LG K40S smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

Thinking about which company is better to buy a smartphone? The best manufacturers of phones and their components presented their new achievements at IFA 2019 in Berlin, as part of the exposition, visitors were given the opportunity to get acquainted with the new K series smartphones from LG Electronics: 40S and 50S. The popularity of the models will be determined, first of all, by their price. They complemented a competitive mobile phone lineup at below average prices. These budget upgraded K Series models feature improved cameras, displays, and larger batteries. What is the best model to buy? The choice always depends on the needs. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of the LG K40S in this review.

The main goal of LG is to satisfy the needs of customers, so new items are supplied with improved components. The mass release of LG K40S phones to the market of Europe, Latin America and Asia is expected at the end of September 2019, they will compete with smartphones in a similar price range.

About company

LG Electronics Inc. Is a South Korean international electronics company headquartered in Seoul. LG Electronics is part of the fourth largest chaebol (the so-called large industrial conglomerate in South Korea, run by members of the same family). The company's sales in 2014 reached $ 55.91 billion. Since 2008, LG Electronics has remained the world's second largest LCD TV manufacturer. The company employs 83,000 people.

External parameters

How to choose the right device? First you need to figure out if you like the look of the device. LG K40S has rather big dimensions: 156.30 x 73.90 mm with a thickness of 8.6 mm. The device is available in two corporate colors - New Aurora Black and New Moroccan Blue. The package contains a charger, the length of the cord is standard.

Display

The liquid crystal touch screen is equipped with an IPS matrix capable of displaying 16 million colors. Display resolution 720 x 1520 pixels with ~ 276 ppi density. Color rendition is quite consistent with the declared value, you can also note a large viewing angle and a margin of brightness. There are no problems with viewing content in the sun.

Camera

Today, few people are not interested in how the device takes pictures. The LG K40S offers two rear cameras, a 13MP lens and a 5MP super wide-angle lens. The rear camera has phase detection autofocus. Together with the LG K50S, the devices are the first of the K series to offer Super Wide Angle. The smartphone is great for large group photos and breathtaking landscapes. Autofocus and 13 million pixel resolution on the front and rear cameras allow you to take good pictures with the LG K40S.

The MediaTek Imagiq package in MediaTek Helio P22 enables a dual camera system (13 plus 5 megapixels) supported by a new depth engine. Such characteristics allow you to shoot photos with the transfer of depth, and the sharpness achieved at the same time is quite above average.

MediaTek's Electronic Image Stabilization system has been enhanced with new Roll Shutter Compensation (RSC) technology, which successfully softens warped video when capturing a quick action or when shooting a panorama.

High performance in low light, multi-frame noise reduction and sharpening technology are also provided by the MediaTek Helio P22 system. In addition, the Imagiq package includes upgrades that automatically minimize overlap, graininess and fix defects, distortion. The system includes MediaTek Instant Auto Exposure: an anti-overexposure fixture with precise focus. Instant AE is powered by the camera's hardware control unit, and auto focus provides faster adjustments when lighting conditions change suddenly. This is a good option for those who care about how the camera takes pictures at night.

The smartphone has small improvements to artificial intelligence systems such as Face ID (Face Unlock), Smart Photo Album and Single-Cam / Dual Cam Bokeh. Thanks to the support of MediaTek NeuroPilot, device developers have received a framework that supports many popular artificial intelligence systems and is fully compliant with the Android Neural Networks API.

All of these new technologies from MediaTek Helio P22 cover the important aspects of photography and allow you to get breathtaking effects when photographing and filming video, regardless of the time of day or location. The example of the photo demonstrated at the presentation showed a good result.

Internal filling

Chipset

Advanced Chip System MediaTek Helio P22 delivers high definition HD + with 19: 9 aspect ratio. The chipset parameters allow for an excellent balance between sharpness and energy efficiency. The display makes up about 80% of the screen, this phone design looks modern and attractive. The system includes an IMG PowerVR GE8320 graphics processor operating at 650 MHz. Powerful high performance eight-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 2.0 GHz.

MediaTek CorePilot technology provides power scheduling, thermal management, and proper core workload at specific frequencies and voltages. This provides a consistent, high-performance and reliable user-phone experience.

MediaTek uses TSMC's latest 12nm FinFET manufacturing process. The update brings advanced features to MediaTek Helio P22 and raises the bar for smartphones with long battery life.

