Review: LG G4

Introduction

the LG G4 is on an aggressive approach to make a daring statement. Crazy to say, not every successive phone is a staunch improvement over its predecessor – either that, or in some rare instances, they’re worse! 

Looking back at LG’s track record, there’s no denying that the company is all about making long-lasting impressions. In fact, they did that last year with the LG G3  one of the first commercially available smartphones to offer a pixel crushing resolution of quad-HD (1440 x 2560) with its screen. It’s back again here with the G4, unsurprisingly, but don’t be fooled that this successor is just going to sit pretty and let the competition breeze past it. Everything about this phone has been retooled and reworked to ensure it’s a flagship worthy enough for all to “see the great, feel the great.”

Design

the LG G4 looks very similar to its predecessor – and that’s certainly true to an extent. However, there are subtle differences that make it an undeniably iterative design, as opposed to a dramatic one that we’ve been seeing in other recent phones. In particular, it now features a more hard-lined style, subtle curvature defined by its Slim Arc design, and a brand spanking new vegetable tanned genuine leather material (provided you go for the leather variant, and not the plastic one).

Yes folks, you read that correct, the G4 can be picked up with a casing that’s comprised out of vegetable tanned leather, a process that we're told takes approximately 3 months to complete. The result, surprisingly enough, feels pretty sweet and adds a higher degree of sophistication to an otherwise ‘more of the same’ phone. Seriously, though, this leather feels a lot smoother and more durable than the leather options for the Moto X – it’s not as malleable or mushy feeling. Throw in the Gütermann Mara style stitching running straight through the middle, it really delivers an elegant package that’s both classical and timeless.

A signature design choice for LG, the power button and volume controls are again found in the rear of the phone, where our index finger gently rests over them as we’re holding it. While this placement seems to be a logical one, especially when our finger naturally falls onto them in a holding position, it’s almost impossible to adjust the volume if it’s placed in some sort of cradle – whether it’s the car or at home, there’s just no easy access to it.

Rounding things out, the top edge of the phone is home to its IR blaster and noise cancelling mic – while the bottom is occupied by its microUSB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and standard mic. There’s a small slit on the bottom right area of the phone that allows us to pry off its rear casing, uncovering the removable 3000 mAh battery, microSIM slot, and microSD card slot. Although everything appears fine and dandy, which it is, the additional amenities pale in comparison to what we see and get in other flagships – such as a water resistant construction, finger print sensor, and even wireless charging/rapid charging.

Display

the LG G4 ensures that it’s still a relevant thing in the space because it’s fashioned with a new 5.5-inch 1440 x 2560 (quad-HD) IPS Quantum Display, one that LG boldly claims to offer 20% greater color reproduction, 25% stronger brightness output, and 50% better contrast than the G3’s screen. Not only that, but it’s meant to deliver vibrant colors because it’s apparently been calibrated for DCI (Digital Camera Initiatives) standards.

Details have never been an issue with the G3’s screen, so it’s no surprise it’s not an issue here either because the G4’s quad-HD resolution and 538 ppi pixel density deliver some amazingly crisp details! There are plenty of them, trust us.

During the G4’s official announcement, LG talked big about its new display technology – the IPS Quantum Display, which LG mentions to offer high-contrast, vibrant images that are true-to-life. We’ll give it credit for doing that, but it’s mainly noticeable when you’re running the camera interface and comparing the colors you see in real life to what the display is showing. However, as we dive deeper and check out its color accuracy under the color gamut chart, it reveals the undeniable truth that the panel favors a saturated production – something that’s made more profound as each color value in the chart is skewed from the target value.

Interface and Functionality

the new LG UX 4.0 experience of the G4 follows in the same manner, but it aims to be even simpler than before. Jumping right down into the new interface, it’s really tough to distinguish any changes because the LG UX 4.0 experience looks, acts, and functions like before. Aesthetically, the same flat styled interface is present again – with only a few minor alterations made to some of the preloaded LG widgets.

There are some useful tricks too in tow that enrich and simplify the experience, like the pull-down gesture when the screen is off to quickly peek at the time, a quick help guide, and Smart Notices that dish up useful tidbits. For example, Smart Notices reminds us that there’s rain in the forecast, so it’s a good idea to bring an umbrella. Alternatively, if there’s an app in the background that’s not being used, but is taking up some processing power, the G4 will recommend ending it to conserve power.

QSlide

A staple of LG’s user interface, QSlide is in full form here again on the G4 – where it allows a small collection of native apps to overlay the UI. Specifically, they include mini apps for the phone dialer, contacts, messaging, calendar, email, file manager, calculator, and video. Once it’s accessed through the notifications tray, a small window pops up in the interface, which can be moved and resized to our liking – there’s even an option to adjust its transparency too.

