My primary smartphone of use is the LG G5. It’s not the best smartphone out there and in terms of modularity, it was flawed in execution, especially when compared to the Moto Z. LG seemed to have forgotten the G series until a few weeks ago when they teased the upcoming LG G6. And just a few hours ago the latest flagship smartphone of the company was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress.
So what’s new with the LG G6. The biggest and most important feature of the smartphone is its display. The LG G6 comes with a 5.7-inch QHD+ (2,880 x 1,440 resolution) FullVision display. While that’s breathtaking in itself, what’s even more surprising is the aspect ratio of the display, 18:9. It’s a big change from the normal 16:9 ratio most people are used to seeing; LG touts that the change allows for a bigger screen without going for a bigger device and that it offers more viewing space and immersive experiences. So far, LG has signed agreements with six developers, whose games take full advantage of the FullVision display. Those games are Temple Run 2, Spider-Man Unlimited, Crossy Road, SimCity BuildIt, Cookie Jam and Genies & Gem. Furthermore, LG G6 customers will get $200 worth of in-game goodies for those six apps.
Despite the large display, LG has also done their best to ensure the smartphone can comfortably fit in one hand, going so far as to invite ergonomics experts, Dr. Andris Freivalds at Pennsylvania State University and Dr. Ji Yong-gu at Yonsei University, on stage during the reveal. Both had tested the G6 for stability, comfort and muscle fatigue. Of course, actual comfort will come down to various factors dependant on the user.
The display and comfortable form factor hold well with the aesthetics of the device. Made primarily out of aluminium and glass, which comes in three different colours, it’s a great minimalistic approach, lacking camera bumps on the back, rounded corners and a nearly bezel-less front.
The LG G6 also has the honour of being the first smartphone to feature Dolby Vision and HDR10 technology. Both give viewers images and videos in a higher range of colours and luminosity. Considering that HDR content is slowly making its way towards streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, it’s another avenue viewers can use to binge watch their favourite shows. Furthermore, Amazon will also be creating 18:9 content that can be viewed on the LG G6.
When it comes to the camera, LG has gone down in terms of megapixels when compared to the G5 but that doesn’t necessarily mean worse picture quality. The LG G6 has dual 13MP rear cameras, one of which is a wide-angle lens. It will be capable of shooting in 4K. Meanwhile, the front-facing camera will have a 5MP lens, with a large field of view for your selfie needs.
Performance wise it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor that’s backed by 4GB of RAM. With the slim Android 7 OS that’s a lot of firepower. Internal storage is either 32GB or 64GB, each of which is expandable up to 2TB via a microSD card. Unlike the GF5, there won’t be any moving parts and the 3,300mAH battery will remain firmly embedded.
The LG G6 also has an IP68 certification, meaning it’s dust and water resistant, up to 1.5 metres deep and for 30 minutes. Furthermore, it has an even more solid build this time, something I’m quite keen on since the G5 was quite fragile in most cases. A proprietary piece of technology ensures that heat is properly dissipated, protecting it from going up in flames due to overheating.
The LG G6 also joins the very small family of smartphones that have Google Assistant built in. It works seamlessly with native LG apps and according to the South Korean electronics maker, “empowers users to get fast answers, manage everyday tasks, enjoy the best music and videos and search the G6 more quickly and efficiently than ever.”
The full specs can be seen below and a more detailed review will be up soon!
- Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 821 Processor
- Display: 5.7-inch 18:9 QHD+ FullVision Display (2880 x 1440 / 564ppi)
- Memory: 4GB LPDDR4 RAM / 32GB or 64GB UFS 2.0 ROM / MicroSD (up to 2TB)
- Camera:
- Rear Dual: 13MP Wide (F2.4 / 125°) / 13MP Standard OIS 2.0 (F1.8 / 71°)
- Front 5MP Wide (F2.2 / 100°)
- Battery: 3,300mAh (embedded)
- Operating System: Android 7.0 Nougat
- Size: 148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9mm
- Weight: 163g
- Network: LTE-A 3 Band CA
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.2 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
- Colors: Astro Black / Ice Platinum / Mystic White
- Other: Water and Dust Resistant / Fingerprint Sensor / UX 6.0 / Dolby Vision™ / HDR10 / Qualcomm Quick Charge™ 3.0 / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC
