Description, characteristics, reviews for LG SPIRIT H422. Android with two SIM cards and powerful characteristics. Smartphone LG Spirit H422: review, specifications and reviews Lg spirit technical

LG SPIRIT H422- Android in a curved compact case supporting two active SIM cards with a proprietary RearKey button for comfortable control of the smartphone. LG H422 is equipped with a powerful quad-core processor with a frequency of 1.3 GHz, a magnificent 4.7-inch screen made using In-Cell Touch technology with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels. Other characteristics of the LG SPIRIT H422 include: 2 active SIM cards, the latest Android 5.0.1 Lollipop operating system, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory, support for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB, a powerful 2100 mAh battery. For taking photos and videos, the LG H422 received a main 8 megapixel and front 1 megapixel camera, as well as support for shooting video in FHD 1920 x 1080 pixel format. Among the useful functions of the LG H422: shooting by hand gesture, the “virtual flash” function for the front camera - this is when the bright light of the phone screen is used instead of a flash, protection of personal smartphone data with the “KNOCK CODE” function, Knock code allows you to lock or unlock the LG SPIRIT H422 Using a unique combination of touches on the phone screen, this function consists of 3 to 8 touches, in total more than 80 thousand combinations will help to reliably protect your phone.

Full technical specifications of the LG SPIRIT H422 smartphone. New product with two SIM cards at an affordable price.

• SIM card quantity: 2 SIM cards (dual-sim)
• SIM card type: -
• Software: Android 5.0.1 Lollipop
• Processor: 1.3 GHz/quad-core
• Display: 4.7 inches / IPS / HD 1280 x 720 pixels.
• Screen pixel density: 312 ppi
• Camera: 8 MP/autofocus
• Front camera: 1 MP/virtual flash
• Video recording: FHD 1920 x 1080 pixels/Gesture shooting/One-touch shooting
• Battery: 2100 mAh
• Standby time: 300 hours
• Talk time: 9 hours
• Built-in memory: 8 GB
• RAM: 1 GB
• Memory card: microSD up to 32 GB
• Bluetooth: 4.1
• USB: 2.0
• Wi-Fi: yes
• Wi-Fi Direct: yes
• 2G network: 1800/ 900
• 3G network: 2100/ 900
• 4G network: LTE supports
• 3.5 mm jack: yes
• Navigation: A-GPS/ GPS
• Radio: FM radio
• Smart keyboard function: yes
• Knock Code function: yes (Knock code for locking and unlocking LG H422, a unique combination of touches on the screen allows you to reliably protect personal data on the phone).
• Dimensions (H.W.T): 133.25 x 66.12 x 9.95 mm.
• Weight: 118 grams

4.7-inch budget model

This spring, as part of the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition, LG presented a line of inexpensive smartphones that used the same style as the latest flagship creations of the Koreans. We are talking about the so-called curved design, although unlike top-end devices, where both the body and even the screen were actually curved, in cheaper models such curvature was mostly achieved only by visual effects. The screen itself, and even the back of the case, are not as curved as they seem thanks to the side rim, which has a peculiar arched shape.

The line of these inexpensive smartphones includes models such as LG Magna, Spirit and Leon. Today's hero of the review is the middle representative of this trinity - a smartphone that has small physical dimensions and rather modest functionality, but at the same time enjoys considerable consumer demand due to its favorable price.

Key Features of LG Spirit (LG H422)

• SoC MediaTek MT6582, 1.3 GHz, 4 cores ARM Cortex-A7
• GPU Mali 400MP
• Operating system Android 5.0.1
• Touch display IPS, 4.7″, 1280×720, 312 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 1 GB, internal memory 8 GB
• Supports microSD memory cards up to 32 GB
• Micro-SIM support (2 pcs)
• 2G communication: GSM 900/1800 MHz
• 3G communication: WCDMA 900/2100 MHz
• Data transfer 2G, 3G (HSDPA+, up to 21 Mbit/s)
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.1
• GPS (A-GPS)
• Camera 8 MP, autofocus, LED flash
• Camera 1 MP (front), fixed. focus
• Proximity, lighting, direction sensors, magnetic compass
• Battery 2100 mAh
• Dimensions 133×66×10 mm
• Weight 118 g

Appearance and ease of use

The LG Spirit is as small a smartphone as it gets with a 4.7-inch display. The device fits comfortably in a hand of any size; it is comfortable to hold due to the significantly curved rear back. The rough matte surface of the plastic prevents the smartphone from slipping out of your fingers; there are practically no fingerprints left on it.

