April 25, 2016

New LG and Samsung Smartphones coming to Tracfone

Samsung Galaxy S6 and other New Android Phones on the Horizon for Tracfone

Below are some details from several new phones that will be coming to Tracfone in the near future. If you're unfamiliar with the TracfoneReviewer blog, take a look around, we share lots of information about Tracfone including reviews, news and promotional codes. 

new Tracfone smartphones
New Tracfone Smartphones are on the Way!


There is a handful of new Android powered smartphones on the horizon for Tracfone and we are excited to be sharing the details on some of these phones below, including the Samsung Galaxy S6.

While some of these devices will be mid-range phones similar to the LG sunset, many appear to use Android 5.0 or newer. There are also several, including the Galaxy S6, that will have more robust features and performance.

Tracfone continues to expand its offering of smartphones as it slowly works to phase out older, non-smartphone devices. While they still sell and support non-Android phones, many customers have already switched to a smartphone. In a recent survey we conducted here on the blog, 65% of the 260 respondents already used a Tracfone Android device, while only 17% still used a non-Android phone. The remaining 18% use a smartphone on Tracfone BYOP.

We are excited to see more smartphones coming as these new phones might make for good options to upgrade to for those with older Android devices. (also take a look at our Android Tracfone List for the full list of Tracfone's smartphone options.)

The time-frame for when these new devices will be released is unknown, and it could be days or months. We're not even sure where they will be offered, as several recent smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime, have only been available from 3rd party retailer HSN.com. We will update as soon as these details become clear.

The question we are wondering is whether we will see a higher-end smartphone at a more reasonable price. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a high-end phone, but it also comes at a high cost, which many users cannot afford.

Let's go through and take a closer look at some of the more interesting phones that will be coming to Tracfone in the near future. (Note - below are just the Samsung and LG phones coming to Tracfone, we will be writing about the new ZTE phones that are also coming in a future post.)

Samsung Galaxy S6 - Samsung S906L - 4G LTE (CDMA)

Samsung Galaxy S6 for Tracfone
Tracfone Samsung Galaxy S6
The Galaxy S6 is Samsung's flagship phone from 2015 and the new version of the Galaxy S5 which was released by Tracfone a few months ago.

While the S6 does come with a number of nice upgrades and new features, it still shares a number of similarities with the older S5. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the S5 already had great features, but if you're expecting a significant change, look elsewhere.

A 5.1" touchscreen and 16 MP Camera come with the S6 (same as the S5) but the screen has higher resolution. The Galaxy S6 also runs Android 5.0 and has 3 GB RAM, plus an improved appearance.

When the Samsung Galaxy S5 was released for Tracfone, it started at $499, so we expect the S6 will (unfortunately) be at a similar price.

The Galaxy S6 has been released and is available from HSN. You can also take a look at our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 for more details, including a comparison to the S5.

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime - S920L - 4G LTE (CDMA)

Update - The Galaxy Grand Prime is available for $99 from Bestbuy! (currently on sale, retail price is $149).

The Galaxy Grand Prime is like the older brother of the Galaxy Core Prime which Tracfone released along with the Galaxy S5 a few months ago. The Grand Prime is bigger, more powerful, and can handle more. It comes with Android 5.0, a 5.0" touchscreen and an 8 MP Camera - all improvements over the Core Prime.

This phone (along with some of the others below) will make a great option for many Tracfone users to upgrade to from older smartphones.

No word on the release date, but we think it will be released at the same time as the Galaxy S6 (whenever that might be).

View this devices Tutorial from Tracfone for more details.

(LG K4) -LG L43AL/ LGL44VL

There are quite a few new LG phones on the way, and we will start off with the LG 43AL and 44VL. These two devices are exactly the same, except for one important distinction - the AL version uses AT&T 4G LTE networks while the VL uses Verizon 4G LTE networks. This is great as it allows users to choose this phone no matter if they have CDMA or GSM coverage in their area. (For those who might not know, Tracfone contracts with Verizon for their CDMA network, and AT&T for GSM.)

The L43 and 44 appear to be the Tracfone versions of the LG K4, which is a newer phone only just released in January 2016, and comes with a 4.5" screen, Android 5.1.1, 5 MP camera and quad-core processor among other features. This appears to be very similar to the LG Sunset, but maybe a little newer.

As more details come available we will update them here, but for now you can take a look at the Tracfone tutorials for each of the phones:
LG L43AL Tutorial
LG L44VL Tutorial

LG Treasure (LG K7) - LG L51AL/ LG L52VL

Update - The LG K7 (called the LG Treasure) was briefly available on HSN.com, but after selling out, it is no longer available. The LG Treasure is available for $99 on HSN (listed for $129)

The LG L51AL and L52VL upgraded versions of the two LG phones above, and appear to be the Tracfone version of the LG K7.

It looks like Tracfone will be releasing a whole lineup of LG phones - the K4, K7 and K10 (below) which will provide some really great options for consumers.

As with the K4 above, the LG K7 (L51/L52) was released in the beginning of 2016 and sports some nice features like a 5.0" screen and Android 5.1.1. Further details are a little murky, as there are at least two versions of this phone and we're not sure which version Tracfone will use.

We will be sharing more on this phone as things clear up, for now you can view the Tracfone Tutorials for each device, although we're not sure if they are completely accurate at this time.
LG L51AL Tutorial
LG L52VL Tutorial

LG Premier (LG K10) - LG L61AL/ LG L62VL

Now these new LG phones really start to get interesting. The LG Premier (Tracfone version of the K10) comes with a 5.3" touchscreen, Android 5.1.1, and an 8 MP camera.

It looks like the Premier will also have 16 GB internal memory, a quad-core processor and 1 GB RAM, although we're not sure if the Tracfone version will be exactly the same.

