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LG Stylo 5 expands to its first major US carrier with built-in pen and mid-end specs

Published: Jul 19, 2019, 5:31 AM

Adrian Diaconescu

LG Stylo 5 expands to its first major US carrier with built-in pen and mid-end specs

If you like your smartphones affordable and creative, the LG Stylo 5 may have already piqued your interest with its debut on Cricket Wireless late last month, followed shortly by an expansion to Boost Mobile. While there's still no word on an official US release of an unlocked variant, the pen-wielding mid-ranger has become available on its first major US carrier today, just as expected.

Unfortunately (and somewhat predictably), Sprint is charging its postpaid subscribers significantly more money outright for the Stylo 5 than daughter carrier Boost or the AT&T-owned Cricket prepaid operator. Namely, $288 compared to $200 and $230 respectively, although for what it's worth, you can easily bring that full price all the way down to $115.

You just have to agree to an 18-month Sprint Flex lease plan and pay $25 upfront, as well as $5 a month for a year and a half. Of course, at the end of the agreement, you won't technically own the device, but odds are you'll want to upgrade to something newer and faster anyway.

That's because the LG Stylo 5 is not exactly a powerhouse, packing a Snapdragon 450 processor that feels modest even by mid-range standards nowadays. The SoC is paired with a decent 3GB RAM, and a sizable 3,500mAh battery is in charge of keeping the 6.2-inch FHD+ lights on. That stands for a respectable resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, mind you, which equates to a 2:1 aspect ratio, with relatively thin bezels in tow and no need for a notch to achieve a fairly attractive "FullVision" design.

While the real-life photography performance of the new 6.2-inch handset will best be evaluated in upcoming in-depth reviews, we don't expect anything out of the ordinary from a single 13MP rear camera and 5MP selfie shooter that seem identical to the ones featured by the Stylo 4. But just like its predecessor, the LG Stylo 5 stands out from the sub-$300 crowd with a built-in pen allowing users to write, doodle, sketch, color, and jot down notes on the go with that lovely tactile feel.