LG was always going to have something of a tough time making the G4 a phone that people would go crazy for. Not just because the market has the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S6, but because the phone it released last year – the G3 – was just so good.
As I've had the phone as a review unit and also bought the leather back to compare how premium this looks and feels against the likes of the s6, iPhone and htc, I can safely say, it moves the phone from being a plastic device to a more sleek and stylish device to hold. However, as with all phones it can get slightly slippy when it gets wet but overall the stitching and the textured feel of the back, sort of helps elevate this to a point.
However, the plastic backs come in three colours; titanium with a metallic finish and the gold and white with a more ceramic feel.
Now we have the back out of the way, let's start looking at the LG from the out side in.
In terms of design, what worked with LG’s last two Highend flag ships the LG G3 and Flex 2 are brought together to create this new device. However, unlike the Flex 2, the g4 has a very slight curve, which not only being aesthetically pleasing but also adds a practical element as well for example; putting the phone down screen first, although I don't recommend this without a screen protector, it does do a pretty good job overall.
Moving on, let's look at the 5.5 ips quad HD screen. Having previously own the LG g3, which is an amazing phone in its own right, the g4 screen is fantastic. The following is a full over view and my full in depth review
LG was always going to have something of a tough time making the G4 a phone that people would go crazy for. Not just because the market has the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S6, but because the phone it released last year – the G3 – was just so good.
As I've had the phone as a review unit and also bought the leather back to compare how premium this looks and feels against the likes of the s6, iPhone and htc, I can safely say, it moves the phone from being a plastic device to a more sleek and stylish device to hold. However, as with all phones it can get slightly slippy when it gets wet but overall the stitching and the textured feel of the back, sort of helps elevate this to a point. However, the plastic backs come in three colours; titanium with a metallic finish and the gold and white with a more ceramic feel.
Now we have the back out of the way, let's start looking at the LG from the out side in.
In terms of design, what worked with LG’s last two Highend flag ships the LG G3 and Flex 2 are brought together to create this new device. However, unlike the Flex 2, the g4 has a very slight curve, which not only being aesthetically pleasing but also adds a practical element as well for example; putting the phone down screen first, although I don't recommend this without a screen protector, it does do a pretty good job overall. Also, with the edition of the slight curve this seems to improve the overall durability of the phone by about 20% compared to other flagship phones.
As with all 5.5-inch displays it dictates the overall size of the phone and the resulting handling experience. Although as with the G3, LG'S penchant for slim bezels on the sides of the display does make for a pretty narrow phone, even though it falls into the phablet category. However, comparing this against the nexus 6 and note 4, lg have really hit the mark on this in design.
LG has really up its game in the display department with an ever better iteration of the Quad HD display from its predecessor. This time around LG have used 5.5-inch IPS+ LCD screen which comes with 2560 x 1440 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 538 ppi. What makes this display different is the Quantum Dot technology behind it. Lg particularly focused on how the actual molecules are being manipulated as it passes through a phosphor layer, the result being an even better color gamut than typical IPS screens can provide and are also trying to adhere to DCI standards, which would normally only be found on televisions.
With this said, in simple terms the display doesn't look as saturated as some other highend smart phones that used other types of screen technology, such as amoled or lower ips displays.
The colours on this display pop and the blacks look black, rather than a washed out, nearly grey colour that can be found on other smart phones. This helps with reading text and other general tasks such as emails etc. However, I found that where the screen really comes into its own is playing mobile games such as temple run, surf runner and asphalt 8.
Moving on to performance, which for some users is a key element of a smart phone purchase, especially for those who like to multi task or play very intestive cpu games such as the asphalt 8. Myself and others alike were expecting lg to run with the current trend of higher chipsets, which can be found on the LG g flex 2 and we're expecting the same snapdragon 810 processor to be present in the G4, despite all the over heating issues some users have experience. However, for the G4, lg decided to go with the little brother of the 810, the 808.
On paper it does like lg have taken a step backwards with this decision to have the g4 packing a 1.8 GHz hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, backed by the Adreno 418 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. However, in daily usage and the fact that lg have worked closely with qualcomm to help optimize this processor for the G4, it creates a better overall experience instead of just opting for sheer processing power.
Using the G4 daily for the last few weeks I've noticed no lag whilst scrolling with Web pages or checking my email or whilst using the dual window funtion to do both of these tasks at once,the g4 handles this and more.
Moving on to the hardware, whilst most smart phone manufacturers have now gone down the line of no removal battery or the lack of expandable storage via a micro sd card slot, lg haven't bowled down to this current trend and for good reason. This has been one of the main corner stones of LG's lastest smart phone against other smart phones and one that lg have heavily marketed. Also, for you budding photographers out there, this will really help whilst using the LG4's raw capabilities and with support upto 128 gb, your not going to run out of space. Either way it's always nice to have that extra space and be able to swap out that battery for a spare and your 100% again and don't have to worry about finding the nearest plug to charge your phone.
