LG Arena 2 Review: Large Battery and HD Visuals

Need a little more insight before investing in a new phone? Take a look at our elaborate LG Arena 2 review for your much-needed details.

The LG Arena 2 smartphone was released in 2019. There are several things phone buyers consider before purchasing a brand new gadget. Display clarity, camera quality, performance speed, there are tons of specifications to inspect.

All this talk about technicalities might sound confusing to new phone buyers. However, if you’re planning to put your money on the LG Arena 2, you’re in luck. This review will assess this piece of technology as concisely as possible.

The LG Brand has been on a roll recently with their budget smartphones. Attractive from its low price point, does the gadget live up to its features?

Look no further. Check out our LG Arena 2 review for more valuable information on this budget device.

Key Specs

• Weight: 147g
• Dimensions: 147 x 71 x 8.1mm
• OS: Android 9
• Screen size: 5.45-inch
• Resolution: 1440 x 720
• CPU: 1.4GHz Quad-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 32GB
• Battery: 3,000mAh, non-removable
• Rear camera: 8MP
• Front camera: 5MP

Design

The LG Arena 2 design takes inspiration from old phone models from 3-4 years ago. Design-wise, there’s nothing much that pops out. It doesn’t help that the phone only comes in gray.

Aesthetic may not be the most sought after quality for phone buyers. However, users who are opting for something a bit more premium-looking should check out other options.

The front side features the phone’s display screen. The surrounding bezels are rather thick. The top and bottom bezels are chunkier in comparison. These bezels allow room for our fingers to hold onto the phone horizontally. However, not everyone is into the idea of having thick bezels.

The front-facing camera and speaker are all located on the front side. Moving onto the back cover, it has a simplistic feel to it. The back cover is made out of plastic. The choice of material sadly gives the phone a cheap, dull look. We can find the rear-facing camera and the LED flash on the back cover.

The left side has a lot going on. It houses the volume controls, Google Assistant Button, and SIM/microSD card tray. Meanwhile, the right side features the Power/Lock button. The bottom side is where our speaker, headphone jack, microphone, and USB port are located at.

Display

The LG Arena 2 employs a 5.45-inch display screen, which is a pretty adequate size. However, don’t expect wide-screen viewing pleasure. Still, the smartphone provides just enough screening room to watch our videos daily. It’s a standard size, but it works for a good majority of users.

Despite the size, the quality of the display is surprising. Coming with a resolution of 1440×720, the phone promises sharper visuals and smoother movements. The device accommodates 295 pixels per inch, which again, is the standard for budget phones. It’s good to know that we can obtain satisfactory viewing pleasure.

Besides the resolution, the display screen comes in HD+. The installation of HD+ makes sense, especially with the aforementioned resolution. What this means is that users are treated to high definition quality. It puts a great emphasis on the clarity and sharpness of images. Supporting 16 million colors as well, the phone guarantees vibrancy with the display.

There’s no mention of any external layer that protects the display screen. Little protectors like a built-glass layer greatly contribute to a screen’s longevity. It can protect the display from enduring any external damage. We suggest getting a separate protective screen to further strengthen the phone.

Read also:

• LG Arena 2 User Manual
• AT&T Radiant Max Review: Dirt-cheap phone with triple cameras

Camera

The LG Arena 2 comes with an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. The megapixels for both cameras are the average standard for budget phones. The 8MP rear camera has an autofocus feature, which is considered to be a luxury. There’s also an LED flash to provide extra lighting. To capture things that are within distance, there’s a 4x zoom feature.

The phone’s 5MP front-facing camera takes decent shots. Sadly, it does not have a specific selfie mode to enhance our portraits. Still, we didn’t expect much from a phone at this price. One thing we applaud for is its selfie light. It’s a smart little feature that doesn’t get included in most gadgets. Yet, it makes all the difference with our selfies.

We can capture videos at 30 frames per second (fps) for 720p or Full HD resolution. Interestingly enough, the phone allows us to change the video recording fps. We have the option of choosing to record at 15fps for a different resolution.

Bored with automatic photo modes? The LG Arena has a variety of shooting options. Need to take quick shots on-the-go? There’s a Fast Snapshot option. In the mood to change your social media profile photo? Switch to Portrait mode.

