Phablet stocking stuffers: iPhone 7 versus LG Stylo 3 Plus price/performance hardware comparison

[harry newton]

I just picked up a couple of $130 Costco LG Stylo 3 Plus phones as last-minute stocking stuffers, where I ran the following hardware-only comparison below.

I try to always only speak valid verifiable fact on Usenet.

Did I do a fair hardware comparison below of the two stocking stuffers? If not, what hardware spec comparison did I miss?

(NOTE: It's not fair to iOS to perform an app functionality comparison because there are scores of app functionalities on Android all by its itty bitty self not on iOS and none on iOS not already on Android - so this is only about the hardware comparison because all iOS devices lose in an app-functionality comparison to almost any Android phone).

*HARDWARE COMPARISON OF STOCKING SUFFERS: iPhone 7 Plus vs Stylo 3 Plus:* Price: The Stylo was $130; while the iPhone is ~$670 (~five times more!) CPU: The Stylo has 8 cores; while the iPhone has only 4 CPU top speed: iPhone is 2.34GHz for 2 cores; Stylo is 1.4GHz for 4 cores CPU lower speed: iPhone is 1.1GHz for 2 cores; Stylo is 1.1GHz for 4 cores Storage: Both are 32GB Expandable: Stylo expands to 2TB; iPhone is missing this functionality Screen size: Stylo is 5.7 inches; iPhone is 5.5 inches Display type: Both are IPS LCD Pixel density: iPhone is 401ppi; Stylo is 386ppi Screen resolution: both are the same at full HD 1080x1920 pixels Main camera: Stylo rear camera is 13MP, while the iPhone 7 is 12MP Selfie camera: iPhone is 7MP with flash; Stylo is 5MP with flash Video: both are the same full HD at 1920x1080pixels at 30fps Wi-Fi: both are the same at 802.11 everything up to ac, dual band VoLTE: both are the same NFC: both have NFC Sensors: both have the same stuff Bands: both have what is needed for the T-Mobile carrier we often use Bluetooth: both are the same spec at version 4.2 Battery ease: Stylo is removable; while the iPhone 7 is not Battery capacity: Stylo is 3080mAh, while the iPhone 7 is 2900mAh but no RAM: iPhone 7 is 3GB while the Stylo is 2GB Fingerprint sensor: iPhone 7 is on front; Stylo is on the back SIM: Both are single nano SIM Network: Both seem to support the same networks Stylus: Stylo has a stylus; iPhone 7 is missing this functionality FM Radio: Stylo has an FM radio; iPhone 7 is missing this functionality Headphone: Stylo has a courageous jack; iPhone 7 is lost functionality Wordsize: Both are 64-bit

Did I miss an important hardware spec to compare the two phablets?

The specs seems similar but the price is a whopping 5X difference.

As stocking stuffers... Q: Which do you think, based on hardware, has better price:performance?

REFERENCES:

[harry newton]

I just picked up a couple of $130 Costco LG Stylo 3 Plus phones as last-minute stocking stuffers, where I ran the following hardware-only comparison below.

I try to always only speak valid verifiable fact on Usenet.

Did I do a fair hardware comparison below of the two stocking stuffers? If not, what hardware spec comparison did I miss?

(NOTE: It's not fair to iOS to perform an app functionality comparison because there are scores of app functionalities on Android all by its itty bitty self not on iOS and none on iOS not already on Android - so this is only about the hardware comparison because all iOS devices lose in an app-functionality comparison to almost any Android phone).

