LG Magna First Look: Superb Design, But Specs Fall Short

The G Flex 2 is the most radical step forward for LG - the tech giant from South Korea. And while the G Flex 2 is smaller than what's come before, LG has made a few other tweaks here and there, too. Obviously, the defining characteristic of the G Flex 2 is its massive 5.5-inch 1080p curved screen. That's why the LG G Flex 2 isn't the phone - for most people.

Earlier in the week, LG introduced the Magna - a premium mid range Android phone at the Mobile World Congress. Interestingly, the LG Magna has a 5-inch curved screen, but it is barely noticeable. While the technical specifications are on an average side, it is the design that will grab your heart. But it is enough to back up LG's claims that the Magna is an "affordable premium" handset?

GizBot went hands-on with the LG Magna at the recently held Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Here are our first impressions.

PROS

• Superb Design
• Decent Screen
• Above Average Camera
• Removable Battery

CONS

• Poor Internal Hardware
• Weak 5MP front camera

LG Magna First Look: Form Factor, Design, Display and Operating System

A cross between the G Flex 2 and G3, the LG Magna has a familiar design. The LG Magna makes a great first impression - it's exactly what we've come to expect from LG. Just put this device in your hand and you'll realize why LG says the Magna is a premium device. It may be crafted out of plastic, but it won't let you down in public.

On the back side, you'll notice the same rear placement of its home and back buttons, just like the LG G3. Notably, the back cover is removable so that you can replace its battery anytime. Nevertheless, we found the design pleasant because of the curve to the rear makes it easy to hold.

The LG Magna's 5.0-inch display offers 720p HD resolution, which translates to an average 294 pixels per inch. Viewing angles on the other hand are not too great. However, that does not mean the screen is not good. Text looks ultra-crisp on the panel.

LG's native user interface, which rides on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop, hasn't been changed much. Some may find the UI clumsy, but we still found the UI modern and intuitive in nature.

LG Magna First Look: Processor, RAM and Connectivity

Powered by a 1.2-GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor paired with 1GB of RAM, one can expect the processor's general performance. So it won't be the fastest phone out there in the mid range segment. Instead we'd recommend you to try the Lenovo A6000, which has a Snapdragon 410 processor (64-bit) under the hood. We'll bring you a bunch more coverage once we have a final unit in.

The device does come with an 8GB of ROM, which can be further expanded via a microSD card slot. Connectivity options on the device are pretty standard. One model has LTE connectivity, while the other offers standard dual-SIM instead.

LG Magna First Look: Camera and Video

The LG Magna features two cameras: an 8-megapixel camera on the back, and a 5MP camera up front. The rear camera surprised us with sharp, crisp shots on a par with competing phones like the Moto G. Meanwhile, the front 5MP camera struggled even with simple shots in good lighting. The rear camera also shoots 1280 x 720 videos at 30 fps. The overall quality wasn't encouraging in our testing.

LG Magna First Look: Battery and Early Verdict

The LG Magna has a 2,540mAh battery, which can be removed easily. The fitted battery pack seems to be ideal for heavy users, and we're expecting the battery to last a day.

LG's new Magna handset is simply a stunning handset, at least, in terms of the design. It even has an above average camera. Although this handset doesn't have the fastest CPU, it generally provided smooth performance in our testing.

No word on price yet, or whether LG has any plans to launch its Magna handset in India.

With inputs from Akansha Srivastava