LG Stylus 2 review – hitting all the right notes

Design

The LG Stylus 2 is surprisingly light for such a large phone, weighing just 145g and measuring a rather svelte 7.4mm thick. It’s still quite a handful to hold in one hand, particularly when its spun-hairline finish on the back can make it quite slippery in your palm, but otherwise its plastic chassis is fairly inoffensive.

Of course, like almost every other LG phone (with the exception of the G5), the Stylus 2 has its power and volume buttons on the back of the phone. This can take some getting used to if you’re used to having these buttons on the side, but finding the power button soon became second nature, as it sits at just the right height for my index finger.

Camera

Sitting just above the rear buttons is the Stylus 2’s 13-megapixel camera. This isn’t nearly as advanced as the G5’s camera, with only basic auto, HDR and panorama modes at its disposal, but it can still take pretty decent shots regardless of whether you’re shooting indoors or outside.

Even on a rainy day, colours were bright and natural and there was a very high level of detail on show. Photos were a little grainy in places, but it wasn’t overly concerning. Switching on HDR mode improves things further, as this not only gave colours more punch, but it also brightened the whole image, introducing more contrast to really make the image pop.

 ^ Despite the rainy weather, the LG Stylus 2 produced bright, detailed shots with plenty of vibrant colours

^ Switching to HDR mode helped brighten the image further and improve the photo’s contrast

Its indoor performance was surprisingly good, too. There was a noticeable amount of noise and speckling on our white background when our studio lights were turned off, but otherwise colours were rich and vivid and the darker areas of our still life arrangement really helped the lighter sections stand out. Object outlines were a bit soft and over-processed in places, but its warm flash quickly sorted this out.^ Indoors, there was a lot more noise present, but colours still had plenty of punch

DAB+ Radio

The Stylus 2 also has another rather intriguing feature, and that’s its DAB+ radio. It’s the first phone to support the DAB+ standard, but it only works when you’ve got a pair of headphones attached, as it needs these to double up as the radio’s receiver. There’s plenty of choice to be found here, though, and you can favourite your favourite stations so they always appear at the top of the list.

Conclusion

All in all, the LG Stylus 2 is a good value budget phablet, but a lot of its appeal will rest on whether you really want the stylus or not. It certainly fills a hole left by Samsung’s lack of new Note devices, but at this price, those simply after a big screen phone without a stylus should probably buy the 5.5in OnePlus 2 instead. It’s not only much faster and more adept at web browsing than the Stylus 2, but it also has a superior-looking screen.

There’s also the 5.5in Moto X Play to consider, which beats the OnePlus 2 on battery life and camera quality, but is a fraction slower. If you definitely want a stylus, though, or are simply tempted by the DAB+ radio, then the LG Stylus 2 is a good buy.

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