With LG Electronics (LG) announcing that the LG G4 will be available from the first week of June in the UAE. We had a good look at the widely anticipated LG G4; successor to the G3, and here’s what we think of LG’s latest Android Flagship which could end the race of Android’s best of 2015 given the circumstances that we won’t see Sony’s Z4 rather Z3+. So here’s why I think LG could be the best device we’ve seen in a mobile handset. If the G4 is anything to go by where looks are concerned, LG has decided that the design language of this device is on “elegance”, visually guided human friendly experiences. More so, they’ve targeted a very specific niche and that’s photographers. The G4’s camera has a F1.8 aperture lens allowing 80 percent more light to hit the image sensor than the LG G3, couple with a IPS Quantum Display and has a arc design previously seen in the LG G Flex 2.
“We are living up to our promise of innovation for a better life with a premium smartphone that is more focused on delivering a balanced user experience that can compete with the best of the best. We wanted to give consumers a truly human-centric device that combined the analog sensibilities with technologies that deliver real world performance. From the design to the camera to the display to the UX, this is the most ambitious phone we’ve ever created.” Mr. D. Y. Kim, President LG Electronics, Gulf FZE.
Design
“There are some pressing concerns with how the leather will deal with intense heat, seeing as we hit average temperatures well over 45 degrees C. LG has said that’s a non issue but if you’re the kind whose work takes you outdoors you may want to consider other material options of the G4.”
You can see LG’s really gone the distance in making a premium looking product. It’s a variant of vegetable tanned leather, which is great and environmentally friendly to top it off, looks good and is a joy to hold, it will be available in six colors Other material options for the G4 rear cover include pure Ceramic White with 3D patterns, artisan Metallic Gray and lustrous Shiny Gold. There’s a bit of curvature not glaringly obvious like we’ve previously mentioned and I think this is a phone that will get its notice. However there are some pressing concerns with how the leather will deal with intense heat, seeing as we hit average temperatures well over 45 degrees C. LG has said that’s a non issue but if you’re the kind whose work takes you outdoors you may want to consider other material options of the G4. There are also various accessories that will be releasing over time, including a phone case that will fit both material and leather options of the phone whichever you may prefer.
Visuals and Camera
On the screen, LG uses their native LG Display with a 5.5-inch IPS Quantum Display, offering 20 percent greater color reproduction, 25 percent improvement in brightness and 50 percent greater contrast than the G3. It also happens to be the first Quad HD display to employ Advanced In-Cell Touch (AIT) technology, which combines the LCD and touch sensor into a single layer to provide better color reproduction and touch sensitivity. All of this, I’m told won’t cost you battery as it’s loaded with a removable, yes removable, 3,000mAh battery, combined with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, Mr. Kim explained why they didn’t go with the 810 addressing heat issues, something that Qualcomm has actively defended against with the 810, the key thing with the 808 is to give a balance of speed and less power intensive processing.
Also a welcome addition to the G4 is the Manual Mode which allows experienced photographers the ability to directly control the focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance for every shot. This is aimed for DSLR shooters who want something to look good if they want to shoot something on the fly.
LG rear 16MP camera is well capable of clicking some stellar imagery, this was rather obvious from the get go given that the f1.8 lens really does do wonders for low light shots. It’s got 80% more light coming into the sensor than their predecessor and OIS ( Image stabilization) 2.0 should be a no brainer for phone shooters. Also a welcome addition to the G4 is the Manual Mode which allows experienced photographers the ability to directly control the focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance for every shot. This is aimed for DSLR shooters who want something to look good if they want to shoot something on the fly. You can save images in RAW JPEG and with their camera sensor complemented by Color Spectrum Sensor (CSS) you’re going to get true to life colours.
For the rest, there’s an 8MP front facing camera for your selfies ideal for group shots and individual photos, there’s a Gesture shot feature that takes a series of four images so you won’t have to repeatedly press the shutter, the gesture is easy enough, opening and closing one’s hand twice in front of the camera.
Software
The G4 comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop, utilizing LG’s UX 4.0 which is meant to be adaptive to what the user wants. Advanced android tinkerers will get more configuration options and it will keep things simple for users who want the experience. Bundled in the software, is LG’s Quick Shot feature, Gallery feature, Memories feature, Event Pocket feature, an improved Smart Notice feature and Quick Help feature. Google Office is pre installed, you can see that LG’s collaboration with Google has given us something too. G4 owners will receive an additional 100GB of Google Drive storage free for two years.
On the Specsheet
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 808 Processor
- Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440, 538ppi)
- Memory: 32GB eMMC ROM, 3GB LPDDR3 RAM / microSD slot
- Camera: Rear 16MP with F1.8 Aperture / OIS 2.0 / Front 8MP with F2.0 Aperture
- Battery: 3,000mAh (removable)
- Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
- Size: 148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3 – 9.8 mm
- Weight: 155g
- Network: 4G / LTE / HSPA+ 21 Mbps (3G)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.1LE / NFC / USB 2.0
- Colors: (Ceramic) Metallic Gray / Ceramic White / Shiny Gold | (Genuine Leather) Black / Brown / Red / Sky Blue / Beige / Orange
- Camera features: Manual Mode / Gesture Interval Shot / Quick Shot
Needless to say, I’ve been looking forward to the G4 in a long time. Yes, I do think the Samsung S6 edge really revolutionizes in design too. However, what really will sell the G4 for me, is the camera and it’s couple with expandable memory and removable batteries show that LG is keeping things simple and letting the G4 speak for itself. The phone will be priced at AED 2699 for the metallic gray cover as well as the other material options and a small bump up to AED 2799 for the leather.
That being said, we’ll be sure to put the phone through it’s paces are really know for sure if this is the Android phone for you. Stay tuned for our full review!
