In MetroPCS & T-Mobile prepaid phones lineup, Aristo is the entry-level series and K Series is a level higher. However, as K20 Plus is a 2016 phone and Aristo 3 and 4 are released much later they are able to match it up in specs and features.
Let’s check out which one is the best android smartphone for you among these 3 as of now.
Let’s begin the comparison starting with the differences between the 3 and later on, we’ll look at the features which are common between the 3.
Difference between LG K20 Plus, Aristo 3 (Plus) & Aristo 4 Plus
1. Release Date & Price
| PRICE & RELEASE DATE | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Number | MP260/TP260 | LMX220MA | LMX320TA |
| Release Date | December 2016 | January 2019 | September 2019 |
| Current Price | Around $90 | Around $65 | Around $75 |
Aristo 4 Plus is the latest entrant in the Aristo Series and is released along with K40 with a few months difference. Aristo 3 came with LG K30 which is the successor to K20 Plus.
Thus, Aristo 3, as well as Aristo 4 Plus, are newer devices and may beat K20 Plus in comparison. Let’s find it out in the tables below.
Build & Design
| BUILD & DESIGN | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 149.9 x 76.2 x 7.6 mm (5.9” x 3.0” x 0.3” inches) | 148.6 x 75.1 x 7.8 mm (5.85” x 2.96” x 0.31”) | 147.3 x 73.6 x 7.6 mm (5.8” x 2.9” x 0.3”) |
| Weight | 5.0 oz (141.7 g) | 4.94 oz (140 g) | 4.71 oz (133.5 g) |
| Removable Battery | ✔ | ✔ | ✖ |
Among the 3, Aristo 4 Plus is the best-looking device. Even though its made up of plastic, it gives the feel of metal with its shiny surface.
Aristo 4 Plus is very compact in size even with a bigger screen, thanks to its 18:9 aspect ratio. You can check the dimensions of Aristo 3 Plus & Aristo 4 Plus in the above table. Even with almost the same dimensions as Aristo 3, we get a bigger screen on LG Aristo 4 Plus.
Both Aristo 3 (Plus) & K20 Plus have a removable battery. Aristo 4 Plus comes with a non-removable battery.
3. Display
| SCREEN / DISPLAY | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Size | 5.3 inches | 5 inches | 5.45 inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 | 16:9 | 18:9 |
| Screen Resolution/Wallpaper Size | 1280 x 720 pixels | 1280 x 720 pixels | 1440 x 720 pixels |
| Gorilla Glass/Glass Screen Protection | Panda Glass / Gorilla Glass 3 (T-Mobile variant) | ✖ | Panda King |
| Contoured / Curved Edge / 2.5D Glass | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
| Pixel Density | 277 ppi | 294 ppi | 282 ppi |
The display on the 3 phones is different. K20 Plus has a 5.3 inches HD display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Aristo 3 & Aristo 3 Plus have a smaller 5-inch screen with the same screen resolution and aspect ratio as K20 Plus.
Aristo 4 Plus comes with the latest 18:9 aspect ratio screen which offers more screen estate in less space. Aristo 4 Plus has a 5.45 inches taller display with lesser bezels as compared to K20 Plus and Aristo 3 (Plus).
K20 Plus has 2.5D curved glass and its T-Mobile variant comes with Gorilla Glass 3 or Panda Glass. Aristo 4 Plus has Panda King Glass Screen protection.
There is no kind of screen protection on Aristo 3 as well as Aristo 3 Plus.
4. Software and Additional Features
| SOFTWARE & ADDITIONAL FEATURES | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android Version | Android 7.0 Nougat | Android 8.1 Oreo | Android 9.0 Pie |
| LG UI Version | LG UX 5.0 | LG UX 7.0 | LG UX 7.0 |
| Smart Cleaning | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
| Hardware Testing | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
Belonging to different generation the Android version differs between the 3 phones as well. While K20 Plus is still on Android Nougat 7.0, Aristo 4 Plus comes with the recent Android Pie 9.0 update.
LG Aristo and Aristo 3 Plus have Android Oreo 8.1.
K20 Plus also has an older LG UI (LG UX 5.0 vs UX 7.0). Even though the hardware is the same on the 3 phones, K20 Plus feels laggy in comparison.
The additional features owing to the newer android firmware on Aristo 3 & Aristo 4 Plus are 3D virtual surround sound via headphones, Smart Cleaning for ROM & RAM management, Hardware testing to test Wifi, GPS, Bluetooth & Sensors.
5. Connectivity, Storage & Sensors
| CONNECTIVITY, STORAGE & SENSORS | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Mirroring / Miracast | ✔ , After Rooting | Only via Chromecast | Only via Chromecast |
| Internal Storage/Memory/ROM | 32 GB ( Usable up to 23.21 GB) | 16 GB (Usable up to 9.2 GB) | 16 GB (Usable up to 8 GB) |
| Fingerprint Sensor | ✔ | Only on Aristo 3 Plus | ✔ |
As K20 Plus belongs to a higher range as compared to Aristo Series, the internal storage space is 32 GB and compared to 16 GB on Aristo 3 Plus and Aristo 4 Plus.
K20 Plus also comes with a Fingerprint sensor that can found on Aristo 3 Plus but is missing from Aristo 3 & Aristo Plus.
Fingerprint Sensor is the only feature that differentiates Aristo 3 and Aristo 3 Plus. Aristo 3 Plus also has Face Unlock but that can be enabled on Aristo 3 as well via Smart Lock.
For Screen Mirroring we need the “Cast” option as found in Motorola phones. This feature is missing from all 3 phones. However, it can be enabled on LG K20 Plus by flashing a Lineage OS Custom ROM.
