Recently, I received the LG Lancet to review. It’s LG’s first attempt at a Windows Phone since Windows Phone 7. Well, let’s just say it’s LG’s first attempt at a modern Windows Phone.

So far, I’ve been pretty impressed with the LG Lancet. My first instinct was to compare it to the Microsoft Lumia 735. After all, those are Verizon’s two mid-range Windows Phones. As it turns out, the LG Lancet blows away the Lumia 735 in benchmarks, but not much else. Battery tests weren’t great, nor was the camera, which might not have been fair, considering how stellar the Lumia 735 camera is (first phone to have an f/1.9 aperture. That’s right, Galaxy S6 fans).

It occurred to me that the LG Lancet might fit better in the low end category, something like a Moto E would. Like the LG Lancet, the Moto E has a Snapdragon 410 processor, but has other low end features, such as a qHD display and a 0.3 MP front camera.

While I will be comparing the LG Lancet to the Moto E next week, I wanted to compare it to another non-Lumia Windows Phone in the same price range, the Yezz Billy 4.7.

The Yezz Billy 4.7 is a Windows Phone that simply blew me away. For $99, the Yezz Billy 4.7 is, in my opinion, one of the best Windows Phones on the market, despite using the low end Snapdragon 200 processor.

The Yezz Billy 4.7 is super thin and super light, making it super comfortable to hold and to carry. The display is super awesome, not just because it’s 4.7″ 720p, coming in at 312 ppi. It’s because Windows Phone scales differently on the Yezz Billy 4.7. Everything is smaller and therefore neater and cleaner.

Another thing that blew me away with the Yezz Billy 4.7 is that they didn’t cut corners, as many companies do with budget phones. The Yezz Billy 4.7 comes with three removable backs, headphones, and screen protectors.

LG Lancet vs Yezz Billy 4.7: Specs

	LG Lancet	Yezz Billy 4.7
CPU	1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 410	1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 200
GPU	Adreno 306	Adreno 302
Display	4.5″, 480p, 218 ppi, IPS LCD	4.7″, 720p, 312 ppi, IPS LCD
Body	129.80×64.80×10.70 mm, 143 g	135.8×67.2×7.2 mm, 120 g
Camera	8 MP, 3264×2448, 0.3 MP Front	8 MP, 3264×2448, 2 MP Front
Video	1080p - 30 fps, Front - VGA	480p - 30 fps, Front 480p - 30 fps
Aperture	f/2.7	f/2.4
Storage	8 GB, Expandable to 128 GB	8 GB, Expandable to 128 GB
RAM	1 GB	1 GB
Battery	2100 mAh	1780 mAh
Price	$120	$99.99

There are obvious advantages and disadvantages to each device here. The LG Lancet has a 64 bit processor. Windows Phone 8.1 doesn’t support 64 bit processors, so it’s running at 32 bit. When Windows 10 Mobile ships, it will receive a performance improvement.

So we have a better CPU as well as a better GPU on the Lancet. Take a better GPU and combine that with a lower resolution display and that equals better performance. The disadvantage there is the lower resolution display. As I mentioned earlier, I might even say that the Yezz Billy 4.7 has the best display of any Windows Phone just for the way it scales. Everything is smaller and therefore cleaner and neater. It really looks great. Keep in mind that 312 ppi is just shy of Retina, so it doesn’t look pixelated.

Here, take a look:

You also have a better camera on the Yezz Billy 4.7 with a larger aperture on the rear camera and a higher resolution front camera; however, you have a larger battery on the LG Lancet.

One more thing, as Apple would say. The Yezz Billy 4.7 is super thin and super light. People often underestimate how important that is in a phone, how important it is for the phone to be comfortable to carry and to hold. If you don’t believe me, try carrying around a Nokia Lumia 1320 for a week.

LG Lancet vs Yezz Billy 4.7: Rear Camera

Both the LG Lancet and the Yezz Billy 4.7 run Windows Phone 8.1 Update 2; however, for the first time, that doesn’t mean anything when comparing cameras. This is the first time I’ve compared two Windows Phones where neither of them are Lumias. It’s very exciting. If one were a Lumia, Update 2 might mean it’s using Lumia Camera 5.

The LG Lancet uses LG Camera. I always find it interesting to try out non-Lumia Camera apps, such as HTC Camera, Samsung Camera (ATIV Camera?), and now LG Camera. While LG has made their own camera app, Yezz has not, so they use the stock Camera app that is on all Windows Phones.

Now, the stock Camera app in Windows Phone 8.1 is pretty terrible. This is going to change in Windows 10 Mobile, since the stock Camera app is more like Lumia Camera. I am expecting the quality of the photos taken with the Yezz Billy 4.7 to increase.

Both the LG Lancet and the Yezz Billy 4.7 have the same resolution; however, the Yezz Billy 4.7 has a larger aperture, which means better low light performance. The LG Lancet has a very small aperture, coming in at f/2.7, which is extremely small for a phone.

LG Lancet	Yezz Billy 4.7

As predicted, the Yezz Billy 4.7 performs better in low light. Also, I notice that the colors are a bit off on the LG Lancet, except when the flash is used at a close distance, in which case the colors on the Yezz Billy 4.7 are a bit off.

The LG Lancet comes in a bit washed out. Some people get confused in a case like this thinking that the Yezz Billy 4.7 is oversaturated. It’s not.

Let’s take a look at some key examples:

LG Lancet - Yezz Billy 4.7

LG Lancet - Yezz Billy 4.7

Another thing that I noticed is that the LG Lancet doesn’t focus as well. I always thought that the Yezz Billy 4.7 didn’t focus well due to the stock Camera app; however, the LG Lancet is on another level. Again, the stock Windows 10 Mobile Camera app should be a massive improvement for both of these devices.

LG Lancet vs Yezz Billy 4.7: Front Camera

The Yezz Billy 4.7 has a better front camera than the LG Lancet. This is a fact. You can tell before you even look at the photos because the LG Lancet has a 0.3 MP front camera, which is about 480p.

The LG Lancet isn’t the first smart phone I’ve seen with a 0.3 MP front camera. There’s the Microsoft Lumia 435, the Moto E, etc. Generally, these front cameras aren’t made for taking selfies. They’re there so you can use Skype, even on a low priced device.

We’re going to compare selfies anyway.

Obviously, the Yezz Billy 4.7’s front camera isn’t perfect, but it’s miles ahead of the LG Lancet.

LG Lancet - Yezz Billy 4.7

LG Lancet vs Yezz Billy 4.7: Benchmarks

I think we know what’s going to happen here. The LG Lancet will win on both battery and CPU benchmarks, but let’s have a look anyway.

First up is a battery test, done in WP Bench.

LG Lancet	Yezz Billy 4.7

As we can see, neither of them have particularly great batteries; however, the LG Lancet does get better battery life.

Next up is AnTuTu benchmarks.

As we can see, despite having a much worse camera, there are certainly some benefits to the LG Lancet. The Yezz Billy 4.7 has a smaller battery with a higher resolution display, which means the LG Lancet gets better battery life. The LG Lancet has the better processor and better GPU with a lower resolution display, which means the LG Lancet gets better performance.

LG Lancet vs Yezz Billy 4.7: Conclusion

As we can see, both the Yezz Billy 4.7 and the LG Lancet have their advantages and disadvantages. They’re both great phones in their own way.

The Yezz Billy 4.7 certainly has both a better front camera dna a better rear camera. The big advantage of the Yezz Billy 4.7 is the form factor. It’s so thin and light that when you hold it, it actually feels like you’re holding a demo unit that doesn’t actually have anything inside of it. Also, it has a much better display that scales differently.

The advantage to the LG Lancet is the performance. It scored 14,205 in AnTuTu, so let’s put that score in perspective. Obviously, the Lumia Icon, 930, and 1520 will score better. Those get closer to 22,000. Then you can throw in HTC’s and Samsung’s Windows Phone flagships, the HTC One M8 and the ATIV SE, respectively. That means that if we were to judge a Windows Phone simply by the AnTuTu benchmark score, the LG Lancet is the SIXTH BEST WINDOWS PHONE that exists.