*HARDWARE COMPARISON OF STOCKING SUFFERS: iPhone 7 Plus vs Stylo 3 Plus:* Price: The Stylo was $130; while the iPhone is ~$670 (~five times more!) CPU: The Stylo has 8 cores; while the iPhone has only 4 CPU top speed: iPhone is 2.34GHz for 2 cores; Stylo is 1.4GHz for 4 cores CPU lower speed: iPhone is 1.1GHz for 2 cores; Stylo is 1.1GHz for 4 cores Storage: Both are 32GB Expandable: Stylo expands to 2TB; iPhone is missing this functionality Screen size: Stylo is 5.7 inches; iPhone is 5.5 inches Display type: Both are IPS LCD Pixel density: iPhone is 401ppi; Stylo is 386ppi Screen resolution: both are the same at full HD 1080x1920 pixels Main camera: Stylo rear camera is 13MP, while the iPhone 7 is 12MP Selfie camera: iPhone is 7MP with flash; Stylo is 5MP with flash Video: both are the same full HD at 1920x1080pixels at 30fps Wi-Fi: both are the same at 802.11 everything up to ac, dual band VoLTE: both are the same NFC: both have NFC Sensors: both have the same stuff Bands: both have what is needed for the T-Mobile carrier we often use Bluetooth: both are the same spec at version 4.2 Battery ease: Stylo is removable; while the iPhone 7 is not Battery capacity: Stylo is 3080mAh, while the iPhone 7 is 2900mAh but no RAM: iPhone 7 is 3GB while the Stylo is 2GB Fingerprint sensor: iPhone 7 is on front; Stylo is on the back SIM: Both are single nano SIM Network: Both seem to support the same networks Stylus: Stylo has a stylus; iPhone 7 is missing this functionality FM Radio: Stylo has an FM radio; iPhone 7 is missing this functionality Headphone: Stylo has a courageous jack; iPhone 7 is lost functionality Wordsize: Both are 64-bit

The specs seems similar but the price is a whopping 5X difference. Did I miss an important hardware spec to compare the two phablets?

As stocking stuffers... Q: Which do you think, based on hardware, has better price:performance?

REFERENCES:

[harry newton]

He who is harry newton said on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 17:48:20 +0000 (UTC):

Please cancel ... accidental duplicate ... please refer to other thread on this topic.

[nospam]

no, but you aren't interested in fair anything. you hate apple, so get the android phone.

unless of course, you just want to troll.

[Bob]

When buying smartphones, make sure they have the WPA2 KRACK patch available.

I got a couple 18-month-old Verizon branded HTC phones that the manufacturer no longer issues security patch updates so no more HTC phones for me.

AFAIK, Apple has patched the WPA2 KRACK vulnerability in their phones.

[harry newton]

He who is nospam said on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 13:19:35 -0500:

As you know, I own and have bought plenty of Apple and Android devices. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

And, as you well know, I very often give iPhones and iPads as gifts.\ For gifts, what matters is what the kids want, and how much that costs.

When giving stocking stuffers, the fundamental price-to-performance ratio is a key factor - because you want the most bang for your buck.

For your own personal phone, as I did with mine, I bought the best there was at the time it was made, and I've been happy ever since.

But for a stocking stuffer - you care more about price-to-performance. Hence why I ran the hardware comparison (I know the software already).

This is my first "phablet" as a gift, where I figured I'd put a few in the stockings as a last-minute gift - so I didn't spend a lot of time on the hardware comparison.

I'm thinking of picking up a few more of these phablets, but some of the kids I'll be giving them to may want Apple devices, so that's why I ran the hardware comparison just now.

What is missing or incorrect about the hardware comparison given already?

[trader_4]

You could do some research to find benchmarks that have been run on the two. The LG has more cores, but the iPhone has a much higher top speed. And they are different architectures and chipsets. How that pans out would show up in benchmarks. How much any difference matters though also depends on what you're going to do with it.

I had a ZTE Max XL that I bought for $100. Recently replaced it with an almost identical ZTE Blade Zmax, the big difference is that the latter has 32GB Flash instead of 16GB and runs on the TMobile network instead of Sprint. Both of those have 2GB RAM, 8 core processors running at 1.4Ghz. They sure work fine for me, IDK what I would do with more processor power or other features.

