The LG Q6 is yet another unlocked midrange phone in a very crowded market.
Available from Amazon for $299.99 or subsidized with ads for Prime customers for $249.99, the Q6 manages to stand out thanks to its attractive tall and narrow form factor that looks like more costly flagships, including LG's own G7.
In addition to a sharp 18:9 screen, the Q6 has a drop-resistant build and capable overall performance for the price, making it a solid buy if you like the design.
Design, Display, and Features
The Q6 is made of plastic and metal, with a shiny polycarbonate back panel that meets a metal band running along the sides.
The 18:9 form factor combined with a 5.5-inch display results in dimensions of 5.6 by 2.7 by 0.3 inches (HWD), shorter and thinner than the 5.2-inch Moto G5 Plus (6.1 by 2.9 by 0.3 inches).
It's also lighter at 5.3 ounces (compared with the G5 Plus' 5.9 ounces), making it easier to use with one hand and fit in your pocket.
The screen is a sharp 5.5-inch, 2,160-by-1,080 IPS panel with a dense 442 pixels per inch (ppi), making it sharper than the aforementioned 5.2-inch G5 Plus (424ppi) and the 5.5-inch LG X Charge (267ppi).
Text and graphics look crisp and viewing angles are good.
Color reproduction is decent, but feels a little off in some places, with darker blues and greens looking cloudy, like they're covered by a film.
Maximum screen brightness could be higher as well, as the panel washes out in direct sunlight, making it hard to read.
The power button is on the right, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB charging port are on the bottom, and a pair of clicky volume buttons are on the left, along with a SIM/microSD card slot that worked fine with a 256GB card.
You might notice there isn't a fingerprint sensor, a feature that's become common even among less expensive phones.
A military standard 810G rating means the Q6 is drop resistant.
It was able to handle multiple drops onto the rubberized floor in PC Labs, as well as on a wooden deck.
This kind of durability is rare to find among midrange phones, making the Q6 an especially strong choice for butterfingers.
It isn't waterproof, but it can generally stand up to abuse better than most phones and I'd feel comfortable using it without a case.
Network Performance and Connectivity
As with most unlocked phones, the LG Q6 is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile, but not Sprint or Verizon.
It supports LTE bands 2/4/5/12 for decent connectivity on both carriers.
We tested the phone on T-Mobile and recorded average performance in midtown Manhattan with 10.9Mbps down and 22.7Mbps up, lopsided numbers we've seen recently on other phones in the same area due to heavy network congestion.
Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands is supported, along with Bluetooth 4.2 for audio and NFC for mobile payments.
HD voice and Wi-Fi calling are also present, though the latter is only available for T-Mobile users.
Call quality is generally good.
Transmissions are clear and voices come across naturally.
Noise cancellation was effective at blotting out traffic and construction noise in testing, but wind caused skipping and crackling.
Earpiece volume is fine for indoors, but a little low for outside.
Processor, Battery, and Camera
The Q6 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor clocked at 1.4GHz and 3GB of RAM.
In the PCMark benchmark, which measures a variety of tasks like web browsing and video editing, it scored 3,381, quite a bit lower than the G5 Plus, which uses a Snapdragon 625 processor (4,931), though just ahead of the MediaTek-powered X Charge (3,122).
While the Q6 isn't slow, it's not snappy either, and you'll notice instances of sluggishness when multitasking and launching new apps.
It eked out a mere 10fps on the GFXBench T-Rex on-screen test, less than half of what the G5 Plus mustered (22fps).
As you might expect, the Q6 isn't much of a gaming phone.
It can run PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds on low graphics settings, but not particularly well.
See How We Test Cell Phones
Battery life is solid, at 6 hours, 45 minutes of streaming full-screen video over LTE at maximum screen brightness.
It's no match for the LG X Charge (11 hours, 8 minutes), but it comes close enough to the G5 Plus (7 hours, 45 minutes).
It doesn't support any form of fast charging, but it should manage a full day of normal use without a problem.
Camera quality is par for the course.
The 13-megapixel rear camera is your average, no-frills sensor in good lighting.
It's sharp (bordering on oversharpened) and can record relatively stable 1080p video at 30fps.
Autofocus is responsive in good lighting, but autoexposure sometimes struggles to handle bright sunlight, resulting in the background being washed out or the picture getting a general haziness.
Darker or indoor settings are a challenge, often resulting in blurry or muddy images.
The 5-megapixel front camera takes crisp selfies.
It has the added advantage of being able to take wide-angle shots, letting you cram in multiple people or capture more background scenery.
Software
The Q6 comes running Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
LG's custom UI layer makes several visual changes to the home screen, app icons, notification shade, and menus.
Out of the box, apps are splashed across the home screen and the app drawer is removed, but that's easy to change in the Settings menu.
We tested the Prime-exclusive model of the Q6 subsidized by Amazon advertising.
That means you get ads on the lock screen, mostly in the form of push notifications (Amazon has gotten rid of full-screen lock screen ads, which is good).
In addition, a full suite of Amazon apps comes preinstalled, along with Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram, LG SmartWorld, and QuickMemo+.
There's also an Amazon widget on the home screen.
The widget can be removed, but the apps cannot, leaving you with 17GB of available storage out of 32GB.
A microSD card can give you more space for photos and video if you need it.
Conclusions
The LG Q6 offers generally solid performance in a sleek and durable form factor for a reasonable price, whether you buy it using Amazon Prime or not.
And it's even more alluring with the loss of loss of Huawei and ZTE in the US, two very strong players in the unlocked market. But while the Q6 might currently be sitting pretty among Amazon's lineup, it's worth keeping in mind that Motorola's recently announced E5 Play, E6 Plus, G6, and G6 Play are all right around the corner, boasting similar or better specs and features, particularly in the form of improved cameras, more comprehensive carrier compatibility, and more capacious batteries.
We don't have pricing details or availability on them yet, but if the E4 and G5 Plus are anything to go by, they could offer better bang for the buck if you're willing to wait.
Pros
View MoreThe Bottom Line
The LG Q6 brings the stylish tall-and-narrow form factor and a drop-resistant design to the unlocked phone market for an affordable price.