The assembly does not cause any complaints: despite its low positioning, this inexpensive mobile device has a quite attractive design and is assembled of very high quality. At least here, unlike most budget analogues (for example, the same Xiaomi Redmi 2), the appearance has a more complex structure, unusual shapes, smooth curves, there is even a side bezel and a nice metal insert on the front panel covering the speaker grille. The device really looks more than attractive for its level.

As for the mentioned bezel, it is precisely due to its uneven shape, tapering towards the upper and lower ends of the body, that it seems as if the smartphone has the same curved shape as the flagships of the Korean company. In fact, the body has virtually no bending, although the developers mention the figure of 3000 mm, supposedly making up the radius of its curvature. On a white case this effect is stronger, since the dark rim is more noticeable against the background of a white lid rather than a plain gray one.

By the way, in addition to white and gray options, the LG Spirit case is also available in golden color. The gray and gold versions have a textured look that resembles roughly sanded metal, while the white version is simply light plastic with a fine mesh texture that doesn’t leave fingerprints at all. In principle, the cases differ only in this removable back cover; the front part always remains the same.

The lid is quite easy to remove, has a thick profile and, due to its shape in the form of a solid trough, is completely inflexible. Under the cover there are three card slots, placed so well that they can be easily used even with adapters, which is quite a relevant point at a time when there are three different SIM card form factors on the market at once. Most connectors are such that it is very inconvenient (and sometimes even dangerous) to insert SIM cards with adapters into them, since the thin metal contacts can be damaged. Everything here is extremely convenient. Both connectors, located on both sides of the case, are designed for Micro-SIM cards, and there is also one additional slot for a microSD memory card.

On the outside, on the back of the smartphone, there is traditionally a camera with a flash and a speaker grille, which have a square shape (even the grille holes are square). This uniformity adds to the attractive design of this attractive device.

The buttons located here, on the back side, have a standard purpose: the central key turns on and locks the smartphone, and the other two, top and bottom, are responsible for adjusting the volume. Expanded capabilities of the block of hardware buttons provide additional functionality in control: holding the top button for a long time launches the Qmemo application, and the bottom button activates the camera.

The front part of the smartphone is completely covered with a flat protective glass with a weak grease-repellent coating, traditional for cheap LG smartphones, which is why the screen of the device always looks sloppy, because it is very difficult to clean off grease and dirt. This is one of the most noticeable disadvantages in the Korean budget series, which has been passing from model to model for many years.

There are no touch buttons below the screen, but the block with virtual buttons can be customized at your discretion: rearrange the buttons and even change their number.

The connectors are traditionally located at the ends: on top is an audio output for headphones, on the bottom is Micro-USB, which does not support connecting external devices in USB OTG mode.

Screen

The LG Spirit smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch matrix made using In-Cell Touch technology. Dimensions are 58x103 mm, diagonal - 4.7 inches, resolution - 1280x720 pixels. Accordingly, the dot density is 312 ppi. The thickness of the frame from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is about 3 mm on the sides, 11 mm on the top, and 17 mm on the bottom. Without taking into account the bottom edge, the frame as a whole is quite narrow.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually, but automatic adjustment cannot be used, since the developers did not provide a light sensor in the device. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is locked using a proximity sensor. The screen can be activated by double tapping the glass.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are slightly better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - LG Spirit, then they can be distinguished by size):

The LG Spirit's screen is a little darker (brightness according to photographs is 105 versus 112 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the LG Spirit screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the LCD matrix) (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. LG indicates that in this case the technology is used In Cell Touch, that is, the touch sensor is integrated into the LCD matrix, this reduces the number of layers in the screen. In theory, such a screen device can improve anti-glare properties and increase efficiency (brightness) due to fewer reflections between layers. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (less effective than the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed more easily and appear at a slower rate than with regular glass.

