, 2600 LTE frequencies, as well as quad-band GSM and quad-band UMTS, are supported. The reception in the German D network was satisfactory in a big city.

Networking
iperf Server (receive) TCP 1 m
LG G5 Adreno 530, 820 MSM8996, 32 GB eMMC Flash	303 MBit/s +625%
LG X Cam Mali-T720 MP4, MT6753, 16 GB eMMC Flash	41.8 MBit/s
iperf Client (transmit) TCP 1 m
LG G5 Adreno 530, 820 MSM8996, 32 GB eMMC Flash	151 MBit/s +203%
LG X Cam Mali-T720 MP4, MT6753, 16 GB eMMC Flash	49.8 MBit/s

The integrated A-GPS receiver enables mobile localization. Outdoor tracking was possible with an accuracy of approximately 2 meters. Setting up a sufficiently strong satellite signal for finding us indoors was also possible. In our practical test where the mid-range smartphone's GPS module and Garmin's Edge 500 GPS bike computer both log a route simultaneously, LG's X Cam deviated by approximately 300 meters on the roughly 12-kilometer route. The achieved accuracy is comparatively poor for a mid-range handset.

Telephone and Call Quality

LG uses its own phone app in the X Cam model. It offers common features, such as a call list and integrated phone book.

The earpiece's sound quality was unsatisfactory in the test. Our contact's voice output sounded distorted and had an echo. We performed the test calls with Skype and via the German D-network (Vodafone). In return, the microphone's voice quality was good and ensured a sufficient intelligibility at our end.

Cameras

Like LG's G5, the front-facing camera in LG's X Cam has a high resolution of 8 megapixels (2448x3264 pixels, 4:3). The lens provides satisfactory results in good light conditions. It does not have an autofocus, but it offers the option of illuminating image areas differently by tapping the screen.

The dual-camera module consists of a 75 ° standard angle camera with a resolution of 13 megapixels (4160x3120 pixels) and a 5-MP camera (2560x1920 pixels) with a wide angle of 120 °. It has an aperture of f/2.0. Photos shot in good light conditions are compelling for a mid-range handset. However, they look a bit blurry (scene 1 & 2: surroundings and woods) compared with LG's G5. Furthermore, the dynamic range in the photos is too low, which strongly dims the photos in extremely different light conditions. High image noise and a very evident blurriness increases in shots taken in low-light conditions (scene 2: street). Photos with the 5-MP wide angle camera look somewhat pale and low-contrast. Also, the lens' low-light performance is worse than that of the standard-angle primary camera.

LG's X Cam records videos in a maximum quality of 1080p at 30 FPS.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3

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click to load images

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Accessories and Warranty

In addition to the smartphone, a user's manual, USB cable, and modular power supply for recharging the battery were found in the box. The manufacturer also included an in-ear headphone for LG's X Cam.

According to the warranty card, the manufacturer's warranty is 24 months from date of purchase.

Input Devices and Handling

The usual three Android onscreen buttons for "back", "multitasking", and "home screen" are used for controlling the handset. The capacitive touchscreen responds quickly and reliably. LG's own "Smart Keyboard" is preloaded ex-factory as an input option.

Display

The 5-inch LC display in LG's X Cam has a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, which results in a pixel density of approximately 424 PPI. The available resolution ensures a sharp reproduction of displayed content in routine use.

Although the screen's maximum brightness of 362 cd/m² is sufficiently bright for most application scenarios, the rivals clearly outperform it. We determined a very similar rate of 363 cd/m² in our measurement of equally distributed bright and dark areas (APL 50).


