While the LG G3 has been released a few months ago, we now came uup with our official review of the device. Check out the video below to see the full review, or look below to see a full written version:
Design
With the LG G3, LG is looking to continue the positive trend
of the G2, and attempt to take a chunk out of the Galaxy’s sales. Sure enough,
this device looks to be a worthy contender. While LG is using the same design
language as it had on the G2, this is an overall much more mature device. The
G3 features a much nicer-feeling back, with a fingerprint-proof faux-metal
cover. While this is still plastic, it feels much nicer and combined with the
curved back it helps the 5.5’ device fit in the hand very comfortably.
The motto of the LG
G3 is “Simple is the new best”, and you can see it in many places of the
device. You can notice the back of the device is much cleaner than the
somewhat-cluttered G2, and also the buttons have a simpler look to them. The cover material helps the phone look much
nicer, and it’s certainly a nice-looking device.
LG has decided to put the charging port in the bottom, next
to the earphone jack and on the top is the IR port. LG has again incorporated
its knock-on technology, which allows it to put the buttons on the back and
still turn on the phone while it’s on its back.
Battery
& Storage
One of the biggest changes with the G3 is LG’s decision to
incorporate a removable back, which allows you to remove the battery. In our
experience, we tend to get around 4-5 hours of screen-on time. While that is disappointing,
that’s what you can expect with a QHD screen, which obviously takes much more
power than the 1080p display of the G2, out of which we managed to squeeze up
to 7 hours of screen-on time.
Nonetheless, thanks to the removable back, whenever you run
out of battery you can simply pop out the massive 3,000 mAh battery and insert
a new one, so if you carry a spare battery you can easily get 8 hours of
screen-on time. While that’s good, it might be more convenient to just stick
with one battery, and while 5 hours of SoT isn’t amazing, it will certainly get
you through a day’s work without running out.
Under the hood you can also find a micro SD card slot, which
would allow you to bump your storage up to 128 GB. The standard options are 16
GB/ 32 GB, but in the real world that means 10/24 GB since the system takes a
lot of space, so you might find yourself in need of an SD card.
Speaker
A big issue with the G2, at least to music lovers and other
users which love using their speaker, was the volume. Similarly to its brother,
the Nexus 5, the G2 suffered from a relatively-low maximum volume output, which
made it unheard once you were in a noisy room/party/etc.
The G3 definitely outdone itself in that perspective- LG has
implemented a 1W speaker, which definitely matches the other flagships, and
delivers a very loud volume. While all is good when the speaker is exposed, LG’s
choice to place it on the back gives some problems when it is lying face up on
a table, and it would have been better if LG put it on the bottom like on the
G2. Overall, the speakers are still very good, and no user should have a
problem in that category.
As you can see, the volume/power buttons received a makeover
in the G3. While the power button is now round instead of rectangular, the
volume buttons are more oval. The buttons now deliver a much nicer experience,
and I personally love the improved feedback, since you can really feel and hear
the click when you press the buttons, unlike the G2, and they are much nicer to
press.
Camera
The volume buttons can also serve as shortcut keys, and
while the upper one leads to the somewhat-useless QuickMemo, pressing long on
the lower while the screen is turned off will get you to the camera app.
This is one of the places in which LG’s “Simple is the New
Best” motto is most visible: While recently manufacturers are just focused on
cramming more and more camera modes and options and toggles, LG realizes that
most of these modes are very similar, and the average consumer doesn’t need
that many options. You have a “Touch & Shoot” mode, which enables you to
quickly focus and immediately take a picture by simply pressing the screen, a
feature which is enabled mainly thanks to the laser focus, which allows for
very quick focus. This is great for those who simply want to take a quick shot
without messing around with the settings
If you press the three dots in the upper right corner, you
can customize the camera further. LG has decided to only offer three camera modes,
with an HDR option. In the settings you can choose up to 13 MP photos, and you
have the option of 4K videos. Thanks to the SD card slot, taking 4K videos
shouldn’t be a problem since your memory can handle it. In our experience, the
pictures turn out to be very good, and we’ll show more on that later. You can
also say a variety of things in order to take a picture.