When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 350 cd/m², the minimum was 28 cd/m². The maximum brightness is not very high, but given the excellent anti-glare properties of the screen, readability even on a sunny day outdoors should be at a fairly good level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is no automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor. At any brightness level, there is no significant backlight modulation, so there is no screen flicker.

This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs (if you look closely) show a typical IPS subpixel structure:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

The screen has good viewing angles without significant color shift even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting shades. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the LG Spirit and Nexus 7 screens, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K. There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:

Note the significant unevenness of brightness and the fact that the color tone is clearly different from true white. And a test picture:

In the case of LG Spirit, the picture is dark and the saturation is clearly too high. As additional tests have shown, this overestimation is achieved due to a strong increase in color contrast. As proof, here is a test image with saturation gradients:

It can be seen that as saturation increases (from bottom to top) in the main field, horizontal stripes with saturated shades in the case of LG Spirit quickly become indistinguishable, and the boundaries between shades are very pronounced. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:

It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens, but the contrast on the LG Spirit screen was noticeably reduced due to a significant increase in black levels. And a white field:

The brightness at an angle for the screens decreased (at least five times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the LG Spirit, the brightness decreased slightly less. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens greatly, but remains conditionally neutral gray in hue. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):

And from another angle:

When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is not ideal, since the brightness of the black increases noticeably in places:

The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is normal - about 800:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 14 ms (7 ms on + 7 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 23 ms. The matrix is ​​relatively fast. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.34, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, which is why the image is darkened. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates little from the power-law dependence:

We did not find any dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the displayed image in this smartphone, which is very good.

Color gamut narrower than sRGB:

Apparently, the matrix’s light filters mix the components with each other. The spectra confirm this:

The manufacturer compensates for the reduced coverage by increasing color contrast, but this does not go unnoticed, since the discernibility of gradations in the area of ​​saturated colors decreases. The balance of shades on the gray scale is average, since the color temperature is above 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is more than 10, which is considered a bad indicator even for a consumer device. The balance is distorted, of course, due to an excess of blue and green components, which, other things being equal, leads to a slight increase in brightness. It’s good at least that the color temperature and ΔE change little from hue to hue - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

To summarize: the screen does not have a very high maximum brightness, but has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is no automatic brightness adjustment function. The advantages of the screen include the presence of an oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker. Among the significant disadvantages we consider low black stability due to deviation of the gaze from perpendicular to the screen plane, darkening of the image due to a non-standard gamma curve, inflated color contrast, reduced color gamut, and distorted color balance. Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices, the quality of the screen can be considered relatively high.

Sound

LG Spirit produces a very modest, quiet and squeaky sound from the speaker. The situation is better with headphones, but the sound is still muffled, dim, and the volume is not enough. There are no special complaints about the auditory speaker; the timbre and intonation of a familiar interlocutor remain recognizable.

To control sound quality, traditionally for LG smartphones, you can choose from several preset equalizer values, and you can also play with speed and tone. The smartphone comes standard with an FM radio; it only works with connected headphones and can record broadcasts.

Camera

LG Spirit is equipped with two digital camera modules with a resolution of 8 and 1 megapixel. The front camera is equipped with only a 1-megapixel module with an f/2.8 aperture lens and does not have autofocus or its own flash. Instead of a flash, the so-called “virtual flash” is used here, when the part of the screen around the viewfinder remains brightly backlit in order to “softly illuminate” your own face while shooting with the front camera. In practice, it doesn’t help much, but developers still persistently transfer this function from smartphone to smartphone, considering it useful.

You can initiate taking a selfie by touching the screen, pressing the hardware volume down key on the back of the smartphone, as well as using a hand gesture and even voice commands. For a 1-megapixel module, the front camera of the LG Spirit produces fairly bright images, although the detail, of course, leaves much to be desired.

However, the camera can shoot video at Full HD resolution (1920x1080) and does a good job. An example of a test video is presented below.

• Video No. 1 (26 MB, 1920×1080, 30 fps)

	The camera copes well with indoor shooting, but color noise is noticeable.
	Good sharpness in distant shots.
	Even in light shadows the noise reduction work is clearly visible.
	The field and plane sharpness is quite good.
	Long-range plans are somewhat blurry.
	The text is well done.
	With the removal of the plan, the foliage does not merge for a long time.
	The camera does macro photography well.