Processor and Memory

 LG outfitted its G Flex 2 with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC – the latest and greatest processor from the premier chip maker. Its dispersal, as we’ve seen play out, has been rather tricky and relatively narrow, with only a few notable devices at the moment opting to use it. Whatever the reason, LG went with the 64-bit hexa-core 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 to power its latest flagship in the G4. This particular setup breaks down to four ARM Cortex-A53 and two ARM Cortex-A57 cores that are complemented by 3GB of RAM and the Adreno 418 GPU.

ts graphical processing performance indicates some struggles – and it manifests in some gaming titles we play on the phone. Most casual gamers probably won’t notice it, but if you’re coming from handsets such as the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6, or the One M9, it’s something that’s noticeable right away. Indeed, it’s not terrible to the point of making it unusable, it’s just that it’s a few notches below some other flagships.

Internet and Connectivity

Main benefits of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chip is that it features an integrated X10 LTE radio. In addition to that unique connectivity features, it’s also packed with aGPS with Glonass, Bluetooth 4.1 BLE, dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, NFC, DLNA, 4K SlimPort support, and an IR blaster. The latter, of course, works in conjunction with the QuickRemote app – allowing us to program the phone to act as a universal remote. Unlike other TV-based apps, like Peel, the QuickRemote app is simply a straightforward virtual remote control app, so you won’t find any of those content searching features with it.

Camera

The LG G4 comes with a brand new 16-megapixel 1/2.6” camera sensor with a wide, f/1.8 aperture lens on top of that sensor, improved optical stabilization (OIS 2), and the same lickety-split laser-assisted autofocus, but arguably the most exciting new camera-related feature of the phone might be its new 'color spectrum sensor'.

LG’s camera app doesn’t deviate from the layout we’ve seen last year with the G3. Offering a decent mixture of shooting modes, such as panorama, dual, and auto, we’re intrigued by the new manual mode it offers, which seemingly targets enthusiast who want a higher degree of control – dishing up options to adjust white balance, focus, exposure compensation, ISO, and shutter speed. The latter option is an intriguing one, just because very few phones can offer long exposure times, which in this case is up to 30 seconds. Additionally, the phone can instantly run the camera app, focus, and take a snapshot in a few seconds by merely double pressing the volume down button.

Image Quality

the LG G4 roars loudly when it comes to snapping photos, composing shots that won’t disappoint. To tell you the truth, it’s definitely one of the best around right now, since it’s great at handling a wide array of shooting conditions. In particular, it’s strongest with its outdoor, macro, and HDR shots – where compositions provide ample crisp details, good handling of dynamic range, and colors that are naturally toned. Quite frankly, its quality rivals that of the Galaxy S6, which most purists would agree to be one of the best out there. However, we sometimes notice that it has trouble when it’s snapping photos with sunlight going against the camera.

Front-facing 8-megapixel camera, which also features an f/2.0 aperture lens, it captures better looking selfies than its predecessor. Not only is there an incredible amount of detail, but the wide-angle lens ensures that you’ll get more than your face filling up the shot – so friends can join in without being cut out. However, just know that the best results occur when strong lighting is evenly present in the scenery. Under less light, though, details become a bit smeary.

Entertainment

the G4 Snapdragon 808’s processing punch is on full display as we’re able to fluidly scroll through our collection with little to zero evidence of delay. At the same time, too, it’s been rearranged to offer present content in an album, timeline, memories, favorites, and videos view. With the Memories feature, it uses the GPS location attached to each piece of content and organizes them as a collection according to location – similar to the Zoe feature in the HTC One M9. It’s a pleasant addition, but it’s nowhere as close to the customizable aspects given to us with Zoe.

While LG has spent some time retooling the Gallery app, the music player on the other hand, doesn’t see any notable changes – so it’s unchanged from before. Essentially, the visual presentation and function of the LG music player is the same, which favors a conventional approach to its styling, as opposed to the slicker look of other players.

The new 5.5-inch quad-HD IPS Quantum Display is a visual feast to the eyes, but its true potency is experienced by watching videos on it. Obviously, the display comes to life thanks to the brilliant colors and smooth operation of the handset – something that’s accentuated with the addition of a multi-tasking element where a video can be layered on top of everything in the interface.

Battery

The G4 over its predecessor, there’s no change to the battery capacity whatsoever – so it’s packing along the same 3000 mAh battery under the hood. Generally speaking, we find its performance under normal, real-world usage to be on par to the rest of the recent flagships we’ve been testing. It’s good to carry us a solid one-day of normal usage, but don’t expect the long-lasting results of the Motorola DROID Turbo here.

Judging its result in our battery benchmark test, there’s no improvement whatsoever in this particular area. Specifically, the G4’s 3000 mAh juice pack propels the phone through 6 hours and 6 minutes in our test, which is very close to the mark of its predecessor. The result is somewhat a surprise, considering that LG claims that the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chip has been optimized to be more efficient. Also, its battery charging time is similar to the G3, since it requires 127 minutes to get it back to 100%.