Review
Roderick Scott 0

LG G4 review

LG has been seeking to become more of a household name among the like of Apple & Samsung.  Last year's G3 was an excellent device that may have been overlooked due to marketing blitz of their rivals.  I personally got 5 friends + family members to ditch the Galaxy life and pick up the G3 and they all love it.

Now its time for their latest flagship to shine w/ the G4.  LG made sure to emphasize on their new camera but there is still more to the G4.  We've been using this bad boy for a few weeks now and we're ready to share our thoughts on the matter.  In case you wanted to know why you should buy the G4, we got your answers covered below.  



1. Display

LG G4 review

LG G4 review

Similar to Samsung, LG never had any real issues on the display department - for smartphones, tablets, or TVs.  LG is all about refinement here as they retain the 5.5inch 2K (2560 x 1440 resolution) display.   This time around they're utilizing their latest technology as it is on a Quantum IPS panel.  This focuses on making the colors more accurate & brighter colors.  While the colors aren't vibrant as one the GS6/S6 Edge, it is still a serious display that truly shines in content that's 1080p or higher.  

The display truly shines in content in 1080p or higher.

2. Camera

G4 camera

G4 camera

In case you missed it, we already went in depth w/ the new shooters on the G4.  For a recap, it has a f/1.8 16MP rear sensor w/ improved OIS & a new Color Spectrum Sensor and a f/2.0 8MP shooter on the front.  LG kept the single LED flash, laser-guides auto-focus, and improved on their optical image stabilization (OIS).  All of this makes for accurate colors, sharp images, and smooth video.  The new manual settings are a Godsend.  They won't beat out those on a DSLR or mirrorless camera but it comes pretty damn close.  We get a lot more in-depth in our camera test which you can read up on at the  link below.

G4 Camera Test

3. Battery

G4 battery

While the other 2 Android flagships of the year have their batteries sealed in as part of their design, LG wanted to keep theirs swappable.  Inside of the plastic or leather rear cover lies a 3000 mAh battery that offers all-day battery life.  That's on heavy usage as on light-to-moderate will warrant you close to 2 full day on a single charge.  There was some confusion at 1st but I am glad to hear that this does support Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0.   Having this on several devices before has spoiled me as it should be standard on all Android devices (flagships, mid-level, & budget).

LG has the best battery of the 2015 flagships.

G4 review grade

LG's latest flagship is truly a marvel and could easily be the best device on Android thus far.  

In-Betweens:

  • Software - LG didn't change the look of their overall UI on top of Lollipop so if you didn't really like it on the G3, not much has changed here.  Their native Smart Notice is still and still awesome IMO.  You can still customize everything from font, themes, & icons on a native level which other manufacturers have just started getting on board with.  I just wish LG took advantage of Lollipop's notifications/quick settings window shade.  
  • Speaker - Unfortunately the speaker on the G4 is still a rear-firing one.   Although it is still pretty good, it is now in a class by itself now that Samsung has finally moved theirs to the bottom.  It will do the job but don't expect it to properly combat the likes of the M9 or some other speaker on a flagship device.  
  • Leather - Although I didn't luck out and get one of the G4s w/ the leather rear, I have colleagues and other industry insiders whom I've had the honor to demo for long periods of time.  It is definitely real leather as LG said it was and it feels marvelous.  One of my colleagues even put it through a bit rigorous testing and still looks.  Worse case scenario, you can always get another.  So if you can opt for a leather one.  

TG 2 Cents

With the G4 they aimed for refinement and taking what was already great about the G3 and making modest improvements.  So if there were things that you thought were bland or blah on the G3, they may have been beefed up or remained the same.  However you won't find too much that you don't like on the G4.  Seriously.  LG did a truly remarkable job here on the G4.  Many of you may focus on the design of the device but that is irrelevant if you can't master the basics of a great cameras, battery life, & screen.  LG has done so effortlessly so don't look for my 3 reasons not to buy on this device.  I just hope that they don't get overlooked as much as they did w/ the G3.  But the way their current campaign is going, I have a feeling that it will do well.  
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Author: Roderick Scott

Father. Husband. Creative. Mild foodie. Batman in my dreams.