Hands-on preview: LG G3
Lucky Goldstar launches its latest flagship smartphone, and a range of matched accessories. We went hands-on in Singapore.
One day LG would like to have the same kind of market pull as Apple.
Then, it might be able to push for truly global launches of its high-end
smartphones; until then, we're stuck with the current staggered release
pattern, as much reliant upon the whims of local carriers as any
internal LG decision-making process.
But the company is getting better at juggling dates. The just officially announced LG G3 will be hitting Australian shores in early August, a mere couple of months after its announcement, and barely a month after it hits the Korean market. And for a fairly reasonable $799 outright at launch, it's a pretty good buy.
We got a chance to get an early session with the new phone as a guest of LG's at the Singapore launch. The night before the big event, we even got to have a brief play with a heavily-watched sample.
We liked what we saw.
Look and feel
Even in its basic form, the metallic-backed (not metal, mind, but rather a plastic backing that does a very good impersonation of metal) LG G3 looks and feels premium. It's ever so slightly larger still than the previous model, and beats the current Galaxy S5 as well. The two buttons on the rear surface have had a redesign; they're now curved inward and fit finger-tips better than ever.
In the palm of the hand, it grips easily, and offers a lot of screen real-estate. And what real-estate it is!
Display
Let's get nitty gritty. The LG G3 boasts a 538ppi, 5.5in display, that outputs at an eye-bleedingly sharp resolution. LG's calling it Quad HD, though it's really 'only' 1.8 times higher res than a normal Full HD display - though, yes, it is four times better than most phone HD displays.
Nonetheless, it's one of the best displays we've seen. HD video looks crisp and clean, colours are rich and varied, and it even impressed in terms of total screen size. With a new way to run power to the display, the G3's screen goes almost to the edges.
It's also very bright, and probably really annoyed some of the other patrons at our restaurant preview session.
Sound
But not as much as the sample videos, which were probably more intrusive for the various couples trying to have semi-romantic evenings.
No smartphone is ever going to be able to out-do external speakers or a good set of headphones, but if did have to fall back on the G3's own hardware, its still an impressive level of soun detail coming from a phone.
Raw power? Looks like it...
Under the rather slim and stylish hood the LG G3 packs the almost standard at this level quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. However, the phone feels a lot more responsive, most likely because of LG's new approach to UI.
There's a lot less flash to the G3's iteration of Kit Kit. Gone is the faux 3D of most mobile UIs, replaced with something flatter and cleaner. LG's also working to make all the important icons round instead of square. More importanty, the phone doesn't seem packed with more or less useless LG cruft, and what LG has added makes a lot of sense.
But, importantly, it makes the user experience feel much better. We'd put it a touch above Samsung's on first blush.
It's a feature, not a bug
LG's added bits and bobs all seem pretty handy. The Smart Keyboard we just didn't get enough time with to see if it really can learn how bad we are at using Android keyboards, but the Smart Notice system, which pops up handy notices and reminders is useful. If you miss a couple of calls, the phone will remind you to call your poor ignored partner; if the battery runs low, it'll prompt you to turn on power-saving.
LG's also added some enhanced security features. Knock Code takes LG's double-tap-to-turn-on/off to its logical conclusion, letting you record a series of knocks to secure your phone as well.
The LG G3 can also lcok on a file by file basis, so if you're plugging your phone into a friend's computer - or even if it's plugged into something that belongs to no friend of yours - it can still keep important files encrypted.
And that's not all
This is where LG's getting really clever. The G3's standard back casing features a built-in induction loop for charging - though the official accessory will cost you extra. The standard back can be swapped out for the QuickCircle Case, which is a lot like a certain Samsung flip-case accessory. But this one's round.
It is cool, however, since the round aperture is perfect for classic clockfaces, and with a single gesture the clock can be 'flipped' to reveal favourite apps.
