LG announced the G4 yesterday, the successor to the LG G3 that was launched last year. The handset will go on sale in Korea starting today at a price of 825,000 KRW (INR 48,880 or US$775) and will eventually release in over 180 countries worldwide.
On first glance, you maybe tricked into thinking that it is actually the G Flex 2. The overall design of the handset is quite similar to the G Flex 2. The design is more angular unlike the rounded G3. While it’s not “flexible” like the G Flex 2, the device does have a slightly curved body and the screen size remains the same as well. But the screen is different in terms of resolution and technology. The screen has also been improved from its predecessor, the G3, even though the size remains the same. The G4 uses a 5.5″ IPS (1440p resolution) display with Quantum Dot technology. LG claims the quantum dot technology will provide more accurate colours and coverage of 98% of the colour spectrum. It is also 25% brighter and offers 50% higher contrast compared to the G3.
The device is overall slightly bigger than the G3 as well. The G4 has a 72.5% screen to body ratio compared to 75.3% of the G3. While the G4 measures 148.9×76.1×9.8mm, the G3 only measured 146.3×74.6×8.9mm. That means that the G4 has a larger footprint than the G3 even though it looks slightly more compact perhaps due to its angular design. The weight has also gone up from 149 grams to 155 grams. LG choose to switch to a nanoSIM with the G4, something that almost every manufacturer is slowly adapting.
While the previous generation G3 had two variants – a 16GB one with 2GB RAM and 32GB variant with 3GB RAM, the G4 has just one variant with 32GB and 3GB of RAM. This is a good decision considering the 2GB RAM model on the G3 did face some performance issues. Speaking of performance, the G4 is powered by a Snapdragon 808 processor. LG might have made the decision to not use the 810 after seeing the issues on the G Flex 2.
The camera has also been upgraded from the G3 which had a 13 Megapixel camera (1/3″ sensor size). The G4 offers an improved 16 Megapixel camera that has a bigger 1/2.6″ sensor with a maximum aperture of f1.8 and upgraded optical image stabilisation that now has 3 axis stabilisation as opposed to the 2 axis unit on the G3. The laser autofocus and Dual tone LED flash are still present from the G3. LG claim that the G4 will launch the camera app faster than the Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge. The camera app offers a Manual mode that gives you a lot of control over your images. You can control the shutter speed, ISO and white balance. You also have a histogram and auto exposure lock toggle along with the ability to shoot in RAW.
The front facing camera has also received an upgrade. It is an 8 Megapixel unit with a maximum aperture of f2.0 and supports gestures to take photos.
The back cover is made of plastic and has a hexagonal pattern on it. The back cover is still removable and gives you access to the battery, nanoSIM and microSD card slots. LG is also offering additional leather back covers that can be purchased as an optional extra. These covers are made of genuine tanned leather and have real stitching that runs down the middle of the phone from top to bottom. The leather cover also has an engraved G4 logo and will be available in different colours as shown above. The battery capacity remains same at 3000 mAH and LG hasn’t mentioned anything about its charging speeds.