Budget-friendly smartphones have improved exponentially over the last few years.
And from the recently released ZTE Blade 10 Prime to the upcoming Motorola G series refresh, it's easier than ever to find a solid handset without paying a ton of money for it.
Unfortunately for LG, the Aristo 4+ doesn't fall into that category.
While it costs just $150, it disappoints in nearly every aspect, from battery life to overall performance.
Design, Display, and Durability
From its plastic body to its bulky bezels, the LG Aristo 4+ looks like your typical budget phone of yesteryear.
It measures 5.78 by 2.81 by 0.33 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.3 ounces.
The front is dominated by a 5.45-inch LCD with 1,440-by-720 resolution, a dull 295 pixels per inch pitch.
It's usable, but it's not particularly sharp and can be hard to see in direct light.
The top edge of the phone is bare, while the bottom is home to a speaker, a headphone jack, and a micro USB charging port.
Volume and Google Assistant buttons sit on the left side, along with a hybrid SIM card slot, while the power button is on the right.
A rear camera sits in the top center of the back of phone, directly above a circular fingerprint sensor.
At the bottom there's a monochromatic LG logo.
The finish is an attractive platinum that resists scratches and smudges.
Durability is questionable.
The phone feels thin and rigid and LG doesn't disclose if it uses strengthened glass.
There's also no IP rating, so your best bet is to invest in a protective case.
Audio, Call, and Network Quality
The Aristo 4+ is available through T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile.
It supports LTE bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/12/13/20/25/26/48/41/66/71.
We tested the Aristo 4+ in downtown Manhattan and saw average speeds of just 7.8Mbps down and 14.1 up.
While these numbers are disappointing, they're likely due to T-Mobile's network, as we've encountered similar speeds when testing other handsets over the last few months.
Call quality is much stronger.
With an 81dB peak earpiece volume, it's easy to hear calls in most environments.
Noise cancellation is decent, though we were able to hear background construction noise from time to time on test calls.
Outside of calls, general audio quality is mediocre.
Peak speaker volume clocked in at 84dB.
At higher volumes the sound becomes tinny, while lower volumes sound flat.
Fortunately, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.0 if you want better audio.
The Aristo 4+ supports 2.5GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi.
Surprisingly, it also has NFC for mobile payments.
Specs and Benchmarks
The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor and 2GB of RAM.
You'll notice delays when swiping between screens, opening apps, and even when simply unlocking the phone.
With more than a few apps open, things become dreadfully slow.
Needless to say, gaming is a no-go on the Aristo 4+.
See How We Test Phones
On PCMark 2.0, a suite of tests that emulate common smartphone tasks, the Aristo 4+ scored a lowly 3,824.
For comparison, the ZTE Blade 10 Prime scored nearly double at 7,527 and the Moto G7 Power came in at 6,107.
There's 16GB of storage in total, but less than 6GB is available out of the box.
That's not enough for even the most basic users, and almost insulting when you consider the Blade 10 Prime costs the same amount and comes with 64GB.
You can add up to 2TB of additional storage with a microSD card, but it's worth mentioning you can't install many apps on external media.
The Aristo 4+ packs a 2,890mAh battery.
We managed to squeeze out just 5 hours and 18 minutes in our battery drain test, which streams high-definition video over Wi-Fi.
As mentioned earlier, the phone charges via a dated micro USB port, not the more modern USB-C connector.
Cameras
You'll find a 13MP sensor on the back of the phone and a 5MP lens on the front.
Unsurprisingly, both cameras fail to impress.
The rear sensor takes mediocre shots in daylight.
Almost all of our test shots were slightly blurred and a little noisy, thanks in part to a painfully slow shutter.
Low-light shots were worse, with details blurring beyond recognition.
The front-facing camera also performed poorly in all of our tests, with significant blurring in daylight, and simply unusable results in low light.
Software
The LG Aristo 4+ ships with Android 9 and a dated version of LG's custom UI overlay.
Icons, screen transitions, and the settings menu look much different than what you find on stock Android.
LG adds its own suite of productivity apps.
For the most part, these apps are extraneous and a poor substitute for those that already ship with Android.
Low-cost phones rarely get OS updates, and there's almost no chance the Aristo 4+ will get Android 10.
Security updates will likely be few and far between as well.
The last security update on our phone was from November 2019 and LG's track record with software updates is not good.
Conclusions
There are plenty of solid phones on the market for less than $200, but the LG Aristo 4+ isn't one of them.
The ZTE Blade 10 Prime is the best $150 phone you can buy right now, but it's only available on Visible.
For everyone else, the Moto G7 Power can be found for under $200 and offers significant gains in performance over the Aristo 4+ all around.
And if you're willing to spend more, the Google Pixel 3a is the best Android phone you can get for under $400.
Pros
Inexpensive.
Good call quality.
Cons
Poor battery life, performance, and cameras.
Little available storage.
The Bottom Line
Though it only costs $150, LG's Aristo 4+ phone offers a disappointing experience all around.