Finally, there's a Bluetooth headset designed with the help of Harman Kardon. We didn't get to see this in action, but it sounds neat - a simple plastic bad that sits around your neck, with retractable cables for the in-ear headphones.
Sadly, there's no confirmed Australian date for the accessories. But we'll be keeping an eye out.
But the company is getting better at juggling dates. The just officially announced LG G3 will be hitting Australian shores in early August, a mere couple of months after its announcement, and barely a month after it hits the Korean market. And for a fairly reasonable $799 outright at launch, it's a pretty good buy.
We got a chance to get an early session with the new phone as a guest of LG's at the Singapore launch. The night before the big event, we even got to have a brief play with a heavily-watched sample.
We liked what we saw.
Look and feel
Even in its basic form, the metallic-backed (not metal, mind, but rather a plastic backing that does a very good impersonation of metal) LG G3 looks and feels premium. It's ever so slightly larger still than the previous model, and beats the current Galaxy S5 as well. The two buttons on the rear surface have had a redesign; they're now curved inward and fit finger-tips better than ever.
In the palm of the hand, it grips easily, and offers a lot of screen real-estate. And what real-estate it is!
Display
Let's get nitty gritty. The LG G3 boasts a 538ppi, 5.5in display, that outputs at an eye-bleedingly sharp resolution. LG's calling it Quad HD, though it's really 'only' 1.8 times higher res than a normal Full HD display - though, yes, it is four times better than most phone HD displays.
Nonetheless, it's one of the best displays we've seen. HD video looks crisp and clean, colours are rich and varied, and it even impressed in terms of total screen size. With a new way to run power to the display, the G3's screen goes almost to the edges.
It's also very bright, and probably really annoyed some of the other patrons at our restaurant preview session.
Sound
But not as much as the sample videos, which were probably more intrusive for the various couples trying to have semi-romantic evenings.
No smartphone is ever going to be able to out-do external speakers or a good set of headphones, but if did have to fall back on the G3's own hardware, its still an impressive level of soun detail coming from a phone.
Raw power? Looks like it...
Under the rather slim and stylish hood the LG G3 packs the almost standard at this level quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. However, the phone feels a lot more responsive, most likely because of LG's new approach to UI.
There's a lot less flash to the G3's iteration of Kit Kit. Gone is the faux 3D of most mobile UIs, replaced with something flatter and cleaner. LG's also working to make all the important icons round instead of square. More importanty, the phone doesn't seem packed with more or less useless LG cruft, and what LG has added makes a lot of sense.
But, importantly, it makes the user experience feel much better. We'd put it a touch above Samsung's on first blush.
It's a feature, not a bug
LG's added bits and bobs all seem pretty handy. The Smart Keyboard we just didn't get enough time with to see if it really can learn how bad we are at using Android keyboards, but the Smart Notice system, which pops up handy notices and reminders is useful. If you miss a couple of calls, the phone will remind you to call your poor ignored partner; if the battery runs low, it'll prompt you to turn on power-saving.
LG's also added some enhanced security features. Knock Code takes LG's double-tap-to-turn-on/off to its logical conclusion, letting you record a series of knocks to secure your phone as well.
The LG G3 can also lcok on a file by file basis, so if you're plugging your phone into a friend's computer - or even if it's plugged into something that belongs to no friend of yours - it can still keep important files encrypted.
And that's not all
This is where LG's getting really clever. The G3's standard back casing features a built-in induction loop for charging - though the official accessory will cost you extra. The standard back can be swapped out for the QuickCircle Case, which is a lot like a certain Samsung flip-case accessory. But this one's round.
It is cool, however, since the round aperture is perfect for classic clockfaces, and with a single gesture the clock can be 'flipped' to reveal favourite apps.
Finally, there's a Bluetooth headset designed with the help of Harman Kardon. We didn't get to see this in action, but it sounds neat - a simple plastic bad that sits around your neck, with retractable cables for the in-ear headphones.
Sadly, there's no confirmed Australian date for the accessories. But we'll be keeping an eye out.
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