Despite the strong noise, which the noise reduction can barely cope with, the camera has fairly good field and plane sharpness. Often she even manages to work out the details, but often they still get blurred. In low light conditions, colored noise appears, although not very strong. However, any degradation in lighting results in loss of detail. As a result, the camera is quite suitable for documentary shooting in good light, although it will probably cope in low light.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone operates in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks; the device does not support LTE (4G). The maximum wireless data transmission speed for reception here is limited by the HSDPA+ standard to 21 Mbit/s. You can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels, there are Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi Display modes, the Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n module supports only one band (2.4 GHz). NFC is not supported, and a flash drive cannot be connected to a USB port using an OTG adapter.

The navigation module works only with GPS/A-GPS satellites, without support for the domestic Glonass. The smartphone has a magnetic field sensor necessary for the successful functioning of the electronic compass of navigation programs.

The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search for contacts is immediately carried out, and the continuous writing method such as Swype is supported. The virtual keyboard can be customized by changing its height and even changing the assignment of the buttons. Surprisingly, even in such a small smartphone it is possible to make the keyboard smaller for ease of operation with the fingers of one hand; obviously, this was left in the interface from other, larger models.

The smartphone supports two SIM cards using the Dual SIM Dual Standby standard. Apart from a special button for quickly changing the priority SIM card, the implementation of working with two SIM cards is generally standard for this platform. There is only one radio module, so there can only be one active conversation. A SIM card in any slot can work with 3G networks, but only one of the cards can work in this mode at the same time (the second will only work in 2G). When dialing a number, there is no choice between two SIM cards - for this purpose there is a separate button for quickly switching the priority card, located in the bottom row of icons.

OS and software

LG Spirit initially runs on the latest fifth version of Android OS with support for subsequent over-the-air (OTA) updates. LG's own shell is installed on top of the standard interface, exactly the same as that used in all modern mobile devices of this company. If you get used to this interface, it can become quite convenient, especially considering the high-quality localization of devices officially supplied to the Russian market. Most of the main features that distinguish LG's proprietary interface are present here, with the exception of the absence of some flagship features, such as QSlide multi-window. However, even here there are the rudiments of working with gestures, the Glance View date and time function, as well as the notorious KnockOn security system, which not all owners of LG mobile devices use.

According to the testing results, the platform showed expectedly modest results, below the average value (around 20K in AnTuTu), even when compared with other modern entry-level platforms. In terms of performance, the MT6582 SoC turns out to be even slightly weaker than the popular modern entry-level platform Qualcomm Snapdragon 410. As a result, in terms of the performance level of the hardware platform, the LG Spirit smartphone is more likely to be at the entry level.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark game tests,GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Thermal photographs

Below is a thermal image of the back surface taken after 10 minutes of running Epic Citadel (in High Quality mode):

It can be seen that the heating is clearly localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 41 degrees, which is average heating.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

According to the testing results, the subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The standard player does not have this setting

Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) Red marks indicate possible problems associated with the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can (but are not required) be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. With the exception of files with 50 and 60 fps, but films with such a frame rate can be considered as non-existent. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels (720p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights.

Battery life

The removable battery installed in the LG Spirit has a small capacity by modern standards of only 2100 mAh. The display resolution, as the most energy-intensive element of a smartphone, is low here, the platform is also undemanding, so the battery life of the smartphone is at a satisfactory level, but far from record-breaking. Testing was carried out without using any energy-saving functions, although the smartphone does have them.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted until the battery was completely discharged for about 12 hours, and when continuously watching videos in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted no more than 8.5 hours. In gaming mode, the smartphone worked for just over 3 hours. It takes approximately 3 hours to fully charge the battery from the mains.

Bottom line

Currently, the price for certified LG Spirit devices in Russian retail is about 10 thousand rubles. For this money, the user will receive a medium-sized smartphone that easily fits in any pocket, with a pleasant design inherited from its more expensive flagship family neighbors. The smartphone does not shine in any way, does not particularly stand out in any of the parameters, but there are no outright failures either, everything is at an average level. LG Spirit is an entry-level smartphone, an inexpensive, functional mobile assistant that does not pretend to be a multimedia center.

