LG Leon review

Battery Life

One of the Leon’s best features is its outstanding battery life. In our continuous video playback test, its 1,900mAh battery managed an excellent 14h 01m when the screen brightness was set to 170cd/m2. That’s almost 30 minutes more than the 2nd Gen Moto E, and nearly 3 hours more than the LG Spirit.

Camera

You’re never going to get masses of detail from a 5-megapixel camera, but the Leon’s outdoor pictures were very grainy indeed, particularly along object outlines. When viewed at full resolution, clean edges were few and far between, giving everything a fuzzy, unfocused appearance. Admittedly, colours were clear and accurate, but I wouldn’t want to use it for anything more than quick social media uploads.

In fact, the Leon’s camera is arguably more suited to indoor photography where compositions are usually a little less complicated. Shooting our still life, for instance, produced some pretty decent pictures for a 5-megapixel camera, and while colours were perhaps a tad murky, there were far fewer jagged edges. Naturally, noise increased when the lights dimmed, but its decent LED flash makes up for it.

^ Colours were impressive for a 5-megapixel camera, but there wasn’t much detail on show

^ With our external lamp turned on, object outlines were surprisingly smooth when shooting indoors

Conclusion

Ultimately, though, the LG Leon’s bland grey plastic design just doesn’t feel or look as good as the customisable 2nd Gen Moto E. The Leon is noticeably slimmer, but its sharper corners just aren’t as comfortable in the hand. Likewise, the Moto E’s side buttons are much easier to find than the Leon’s rear power and volume keys. Combined with its poor screen, the Leon just doesn’t quite measure up.

As a result, the 2nd Gen Moto E remains my budget phone of choice for those looking for an ultra-cheap contract. However, if you’d rather buy the phone outright and don’t mind going for a large 5.5in handset, the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 is much better value for £125 on PAYG.