A lot of the Apple price is based on cult status. And they are lacking in many ways. For example, they give you a puny 5W charger with the older phones that take forever to charge. The new ones, I don't think they even give you a charger or cable. Meanwhile in the Android world most manufacturers are going with the Qualcom quickcharge spec, which is the same across many of those manufacturers. I can charge my ZTE from zero to full in just over an hour. Apple instead has their own fast charging in the latest models, but you have to buy their charger, it's not compatible with Android, etc. Why people put up with it, IDK.

The iPhone is probably faster in at least some benchmarks, but it sure isn't 5X as fast. For price performance, no question the LG is the better deal by far.

BTW, getting an unlocked phone for that price is a great deal. These carriers are getting away with murder with their locked phone scams. The govt went after them a couple years ago, to head them off, the industry came up with a voluntary solution instead. They came out with an agreement the carriers all bought into where they agree to clearly state the unlock policy, that they can't keep you locked for more than a year when the phone is paid for, that they will unlock it for you, etc. So, most people think that means they can get it unlocked, right? Not so fast. For example Sprint/Boost Mobile have new phones now where, as unbelievable as it sounds, there is no way to put in the unlock code! So, you can meet the one year on the network part of your agreement, go through customer service hell to get the unlock code and then find out that there is no way to get the phone to prompt you for it so you can put it in. Other phones it's a simple as putting a different carrier's sim in, which brings up the prompt. Those Sprint phones, there is no way to get the prompt. And Boost then tells customers that it's the other carrier that you want to move to, they're problem, to reprogram the phone. Which of course they can't do, because Sprint/Boost made the lock in the firmware.

Finally, I think people also find that even if it's unlocked, you still can't take it anywhere. For example, those ZTEs that are sold by these carriers have the Qualcomm chipset that supports GSM and CDMA. It's right in the phone specs. But I think the carriers that sell them have the non-needed versions disabled in firmware. So, if you buy it on Sprint, you'll never get it to work on a GSM network, even though the phone specs show that it's capable. They cleverly cover themselves by saying things like "Even if unlocked, there is no guarantee it will work on another network and even if it does, all features may not be available, etc. If you buy a phone from a carrier, the only way to view it is that it's very likely permanently locked to being used on that carrier, unless you're a hacking genius. Which can be fine, especially if it's a $100 phone. But if I bought a $700 phone and found out I can't move it to another carrier, I'd be really pissed.

[trader_4]

MAybe we have different definitions of stocking stuffer. To me that means some low cost or moderate cost items that anyone can use. A cell phone, especially for the younger folks, would seem to be a poor choice. First, they all have them already. Second, it's a status symbol kind of thing and they want what they want. If they want an iPhone, they probably aren't going to be happy with a $130 LG. You need to make sure that whatever carrier they have will accept that phone because people don't want to or can't switch. Many, especially the majors, have a short list of what they will accept. Sprint for example was a bunch of iphones and a few motorolla G phones.

If I was going to give a cell phone as a gift, I'd be sure to know exactly what the requirements are for the person receiving it.

[The Real Bev]

Is the 'stylus' special, or just the ordinary one with the rubber tip that you can get in a variety of colors at the 99-Cents-Only store? They work really nicely for clumsy people with fat fingers.

[nospam]

except you don't know how to use any of them to their fullest potential (ios *or* android), even going so far to intentionally disable basic functionality.

if only you actually meant that.

you refuse to acknowledge any strength of apple or any weakness of android, and whenever anything is pointed out, you go off on a lunatic rant.

[trader_4]

I think the screens are capacitive responsive and the stylus is designed to work with it. You can buy them, I've heard of people making them, but AFAIK, in general you can't just use any stick, pointer, etc.

[rbowman]

You have hit on it. Apple fans, including kids swayed by their peers or Apple advertising, will accept nothing but Apple, regardless of the cost.

[nospam]

apple haters will continue hating, regardless of facts.

[micky]

The Stylo sure seems like a better buy for much less money.

Since this is the way most people express it, I would have let it go, except you compound it below. It may well be easier to convince you of the one below than this one, but here goes.

The iPhone is 5 times as much, but it is only 4 times more.

Or "it is more. 5 times as much."