The LG Premier looks like it will make for a really nice upgrade from older Android devices, while hopefully coming in at a price below $200, and maybe even closer to $150.

As with the other phones listed, we will add more details as the information becomes available. For now, take a look at the device tutorials, although we're not confident in their accuracy.
LG L61AL Tutorial
LG L62VL Tutorial

LG Stylo 2 - LG L81L/ LG L82L

LG Stylo 2 for Tracfone
LG Stylo 2 for Tracfone
The last phone we're going to look at in this post is the LG L81 and L82, which appear to be the LG Stylo 2.

This phone will have a 5.7" touchscreen display, Android 5.1.1 (or perhaps newer), 8 GB internal memory and 1 GB RAM. There is not a lot of additional information available on the Stylo 2, or what the Tracfone version will offer, but it looks like it will be a fairly powerful but still budget friendly device. We expect it to retail somewhere around $200.

This phone offers a good blend of great features, while still keeping the cost somewhat reasonable and we are excited to see what it will have to offer. You can view the tutorials on the Tracfone website, but, as with some of the other phones above, we're not sure how accurate they are, and some of the information might just be placeholders.

LG L81AL tutorial
LG L82VL tutorial 

Update - The LG Stylo 2 is available on HSN.com with minutes bundle for $199.

That concludes our look at some of the phones that Tracfone will be releasing in the near future. Please leave a comment with which phone is most interesting to you, and if you have any questions or thoughts.

We will be also sharing more about several new ZTE phones in a future post.

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Check out our recent list of the Best Sales, Discounts and Deals for April 2016.

Thanks for visiting!

22 comments :

Unknown said...

I have to admit I love reading these blogs, they are a great resource for finding the most up to date offerings on new devices that Tracfone had. It was only many years ago when I asked TF on their customer service line if they were going to do Android and they said it would never be possible (Now I assume they use Page Plus to keep track of minutes /data / texts as the old system for flip phones can't be programmed into newer ones)

Anonymous said...

But will the Stylo2 or any of the other phones have a built in mobile hot spot?

Drew said...

Please let us know if any of the new LG's have the blinking LED notification for messages, missed calls etc.. I have the LG Sunset, and I had the LG Power and did not find that feature on either. My Alcatel one touch has it as every other smartphone I have had. Am I just missing something with the LG's? I find it annoying to have to pick up the phone and turn it on to see if I have missed something.

Anonymous said...

HSN has the Galaxy S6 with 1200minutes bundle for $599.99

Hoody said...

I'd like to see is the ability of these things to be "up dateable" for other Android OS updates as they come out like the Samsung's.

its why I'm looking for a used S4, which is still ahead of these new LG's even at 3 years old.

Anonymous said...

HSN.com now has the (LG K7) - LG L51AL bundle and it's on sale for $90 which includes 1 year / 1350 x 3 buckets.

Anonymous said...

I seriously doubt Tracfone will update these phones. :( Not only has Tracfone never updated a phone in the past, but they've actually launched these phones without updates that have already been applied by the manufacturer. On Samsung's website you can buy an unlocked Galaxy S6 straight from Samsung and it comes with Android 5.1 on it. People who bought the S6 on contract from Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile or US Cellular have just started receiving Android 6.0 updates.

I think the best we'll be able to do is load our own ROMs on these phones, assuming Tracfone devices aren't locked anymore(they said they'd stop locking them this year).

Peter, when you're reviewing these phones, could you please check to see if they're locked?

TracfoneReviewer Team said...

Good points. Tracfone recently got in trouble because their phones are all locked, and they are supposed to be unlockable after a certain amount of time (6 months I believe). So we will have to see if these phones come unlocked or not.

TracfoneReviewer Team said...

Not a bad price, thanks for the heads up!

Anonymous said...

They have the grand prime on sale on the best buy website for $99.99

Unknown said...

Is that also named the galaxy core prime that hsn is selling

Anonymous said...

I ordered the Tracfone-Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime from Bestbuy.com but they sent me a Net 10 version of the Grand Prime. This has happened to a few other people also so buyer beware!

Drew said...

Just watched the youtube review of the K10 and it does not have the LED notification light. I guess LG saves that for their high end phones while other midgrade manufactures include it?

Anonymous said...

the LG Ultimate 2 has blinking light for all.

Anonymous said...

Drew
Go to play store, download app called NoLED. Then program app settings to suit yourself. Its a great app for those fones that lack LED notification. Yeah!

Anonymous said...

Samsung grand prime is NOT the same fone as core prime. Grand is like core's bigger, better, faster brother. Compare features.The core prime may suit your needs.

Rita's phones said...

I purchased an LG K 7 and after 3 trips to store and 4 phone calls to Tracfone, I was told I cannot use it with the BYOP program....

Graceful User said...

I always wanted to tell you, Thanks you very much TracFone, been a customer for over 3 years, never had an issue and I have air time till 8/19, I'm a customer for life and I do look forward to your new upgrade Androids phone, I'm excited that you are pressing forward, Thanks Again

Anonymous said...

I see that QVC is now offering the LG Premier L62VL package for $119.96 with 1350 minutes.

Barb said...

Thinking about trying this package n getting rid of my AT&T android.... But how much r new mins when u used this 1350 up? Is this a good deal?

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Just wondering if there is any word on when Tracfone will release an LG smartfone with 2 gigs of RAM. The Premier and Stylo 2 are awesome phones, but for their 1 gig RAM deficiency. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I will get the lg treasure.never get another Samsung.too many problems with their batteries getting hot..mine did..just a little while after first getting the phone.now trying to get refund thru tracfone.what a mess.ive had real good luck over past 18 yrs with lg