Hands-on: LG G4

Last year, LG impressed us for setting the bar high with its G3 – the first commercially available to offer the pixel crushing resolution of quad-HD; 1440 x 2560 pixels.the LG G4 intends to continue the momentum for the Korean company, as improvements are necessary to keep it ahead of the curve. Competition is fierce, that’s obvious, but it’s only the phones that execute on all levels that will earn the attention of consumers – it’s just getting more difficult to stand tall and impressive in the space.

Design

LG G4 design is an iterative one that bears some of the design characteristics of its predecessor, but offers newer materials that give it a subtle premium touch over last year's model. Aesthetically, the G4 sports an edgier look due to its hard lines – whereas with the G3, it appears more rounded in the corners. What’s more apparent, though, is the new pattern design the casing is exhibiting. Meticulously looking at it, there’s a diamond-like pattern with the chassis, which we’re told has a ceramic finish over the underlying plastic material. Add to that, there’s also a curvier look to the phone that makes it feel pretty comfortable to hold.

LG G4 looks and feels a bit subdued, mostly due to the fact that it’s still plastic in nature underneath it all, but LG has an ace up its sleeve that adds a higher degree of sophistication to the phone. Employing leather is not particularly new, as the new Moto X already offers it, but the LG G4 comes in this sweet looking vegetable-tanned leather material too – something we’re told that takes months to process, and only becomes more attractive as it ages.

Unlike the other two aforementioned phones, this leather cladded LG G4 feels like it’s sporting real organic leather, as opposed to the faux-leather of the other phones. It’s not soft and malleable like the leather material used by the Moto X, it’s actually tougher and seems to be more resilient against dirt and debris. On top of that, the genuine stitching running down the phone adds to its sophisticated look.

Display

The G4 packs a 5.5-inch 1440 x 2560 IPS LCD display, the company details that it's boasts this quantum display technology that alleges to offer richer colors and a stronger brightness output of over 500 nits. Comparing the same image on a Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6, we’re able to visualize the color difference of the G4’s new Quantum display – one that accurately reproduces the red color of strawberries on its screen, while the other two exhibit shades that are slightly orange in tone.

Beyond the claims and whatnot, we have no complaints whatsoever with the screen, as it offers a generous amount of real estate with sharp details thanks to its quad-HD resolution. Colors appear to have that vibrant glow to catch our attention when it’s placed at the highest brightness setting, but we’re really curious to put it through our own display benchmark tests to put LG’s claim to the test. Right now, it’s a gorgeous looking display that complements the new aesthetics of the phone.

Interface

LG UX 4.0 experience that the G4 is running on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop. From the looks of it, there doesn’t seems to be a whole lot of visual change, seeing that the LG UX 4.0 interface doesn’t seem to be a dramatic change to what we’ve seen already. Visually, it makes heavy use of Google’s Material Design, as bright colors are used throughout the interface.

Processor and Memory

LG G4 was what kind of processor would be found under the hood of this flagship. Needless to say, the attachment of being a flagship would indicate it would be using the latest and greatest hardware, but in a stunning twist, the LG G4 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 chip with 3GB of RAM. Most folks thought it would’ve been the Snapdragon 810 calling the shots here, but LG has chosen instead to go with the Snapdragon 808 – mainly because we’re told that this chip has been optimized for far longer than the 810. 

Not surprisingly, the phone responds well to all sorts of basic tasks – like navigating across the homescreen, opening apps, and taking photos. Indeed, we expect this one to run flawlessly with these kinds of simple operations, but we’re curious to see what other optimizations have been made to help the phone out with more complex tasks – such as heavy multitasking and gaming. And finally, LG claims that the optimizations with the Snapdragon 808 enables the phone to be equipped at managing power efficiency.

Camera

LG G4, it’s sporting a brand new 16-megapixel 1/2.6” sensor that features a wide f/1.8 six-element aperture lens, laser auto-focus assist, optical image stabilization, and a dual-LED flash. Without a doubt, the hardware sounds delicious and whatnot, especially that f/1.8 aperture lens, which means it’ll undoubtedly be geared to handle the complications that sometimes arise with low light photography.

More impressive, though, is the new camera interface that the LG G4 is flaunting this time around – one that adheres to the needs of enthusiast as well. Certainly, its automatic mode will allow folks to quickly and easily snap photos, but its new manual mode offers a diversified portfolio of options that give us the control to capture the perfect shot. Now, manual mode isn’t anything new in our modern day smartphones, as being able to modify ISO and white balance are given, but the LG G4 steps up its game by also offering support for RAW and the adjustment of its shutter speed. To be more exact, the phone is capable of offering a shutter speed of up to 30 seconds, which comes in handy to compose those neat-o light painting shots.

Expectations

The LG G4’s arsenal is predictable, seeing that everything about makes it a formidable rival against what we’ve seen already come to market. At the same time, too, its design doesn’t try to be drastically different from the style that we’re familiar with from the company. Keeping those two things in mind, one might think that the LG G4 is a minor upgrade to the G3 – especially in the wake of the drastically different looking Samsung Galaxy S6.