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

The mobile device market is divided into several segments. The most crowded is the budget one. It combines models priced up to 10,000 rubles. More than half of the phones are from Chinese brands. Most often, the names of manufacturers in this category are familiar to a small number of buyers, so choosing a truly worthwhile model turns into torture. However, global brands do not stand aside, competing with Chinese products. For example, the LG (H422) Spirit smartphone is in this segment. Reviews about it are quite good. Of course, there are some shortcomings, but all of them are fully compensated by the low price.

In this article, the reader will be able to get acquainted with a detailed description of the model from the Korean manufacturer LG. The main focus will be on the technical characteristics and real owner reviews of the Spirit H422.

Equipment

The first thing that indicates that this gadget belongs to the budget category is the packaging. The manufacturer chose a fairly simple box, designed without any frills. A white background, a typical photo of a smartphone, brief characteristics - this is all that the buyer will see. However, the design of the packaging box did not cause particularly negative reviews, which cannot be said about the packaging. The set of elements shocked many buyers. The LG Spirit H422 phone is sold without a headset. According to many, the manufacturer could have at least included entry-level headphones in the box. But in defense of this model, let's say that everything else is in stock. This includes a charger, a rechargeable battery, a spare back cover and a cable for connecting to a PC with a micro-USB connector. Of course, there is also documentation. As you can see, there is nothing remarkable in the set of components, so the Spirit H422 gadget is a typical “state budget” gadget. As for the rest of the equipment, let's look at it one by one.

Design

It is thanks to the unusual design that the LG Spirit H422 received rave reviews. The “trick” of this model is the curved screen. Can such a solution be called an advantage, revealing the broad capabilities of the device? Most likely no. Most users are inclined to believe that the manufacturer simply wanted to stir up the interest of buyers in this way.

Externally, the LG Spirit H422 is designed quite typically, like for a touch phone. The body is completely made of plastic. The shape of the upper and lower ends is slightly rounded. This acts as a mitigating feature. On the front panel, 80% is occupied by the screen. It is framed by a thin black frame, which thickens at the top and bottom. There is no standard control panel in this model; instead, the company logo is displayed. Soft keys are on the screen. At the top of the frame there was room for optics, sensors and speakers.

The location of the mechanical keys in the LG Spirit H422 will surprise buyers. Unlike most other smartphones, they are displayed on the back cover. In order to unlock the screen or change the volume, you need to use them. These buttons are located immediately below the “window” of the main camera. There is also a flash and a stereo output speaker.

Thanks to this solution, the developers made the side edges of the LG Spirit H422 non-functional. The only thing you can see on the ends is a microphone and a USB port (bottom) and a standard-type audio jack (top).

Screen

The first thing that catches your eye when examining a smartphone is the screen. As mentioned above, it has an unusual shape. This gives the device not only sophistication, but also practicality. For example, if you place the phone on a hard surface, the formation of scratches can be completely eliminated, since the side edges act as support. But the advantages of the LG Spirit H422 are not limited to this. The technical characteristics of the display are fully consistent with the budget segment. This is indicated by the typical resolution for this category - 1280x720 px. The pixel density (312 ppi) eliminates graininess and separation into “squares”. The diagonal size is 4.7 inches. Buyers have no comments regarding the contrast level. Testing of this model showed good viewing angle results. They turned out to be quite wide. When the body is tilted vertically and horizontally, the color and brightness remain virtually unchanged.

Display type - HD IPS. The manufacturer used a fairly new technology - In-Cell Touch. Its essence lies in the use of a layer of tin and indium oxides. Thanks to this, the developers were able to significantly increase screen bandwidth and reduce the weight of the phone.

LG Spirit H422: processor specifications

An equally important indicator of modern smartphones is the hardware “filling”. At its core, developers use processors of different performance. In LG's Spirit H422 phone, preference was given to the MediaTek brand chipset. The characteristics of the MT6582 model (namely, it is installed on this device) are quite good. The processor is based on four ARM Cortex-A7 cores. During operation of the gadget, each can be accelerated to 1300 MHz. The clock frequency is not very high, but this does not prevent the smartphone from working quickly and coping with almost all tasks.