348 cd/m²	347 cd/m²	341 cd/m²
343 cd/m²	362 cd/m²	343 cd/m²
359 cd/m²	345 cd/m²	346 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

LCD tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 362 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 348.2 cd/m² Minimum: 3.76 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 362 cd/m²
Contrast: 1448:1 (Black: 0.25 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5.1
ΔE Greyscale 8.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.22

	LG X Cam IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20	ZTE Blade V7 IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20	Lenovo Moto G4 IPS, 1920x1080, 5.50	OnePlus X Active Matrix OLED, 1920x1080, 5.00	Huawei P9 Lite IPS, 1920x1080, 5.20	LG G5 IPS Quantum, 2560x1440, 5.30
Screen		-21%	12%	-3%	-6%	25%
Brightness middle	362	409 13%	724 100%	312 -14%	505 40%	784 117%
Brightness	348	411 18%	723 108%	314 -10%	468 34%	774 122%
Brightness Distribution	94	96 2%	87 -7%	91 -3%	88 -6%	91 -3%
Black Level *	0.25	0.38 -52%	0.71 -184%		0.74 -196%	0.43 -72%
Contrast	1448	1076 -26%	1020 -30%		682 -53%	1823 26%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *	6.8	9.4 -38%	4.5 34%	6.28 8%	4.1 40%	6.5 4%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *	11.9	17.6 -48%	8.4 29%		5.8 51%	11.7 2%
Greyscale dE 2000 *	8.4	11.6 -38%	4.9 42%	8.24 2%	4.9 42%	8 5%
Gamma	2.22 ^99%	2.25 ^98%	2.44 ^90%	2.12 ^104%	2.5 ^88%	2.22 ^99%
CCT	8242 ^79%	9597 ^68%	6496 ^100%	8145 ^80%	7116 ^91%	8699 ^75%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)						68.08
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)						97.46

* ... smaller is better

Both the contrast ratio of 1448:1 and the black level of 0.25 cd/m² (APL 50: 0.26 cd/m²) are on a very good level for a mid-range handset. The analysis using a photospectrometer and CalMAN software shows relatively low shifts in color (6.8) and grayscale (8.4) reproduction. The measured color temperature of 8242 Kelvin is a bit too cool (ideal value: 6500 Kelvin) and a minor bluish tint is visible.

CalMAN Colorspace (target color space: sRGB)

CalMAN ColorChecker (target color space: sRGB)

CalMAN Saturation Sweeps (target color space: sRGB)

CalMAN Grayscale (target color space: sRGB)

The very good contrast ratio of 1448:1 also ensures good legibility of the liquid crystal display outdoors. However, the screen's relatively low maximum brightness makes it difficult to recognize content in direct sunlight. The viewing angles are IPS-typical and content is displayed fairly color accurate even in very flat viewing angles.

Display Response Times

ℹ

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

↔ Response Time Black to White
30 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 13 ms rise
30 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 17 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 77 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.8 ms).
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
48 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 21 ms rise
48 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 27 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 79 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (34.3 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

ℹ

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18704 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Performance

MediaTek's MT6753 installed in LG's X Cam is an ARM SoC (system on a chip) built in 28 nanometers and has 8 CPU cores based on the 64-bit capable Cortex A53 architecture. The configuration of an octa-core SoC and 2 GB of DDR3 RAM mostly ensures a smooth system and browser performance in routine use. However, the animations of LG's UI were almost annoyingly slow in our opinion. Compared with the Qualcomm competition (Lenovo Moto G4, OnePlus X), LG's X Cam is outperformed clearly in most synthetic benchmarks - Huawei's P9 Lite also offers a better processor performance than LG's handset.

The speed of the 16 GB eMMC flash memory is in line with the determined SoC performance of LG's X Cam. With exception of the read speed, the access rates clearly lag behind the other mid-range rivals. The micro-SD card slot also does not achieve the performance level of the comparison devices. We tested the speed of LG's X Cam with a Toshiba Exceria Pro M401 (max. 95 MB/s read and 80 MB/s write), and it comes in last place in the AndroBench 3 test with just 37 MB/s in read and 19 MB/s in write.

