LG Magna, LG Spirit, LG Leon, and LG Joy First Impressions

Advertisement
By Jamshed Avari | Updated: 5 March 2015 16:40 IST
Not content with just a curved flagship and two smartwatches grabbing all the attention at its MWC booth, LG is also showing off the four mainstream phones it announced a week before the show began. The names of the LG Magna, LG Spirit, LG Leon and LG Joy don't really convey their relative positions in the lineup, but they attack four different price points within the mid-range spectrum, going from highest to lowest in that order. There will be variants of each model tailored for the 3G and LTE bands available in different countries.

The LG Magna will be the most expensive of the quartet, but will slot in below the LG G3 and its eventual successor. It's also the largest of the four, with a 5-inch, 294ppi, 720x1280-pixel screen. It features an unspecified quad-core 1.3GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage and a 2540mAh battery. The rear camera has an 8-megapixel sensor and the one in front takes 5-megapixel stills.

We saw units on display with blue and gold rear shells. The rear has a slight curve and a rough texture that makes it quite easy to hold, but not necessarily comfortable for long stretches. The power and volume buttons are on the rear, in keeping with LG's now-established design direction. If you don't like it, you're left with very little choice but to find a product from a different manufacturer.

The Magna runs Android 5.0 with an updated version of the custom UI that we've seen in many of the phones we've reviewed before. There are lots of useful shortcuts and everything looks clean and is laid out fairly well.

Advertisement

Next on the list is the LG Spirit, which features a 4.7-inch screen at the same resolution for an improved density of 312ppi. The rest of the specifications remain the same except for the battery, which is smaller at 2100mAh. Interestingly, the company has said that the front camera resolution might be different in some markets. Styling is also very similar to that of the LG Magna, though the colour options and texture of the rear shell are different.

Advertisement

The LG Leon continues down the line but has a few differences from the first two in terms of design. This one has a bit of a chin in the front, and while the buttons are still on the rear, they're a bit more rounded. You'll have to step down to a 4.5-inch screen at a much lower resolution of 480x854. While noticeably grainier than the Magna and Spirit, the LG Leon's screen is still pretty readable and the UI doesn't look too badly affected. The processor has four cores running at 1.2GHz but RAM is still 1GB and storage is still 8GB. There is an 8-megapixel rear camera and the front one will be either 5-megapixels or 0.3, depending on the market. The battery capacity dips further, to 1900mAh though the screen will definitely take less juice.

Finally, there's the LG Joy. This one sticks out the most because it is not only the smallest, but has capacitive Android buttons below the screen whereas the others use on-screen controls. The power and volume buttons also miraculously are not on the rear but on either side. Predictably, the screen is the smallest of the lot at 4 inches, and its resolution is also the lowest at 480x800. The model on display was listed as having a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 0.5GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. It also had a 5-megapixel rear camera, no flash, no front camera, Android 4.4 and a 1900mAh battery. It seems that there will be multiple versions of this phone in different markets though, with specifications possibly including a quad-core processor, Android 5.0, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.

Advertisement

We will have to wait and see exactly which versions of each model launch in India. While performance felt snappy enough on all four devices, we won't make any judgements till we test them under standardised conditions in our lab.

LG could do very well if these models are priced competitively. Competition is fierce so it's good to see an entirely new lineup, top to bottom. Stay tuned for our detailed reviews.

Advertisement

Disclosure: LG was showcasing its products at MWC 2015 in Barcelona. Qualcomm sponsored the correspondent's flights and hotel for Barcelona.

 
KEY SPECS
Display 4.00-inch
Processor 1.2GHz dual-core
Front Camera 0.3-megapixel
Rear Camera 5-megapixel
RAM 512MB
Storage 4GB
Battery Capacity 1900mAh
OS Android 4.4
Resolution 480x800 pixels
 
NEWS
KEY SPECS
Display 4.50-inch
Processor 1.2GHz quad-core
Front Camera 0.3-megapixel
Rear Camera 8-megapixel
RAM 1GB
Storage 8GB
Battery Capacity 1900mAh
OS Android 5.0
Resolution 480x854 pixels
 
NEWS
KEY SPECS
Display 4.70-inch
Processor 1.3GHz quad-core
Front Camera 1-megapixel
Rear Camera 8-megapixel
RAM 1GB
Storage 8GB
Battery Capacity 2100mAh
OS Android 5.0
Resolution 720x1280 pixels
 
NEWS
KEY SPECS
Display 5.00-inch
Processor 1.3GHz quad-core
Front Camera 5-megapixel
Rear Camera 8-megapixel
RAM 1GB
Storage 8GB
Battery Capacity 2540mAh
OS Android 5.0
Resolution 720x1280 pixels
 
NEWS

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Dhurandhar OTT Release Date Update: When and Where to Watch it Online?
  2. Realme Neo 8 Launched With 8,000mAh Battery: See Price, Features
  3. OnePlus Nord 6 Arrives on Geekbench With These Key Specifications
  4. Acer Chromebook Spin 311, Chromebook 311 Launched: See Price, Features
  5. iPhone 18 Could Launch With Brighter Display, BOE May Lose Supplier Role
  6. OnePlus 15T Spotted on Certification Site, Charging Details Revealed
  7. Ubisoft Cancels Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, Delays 7 Games
  8. Apple Asks Delhi High Court to Stop CCI From Seeking Its Financials
  9. Aadukalam Streaming on SunNXT: Know Everything About Plot, Cast, and More
  10. YouTube Takes on OpenAI's Sora With AI-Generated Shorts Feature
  1. NASA Selects Three New Lunar Science Instruments for Artemis Moon Missions
  2. NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams Retires After 27 Years of Space Service
  3. Realme Neo 8 Launched With Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Chip, 8,000mAh Battery: Price, Features
  4. Apple Asks Delhi High Court to Stop Competition Commission of India From Seeking Its Financials
  5. Amazon Great Republic Day Sale: Top Last Minute Deals on Smartphones, Smart TVs and Home Appliances
  6. Amazon Great Republic Day Sale: Best Deals on Robot Vacuum Cleaners
  7. OnePlus 15T Lands on 3C Certification Database Ahead of Launch in China: Expected Specifications
  8. Crimson Desert Has Officially Gone Gold, Launch Set for March 19
  9. Acer Chromebook Spin 311, Chromebook 311 Launched With MediaTek Kompanio 540 CPU: Price, Features
  10. Samsung Galaxy S26+ Bags 3C Certification; Might Not Launch With Charging Upgrade
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.