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LG G3 Revisited
Although LG was a little late to enter the smartphone race,
it finally did it with a bang. When the LG G2 was released back in September
2013, it was well received, but lacked the wow factor. The LG G3 certainly
wasn’t one of the most anticipated smartphones of 2014. So when it finally
came, it turned a lot of heads in the tech community.
Design
The G3 is an absolute stunner. With almost zero bezels the
front is completely occupied by a gorgeous 5.5” QHD display which has a pixel
density of 538ppi. Despite such a big display, LG somehow managed it all in a form
factor that’s easy and comfortable for single handed use. It is almost entirely,
made out of plastic, with a thin metal band that goes around the borders. It
has a brushed metal back which gives a premium feel. The rear mounted volume
and power buttons from the G2 have been retained, however the notification
light in the power button, which was sort of an overkill, has been dropped for
good. Previously, the power button was a hazard. It was prone to wear as it
prevented the phone from lying flat on its back. It has been slimmed down
perfectly. On the top is an IR blaster. The headphone jack is on the bottom
left corner. The device doesn’t give the best grip. It’s quite smooth and
slippery so it’s better to use a case. I use it with a silicone cover and a
carbon fiber wrap on back.
Hardware
And it’s not just good to look at in fact the G3 is a power
house. It has a Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.5GHz with Adreno 330 GPU. It runs
every game you throw at it, effortlessly. It comes in 16/32GB versions coupled
with 2GB of Ram and 3GB for the latter. The display is an IPS LCD with a
resolution of 2560 × 1440. Has great viewing angles and is bright enough even
in direct sunlight. The distinguishing features are tap to wake and Knock Code
where a combination of taps is used to unlock the phone. At the back is a 1 Watt speaker with a 'boost amp' to
improve sound quality which is a little too loud. One of its best features is
the 13 MP shooter with OIS (optical image stabilization) and dual-LED two-tone
flash. LG introduced a new laser auto focus feature which is fast, snappy and
works extremely well. There is an SD card slot for expandable storage. It
supports Qi wireless charging through LGs Quick Circle wireless charging case.
Software
Fortunately, LG has kept it clean this time. LGs custom
version of Android 5.0 Lollipop is pretty close to stock and unlike Samsung and
HTC there is no bloat ware. The quick settings panel which has been redesigned
from scratch, looks amazing even though it takes a lot of space and leaves
little room for notifications. Its flat tile UI has gained a lot of praise. In
fact, I liked it so much that I skipped the idea of using a third party
launcher.
Performance
The spec sheet says it all however real life performance is a
different thing altogether. I have been using the 32GB variant for quite some
time now and in my experience everything was buttery smooth. From jumping
between apps to playing graphic intensive games, there is no performance lag. Since
it’s the first QHD display on any smartphone and not everything is optimized
with the native 1440p there is an occasional UI stutter. It handles gaming very
well. Asphalt 8 on such a crisp display is a treat for the eyes.
Camera
The 13 MP camera with OIS (optical image stabilization) dual-LED
two-tone flash is a decent upgrade from its predecessor. Images are sharp and
crisp. Dynamic range and contrast both are
excellent. It handles low-light quite well too. It also has HDR mode, dual
shot, panoramic capture, voice activation, face and
smile detection, and burst mode. Video quality is incredibly sharp and smooth.
It supports 1080p, slow motion and 4K UHD video recording. A 2.1-megapixel
front-facing secondary can be used for video calls in 1080p.
Battery
life
The only category where the G3 falls short of its rivals is
battery life. It has a 3000mah battery which seems to be at par with other
flagships in capacity. But the 2K display is major power hog. The good news
here is that the battery is removable and can be easily swapped with a charged
one. Recently I got 5 hours of on-screen time for a full day of use which
included a 2 hours on 3G, few calls and text replies, an hour of gaming, which is
not too bad.
Final
Verdict
For those who don’t want to spend an arm or a leg on their
next smartphone and certainly don’t care about the latest product OEM,s have to
offer the LG G3 is still a worthy contender and should easily get you through
2015. Its main rivals are the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC ONE M8. And now that the
G4 is finally here, expect to get it for a bargain price.
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