Hardware –
My first impression when holding this device was one of surprise. I didn’t think that the curved back would make such a difference but it really feels comfy to hold and very secure which is important when you realise just how light this phone is.
The lack of physical buttons on the phone apart from those on the rear is a nice design touch and I found this to be the most premium looking plastic phone of the current generation. These rear buttons however do require quite a solid grip to use so it helps that it's so comfortable to hold.
As I’ve already alluded to I have only tested the plastic backed model which has a diamond textured back which so far has been fairly scratch resistant. I can imagine that the Leather option, whilst feeling much better would probably be less resistance to scratches.
Round the bottom of the device you will find the Micro USB port, which I feel is a disappointment considering the recent release of the USB-C port, and the headphone port which I prefer on the bottom simply for slipping the phone in and out of my pockets.
There are only three buttons on the rear of the device, volume up and down and a lock/unlock. The volume buttons can also be used as shutters for the camera and a neat trick where double pressing the volume down key instantly takes a picture regardless of whether the device is locked. On the back you will also find the speaker which despite it's placement offers good sound quality when watching Movies or listening to music, but does suffer when compared to rival’s models such as the M9 with it's dedicated front facing speakers. Topping off the rear of the case is the 16MP camera and IR port for controlling your TV.
Popping the back off the case reveals the 3000 mAh battery, a micro SD and Micro sim slot and various connectors which change the phones functionality when specific cases are attached (such as the Quick Circle Case). It's key to note there isn’t any native wireless charging functionality built in but this is not such an issue for me.
It's key to note that the included charger is NOT quick-charge (even though it is compatible) this is a bit disappointing as it adds to the cost, but it does have a nice ridges effect on the connector which means it's easy to plug your charger in, even in the dark.
Display –
The screen on the LG G4 is probably one of its best selling points. Under a layer of scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3 sits the 5.5 inch 1440 x 2560 ISP LCS screen. Packing 538 pixels per inch this Quad HD display is currently tied as the highest resolution phone screen available today and it is an impressive sight to behold when you load up one of the preloaded high-res movies.
Text, images and videos look very sharp and you really have to zoom right in to notice the pixels. By itself this screen looks amazing and it is only by comparing it to another phone that you will start to notice some minor flaws.
For comparison I ran the same video at maximum brightness on this and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (with the same resolution) and whilst the image looked impressive the contrast levels were not as high as the Note 4.
I also found that the viewing angles were much lower than the Note 4 with the image become significantly darker with only a slight tilt. I found this particularily annoying when trying to find a comfortable movie viewing position.
Camera –
This is arguably the second biggest selling point for the LG G4. On the front of the device is an 8MP camera capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 fps. It also has some nifty tricks for taking selfies with you able to take a snap by saying one of the pre-selected phases or holding your open hand up to the camera and making a fist. Whilst these may seem a bit gimmicky, with the shutter option only available either on screen or on the rear of the device these do help. Also featured for those of the Selfie generation is an automatic “Selfie Beauty” mode which automatically detects you face and applies some post production on the image to auto-Photoshop yourself.
Moving to the rear camera the 16MP 5312x2988 lens has laser autofocus, optical image stabilisation and dual LED flash. It's capable of capturing 4k video at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps with a special slow-mo mode for those moments you want to capture in detail.
The software itself has 3 modes:
Simple allows for a simple system where you simply touch what you want to take a picture of on the screen and phone does all the rest. The Standard mode has an Automatic, Panorama and Dual Camera mode. I found the settings in automatic mode to be quite limited but I guess this is to push people towards the new and incredibly detailed Manual Mode. Within the Manual mode users will be able to adjust, White balance, manual focus, ISO, shutter speed and exposure levels. When taking pictures you have the option of saving them as Jpeg or Jpeg + RAW which is a nice addition for those who are serious about their (mobile) photography.
LG have included a neat set of post image manipulation software allowing you to apply Instagram style Filters and Frames (called Styles) to your phots before posting. You can also adjust brightness, contract, saturation, shadows and warmth and with all changes there is a neat option which allowed to see the before and after effect at a glance.
Software -
Setting up the Phone was easy, with the NFC transferring all contacts and accounts from my old phone simply by tapping the back of the phones together. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be too much LG software loaded onto the device. The most obvious if when you swipe to the left and LG’s new “Smart Bulletin” option appears which is comparable to Samsung’s “My magazine”. Here the user is presented with several tiles that contain widgets for things like LG heath, Smart settings and Calendar events. It's key to note at this point that “Smart Settings” instantly peaked my geeky interest and upon exploring it I discovered this allowed you to set basic phone settings based on your physical location. You can set the profile & Wi-Fi settings to come on or off when you leave or get home/work similar, not ground-breaking but the location technology from my tests were quite accurate recognising I was home only a few feet from my front door. Apart from this I found many of the options to be of little use but you do have the option of switching this screen off which I probably would find myself doing after not too long.
The phone comes loaded with Android Lollipop and as I am used to a Samsung influenced android interface I thought I’d call out those features that stood out to me:
On screen keyboard – After using the larger screened Note 4 the screen just didn’t feel as comfortable to use and I frequently found myself making spelling mistakes. Coupled with this the software behind the keyboard seemed to struggle with auto correction so I would definitely recommend installing a non-stock keyboard.
Smart Cleaning – buried within the setting I discovered this useful utility that scours your phone and highlighted any unneeded programs/files that are clogging up valuable space. This can also be scheduled to run at set occasions in the month to ensure your file management is on top form.
Home/Back/Options – due to the lack of physical buttons on the face of the phone these are set up at the bottom of your screen. A nice touch is the ability to auto hide them when not in use and a simple flick up bought them into view. I was slightly thrown to begin with upon discovering that the back and option keys were the opposite way round to my Note 4. “Oh Great” I thought this is gonna get annoying fast but low-and-behold I discovered the option to switch them round…Brilliant.
Speed – the processor in this phone really does handle anything you can throw at it. Swiping between windows and switching between apps is a breeze, even running in Dual Screen mode this phone handles it like a beast. Whether you are playing games or applying multiple effects to a RAW image I felt that the phone wasn’t struggling at all.
Conclusion –
As this was my first LG phone I was impressed with how premium they have made this plastic phone look and feel. The curved form factor not only makes it more comfortable to hold them today’s square phones but also attracts a lot of attention from passers-by. With it’s Quad HD screen and powerful processor this really feels like a top of the range device. Has it done enough to tear me away from the Note 4? Not quite, but it's pretty close. #trylgg4
Pros
+Quad HD Screen looks great
+Curved body really is a wow factor
+Camera is snappy and produces great quality images
+Processor is a real power-house
+Solid Battery life with removable battery
+Buttons on the back are weird to start but great once you get used to them
Cons
-Camera Manual mode can be a bit intimidating to a novice and it restricts what you can change on Auto Mode
-Speakers a little bit tinny at high volumes
-No wireless charging built in
-Poor viewing angles
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