When examining the performance capabilities of the LG (H422) Spirit, the characteristics of the video card cannot be ignored. The graphics accelerator works in tandem with the main chipset, responsible for displaying all visual elements reproduced on the device screen. This gadget uses the popular Mali-400 MP2 video card (two cores), which has earned a lot of praise.

Memory

The amount of RAM is an equally significant indicator of performance. Unfortunately, in the budget segment it is difficult to find devices with 2 GB. The same applies to the LG Spirit H422. In it, the developers limited themselves to just one gigabyte. As for everyday tasks, this volume is quite enough. The user will feel the limitations only when using resource-intensive applications and modern “heavy” games. But you definitely shouldn’t expect supernatural results from devices in the price category up to 10,000 rubles.

When reviewing the gadget, it is necessary to announce the characteristics of the integrated memory. The smartphone has 8 GB storage for installing software. Let us immediately draw the attention of buyers to the fact that about half is left for personal purposes, since the rest of the space is occupied by system files. However, don't be upset. The developers have provided a slot for installing memory cards. The device works without problems with 32 GB flash drives. This allows you to download a large amount of music, movies, games and other applications.

LG (H422) Spirit: battery specifications

A significant advantage of modern smartphones is their long battery life. This criterion is determined by performance processes, screen characteristics and, of course, the battery. As for the first two points, they have already been discussed above. Now it’s worth talking about the BL-52UHB battery. Its type is removable. Capacity - 2100 mAh (7.8 Wh). What can device owners expect? Under intense load, the numbers will be disappointing. For example, players will have to charge their phone after two hours. Playing a video will drain the battery in 3-3.5 hours. The user can count on 7-8 hours of autonomy only in the case of the following load: making calls with a total duration of 20 minutes on a 3G network, devote the same amount of time to operating the camera (video recording, filming photo).

The developers have provided the ability to charge via a USB cable from other devices (laptop, PC, etc.), but the process takes about 5 hours. Most users advise using only an AC adapter, since the battery is restored in approximately 3 hours in this way.

Camera

The LG Spirit H422 Titan smartphone is equipped with two cameras. This is not some significant advantage, since almost all gadgets of this type have such content. The manufacturer clearly did not set a goal to surprise users with the resolution and quality of the images. You can judge this by knowing the characteristics of the cameras. The front optics are based on a 1-megapixel sensor. Naturally, we are not talking about the quality of the pictures at all. This camera can only be used for video calls.

For the main optics, the developers chose an 8-megapixel matrix. Users claim that the pictures taken by it turn out pretty good. The maximum photo size is 3264 × 2448 pixels. There is a flash, face detection, autofocus, and gesture recognition. There are several settings that the user can change depending on personal preferences.

The video is recorded in a resolution of 1920 × 1080 px. The shooting speed is 30 frames per second. You can adjust color effects, white balance, select scene mode, and more.

Platform

LG Spirit H422 Titan comes with Android 5.0.1 (Lollipop). The developers did not limit themselves to the “bare” version of the “OS”, using a proprietary shell. The graphics system can easily be called original. It has many individual features, thanks to which it has a unique design that is loved by users. The only thing that can cause inconvenience is the new OS interface. Many people who have not previously used smartphones from this company will have to get used to the phone for some time.

Communications

Buyers' interest in this model was attracted by the support of two SIM cards. Thanks to this opportunity, users select the most favorable tariffs, saving significant amounts of money on paying for the services of mobile operators. The phone is also equipped with a standard set of communications. Users will have the opportunity to work with GSM, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS and, of course, Wi-Fi.

Specifications LG Magna

• Case materials: plastic
• Network: two SIM cards, 2G/3G
• RAM: 1 GB
• Screen: capacitive, IPS 5"" with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels
• Navigation: GPS
• Battery: removable, capacity 2540 mAh
• Dimensions: 139x69x10.1 mm
• Weight: 137 g