As Aristo 3 (Plus) and Aristo 4 Plus cannot be rooted, we cannot get Cast option on these phones. The only way to mirror screen on TV can be via Google Chromecast which uses Google Home (app) for Screen Mirroring.
6. Benchmark
| BENCHMARK | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antutu Benchmark Score | 50778 | 62474 | 59644 |
| Geekbench Scores | Single-Core Score - 608 Multi-Core Score - 1607 | Single-Core Score - 606 Multi-Core Score - 2671 | Single-Core Score - 661 Multi-Core Score - 1884 |
The first screenshots belong to K20 Plus, then Aristo 3 and the last one is the Antutu Benchmark score of LG Aristo 4 Plus.
The Geekbench scores are in the same order as well.
LG K20 Plus, Aristo 3 (Plus) & Aristo 4 Plus share the same hardware yet the Antutu Benchmark score of K20 Plus is much lesser as compared to Aristo 3 (Plus) and Aristo 4 Plus. You can check the benchmark scores in the above table and screenshot.
7. Camera
| CAMERA | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| REAR | |||
| Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Manual Mode / Controls | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
| FRONT | |||
| Portrait Mode with blurred background | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
Even though all 3 phones have 13 MP cameras the Camera UI is little different with more features on Aristo 3 (Plus) and Aristo 4 Plus.
In Aristo 3 & 4 Plus Camera we get Manual Mode which allows Manual Focus and ISO sensitivity control. Moreover, they support PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus) and Portrait Mode ( with blurred background).
The picture quality is above average on all 3 phones. The low light photos are grainy on either of them.
8. Battery
| BATTERY | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 2700 mAh | 2500 mAh | 2890 mAh |
| Battery Life / Talk Time | Up to 14 hrs | Up to 17 hrs | Up to 11 hrs |
| Standby Time | Up to 17 Days | Up to 14 days & 8 hrs | Up to 26 days & 16 hrs |
LG Aristo 4 Plus has the highest capacity battery among the 3. As it also comes with a bigger screen, the battery life would be compensated. You can check the approx battery life/talk time figures in the above table.
9. Root Status
| Root & Custom ROM Status | LG K20 Plus | LG Aristo 3 (Plus) | LG Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Compatible | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
| Bootloader Unlock Compatible | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
| Custom Rom Available | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
As discussed before, only K20 Plus can be rooted among the 3. It has an unlockable bootloader which makes it rootable. LG has started locking the bootloader with no provision to unlock it.
K20 Plus also supports Custom ROM. We can install Lineage OS, AICP, Resurrection Remix & Incipient OS on K20 Plus.
Similarities between LG K20 Plus, Aristo 3 (Plus) & Aristo 4+
| Similarities between the 3 | LG K20 Plus, Aristo 3 (Plus) & Aristo 4 Plus |
|---|---|
| BUILD & DESIGN | |
| Body Material | Plastic |
| Memory Card Slot/Expandable Memory | Up to 2 TB |
| Waterproof/Water-Resistant | ✖ |
| DISPLAY | |
| Display Type/Technology | IPS LCD |
| NETWORK | |
| Sim Size/Type | Nano |
| GSM/CDMA | GSM |
| GSM Unlock Status | Locked |
| Wifi Calling | ✔ |
| VoLTE | ✔ |
| SENSORS | |
| Accelerometer | ✔ |
| Gyroscope/VR Compatibility | ✔ |
| Magnetometer/Digital Compass | ✔ |
| Ambient Light Sensor | ✔ |
| Proximity Sensor | ✔ |
| CONNECTIVITY | |
| USB | Micro USB 2.0 |
| USB OTG | ✔ |
| Bluetooth | ✔ |
| Wifi | ✔ |
| Wifi Tethering | ✔ |
| GPS | ✔ |
| MHL / Slimport / HDMI Compatible | ✖ |
| NFC / Android Pay / Android Beam | ✖ |
| IR Blaster / TV Remote | ✖ |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | |
| FM Radio / NextRadio | ✔ |
| LED Notification Light | ✖ |
| Handwriting / Stylus Support | ✖ |
| Quick Charge / Fast Charging | ✖ |
| Wireless Charging / Qi-enabled | ✖ |
| MEMORY/STORAGE | |
| Expandable Memory | ✔ |
| Maximum SD card capacity / SD card size | Up to 2 TB |
| HARDWARE | |
| Processor/CPU | 1.4 GHz Quad-Core |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Chipset | 28nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 |
| GPU | Adreno 308 |
| SOFTWARE | |
| Facial Recognition for screen unlocking / Face Unlock | ✔ |
| Flashlight | ✔ |
| Google Assistant | ✔ |
| Multi-Window / Split Screen | ✔ |
| CAMERA SPECS & Features | |
| REAR | |
| Image Resolution / Megapixels | 13 MP |
| Autofocus | ✔ |
| Flash | Single LED Flash |
| Zoom | Up to 4x, Digital |
| Video Resolution | 1080p @ 30 fps |
| HDR | ✔ |
| Face Detection | ✔ |
| Slow Motion | ✖ |
| Time Lapse | ✖ |
| Video Stabilization | ✖ |
| FRONT | |
| Image Resolution / Megapixels | 5 MP |
| Selfie Flash | ✖ |
| Video Resolution | 1080p @ 30 fps |
The above is the table of similarities between the 3 phones i.e K20 Plus, Aristo 3 (Plus) and Aristo 4 Plus. Using the above table we also get to know those features which are missing from all 3 phones.
CONCLUSION
K20 Plus has become outdated and can be best replaced with an LG K40. However, if you’re low on the budget then Aristo 4 Plus can do the needful. Aristo and Aristo 3 Plus are no more attractive with the onset of Aristo 4+
For queries & feedback, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading