The LG G6 has impressed us, but it’s almost certain that phone won’t last two whole days from a single charge.
To try and make up for it, LG has also made the X Power2, a mid-range phone that should be able to last you a whole weekend on a full charge.
The X Power2 was launched just in time for MWC 2017 and we’ve had some time to try out the phone briefly at the show.
LG X Power 2 price and release date
LG’s latest X Power2 is expected to go on sale in Latin America in March with a rollout across the US and Europe to follow. Expect it to be April or later before we get to buy the X Power2.
There’s also no word if you’ll be able to buy the phone in Australia.
As for the price, LG has yet to share any official indication yet. The original X Power launched in the US at $199 (about £160, AU$260) so we’d expect it to be a similar price level to that phone.
LG X Power2 design
The X Power2 isn’t a premium feel phone, but it does come with an attractive design. It’s not as premium as we’d hope it to be with the back panel feeling like you can take it off, but you can't.
There’s an interesting metal effect on the back of the phone that makes it strange to the touch but it dazzles when you hold it up in the light.
It all feels a little tacky on the back when we're used to using full metal uni-body phones, even at this price point.
You’ll be able to buy the X Power2 in four colors – those are black, silver, gold and a dark blue.
LG X Power2 display
On the front of the phone is a 5.5-inch display, but it’s not Full HD like we’d hope for on a phone at this price point now.
Instead it’s 720p, and you can really notice how LG hasn’t opted for a high resolution on this screen.
If you want to be watching a lot of video and playing games on your new phone, it may not be a great choice as it has a lower resolution than most phones in 2017.
That said, the lower resolution may mean that battery life claim LG is making is closer to reality than we expected.
LG X Power2 spec and features
The battery pack inside the X Power2 is the key highlight here – it’s a 4,500mAh cell that LG claims will last for a whole weekend.
Whether this will actually work out is unclear, but Lenovo managed to do it with the P2 where the phone lasted for a whole two days with a 5,100mAh cell.
Android 7 Nougat software is on board and it’s a clean UI that means you’ll get the latest features and an attractive design to use them with.
Under the hood is a MediaTek MT6750, which is a system-on-a-chip we haven’t used in another phone yet so there’s no judging how powerful it’ll be.
That’s paired with either 1.5GB or 2GB of RAM (depending on what market you're in) that should keep you going when playing modern games and using a variety of high-end apps.
Storage wise there’s only 16GB on board, which may cause some issues if you want to keep a lot of media on your phone. MicroSD support is available here, but you may not want to spend the extra on a larger enough memory card to use.
LG X Power2 camera
There’s a respectable 13MP rear shooter on the X Power2 and our limited testing with the device showed some OK shots that won’t blow anyone away, but also didn’t look awful.
In bright lighting the phone was competing with the likes of the Lenovo P2 or the Moto G4 , but we’ll be sure to put the camera through its paces for our full review later in the year.
On the front is a 5MP selfie shooter which again didn’t blow us away, but also gave us an acceptable shot we wouldn’t be embarrassed to upload to Instagram.
Early verdict
We haven't done much with the LG X Power2 yet, and whether this phone is worth buying all comes down to whether it can make good on its battery life claims.
Lasting two whole days from one charge is a far off feature for most flagship phones, so if the X Power2 can do that it should be one of the best budget phones to buy right now.
In the meantime, if you’re desperate for a cheaper device that offers a full two days of battery we’ve tested out the Lenovo P2 and we know that survives for that long, so you may want to buy one of the those instead.