Characteristics of LG Spirit

• Case materials: plastic
• Operating system: Google Android 5.0
• Network: two SIM cards, 2G/3G
• Processor: 4 cores, 1300 MHz, MediaTek MT6582
• RAM: 1 GB
• Data storage memory: 8 GB
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.1, microUSB connector (USB 2.0) for charging/synchronization, 3.5 mm for headset
• Screen: capacitive, IPS 4.7"" with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels
• Camera: 8 MP with autofocus + 5 MP, flash
• Navigation: GPS
• Additionally: accelerometer, proximity sensors, FM radio
• Battery: removable, capacity 2100 mAh
• Dimensions: 133x66x9.9 mm
• Weight: 118 g

Contents of delivery

• Smartphone
• Network adapter
• USB cable
• Warranty card

Introduction

In March of this year, at the annual international exhibition WMC, the South Korean company LG Electronics presented three inexpensive smartphones on the Android operating system. The devices were named Magna, Spirit and Leon. A month later, the devices appeared on store shelves.

Today the review will be devoted to two of the above devices: Magna and Spirit. The Leon smartphone has not yet reached our office, so we’re waiting. The Magna device is quite justifiably called “big”, and Spirit is also an interesting name.

Both gadgets are practically no different from each other, so I decided to fit all the necessary information into one review.

In order not to search the text for prices for “androids,” I list them here: LG Magna – 13,000 rubles, and Spirit – 11,000 rubles.

Design, dimensions, control elements

It’s interesting that Magna and Spirit are practically no different from each other in appearance, which may well confuse a potential buyer, so let’s start with the differences:

Dimensions and weight. The older model is 139x69x10.1 mm, the youngest is 133x66x9.9 mm; Magna's weight is 137 g, Spirit's weight is 118 g. Both models fit equally well in the palm of your hand, and the difference in size is invisible to the eye until you pick up both devices.

Elements. LG Magna has a missed events indicator and a light sensor. The LG Spirit doesn't have that luxury. Moreover, I note that this is not the first time LG has saved on sensors.

Both devices have a slight curvature of the front panel, the back side is curved. The overall design direction of this year's smartphone line can be traced, as the Flex 2 and G4 models were released with the same shapes.

The corners of the devices are quite sharp, the back cover is sloping and is made to resemble polished metal with vertical grooves, but the surface is smooth to the touch. In general, from the point of view of appearance and ergonomic design, everything is good, but it is impossible to say that the devices are unique in this regard.

The front panel is protected by glass. The manufacturer does not indicate which one specifically, Gorilla, Dragontrail or some simpler one. During use, there was not a single scratch left on the screens. Another issue is the oleophobic coating. It is not available on either the Magna or Spirit models. The surface becomes dirty in a matter of seconds, leaving a white coating that is difficult to erase. After using the gadgets for a short time, the displays look terribly dirty with characteristic greasy stains.

There is a plastic semi-gloss frame running along the edge, and the back cover is also plastic. Both smartphones will be available in three colors: white, gold and titanium.

On the top of the front side there are speech speakers. Covered with light metal mesh. The quality is approximately the same: the volume is high, the intelligibility is slightly above average, the interlocutor can be heard clearly. There is no echo, there are no other extraneous sounds.

To the right of the speaker are front cameras, proximity and light sensors (the latter is missing in the LG Spirit). On the left is an indicator of missed events (LG Spirit does not have it). The company logo appears under the display.

At the bottom there is a micro-USB and a microphone, at the top there is a second microphone and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Traditionally for LG there are no elements on the right and left.

On the reverse side there are buttons for volume control (perforated, recessed into the body) and power (the button is slightly convex, with radial relief stripes). A little higher is the camera and LED flash. I won’t talk about the ease of use of these elements - to each his own, but for me personally they are uncomfortable during operation.

The cover is removable. Below it at the top left is the microSIM1 connector, on the right is microSIM2, and above it is a slot for a microSD memory card. The battery is also removable.

Displays

The screen diagonal of the younger LG Spirit model is 4.7", the older LG Magna is 5". The physical size of the first display is 59x104 mm, the second is 62x111 mm. Anti-glare properties are average.

LG display resolutions are HD, that is, 1280x720 pixels, density is 293 pixels per inch for Magna and 312 PPI for Spirit. IPS OGS matrices.

The maximum brightness of white color for Magna is 400 cd/m2 (for Spirit - 329), the maximum brightness for black color is 0.63 cd/m2 (for Spirit - 0.53). Contrast ratio Magna – 633:1, Spirit – 619:1.

