There are 3 variants of LG K20 based on different carriers. LG K20 belongs to AT&T, LG K20 V is from Verizon and K20 Plus is available with T-Mobile & MetroPCS. Mostly they are the same with a few differences. We are going to point out the differences and similarities between the 3.
First of all, Let’s check out the differences between the 3.
What’s the Difference between LG K20, LG K20 Plus & K20 V
1. Price & Release Date – LG K20 vs K20 Plus vs K20 v
| PRICE & RELEASE DATE | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Number | M255 | MP260/TP260 | VS501 |
| Release Date | August 2017 | December 2016 | March 2017 |
| Current Price | Around $70 | Around $90 | Around $80 |
All the 3 variants of K20 released within a span of 6 months. First came LG K20 Plus in December 2017, then K20 v and finally K20 in August 2017.
K20 from AT&T is the most trimmed down version among the 3. It currently sells for around $70 (New phone) at eBay.com
K20 v (Verizon) and K20 Plus (MetroPCS / T-Mobile) sells at a little higher price.
2. Build & Design – LG K20 Plus vs K20 vs K20 v
| BUILD & DESIGN | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |
The 3 phones are almost identical with slight variation in weight and dimensions. You can check the weight and dimension of each phone in the above table.
3. Display & Camera – LG K20 v vs K20 Plus vs K20
| DISPLAY & CAMERA | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Technology/Type | TFT LCD | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Gorilla Glass/Glass Screen Protection | ✖ | Panda Glass (T-Mobile Variant) | Panda Glass |
| Rear Camera Image Resolution | 8 MP | 13 MP | 13 MP |
K20 from AT&T has a TFT LCD display with no Glass Screen Protection. K20 Plus MetroPCS has an IPS display but lacks Gorilla Glass.
K20 v and K20 T-Mobile have IPS display as well as Glass screen protection. T-Mobile K20 Plus comes either with Panda or Gorilla Glass 3. LG K20 v from Verzion comes with “Panda King” Glass screen protection.
K20 Plus and K20 v have 13 MP camera. The camera is degraded on K20 AT&T. It has an 8 MP camera.
4. Network & Connectivity – LG K20 Plus vs K20 vs K20 v
| NETWORK & CONNECTIVITY | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSM/CDMA | GSM | GSM | CDMA + GSM |
| Carrier | AT&T | T-Mobile/MetroPCS | Verizon |
| Wifi Tethering | Only on AT&T network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Screen Mirroring / Miracast | Only via Chromecast | ✔ | Only via Chromecast |
K20 & K20 v are GSM phones and cannot work on CDMA networks even after unlocking. Verizon’s K20 v is a CDMA + GSM phone which can work on either of the 2 networks.
Similar to other AT&T phones, the Mobile hotspot on K20 works only on the AT&T network. Even after unlocking the phone you cannot use Wifi tethering with other GSM networks such as Straight Talk, MetroPCS, T-Mobile, Cricket, etc.
There is no “Cast” option on the 3 variants of LG K20. As a result, Screen Mirroring can be done using Chromecast only as it uses the Google Home app for Mirroring.
After flashing the Lineage OS custom ROM on K20 Plus, we can use the Cast option and mirror the K20 Plus screen on TV using Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Microsoft Wireless Adapter, Chromecast, etc.
5. Hardware & Storage – LG K20 vs K20 Plus vs K20 v
| HARDWARE & STORAGE | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Storage/Memory/ROM | 16 GB (usable up to 8.9 GB) | 32 GB ( usable up to 23.21 GB) | 16 GB (usable up to 8.9 GB) |
| RAM | 1.5 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
Only K20 Plus comes with 32 GB of internal storage. Maybe the “Plus” represents the extra storage space on K20 Plus.
K20 and K20 v have 16 GB internal storage out of which hardly 9 GB is the usable storage space. However, on K20 & K20 v you can move apps to SD card and set it as the default storage space.
While K20 v and K20 Plus have 2 GB RAM, the AT&T variant has been stripped down to 1.5 GB RAM only.
6. Battery – LG K20 Plus vs K20 vs K20 v
| BATTERY | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 2800 mAh | 2700 mAh | 2800 mAh |
| Battery Life/Talk Time | Up to 14 hrs | Up to 14 hrs | Up to 31 hrs |
| Standby Time | Up to 14 days & 14 hrs | Up to 17 days | Up to 12 days & 12 hrs |
The battery capacity of K20 Plus is 2700 mAh while that of K20 & K20 v is 2800 mAh. The approximate battery life of each phone as stated by the manufacturer can be checked in the above table.
