This LG K22 review explores the ins and outs of this particular budget phone. See information about specs and price to know what you are getting into.
LG K22 smartphone was released in September 2020. This product is another rendition of budget phones from the popular manufacturer LG. Boasting a large screen and dual-camera, LG K22 aims to be stylish and reliable, yet still affordable.
The 6.2-inch display of LG K22 ensures the best viewing experience you can get for a phone under $100. It also runs on a Snapdragon processor. On the back, a 3,000mAh battery powers the phone for an entire day.
On the first impression, LG K22 looks like a solid budget phone to have. The question is, is it exactly the phone you need? We’ll try to answer that through this LG K22 review.
Here, learn about both the advantages and the disadvantages of this phone. Dig deep into the specifications to understand better this phone’s capabilities.
Page Contents:
Key Specs
LG K22 specifications:
- Weight: 165g
- Dimensions: 155.7 x 75.4 x 8.4mm
- OS: Android 10
- Screen size: 6.2-inch
- Resolution: 1520 x 720
- CPU: 1.3GHz Quad-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 215
- RAM: 2GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Battery: 3,000mAh, Non-removable
- Rear camera: 13MP + 2MP
- Front camera: 5MP
Design
LG K22 is a tall and slim phone, that’s for sure. Without needing to know the exact dimension (It’s 155.7 x 75.4 x 8.4mm, by the way), you can see how nicely designed the phone is. The slender design makes it possible for the phone to fit inside the palm despite its big size.
It is also relatively lightweight despite the size. At 165g, it won’t put so much added weight to your purse or pocket. The secret here comes from the material, which is plastic.
Choosing plastic means both good and bad. It’s good because it’s durable and less likely to interfere with signal receptions. On the opposite, it won’t hide the fact that LG K22 is a cheap phone. By appearance alone, this device is far from glamour.
Don’t get us wrong. The back cover is sleek with its gray color and clean design. The front part sports the signature LG FullVision display design. It’s definitely a phone of recent years. It just doesn’t give out the same vibe a metal phone does.
When looking at the bigger picture, though, it’s clear LG K22 doesn’t aim for luxury. Build quality and the design are alright. We also notice it fulfills the MIL-STD-810G standard, which means this phone is tested for shock and vibration. After all, a sturdy phone is all budget users need.
Read also: LG K22 User Manual
Display
In this area, LG K22 features a 6.2-inch display with FullVision design and HD+ resolution. In our opinion, 6.2-inch is a perfect middle-ground for people who think 6.5 is too big, and under 6-inch is too small.
With a resolution of 1520 x 720, LG K22 comes out as average when compared to its peers. The HD+ resolution is not something we complain about here. The phone is as sharp as it can be, with some understandable flaws.
An HD+ screen rarely gives bad pixels. Most of the time, brightness adjusts well according to the environment although it’s not immune to error. Display quality overall lies on the average level. The colors are simply great although they don’t come out with an excellent level of vibrancy.
In LG K22, one of its strong qualities lies in the display’s shape and size. The display design features minimal edges. It gives the impression of the full screen when watching videos. The notch is not sharply curved therefore is more pleasant to look at.
So, it’s not about quality at all. Future owners might need to take note of this. If you decide to buy this phone, get ready for a display with good size, but lacks in quality.
Camera
LG K22 gives it users more to do with its dual-camera configuration. It consists of a 13MP main camera and a 2MP macro camera. We try to guess why LG opted for Macro instead of other types of lens, like Depth or Wide-Angle lenses.
Unlike in most dual-camera phones, the secondary camera here doesn’t act as a support for the main camera. It’s a standalone lens, capable of taking close-up pictures on its own. A macro lens is perfect for objects like food or nature, where you need to take a picture of a very small object.
The macro camera works well in capturing details. However, we’re not really a fan of its resolution (2MP). When you uploaded it on social media, it is obvious that the picture has a low resolution. As a result, everything looks a bit off.
Back to the main camera, the 13MP camera proves to be reliable and quick. Thanks to its PDAF lens, you won’t have much difficulty with autofocus. Image quality is great for social media. For videos, the lens can record 1080p Full HD videos.
The front camera is a 5MP wide angle-lens which we have mixed feelings about. It is great for group selfies, but for taking solo selfies, it skewed your facial features. For example, your nose can appear bigger than it should be. We’re not a fan of a wide-angle lens for a front camera.
Read also:
- LG Tribute Monarch Review: Dual-Camera and Fingerprint
- LG Risio 4 Review: Cheap Phone with Dual-Camera
Storage
Storing files on LG K22 involves 32GB internal storage. Out of that capacity, 21GB is what’s actually available for use. It’s still a pretty decent amount for a budget phone. Considering a user won’t go overboard with app installations or multimedia downloads, this capacity can go for some time until it runs out.
For expandable storage, sadly your choice is limited to up to 32GB. This is a very low amount even for a budget phone. LG K22 should have provided more, at least more than 100GB. This is one of our significant complaints in this LG K22 review.
Performance
To handle its tasks, LG K22 runs on a Quad-core Snapdragon 215 chipset with 2GB RAM. The CPU itself runs with a maximum clock speed of 1.3GHz. Typically, the faster the speed the better it is, although it’s not always the case if you consider hyper-threading.
In the case of this phone, the Snapdragon 215 is actually quite special. It’s among the first budget chipsets to support 64-bit architecture. The CPU promises 50% more performance than the previous performance. And, you can expect this speed to show on LG K22.
This configuration is also what makes the dual-camera setup possible. Additionally, it is also deemed to be more power-efficient. This phone can handle some light to medium gaming. Again, thanks to this Snapdragon 215 processor.
However, it’s important to note that LG K22 is still an entry-level phone. Therefore, expect some limitations especially on heavy load. Despite the decent CPU, LG is quite stingy about giving more room on the RAM. With only 2GB memory, it’s easy to overextend more than what LG K22 is capable of.
On the software side, LG K22 runs on the customized version of Android 10. LG puts their own UX there, as expected. This phone also comes with signature LG apps which may be useful for users. Some people might think these apps are bloatware. However, custom apps are something that you can’t escape when buying an LG phone.
Being a budget device, security is one area where LG K22 also has to cut corners. When a fingerprint reader has become a must-have in today’s smartphones, LG K22 decided to not include this feature. You will get stuck with the classic PIN or password to secure the device. It doesn’t even have face recognition.
The sensors available on this phone are only an accelerometer and a compass. Other than that, there are proximity sensors and the ambient light sensor on the display. This phone comes with a handful of accessibility features as well, such as hearing aid support and the Google Assistant button.
Connectivity
LG K22 is equipped with a complete set of network capabilities. Starting with the 4G, the phone makes sure you have plenty of options on how to stay connected. The 4G LTE is probably your main option for calls and surfing the internet. Alternatively, you can also use dual-band Wi-Fi, which also supports Wi-Fi direct and tethering.
This phone runs the latest Bluetooth v.5 to lets users pairing it with other devices. Unfortunately, the USB port is not the latest one. You’ll stick with the older type Micro-USB on LG K22. For data transfer, a MicroUSB is slower than a USB Type-C cable.
If you often use the phone for navigation, LG K22 won’t disappoint you in this area. It has GPS, which tracks locations through three different methods: A-GPS, Cell ID, and Wi-Fi positioning. On the other hand, if you use the phone for payment, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. LG K22 doesn’t come with NFC technology.
Battery
This phone comes with a 3,000mAh non-removable battery. The Li-Ion cells are meant to be long-lasting, carrying you through the day with as minimal recharging as possible. Its performance depends on how a user would use the phone. Typically, one day is what you can get considering the capacity and the screen’s battery consumption.
We don’t see any fast charging feature on this phone. It doesn’t surprise us because the battery capacity is quite small. On top of that, we rarely see a fast charging feature on a budget phone. Charging is done through a USB Micro port instead of a USB Type-C.
Is the LG K22 a good phone?
In conclusion to this LG K22 review, we recommend this phone for low maintenance users and beginners. LG K22 is a good start for anyone trying to dab into the Android world. It is not too overwhelming in terms of features. At the same time, LG K22 provides the essentials a beginner would need.
We like the size of the screen, although not a fan for its resolution. At $69.99, the price is also affordable. The dual-camera is another reason why the phone is a good deal. Lastly, LG K22 also has a decent battery capacity.
LG K22 Pros
- Perfect display size
- Dual-camera
- 64-bit CPU
- Affordable price
LG K22 Cons
- Budget level performance
- Small external storage
- Average-quality display
- No fingerprint sensor