Other things that lg have worked with qualcomm on is the more accurate location algorithm in the G4 and this really helps whilst using the GPS on Google maps or just to find the nearest McDonald's for the kids on a long journey. Nonetheless, this accuracy is achieved using a combination of all sensors available in the phone, rather than just Wi-Fi and general global positioning.
In regards to battery lg have gone with a 3,000 mAh and I've been able to get around 3-5 hours of on screen time and this is Purley depending on how heavy my usage during the day. The standby time I've been able to achieve up to 16 hrs, which is very good for those times your not near a power source. My only issue I've found with the hardware of the g4 is the back facing speaker. Whilst the speaker has fantastic sound quality, the placement of the speaker has hampered the sound whilst playing games in landscape mode and I found my hand covering the speaker whilst playing these games. Also, due to the speakers being at the rear of the phone, listening to music is difficult without facing the phone screen down. With this said, the speaker quality is fantastic but would be nice to see front facing or speakers on the bottom of the phone in future irrations of the g series family.
The software of the device has been a massive improvement from the early days of the g line of phones from the g2 cartoony looking ui to the current ui, which is amazing from my perspective having owned all three devices.
Lg have tried to create a lollipop type interface and for most part have achieved this and whilst retaining the LG overall interface. The first main noticeable feature is the speed of the familiar user interface, but there are a few new additions as well. Mainly, the calendar app has been updated to use just about any captured area of the phone as reminders on dates. It takes away from having to fill in a lot of information, but those who prefer high organization might still opt for the textual elements. The gallery has been given categories for
The gallery has been given categories for easy look back at one’s memories, and is generally better organized overall. If the hand gymnastics need to be helped, changing the button layout on the softkeys is possible in the Settings where you are able to add dual window, Qslide and alike. The smart notice has had a a minimal update and there are more reasons for the widget to tell you pieces of information, as it will give suggestions not only for current weather conditions, but also warn the user of when applications in the background are continuously draining battery. Although, these things might be useful for some people, personally myself I've not really used or taken note of them but that's not to say other users won't.
Finally, the main selling point of G4, it's camera. LG have really created a phenomenal camera. I will start by giving an over view or technical specifications and then show I have found these migrate into everyday usage. The specifications are: Rear camera: 16MP, f/1.8, color spectrum sensor, OIS, laser-assisted focus and a front camera: 8MP
Let's start with the camera on the back of the g4. The back facing camera has a larger sensor comes with a f/1.8 aperture lens, flanked by laser autofocus, a flash, and a color spectrum sensor. The reason for this is the larger sensor will also benefit from better optical image stabilisation . Thus, creating less noticeable movement, whilst in Video mode. LG have also added a number of different features to the camera interface from your usual automatic mode, which is great for just capturing those moments easily and quickly, without losing any quality of the image and that would be enough for most general users.
However, LG have now gone one step further with the camera and are making full use of the f/1.8 aperture lens by adding manually mode and by doing so, have created a beast of a camera phone. OK, most modern smart phones have a manual mode and you would be right in saying so, but LG have added alot more than your usual contrast auto settings etc, LG have added all the bells and whistles of a professional DSLR camera from iOS, full white balance kelvin gamut , control of the shutter speed ( up to 1/6000) or using a simple term 30 second exposure or histogram for accurate levels and to focus for those macro modes or capturing those sunset shots. I've found using this camera has been an absolute joy and once the view finder is opened all of these features are shown on interface and eliminates any guess work. The LG g4 takes your usual jpeg photos both in manual and automatic mode but, for those who are looking to have more control after the shot has been taken, then your able to swith to raw mode and using software such as photoshop to create that ideally photo your looking for. Although, that extra storage will be needed and that sd card will come in handy using the raw capture.
Going back to manually mode and some of the features, mainly white balance. White balance is a very important aspect of this camera, as the IR backed color spectrum sensor works to analyze the entire scene and get accurate color reproduction, and of course, the very act of taking pictures is still very simple and easy due to the laser guided autofocus. Indeed, using this camera in either the Auto or Simple mode makes the g4 one of the easiest picture taking experiences available, and the resulting pictures still happen to be quite great
In good lighting conditions the 16 Mp camera captures very good quality pictures, especially with the lower aperture, and this can and does create great depth of field and creatures less noise reduction in the images taken. However, in low lighting the camera seems to focus on using the slower shutter speed rather than increasing to a higher iso shutter speed not able to have both white balance or iso working at there highest at the same time, can make taking those clear shots a little bit harder at times. Although overall this really isn't that noticeable but just thought I would add that.
In conclusion, lg have created an amazing flagship phone and is one of the best camera phones I've ever used on a smart phone, also coupled with the improved and speeder interface makes this phone a worthy of the title. If I was on the fence and considering whether I should or shouldn't buy this phone, all I would say is that if your looking for a fast, sleek,amazing screen quality and an amazing camera all in one package, then the LG g4 is the phone for you. I hope this review has helped and I would love any comments on this. Thank you