The white line is the goal we are trying to achieve. The yellow line is the actual screen data. You can see that we are directly below the target curve at values ​​from 0 to 100%, which means that at each value the image is not bright enough.

The same as on Magna, but the picture will be a little brighter.

Gamma ranges from 2.19 to 3.19, which does not have a very good effect on the image, that is, details will be lost at low and high brightness.

Gamma ranges from 2.09 to 2.5. Better than Magna.

Magna and Spirit

Judging by the level graph, red is not enough, and blue is in excess.

The temperature remains virtually unchanged and remains around 8300 K.

The temperature remains virtually unchanged and remains around 7600 K. The shades are slightly warmer.

Magna and Spirit

Judging by the diagram, the data obtained does not correspond to the sRGB triangle at all. The resulting triangle is much smaller. This means that the colors will be faded.

Magna and Spirit

Almost all gray points are located outside the DeltaE=10 radius, which indicates that other shades of colors will be present in gray colors.

Total. The screens are practically the same. Magna has slightly higher brightness, but less black depth; The Spirit has better black depth, but lower brightness, so the contrasts are similar. Gamma is better on Spirit - the image does not lose detail in the shadows or highlights. The color is faded on both screens. In general, extremely low-cost matrices.

Screen comparison (Magna – left, Spirit – right)

Settings

Batteries

Smartphones have removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries. The battery capacity of the older model is 2540 mAh (9.7 Wh, model BL-54SH), the younger one is 2100 mAh (7.8 Wh, model BL-52UHB).

Oddly enough, both gadgets passed almost all test modes the same way. Plus or minus 10-15%. Actually, these figures are confirmed by the official ones.

In video playback mode (MP4, 720p) at maximum brightness and volume in the headphones, the batteries ran out after about 3.5-4 hours. If you use 3G, make about 10-15 calls lasting 1-2 minutes, “take pictures” for 20 minutes, then the battery will run out in 7-8 hours. The toys will drain the LG Spirit battery in about 1.5 hours, and the LG Magna in 2.5 hours.

The Spirit battery takes about 5 hours to charge via USB, the Magna battery takes longer - about 6 hours. It is better to use standard network adapters.

I collected the official data in a table:

Communication capabilities

Everything in this section is typical for any Android smartphone. The devices operate in 2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and 3G (900/2100 MHz) cellular networks.

If one slot works in 3G, the other will automatically switch to 2G in both models. That is, both slots can function in 3G, but not simultaneously.

Bluetooth version 4.1 available for file and voice transfer. There is a wireless connection Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n. The device, of course, can be used as an access point (Wi-Fi Hotspot) or modem.

USB Host (OTG) does not work for both gadgets.

There is GPS. Their sensitivity is quite good: in “cold” mode, Magna and Spirit find up to 3 satellites in 20 seconds, in a room near a window in 10 seconds - up to 5 satellites, in open space in the same time - up to 8.

Memory and memory card

Both the younger and older models have one gigabyte of RAM installed. At the moment I would like 2 GB.

Built-in memory 8 GB. There is a slot for a microSD memory card. The maximum volume is 32 GB.

Cameras

The devices have two cameras: the main ones are 8 MP (F2.4), the front ones are 5 MP (F2.4) for Magna and 1 MP (F2.8) for Spirit. Both have single-section LED flashes.

The quality of the cameras differs. The older model takes more detailed shots and the white balance is more accurate. Otherwise (operating speed and focusing) everything is the same. The photos come out excellent, at the limit of 8 MP module.

“Front cameras” are very different, after all, 5 MP versus 1 MP. Naturally, better pictures are taken from the LG Magna.

Video devices record in FullHD resolution at 30 frames per second. The quality is equally good. The focus is manual, quite fast and accurate. The Magna face camera records FullHD videos, while the Spirit camera records HD videos.

Below is an example of crops from photographs. On the left is Magna, on the right is Spirit.

Performance and Software Platform

The new LG Magna and Spirit are equipped with a chipset from the Taiwanese company MediaTek, model MT6582. Frankly speaking, the chip is ancient, manufactured in 2013, and was and is installed in extremely low-cost device models. It’s somewhat strange to see it in devices costing 11,000 – 14,000 rubles.