LG G4 First Look

Its that time of the year when LG come out with their next fighter to take on their competition. While the Flex 2 managed to hold on to the throne for a bit, it was quickly overthrown by the Superior Note 4. However, the Korean Game of Thrones will continue with the advent of the LG G4. While LG went experimental with their G Flex 2, they have gone back to Kick Ass mode in the G4. The Mantra for LG this time – design, display and camera.

The G4 is slightly curved, following the roots of its G Flex cousin, while going in a completely new direction with the option of an all leather back panel for that added exclusivity.
The Display has been bumped up to what LG likes to call an IPS Quantum Display, which , if the company is to be believed, delivers the best Color Accuracy in the market.
The camera has been upgraded as well with a better OIS,wider aperture, a new Color Spectrum Sensor for more accurate white balance and a new manual mode.

Here is a list of all the basic specifications featured in the LG G4 –

Dimensions	148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3 – 9.8 mm
Weight	155g
Display	5.5″ Quantum dot IPS screen with 1,440 x 2,560 resolution, 538ppi;
Camera	16MP with OIS 2.0 (rear) |8MP front-facing camera (front)
Hardware	Snapdragon 808, dual-core Cortex-A57 plus quad-core Cortex-A53, Adreno 418 GPU
Battery	3,000mAh
RAM	3 GB
Storage	32GB built-in; expandable via microSD card slot
Operating System	Android 5.1 Lollipop; Optimus UX 4.0
Durability	Gorilla Glass 3
Colors	Grey, White, Gold, Leather Black, Leather Brown, Leather Red-Grey, White, Gold, Leather Black, Leather Brown, Leather Red

The LG G4 will come with a plastic back cover with a “hammered pattern,” but the eye-catching optional leather backs are LG’s big design play. They are made of vegetable tanned genuine leather and feature decorative stitching uses Gütterman thread, a high-end product from Germany used in leather clothes and shoes.

Next up on the agenda is the display – LG has kept the screen size and resolution the same as on its predecessor, the G3 , which is a 5.5″ QHD – but switched to a quantum dot LCD matrix, promising accurate colors with 98% coverage of the RGB spectrum.

The Third main selling point of the LG G4 is the Camera – a new 16MP sensor and improved lens with wider aperture and 3-axis image stabilization instead of 2-axis like on the G3 (LG calls it OIS 2.0). The selfie camera has received an even bigger resolution bump to 8MP. The camera also comes with a new interface complete with manual controls, a histogram and RAW mode.

With three ‘ Pillars’ in the G4, there was bound to be a chink in the armour, and that is the chipset. While the LG G Flex 2 comes with the Snapdragon 810 chipset, the G4 comes with the slightly modest Snapdragon 808. LG however, claims that they have worked hand in hand with Qualcomm, and actually got the 808 Chipset tailor-made for the G4. They also claim that this version of the 808 is much better than their Korean competitor’s Exynos 7420 chipset. But these are just claims. So far, LG has not backed up either of their chipset claims with benchmark proof.

Lets move on to the Hardware –

The LG G4 is bigger than its predecessor, but only slightly. However, it is visibly smaller than the iPhone 6 Plus and only slightly bigger than the Galaxy S6. What is distinct about the G4 is that, the form factor is almost rectangular, while the G3 featured slightly rounded edges.

The bigger change though, is the slightly curved body. It’s not flexible like the G Flex, but the slight curve is supposed to aid in gripping the device . Also, The company claims the curve actually makes the new model 20% more durable than the G3 and “much tougher” than the likes of the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6. Part of that is that if the phone falls face down, the curve will keep the screen away from the floor.

The optional leather cover took three years of research to get it right. LG selected a vegetable tanned leather, a laborious process that takes three months, so only about 10% of all leather products are tanned this way. These covers feature decorative stitching down the center line with Gütermann thread. On these covers the G4 logo is embossed.

Next up, the Software –

The LG G4 boots Android Lollipop out of box, which is good, considering the amount of high end devices that are yet to receive the upgrade. The UI has also been upgraded with the new Optimus UX 4.0 .

LG has also included the Dual window mode, which lets you run two apps simultaneously. KnockON and Knock Code are available, and they allow you to wake the phone with a simple double tap or a more complex (and more secure) tap pattern. That’s great as reaching for the Power button on the back isn’t always the most comfortable option.

Another thing about Lg’s Ui is how light it actually is. LG does not pride itself in the bloatware section and thus, you will not find a lot of unnecessary bloatware on the G4, thus making the experience a butter smooth one.

What about the Performance? –

Probably the only down side to the phone is the performance section. You would have expected LG to go all hands on deck with the G4, but funny enough, they have actually taken a step back this time.

The G4 comes loaded with a customized Snapdragon 808 chipset. Now, LG claims that this chipset will run circles around the Exynos 7420 chipset, but that really doesn’t seem to be the case as the sheer performance figures of the 7420 on paper smoke those of the Snapdragon 808. A Snapdragon 810 on the other would have been more than capable to take the fight to the Eynos camp.

When it comes to the GPU, the LG G4 suffers a blow yet again as an Adreno 418 cannot really dream to compete with the more than capable Adreno 430.

If LG was looking to compromise , it shouldn’t have been the Performance package.

Lets take a look at the Display –

Probably the most jaw dropping feature of the LG G4 is its display. Sure, the company has stuck to the same display configuration as the LG G3, but what they have done is that they have tweaked the display and bumped up the resolution with the Quantum Dot Technology.

Quantum dots are used in a special kind of LCD, usually found in Sony’s Triluminos displays (on TVs and Xperia phones). The promise is much improved color rendering – accurate without oversaturation. However, since LG has already picked the S6 as their direct competitor, the question remains – Is the Quantum Dot getting LG any bonus points in this fight ? Well, with the inclusion of the Quantum Dot technology ,LG now claims 98% coverage of the color spectrum, whereas the Galaxy S6 screen has 110%. I guess that answers the question.

Finally, we have the Camera –

The G4 comes with a completely revamped camera – what we have is a 16 MP sensor (1/2.6″ big) and it sits behind an f/1.8 lens that lets in 80% more light compared to the G3 camera. The lens features 3-axis optical stabilization, compared to the 2-axis OIS on the LG G3.

Here again, we have LG claiming that their camera app will open faster than that of the Galaxy S6, and they might just be right, as double pressing the volume down key not only opens the camera, it also takes an immediate snapshot. Exactly how useful that is , I do not know, but I guess a few people might laude this feature anyway.

The selfie camera is now an 8MP shooter, a big boost over the 2MP camera of the G3. It also has a wide aperture, f/2.0, for better evening selfies. As before, you can use Gesture shot to snap a selfie hands-free – you just raise your hand (palm open) and form a fist to trigger the camera.

All in all, the G4 is a very capable device, with a pleasant design, lighter UI, and a stunning Camera. In a normal scenario, I would put my money on the LG G4 to beat anything that anyone might put in front of it. But since they are taking on the King of flagship devices itself, I am afraid LG G4 has brought a knife to a gunfight.