Modem MediaTek latest generation 4G LTE WorldMode. The device supports dual 4G SIM with VoLTE / ViLTE. The device is focused on energy-saving operation, using the best antenna combination to ensure optimal signal. The best quality is achieved with the lowest energy consumption. The new 600 MHz band is also supported for the North American market.
The global satellite navigation system technologies used in the K40S series phone have undergone upgrades. The smartphone has receiving sensors for the main navigation systems: GPS, Glonass, BeiDou or COMPASS, Galileo. Improving the processor core provided 57% faster TTFF, improved accuracy by 10%, and reduced power consumption by 24%.

The device works perfectly in the Smart Home system thanks to the latest version of Bluetooth. Compared to the previous version, the data transfer rate has doubled, the range has increased by 4, and the broadcast capacity has increased by 8 times. The simultaneous coexistence of BT and Wi-Fi (now 802.11ac) delivers 5x more Wi-Fi bandwidth over the previous generation.

Memory

The phone comes with two memory options:

• base build - 2 GB of RAM plus 32 GB of internal;
• the smarter option is 3 GB of RAM plus 32 GB of internal memory.

External storage can be expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card.

Battery

The autonomy of the phone is provided by a 3500 mAh non-removable lithium-polymer battery. This is not the largest volume for games, but in combination with the chipset and processor, which are aimed at energy saving, this is quite enough for active use of the phone during the day. Many popular models have similar capacities today.

Basic technologies

Wireless connections

Wireless Internet connectivity is supported by Wi-Fi (802.11 a / b / g / n / ac), GSM, HSPA, and LTE (supporting the 40 band used by some LTE networks in India). The phone has acceleration sensors and a fingerprint sensor. LG K40S supports screen unlocking via face recognition.

The smartphone supports DLNA, which allows compatible devices to share images, music, videos, and display them in real time over the home network. The technology allows to automatically connect home computers, mobile phones, laptops and consumer electronics into a single digital network. The medium for transferring media files is usually a home local network, it is possible to form both wired and wireless connections.

There is no sensor for playing radio.

Game system

These attractively priced phones have been designed for gaming and multimedia content. The screen of the K40S phone has a 6.1-inch display and HD + resolution, which is equal to the parameters of premium phones. The bezels are minimal and the display is interrupted by an attractive and unobtrusive front camera connector. The device has a slim modern design.

Audio

Enjoying multimedia content without really great audio playback is problematic. The K40S is equipped with 3D Surround Sound system, which provides realistic and dynamic sound.

Protection

The materials used for the production of components for the latest LG K models guarantee durability and quality. The device is guaranteed to withstand even the most severe daily loads, the K40S meets the American military standard of durability MIL-STD-810G. The screen is protected by 2.5D glass.

SIM cards

LG K40S works with two SIM-cards (dual sim), the size of the accepted cards is Nano-SIM. The system of operation of two SIM cards is Dual Standby, which means that the phone supports two SIM cards, but in standby mode. Simply put, when none of the SIM cards are in use, both are active, but when one of the SIM cards is used, the other becomes inactive.

Another problem is that when using the 3G / 2G network on one card, the other SIM card also becomes inactive. In normal use, this is not a significant problem, however, inconvenience occurs when downloading a large file or watching a streaming video on YouTube, at which time the other SIM card is inactivated.

Many users of two cards often use only one, and the second is necessary for personal use. In such cases, Dual Standby does not cause any inconvenience.

Interface

The LG K40S runs Android 9 Pie. The latest version of the operating system allows you to make the most of the internal "stuffing" of the phone. The useful Google Assistant opens with a click of a button.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like every device, LG K40S has its own advantages and disadvantages. The average price in the 160 USD range smoothes out some shortcomings.

• Powerful energy-saving system MediaTek Helio P22 with an eight-core processor;
• Convenient screen size and aspect ratio for viewing multimedia content, surfing the Internet and reading;
• Meets MIL-STD-810G durability standard.

• Insufficient battery capacity for active games and multimedia content;
• The pixel density on the display is average, not very suitable for high-end video viewing and games;
• Maximum RAM of 3 GB is not enough.

Outcome

The review showed that the phone has good functionality, but the price of the device was probably in the first place during development, so it does not reach the high bar. The selection criteria differ from buyer to buyer, but, in general, the device is perfect for the average user without exaggerated demands for playing games and videos. The device can be described as a reliable smartphone that has joined the rating of high-quality and inexpensive devices. Reviews are still absent in large numbers at the moment, the phone entered the market in early September 2019. About the main thing: How much does it cost? Where is it profitable to buy? You can buy online for 150 USD. In a regular store, it will be somewhat more expensive.