The difference is 4x. If you subtract the lower from the higher to get the difference, and then divide by the lower, the answer is rougly 4.

[micky]

When you said special, it prompted me to ask if the stylo was a special sale, a loss leader, or anything like that, so that it overrepresented the price advantage of LG over iphone.

I once bought a PCJr that was iirc, well I can't really, maybe 200 dollars if you came with 20 proofs of purchase from the makers of Kleenex and other products. So I bought one, and they stopped selling them a week later. So that was there closeout price.

(Still, I got my money's worth. Used it for 9 years until I got a used, modified, and only partly restored to its original setup XT.I thought it would work when I got it home but I had to learn a couple things, I'm surprised I could find the things to learn.)

[harry newton]

He who is trader_4 said on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 10:52:30 -0800 (PST):

I have never bought a phablet before now, particularly one with a stylus, so it's a good question of whether the stylus is a commodity or if it has to be the one that is clipped into the phone.

This says a capacitive stylus is easy to make at home:

Certainly there is a mechanical fit that has to fit the Stylus 3 Plus, which, a quick google, shows the Stylo 3 Plus does NOT even fit a Stylo 3:

But the cost is about 10 bucks for it so it might not matter all that much:

[harry newton]

He who is trader_4 said on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 10:40:56 -0800 (PST):

These are meant to be second phones for the kids, which is why the price-to-performance is a factor - since I want to get the best bang for the buck.

I've had all three main US carriers (yes, I know there are 4) where I've pretty much talked most of the Silicon Valley based extended family into using T-Mobile - so for these phones - it's the T-Mobile carrier so the phone is technically a LG-TP450 (which is the T-Mobile variant at Costco).

I can put the T-Mobile SIM card into almost any GSM phone and it just works. In this hardware comparison, it seems that the GSM part of the hardware specs is the same for both phablets being compared.

I have plenty of iOS & Android devices, I've received plenty of both as gifts, and I've given plenty as gifts. It's a thing with our family. Here, for example, is a collection sitting in my office right now at this very moment where you see iPads with iPhones with Android phablets.

Since I have both Android & iOS devices, but since I have never bought a phablet before and since I may buy a few more today, I wanted to double check with all of you for a fair hardware comparison between the iPhone 7 Plus & Stylo 3 Plus.

What did you think of the hardware comparison? Did I get anything wrong or miss a key hardware-comparison factor?

[harry newton]

He who is nospam said on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 13:48:06 -0500:

Please try to stay on topic.

I have plenty of iOS & Android devices, I've received plenty of both as gifts, and I've given plenty as gifts. It's a thing with our family. Here, for example, is a collection sitting in my office right now at this very moment where you see iPads with iPhones with Android phablets.

Since I have both Android & iOS devices, but since I have never bought a phablet before and since I may buy a few more today, I wanted to double check with all of you for a fair hardware comparison between the iPhone 7 Plus & Stylo 3 Plus.

What did you think of the hardware comparison? Did I get anything wrong or miss a key hardware-comparison factor?

[harry newton]

He who is rbowman said on Sun, 24 Dec 2017 11:54:58 -0700:

While I have never bought a phablet before, it does seem that these LG Stylo 3 Plus phones I bought as last-minute stocking stuffers are one fifth the price of the equivalent iPhone 7 Plus based on the hardware specs.

Since I had only expected an equivalent iPhone to cost about double the price of an equivalent Android phone, I was amazed that these seemingly comparable devices are so vastly different in price.

For the price of one iPhone 7 Plus, I can give five equivalent Android phones, based on the hardware specs I listed in the OP.

Since that Android-to-iOS price-to-performance comparison seems too good to be true, I wanted to ask if I somehow got the hardware specs wrong, or maybe the price wrong on the iPhone (I already paid the $130 so I know that the price on the Android phablet is accurate).

Did I get the 5X price comparison correct? Is my hardware comparison correct?

If so, with respect only to hardware, would you consider the two phones to be essentially equivalent?

[nospam]

stop snipping to alter context and you'll see that i do.