Budget-friendly smartphones have improved exponentially over the last few years.
And from the recently released ZTE Blade 10 Prime to the upcoming Motorola G series refresh, it's easier than ever to find a solid handset without paying a ton of money for it.
Unfortunately for LG, the Aristo 4+ doesn't fall into that category.
While it costs just $150, it disappoints in nearly every aspect, from battery life to overall performance.
Design, Display, and Durability
From its plastic body to its bulky bezels, the LG Aristo 4+ looks like your typical budget phone of yesteryear.
It measures 5.78 by 2.81 by 0.33 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.3 ounces.
The front is dominated by a 5.45-inch LCD with 1,440-by-720 resolution, a dull 295 pixels per inch pitch.
It's usable, but it's not particularly sharp and can be hard to see in direct light.
The top edge of the phone is bare, while the bottom is home to a speaker, a headphone jack, and a micro USB charging port.
Volume and Google Assistant buttons sit on the left side, along with a hybrid SIM card slot, while the power button is on the right.
A rear camera sits in the top center of the back of phone, directly above a circular fingerprint sensor.
At the bottom there's a monochromatic LG logo.
The finish is an attractive platinum that resists scratches and smudges.
Durability is questionable.
The phone feels thin and rigid and LG doesn't disclose if it uses strengthened glass.
There's also no IP rating, so your best bet is to invest in a protective case.
Audio, Call, and Network Quality
The Aristo 4+ is available through T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile.
It supports LTE bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/12/13/20/25/26/48/41/66/71.
We tested the Aristo 4+ in downtown Manhattan and saw average speeds of just 7.8Mbps down and 14.1 up.
While these numbers are disappointing, they're likely due to T-Mobile's network, as we've encountered similar speeds when testing other handsets over the last few months.
Call quality is much stronger.
With an 81dB peak earpiece volume, it's easy to hear calls in most environments.
Noise cancellation is decent, though we were able to hear background construction noise from time to time on test calls.
Outside of calls, general audio quality is mediocre.
Peak speaker volume clocked in at 84dB.
At higher volumes the sound becomes tinny, while lower volumes sound flat.
Fortunately, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.0 if you want better audio.
The Aristo 4+ supports 2.5GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi.
Surprisingly, it also has NFC for mobile payments.
Specs and Benchmarks
The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor and 2GB of RAM.
You'll notice delays when swiping between screens, opening apps, and even when simply unlocking the phone.
With more than a few apps open, things become dreadfully slow.
Needless to say, gaming is a no-go on the Aristo 4+.
See How We Test Phones
On PCMark 2.0, a suite of tests that emulate common smartphone tasks, the Aristo 4+ scored a lowly 3,824.
For comparison, the ZTE Blade 10 Prime scored nearly double at 7,527 and the Moto G7 Power came in at 6,107.
There's 16GB of storage in total, but less than 6GB is available out of the box.
That's not enough for even the most basic users, and almost insulting when you consider the Blade 10 Prime costs the same amount and comes with 64GB.
You can add up to 2TB of additional storage with a microSD card, but it's worth mentioning you can't install many apps on external media.
The Aristo 4+ packs a 2,890mAh battery.
We managed to squeeze out just 5 hours and 18 minutes in our battery drain test, which streams high-definition video over Wi-Fi.
As mentioned earlier, the phone charges via a dated micro USB port, not the more modern USB-C connector.
Cameras
You'll find a 13MP sensor on the back of the phone and a 5MP lens on the front.
Unsurprisingly, both cameras fail to impress.
The rear sensor takes mediocre shots in daylight.
Almost all of our test shots were slightly blurred and a little noisy, thanks in part to a painfully slow shutter.
Low-light shots were worse, with details blurring beyond recognition.
The front-facing camera also performed poorly in all of our tests, with significant blurring in daylight, and simply unusable results in low light.
Software
The LG Aristo 4+ ships with Android 9 and a dated version of LG's custom UI overlay.
Icons, screen transitions, and the settings menu look much different than what you find on stock Android.
LG adds its own suite of productivity apps.
For the most part, these apps are extraneous and a poor substitute for those that already ship with Android.
Low-cost phones rarely get OS updates, and there's almost no chance the Aristo 4+ will get Android 10.
Security updates will likely be few and far between as well.
The last security update on our phone was from November 2019 and LG's track record with software updates is not good.
Conclusions
There are plenty of solid phones on the market for less than $200, but the LG Aristo 4+ isn't one of them.
The ZTE Blade 10 Prime is the best $150 phone you can buy right now, but it's only available on Visible.
For everyone else, the Moto G7 Power can be found for under $200 and offers significant gains in performance over the Aristo 4+ all around.
And if you're willing to spend more, the Google Pixel 3a is the best Android phone you can get for under $400.
Pros
Inexpensive.
Good call quality.
Cons
Poor battery life, performance, and cameras.
Little available storage.
The Bottom Line
Though it only costs $150, LG's Aristo 4+ phone offers a disappointing experience all around.