Display
One thing you have to give to this device, and that is the
absolutely stunning display. While the differences between QHD and FHD might be
questioned, LG’s preloaded video looks absolutely stunning on the device, and
it certainly looks better than standard FHD. No matter how close you look, you’ll
never manage to detect any pixels, and this is one of the best displays on the
market.
Some people criticized the display, claiming its brightness
output is no match when it is held in direct sunlight. In my personal
experience, I would call rubbish on that, as the display is clearly visible in
any conditions. Overall, the display is greatly improved from the G2, and
delivers one of the best experiences on the market.
Knock Code
After debuting it on the LG G2 Pro, LG has implemented the
Knock Code technology in all of its recent handsets, including porting it via
an update to the G2 and the G Flex, and it was obvious the LG G3 will feature
Knock Code.
In order to find Knock Code, you enter the Settings, from
there go to Lock Screen, and once you enter Lock Screen options you need to
press “Select Screen Lock”, and Knock Code will be one of the options. Knock
Code basically enables you to select a pattern of 2 to 8 taps on one of the
four areas of the screen, and set that as your lock screen. You also set a
recovery code, in case you forget it.
LG claims knock code to be the safest
screen lock mechanism, and while we would be skeptical as to whether it is
truly the best, it is definitely very convenient and cool to use. While this
can be done while your screen is turned off, you can also press the power
button and then you can see the Lock Screen, but Knock Code allows you to
bypass the lock screen and get straight to your phone.
Home Screen,
LG Health & Smart Tips
The G3 home screen has been redesigned, and it also offers
Google Now from the home screen functionality. You simply need to say “OK
Google” from the home screen, and it will take you to the app.
Also, if you slide to the left, you have the LG Health
screen, and below you have Smart Tips. The LG Health app is similar to other
fitness apps, and uses the LG G3 steps counter to determine how many steps you’ve
taken, and sets you goals for the day. It can also measure runs and other forms
of fitness.
In the Smart Tips area, you can see all kinds of
recommendations about how to use the phone, and you can press one in order to
see how to use it. While I didn’t find anything new there, you can definitely
check it out as it might show you some things about the device which you haven’t
known before.
On Screen
Buttons
One of the advantages of on-screen buttons, aside from the
fact it can offer you more screen real-estate, is that it allows you to
customize the look and functionality of the buttons. LG tries to squeeze the
most it can out of that.
If you go to Settings, Display, and then to Home Screen
Buttons, you can customize everything about these buttons. First and foremost,
you can add two more buttons to the standard three, in the shape of “Dual Window”,
“Notifications”, “QSlide”, and “QuickMemo+”. You can also change the order of
them, and have 3-5 buttons on the screen in any order you wish, which is pretty
neat.
Another thing you can customize is the background color of
the buttons. You can have Black, Black Graduation, White, and White Graduation.
While the default option is white, I prefer the plain black, but that’s up to
you, as LG lets you change it to your personal taste.
You can also make the background of the buttons transparent
when you are in the home-screen, basically showing you the wallpaper instead of
the color background. Another option LG has, is to choose on which apps to hide
the On-Screen buttons, and force the app into immersive mode. While that is a
neat option, some apps might crash if you enable that, and usually you better
not do it, since if it’s not optimized for Immersive Mode perhaps it’s not
meant to be. However, you have the option to.
Phone Tour
(See the video)
Summary
Overall, this is a very neat phone. LG is quite impressing
us in the past couple of years, and is really getting on the map. With the LG G3
motto of “Simple is the New Best”, this phone is perfect for average consumers
who don’t need a loaded OS like TouchWiz, and look for a simple experience.
Moreover, the display of this phone is quite stunning, and it’s a shame it
comes on the expense of poor battery life.
Pros:
- Great QHD Display
- Simple UI
- Great Camera
- Removable back & micro SD slot
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Speaker on the back
If you don’t mind the bad battery life, then this is an
excellent phone, and if we ignore the battery part this could well be the best
smartphone of the year. We hope you enjoyed our review, and we’ll post a
comparison with the G2 in a couple of days.