The real-world battery life figures would surely differ.
7. Root Status – LG K20 vs K20 Plus vs K20 v
| Root & Custom ROM Status | LG K20 | LG K20 Plus | LG K20 v |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Compatible | ✖ | ✔ | ✖ |
| Bootloader Unlock Compatible | ✖ | ✔ | ✖ |
| Custom ROM Availability | ✖ | ✔ | ✖ |
Only K20 Plus has an unlockable bootloader among the 3. Thus, only K20 Plus can be rooted. K20 & K20 v have locked bootloader with no provision for unlocking as of now.
K20 Plus can even have Custom ROMs such as Lineage OS, AICP, Resurrection Remix & Incipient OS.
Similarities between LG K20, LG K20 Plus & K20 v
| Similarities between the 3 | LG K20, K20 Plus & K20 v |
|---|---|
| BUILD & DESIGN | |
| Color | Black |
| Body Material | Plastic |
| Removable Battery | ✔ |
| Memory Card Slot/Expandable Memory | Up to 2 TB |
| Waterproof | ✖ |
| DISPLAY | |
| Screen Size | 5.3 inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Screen Resolution/Wallpaper Size | 1280 x 720 pixels |
| Contoured/Curved Edge/Arc Glass | Yes |
| Pixel Density | 277 ppi |
| NETWORK | |
| Sim Size/Type | Nano |
| GSM Unlock Status | Locked |
| SENSORS | |
| Accelerometer | ✔ |
| Gyroscope/VR Compatibility | ✔ |
| Magnetometer/Digital Compass | ✔ |
| Fingerprint Sensor | ✔ |
| Ambient Light Sensor | ✔ |
| Proximity Sensor | ✔ |
| CONNECTIVITY | |
| USB | Micro USB 2.0 |
| USB OTG | ✔ |
| Wifi | ✔ |
| GPS | ✔ |
| MHL/Slimport/HDMI Compatible | ✖ |
| NFC/Android Pay/Android Beam | ✖ |
| IR Blaster/TV Remote | ✖ |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | |
| Notification LED Light | ✖ |
| Handwriting/Stylus Support | ✖ |
| Quick Charge/Fast Charging | ✖ |
| Wireless Charging/Qi-enabled | ✖ |
| 3D Virtual Surround Sound | ✖ |
| MEMORY/STORAGE | |
| Expandable Memory | ✔ |
| Maximum SD card capacity/SD card size | Up to 256 GB |
| HARDWARE | |
| Processor/CPU | 1.4 Ghz Quad Core |
| Chipset | 28 nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 |
| GPU | Adreno 308 |
| SOFTWARE | |
| Android Version | Android 7.0 Nougat |
| User Interface | LG UX 5.0 |
| Face Recognition / Face Unlock | Yes, via Smart Lock |
| Flashlight | ✔ |
| Google Assistant | ✔ |
| Multi-Window / Split Screen | ✔ |
| CAMERA | |
| REAR | |
| Autofocus | ✔ |
| Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) | ✖ |
| Flash | Single LED Flash |
| Zoom | Up to 4x, Digital Zoom |
| Video Resolution | 1080p @ 30 fps |
| HDR | ✔ |
| Face Detection | ✔ |
| Slow Motion | ✖ |
| Time Lapse | ✖ |
| Manual Controls | ✖ |
| Video Stabilization | ✖ |
| FRONT | |
| Image Resolution/Megapixels | 5 MP |
| Selfie Flash | ✖ |
| Video | 1080p @ 30 fps |
The above table shows the similarities between the 3. It would hardly matter as the 3 phones are almost the same so most of the features are common between them. You can use the above table to check out those features which are missing from all of them.
CONCLUSION
From the above comparison, we realized that K20 Plus and K20 v are almost identical with the only difference being the internal storage space and network technology (GSM vs CDMA).
The AT&T K20 is the lowest specced K20 variant with cheaper LCD (TFT vs IPS), no Glass Screen Protection, 8MP camera (vs 13MP), less storage space (16GB vs 32GB), and a lesser amount of RAM (1.5 GB vs 2 GB).
So among the 3, K20 Plus is the best choice and its rootable as well as specced higher than the rest of the two.
For feedback and suggestions, please leave a comment below.
My at&t k20 has nfc