AndroBench 3-5
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard (sort by value)
LG X Cam	19.3 MB/s
ZTE Blade V7	20.89 MB/s +8%
Lenovo Moto G4	49.7 MB/s +158%
Huawei P9 Lite	25.1 MB/s +30%
LG G5	45.53 MB/s +136%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard (sort by value)
LG X Cam	37.13 MB/s
ZTE Blade V7	43.67 MB/s +18%
Lenovo Moto G4	78.5 MB/s +111%
Huawei P9 Lite	60.8 MB/s +64%
LG G5	78.5 MB/s +111%
Random Write 4KB (sort by value)
LG X Cam	5.52 MB/s
ZTE Blade V7	7.58 MB/s +37%
Lenovo Moto G4	37.5 MB/s +579%
OnePlus X	14.22 MB/s +158%
Huawei P9 Lite	15.35 MB/s +178%
LG G5	16.22 MB/s +194%
Random Read 4KB (sort by value)
LG X Cam	18.07 MB/s
ZTE Blade V7	28.07 MB/s +55%
Lenovo Moto G4	36.4 MB/s +101%
OnePlus X	16.31 MB/s -10%
Huawei P9 Lite	38.22 MB/s +112%
LG G5	89.3 MB/s +394%
Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value)
LG X Cam	65.8 MB/s
ZTE Blade V7	39.45 MB/s -40%
Lenovo Moto G4	46.3 MB/s -30%
OnePlus X	49.31 MB/s -25%
Huawei P9 Lite	46.24 MB/s -30%
LG G5	141.3 MB/s +115%
Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value)
LG X Cam	201.6 MB/s
ZTE Blade V7	196.8 MB/s -2%
Lenovo Moto G4	272.2 MB/s +35%
OnePlus X	235.5 MB/s +17%
Huawei P9 Lite	283.5 MB/s +41%
LG G5	427.6 MB/s +112%

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	35471 Points
ZTE Blade V7	37070 Points +5%
Lenovo Moto G4	45242 Points +28%
OnePlus X	52463 Points +48%
Huawei P9 Lite	50366 Points +42%
LG G5	124244 Points +250%

Geekbench 3
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	535 Points
ZTE Blade V7	614 Points +15%
Lenovo Moto G4	720 Points +35%
Huawei P9 Lite	883 Points +65%
LG G5	2396 Points +348%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	2497 Points
ZTE Blade V7	2669 Points +7%
Lenovo Moto G4	3052 Points +22%
Huawei P9 Lite	3768 Points +51%
LG G5	5507 Points +121%

3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	6649 Points
ZTE Blade V7	6786 Points +2%
Lenovo Moto G4	9783 Points +47%
OnePlus X	15051 Points +126%
Huawei P9 Lite	11769 Points +77%
LG G5	28730 Points +332%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	6044 Points
ZTE Blade V7	6170 Points +2%
Lenovo Moto G4	9816 Points +62%
OnePlus X	14541 Points +141%
Huawei P9 Lite	11318 Points +87%
LG G5	32109 Points +431%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
LG X Cam	10234 Points
ZTE Blade V7	10430 Points +2%
Lenovo Moto G4	9668 Points -6%
OnePlus X	17156 Points +68%
Huawei P9 Lite	13676 Points +34%
LG G5	20997 Points +105%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
LG X Cam	294 Points
ZTE Blade V7	293 Points 0%
Lenovo Moto G4	669 Points +128%
OnePlus X	710 Points +141%
Huawei P9 Lite	554 Points +88%
LG G5	3277 Points +1015%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
LG X Cam	245 Points
ZTE Blade V7	245 Points 0%
Lenovo Moto G4	609 Points +149%
OnePlus X	643 Points +162%
Huawei P9 Lite	473 Points +93%
LG G5	4468 Points +1724%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
LG X Cam	1002 Points
ZTE Blade V7	944 Points -6%
Lenovo Moto G4	1022 Points +2%
OnePlus X	1117 Points +11%
Huawei P9 Lite	1373 Points +37%
LG G5	1695 Points +69%

GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
LG X Cam	12 fps
ZTE Blade V7	12 fps 0%
Lenovo Moto G4	17 fps +42%
OnePlus X	23 fps +92%
Huawei P9 Lite	19 fps +58%
LG G5	47 fps +292%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
LG X Cam	13 fps
ZTE Blade V7	12 fps -8%
Lenovo Moto G4	17 fps +31%
OnePlus X	21 fps +62%
Huawei P9 Lite	19 fps +46%
LG G5	74 fps +469%

GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
LG X Cam	4.5 fps
ZTE Blade V7	4.5 fps 0%
Lenovo Moto G4	6.7 fps +49%
OnePlus X	10 fps +122%
Huawei P9 Lite	8.4 fps +87%
LG G5	30 fps +567%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
LG X Cam	4.8 fps
ZTE Blade V7	4.5 fps -6%
Lenovo Moto G4	6.4 fps +33%
OnePlus X	8.6 fps +79%
Huawei P9 Lite	7.8 fps +63%
LG G5	42 fps +775%

GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
LG X Cam	2.9 fps
ZTE Blade V7	2.9 fps 0%
Lenovo Moto G4	4.5 fps +55%
Huawei P9 Lite	4.9 fps +69%
LG G5	17 fps +486%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
LG X Cam	3.1 fps
ZTE Blade V7	2.9 fps -6%
Lenovo Moto G4	fps -100%
Huawei P9 Lite	4.5 fps +45%
LG G5	31 fps +900%

PCMark for Android - Work performance score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	3882 Points
ZTE Blade V7	3947 Points +2%
Lenovo Moto G4	5154 Points +33%
OnePlus X	4450 Points +15%
Huawei P9 Lite	5339 Points +38%
LG G5	5581 Points +44%

BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
LG X Cam	232 Points
ZTE Blade V7	249 Points +7%
Lenovo Moto G4	295 Points +27%
OnePlus X	1252 Points +440%
Huawei P9 Lite	1197 Points +416%
LG G5	2079 Points +796%
System (sort by value)
LG X Cam	1178 Points
ZTE Blade V7	1188 Points +1%
Lenovo Moto G4	1499 Points +27%
OnePlus X	2225 Points +89%
Huawei P9 Lite	2438 Points +107%
LG G5	2925 Points +148%
Memory (sort by value)
LG X Cam	600 Points
ZTE Blade V7	790 Points +32%
Lenovo Moto G4	652 Points +9%
OnePlus X	662 Points +10%
Huawei P9 Lite	1346 Points +124%
LG G5	1478 Points +146%
Graphics (sort by value)
LG X Cam	424 Points
ZTE Blade V7	430 Points +1%
Lenovo Moto G4	843 Points +99%
OnePlus X	1975 Points +366%
Huawei P9 Lite	818 Points +93%
LG G5	4807 Points +1034%
Web (sort by value)
LG X Cam	10 Points
ZTE Blade V7	10 Points 0%
Lenovo Moto G4	10 Points 0%
OnePlus X	843 Points +8330%
Huawei P9 Lite	765 Points +7550%
LG G5	900 Points +8900%

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	18.34 Points
ZTE Blade V7	18.19 Points -1%
Lenovo Moto G4	22.31 Points +22%
OnePlus X	28 Points +53%
Huawei P9 Lite	29.03 Points +58%
LG G5	49.7 Points +171%

Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	12958 ms *
ZTE Blade V7	13761 ms * -6%
Lenovo Moto G4	10813 ms * +17%
OnePlus X	7264 ms * +44%
Huawei P9 Lite	9397 ms * +27%
LG G5	3461 ms * +73%

Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value)
LG X Cam	2752 Points
ZTE Blade V7	2689 Points -2%
Lenovo Moto G4	3402 Points +24%
OnePlus X	4810 Points +75%
Huawei P9 Lite	4756 Points +73%
LG G5	9731 Points +254%

Legend

LG X Cam Mediatek MT6753, ARM Mali-T720 MP4, 16 GB eMMC Flash

ZTE Blade V7 Mediatek MT6753, ARM Mali-T720 MP4, 16 GB eMMC Flash

Lenovo Moto G4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 MSM8952, Qualcomm Adreno 405, 16 GB eMMC Flash

OnePlus X Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AA, Qualcomm Adreno 330, 16 GB eMMC Flash

Huawei P9 Lite HiSilicon Kirin 650, ARM Mali-T830 MP2, 16 GB eMMC Flash

LG G5 Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996, Qualcomm Adreno 530, 32 GB eMMC Flash

* ... smaller is better

Games

The Mali-T720 MP4 graphics unit integrated in MediaTek's MT6753 has four clusters that clock at up to 600 MHz. The Mali GPU renders current games from the Android Play Store, such as N.O.V.A. 3 or Need for Speed No Limits, smoothly. The touchscreen also responded quickly and accurately in the gaming test.

Emissions

Temperature

The temperatures of LG's X Cam are distributed quite evenly in idle mode. While we measured 36.8 °C on the front, the back presented a slightly lower maximum surface temperature of 34.1 °C in the test. The temperatures climbed particularly strongly in the casing's front upper third in load conditions. Since these areas remain largely untouched when holding the smartphone normally and the rates measured on LG's handset are relatively low, the waste heat will not be noticed unfavorably in routine use.

Temperature development: Maximum load (rear)

Max. Load

Idle


41.2 °C 106 F	38.5 °C 101 F	37.8 °C 100 F
41.6 °C 107 F	39.1 °C 102 F	38.7 °C 102 F
40.1 °C 104 F	40.3 °C 105 F	39.7 °C 103 F

Maximum: 41.6 °C = 107 F
Average: 39.7 °C = 103 F


36.5 °C 98 F	38.1 °C 101 F	37.9 °C 100 F
36.7 °C 98 F	39 °C 102 F	38.9 °C 102 F
37.4 °C 99 F	40.3 °C 105 F	40.4 °C 105 F

Maximum: 40.4 °C = 105 F
Average: 38.4 °C = 101 F

Power Supply (max.) 39 °C = 102 F | Room Temperature 21.8 °C = 71 F | Voltcraft IR-260

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 39.7 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 41.6 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 40.4 °C / 105 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 34.4 °C / 94 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speaker

The rear-sided speaker is sufficiently loud with almost 85 dB(A), but the playback quality makes a tinny impression when increasing the volume. The sound impression is not really very linear in the audible range - basses are not perceptible. The playback quality of the mono speaker in LG's handset could not convince us.

The 3.5-mm jack can be used alternatively for a better sound experience.

LG X Cam audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 38.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 10% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (12.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 8.7% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (34.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 81% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 39%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 92% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 7% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%

ZTE Blade V7 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 46.6% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 11% lower than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (12.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (32.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 78% of all tested devices in this class were better, 3% similar, 19% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 39%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 89% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 9% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%

Lenovo Moto G4 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (86.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 77% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 39%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 36% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 57% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%

Huawei P9 Lite audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (88.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 31% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.2% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (2.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 31% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 61% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 39%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 51% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 41% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 26%, worst was 134%

Frequency diagram in comparison (checkboxes can be checked/unchecked!)
Value 2: Pink Noise 100% Vol.; Value 1: Audio off

Energy Management

The power consumption of LG's X Cam is midfield among our comparison devices - only OnePlus' X presents a much better energy management. The very similarly configured ZTE's Blade V7 (SoC, display's pixel density) only has marginally better total consumption rates.

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.05 / 0.22 Watt
Idle	0.64 / 1.38 / 1.43 Watt
Load	3.99 / 4.49 Watt


Key: min: , med: , max: Gossen Metrahit Energy Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

	LG X Cam 2500 mAh	ZTE Blade V7 2540 mAh	Lenovo Moto G4 3000 mAh	OnePlus X mAh	Huawei P9 Lite 3000 mAh
Power Consumption		2%	-34%	23%	-26%
Idle Minimum *	0.64	0.73 -14%	0.65 -2%	0.6 6%	0.73 -14%
Idle Average *	1.38	0.92 33%	1.89 -37%	0.91 34%	2.09 -51%
Idle Maximum *	1.43	0.93 35%	1.92 -34%	1.12 22%	2.11 -48%
Load Average *	3.99	4.47 -12%	5.28 -32%	3.04 24%	4.15 -4%
Load Maximum *	4.49	5.96 -33%	7.45 -66%	3.2 29%	5.05 -12%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Runtime

LG's X Cam achieves a good rate of 7 hours and 37 minutes in our practical Wi-Fi test (screen brightness set to 150 cd/m², energy-saving profile). However, the 2500 mAh battery provides relatively short runtimes compared with the rivals from the medium price range.