Storage

The LG Arena 2 comes with internal memory storage reaching up to 32GB. This is relatively huge storage that’s optimal for a budget device. Unfortunately, we were unable to access its full capacity. Similar to other smartphones, they usually come with bloatware. The phone’s bloatware already takes up 16GB of the initial memory.

This only leaves up with a spare 16GB of internal memory. In the phone’s defense, 16GB is still not bad. To compensate for this, we can expand the memory using a microSD card. This is a specification that’s recommended to use to our full advantage. Especially since the phone accommodates up to 32GB of expandable memory.

Performance

The LG Arena 2 uses a  Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset as its main processor. Supported by a CPU clock speed of up to 1.4GHz, it promises cutting-edge performance. The processor has oftentimes been utilized by smartphones within the budget range. Yet, its advanced specifications guarantee smooth visuals and efficient phone usage.

The processor is built to further enhance the phone’s available features. Whether it’s the audio quality or sensor accuracy, everything is heightened. Additionally, the Snapdragon 425 takes the display onto another level by making visuals fluid. The chipset doesn’t just support the system itself, it also improves the quality of its specifications.

Our LG Arena 2 Review is nothing without a look into the phone’s RAM. The device is installed with 2GB RAM. For something within the low-price range, 2GB RAM is essentially the bare minimum. A 2GB is already enough to fully use the device. We can operate the phone smoothly with minimum system crashes.

However, these days smartphones require at least 2.5GB of RAM to run multiple apps in the background. It’s also worth noting that recent apps are getting bigger. Heavy-duty apps require sufficient RAM for it to perform fairly. We suggest users regularly clear the cache to leave room for the phone to breathe.

The LG Arena 2 utilizes Android 9.0 as its operating system (OS). Phone enthusiasts might recognize the OS from its other name, Android Pie. As sweet as its name, the OS gives this budget phone its trademark Google aesthetics. A few alterations have also been made to ensure smoother screen rotation.

The OS does come with its setbacks. For example, notifications are a lot more varied with this system. There is a specific notification for each activity that we have done or not. A jumble of these notifications can come across as annoying at times. However, we can limit these notifications by disabling them in our settings.

To top it off, the phone is set up with a total of four sensors. The accelerometer accurately counts the number of steps we take. This sensor is a must need when the phone comes with a walking tracker. The accelerometer is then assisted by a gyroscope. This sensor locates the current orientation of the device. It’s a nifty addition that does wonders for gaming experiences.

There’s also a proximity sensor that prevents accidental touches on the phone screen. This is an important feature to control the screen’s sensitivity layer. Finally, the ambient sensor is installed for automatic brightness adjustment.

Connectivity

The LG Arena 2 accommodates up to the 4G LTE network. To activate the connection, we need to install a Nano-SIM card. Besides 4G LTE, the phone has coverage for other networks as well. To name a few, these include 3G UMTS, and GPRS/EDGE. Stay connected no matter the data subscription.

All that data connection usage might eventually burn a hole in our wallets. Fortunately, the phone has a Wi-Fi option to get a connection. Users who have Bluetooth headphones or speakers can make use of Bluetooth v5.0 technology. Now we can listen to our music on-the-go wirelessly.

Battery

The LG Arena 2 stays alive with a 3,000mAh non-removable battery. This protects the battery from damages that might occur externally. With the battery’s capacity, we can enjoy up to 13 hours of non-stop talk time. In other words, the battery can last up to 25 days on standby.

We can listen to music all day long, especially when it can withstand up to 90 hours on headsets. It’s safe to say that the battery is of impressive quality. Unfortunately, the phone does not support wireless charging. Nevertheless, a budget with a big battery capacity is a plus in our books.

Is the LG Arena 2 a good phone?

Finishing our LG Arena 2 review with a good note, we’re optimistic about this device. While it may not have the most profound characteristics, it is a safe purchase. It has all of the basic specifications settled in its system. The performance is also not as disappointing as other budget phones on the market.

Costing $69.99, this budget smartphone is a bit more expensive compared to others. Still, it doesn’t hurt much to invest a bit more into an electronic device. Buying a new phone should not be a frequent, impulsive buy. Instead, it should be something we put much thought into.