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There are some products that we approach indifferently when they are launched and there are others that we really look forward to. LG’s smartphone flagship range is one of the latter.
When the G2 was released, it did not disappoint. Winner of numerous awards and arguably a trendsetter in many aspects, the G2 was a force to reckon with. Previously reviewed here.
Needless to say, we approached the G3 with similar excitement, and it didn’t disappoint either. Here’s Absolute Geek’s LG G3 smartphone review.
Design
The G3 has been redesigned inside out. Everything from form to software looks fresh, new and slick.
One thing that immediately stands out with the G3 is the display: it’s spread from almost edge-to-edge with the bezel barely visible on the sides.
The display is 5.5 inches of awesomeness! It’s slightly larger than its 5.2″ predecessor – inching itself into the phablet category – directly competing with the likes of Note 3/4 and other flagship phablets like Sony’s Xperia Z2 and the Lenovo Vibe Z2.
What makes the display awesome you might ask? Well it’s the Quad HD of course. The 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, 534 pixel density, makes it absolutely stunning to use. By comparison, the S5’s display has a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920, with 432 pixel density. It even beats the just announced Note 4’s Quad-HD display at pixel density (Note 4 has a pixel density of 515). Although, to be fair, the Note 4 has a slightly larger screen at 5.7 inches.
The device is made of plastic all round with a metallic finish, giving it a premium look. The back cover is removable, allowing you to change its 3000 mAh battery and to insert the SIM and SD memory cards.
The back also has LG’s iconic home and volume rocker buttons as well as its 13MP camera with dual LED flash and an infrared laser focus system (more on the camera later).
Overall, the G3 is beautifully designed all around. The combination of a stunning screen and a beautiful build makes one sexy device. The only drawback we’ve experienced is that it gets a little slippery due to the plastic material used on the back and the curved shape of the back cover. We, thankfully, didn’t drop it while testing it, but perhaps a protector of some sort is welcome here just in case you have butter fingers.
Software
LG’s user interface (UI) has always been a bit too colorful and quite similar to that of Samsung’s. I know many people who opted out of buying a LG product because of that.
Thankfully, LG took notice of that and completely redesigned their software. Everything has changed, from the main app icons to color palette.
The color palette is smooth and easy on the eyes, using a dry metallic grey, oily green and beige tones throughout its interface. The combination is both elegant and pleasant on the eyes.
The overall look and feel of the UI is quite simplistic and takes queues from the stock Android experience. Clearly, LG utilized its experience with the last 2 iterations of Google’s Nexus devices here.
The G3 is so packed with features it would probably require a dedicated write up for them alone. Let’s just focus on what’s new and unique to LG’s flagship.
Knock Code
Like the G2, the G3 has the revolutionary Knock On feature, which allows you to turn the display on/off by simply double tapping the screen. This is to reduce the space buttons use up on the front side of the device, allowing LG to strategically and ergonomically place them on the back.
What’s new here is the Knock Code, where one can unlock the phone by tapping the screen on a predefined sequence of locations on the display.
This is nice security wise as people around you wouldn’t be able to see the numerical or pattern trace code you would normally use on an Android device.
Smart Bulletin
This is LG’s version of a personal assistant/Google Now. When enabled, a widget/card is placed on the Home screen displaying key updates like the time and weather. Additionally, it reads data off the weather, calendar and task list to give you timely reminders of upcoming events and pending tasks. When an item is present, i.e. someone’s birthday, the card can be expanded to give extra options to Call the birthday boy/girl or send them a message.
It also has nice little customized messages like “It’s going to be a windy day, dress warmly”.
A revamped Keyboard
The biggest news is that you can change its height to your preference. The reality is that most people will likely keep it as is, given that the “about halfway up” default is probably fine for most. Another useful feature: If you hold down the space bar and slide left or right, the cursor moves within the last typed word, which comes in handy for fixing typos quickly. The keyboard is also meant to learn your tap habits, so that if you keep thumbing “U” when you mean “I,” it’ll figure that out and fix those taps for you automatically. It’s hard to see if this is really happening with any consistency. I’m a swipe-input (or “Path” as LG calls it) kinda guy anyway, so this feature won’t be of much use if that’s your preference (or if you prefer another third-party keyboard). Still, it’s nice to know LG is trying to improve the experience.
LG Health
It seems LG has also jumped on the fitness craze bandwagon with its own built-in fitness-tracking app.
Similar to Samsung’s S Health, the LG Health comes with a quite accurate pedometer and exercise tracking functionality, including Walking, Running, Cycling, Hiking and Inline Skating options, with the latter two being an addition to that of S Health’s offering.
For a full run down of the many features the G3 has, check out this video by TechSmartt.
Camera
The default UI is quite minimal. Android’s menu ellipses are in one corner, and a back button can be found diagonally opposite. Give the screen a tap and, boom, you just took a photo!
If simplicity’s not your preference, or you want to get into the options, you can do that too. You can even get the on-screen shutter button back if you wish. The number of camera modes, however, has been cut from 14 to four (dual, panorama, magic focus and auto). LG has also pared back the number of menu options overall, keeping things pretty simple.
LG kept the 13MP sensor OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) that was available on the G2, but added some extra functionality and innovation.
The G3’s camera comes with a dual LED flash and an infrared laser capability for that extra precision and super fast focus.
Thanks to this, the camera takes great photos, fast. The pictures maintain quality and vivid colors, albeit a little washed out.
The camera does stand out in low light environments though, capturing enough light to brighten up an image that would otherwise be quite dark.
Performance & Battery Life
We found the G3’s performance to be smooth, zippy and lag-free. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 Quadcore 2.5 GHz really lives up to its promised standards here.
Whether you’re casually using the device, watching a movie, multitasking or playing a 3D game, the G3 performed flawlessly throughout. We didn’t face any lagging or performance issues throughout our 2 weeks of continuous and rigorous usage.
It did, however, slightly heat up from the back when we played graphics-heavy games. Nothing out of the ordinary though and it did not cause distraught or discomfort.
The device scored 35,352 on the AnTuTu Benchmark, on par with the Z2, S5 and slightly less than the HTC One (M8).
Its 3,000 mAh battery performed well under moderate to heavy usage, giving us a solid and uninterrupted 12 hours of use, with all its network elements (4G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS) turned on (with the exception of NFC) – the Power Saver functionality was on throughout this time though.
Conclusion
The LG G3 is a formidable device. It’s got everything going for it to make it a truly impressive gadget in every aspect.
From display to design and revamped software to a flawless performance, the G3 truly deserves the accolades its been receiving (currently sitting on the top of smartphones ranking by Stuff).
Should you buy the G3? We haven’t had the chance to test the Note 4 yet, but we did test the HTC One (M8), and found the G3 to be on par with the best in class. The G3 doesn’t have the uni-body metallic build of the HTC One (M8), however, a superior display and camera, rich set of features and beautiful design give it an undisputed edge over the M8.
We believe the G3 has everything it needs to be crowned King of the high-end Android smartphone range.