LG's handset needs almost 3 hours to fully recharge a completely drained battery with the included 5-watt power supply.

Battery Runtime


WiFi Websurfing		7h 37min

	LG X Cam 2500 mAh	ZTE Blade V7 2540 mAh	Lenovo Moto G4 3000 mAh	OnePlus X mAh	Huawei P9 Lite 3000 mAh
Battery Runtime
WiFi v1.3	457	519 14%	698 53%	549 20%	604 32%

Pros

+ good handiness

+ high-contrast Full HD IPS panel

+ SD card slot

+ NFC

+ dual-camera module...

Cons

- ...that could have been higher quality

- plastic casing (feel)

- 2 GB RAM

- 16 GB ROM

- speaker

- no fingerprint sensor

- slow Wi-Fi module

Verdict

In review: LG X Cam. Review sample courtesy of LG Germany

The X Cam mid-range model by LG scores in our test with a high-contrast Full HD IPS panel and its good handling. It is well-built but only offers a cheap-feeling plastic casing for this price range - the mid-range competition made of glass (OnePlus' X) or metal (ZTE's Blade V7) make a much higher-quality impression.

Compared with the competition, LG's X Cam offers too little for its present price of approximately 280 Euros (~$313). However, it could still be an interesting alternative for some buyers when the market develops accordingly (price reduction) - but not really at the current purchase price in our opinion.

The handset's highlight and name-giving feature is the rear-facing dual-camera, comprised of a standard (75 °) and a 120 ° wide angle module. The photo quality of both cameras is good but is clearly inferior to that of LG's G5 (also furnished with a dual-camera) - at an RRP of 300 Euros (~$335), LG certainly could have installed a lens equal to that of its current flagship handset as the mid-range smartphone's unique selling point.

Compromises also have to be made in processor performance. MediaTek's SoC in LG's X Cam cannot compete with the performance of other mid-range smartphones - the same is true for the speed of the 16 GB eMMC flash memory. Furthermore, the sound quality of the speaker installed in LG's X Cam is not particularly compelling.

LG X Cam - 2016-08-23 08/23/2016 v5.1^(old)
Marcus Herbrich

Chassis

77%

Keyboard

70%

Pointing Device

87%

Connectivity

40%

Weight

95%

Battery

90 / 70 → 100%

Display

82%

Games Performance

15%

Application Performance

32 / 91 → 35%

Temperature

86%

Noise

100%

Audio

53%

Camera

72%

Average

69%

82%

Smartphone - Weighted Average

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Editor of the original article: Marcus Herbrich - Senior Tech Writer - 395 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2016

I have always been very passionately interested in mobile technologies, especially smartphones. Being a tech enthusiast means the half-life of my devices isn’t exactly long, and being the latest hardware is not enough to suffice as the manufacturer and operating system play a minor role – the most important aspect for me is that the device is state-of-the-art. After posting for Mobi Test I joined Notebookcheck in 2016, where I have been pursuing my enthusiasm for technology by reviewing the latest smartphone, tablet, and accessory trends.

contact me via: @Marcus_Herbrich

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > LG X Cam Smartphone Review

Marcus Herbrich, 2016-08-26 (Update: 2018-05-15)

LG X Cam Smartphone Review

Case

Size Comparison

Connectivity

Software

Communication and GPS

Telephone and Call Quality

Cameras

Accessories and Warranty

Input Devices and Handling

Display

Display Response Times

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Performance

Games

Emissions

Temperature

Speaker

LG X Cam audio analysis

ZTE Blade V7 audio analysis

Lenovo Moto G4 audio analysis

Huawei P9 Lite audio analysis

Energy Management

Battery Runtime

Pros

Cons

Verdict

Pricecompare