Touting several refinements and a new 5.5-inch Quad HD display, LG has brought to market the new LG G3. The new, larger display brings a resolution and pixel density above of what we’ve seen on the current crop of flagships. You also get a 13-megapixel camera with a unique laser autofocus system, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC that's at the top of its class.
On the software side, LG has praised a major clean-up to its Optimus UI which sits atop Android 4.4, giving it an overall simpler look and addressing some of the complaints users had with the previous model.
Not unlike other premium Android phone makers, LG has largely been tweaking the formula established with its previous flagship, adding better components and polishing up the package. No major shakeup has occurred, because no major shakeup was necessary.
The obvious question: is the LG G3 a significant upgrade on the G2, and is it enough to place it above the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 in the high-end Android pecking order? It’s time to find out.
Thanks to MobiCity for providing us with an LG G3 to review. Just for TechSpot readers, you can get $10 off any order over $50 by entering the code ‘TECHSPOT’ into MobiCity’s checkout.
Design
For a smartphone with a sizable 5.5-inch display, the LG G3 is remarkably compact and easy to hold. It’s the same height as both the HTC One M8 (5.0” display) and the Sony Xperia Z2 (5.2”), albeit slightly wider, and it’s only marginally larger than the Samsung Galaxy S5 (5.1”).Meanwhile, it’s significantly smaller than HTC’s mid-range Desire 816 with its similarly-sized 5.5-inch display.
LG G3 - $680 unlocked
- 5.5”, 2560 x 1440 IPS LCD display (534 ppi)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC
- 2.5 GHz quad-core CPU, Adreno 330 GPU, 2/3GB RAM
- 16/32 GB internal storage, microSD card slot
- 13 MP camera, 1/3” sensor, f/2.4 lens, 4K video
- 3,000 mAh, 11.4 Wh battery
- LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
- Android 4.4 ‘KitKat’
- 149 grams, 8.9mm thick
The use of small bezels has a few side effects. The space above and below the display has been reduced to the bare minimum, although there’s still enough room for the front in-call speaker, front camera and a selection of sensors. Having these sections any smaller would make the smartphone a lot harder to grip and operate effectively, so kudos to LG for getting it just right.
The bezel size and curvature of the body has meant the main hardware buttons on the LG G3 are once again located on the back panel. In a section just below the rear camera you’ll find the power button sitting in between the volume buttons, essentially in the same location as they were on the G2. However, LG has improved the design of the buttons by making them more rounded and curved, which makes them easier to find and hit when you can’t see them.
Personally I have no issue with the location of the buttons, because after a week of use you become accustomed to their position. In some situations the power button falls in the exact right position for my usual smartphone grip, putting it in a better location than if it were on the sides. At other times I need to reposition my fingers, but that’s typical for any smartphone design.
I do understand, however, that rear buttons aren’t for everyone. LG compensates for this somewhat by allowing you to double tap the touchscreen to turn on (and sometimes off) the display, which is primarily how I used the G3. LG goes even further by providing Knock Code, which is something I’ll discuss in the software section.
Aside from the physical buttons, the rear of the device also features the two-tone LED flash and laser autofocus system to the right and left of the camera respectively. The main speaker has moved from the bottom edge to the back panel as well, and although the quality is unsurprisingly lacking from the small 1W driver, it’s very loud when it needs to be.
The body of the G3 is curved to the left and right side, making it fit nicely in your hand, while also disguising the thickness of the handset. At 8.9mm thick on average (10mm at its thickest point, near the camera), it’s not huge anyway, but the curves assist in creating a more ergonomic frame.
Along the bottom edge you’ll find the 3.5mm headphone jack and micro-USB charging port. The port is only USB 2.0, leaving Samsung as the only major smartphone vendor offering USB 3.0 support, although I’d put this down to the odd and potentially confusing shape of the micro-USB 3.0 port. The top edge features an infrared LED plus one of several microphones.
The entire front panel, including the patterned area featuring the LG logo, is made entirely of glass, which is smooth to touch and scratch resistant. However it’s not the front I’m disappointed with.
The “metallic skin” LG has used for the removable back cover is a step up in terms of look and feel, but it’s a fake. No part of the back is actually made of metal, instead it’s smooth plastic with slight texturing. While I don’t have a problem with some kinds of plastic, and generally speaking the G3’s plastic is quite alright, real metal would give the device a truly premium look and feel.
The entire back section lifts off to reveal the removable battery, microSD and micro-SIM slots. I’m still not a fan of the removable battery, as I feel a larger collection of cells could fit in if the plastic housings on both the battery and the phone were removed, but I’m sure the ability to hot-swap will come in handy to some people.
The actual piece of plastic used for the back panel is very solid, unlike on Samsung phones, giving good protection to the components and making it hard to remove. On the model I received to review, Qi wireless charging circuitry was included in the back panel, although some carrier-specific models in the US and Korea won’t include this feature.
Visually I liked the multi-shaded look of the ‘metallic black’ G3 I received, although it also comes in silk white, shine gold, moon violet (what?), and burgundy red if you’d prefer something less plain.
Display: First to Quad HD
Arguably the biggest new feature to make it into the LG G3 is the 5.5-inch Quad HD, or 2560 x 1440 display. Technology-wise we’re looking at a TFT IPS LCD panel, branded by LG as True HD-IPS+, with an incredible pixel density of 534 pixels per inch. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass 3 on the front, as the majority of smartphones are.
Obviously the big talking point here is the increase in resolution from 1920 x 1080, which has been the standard for over a year, to 2560 x 1440. On a typical 5.0-inch smartphone this equates to a 33% jump from 440 PPI to 587 PPI, corresponding to the 78% jump in pixel count. In comparison, going from 720p (294 PPI at 5-inches) to 1080p was a 50% jump in density with a 125% rise in pixel count.
Just looking at the numbers on paper reveals a smaller gain going from 1080p to 1440p than going from 720p to 1080p, especially as we already passed the 300 and even 400 PPI barriers. Does the increase in resolution create a noticeable difference?
I was one of several people who was able to instantly tell the difference between a 720p and 1080p smartphone display without having to do a side-by-side comparison. Although the upgrade was somewhat subtle, the increased sharpness and paper-like quality of 400+ PPI displays was noticeable and provided real benefits, like the ability to use thinner fonts without dealing with aliasing.
The upgrade to 1440p is noticeable, but not nearly to the same degree. Placing the G3 next to the Galaxy S5 or One M8 and you’ll see the Quad HD display is sharper and crisper around the edges of text and in graphics. But by itself, without a direct comparison to a lower resolution display, you’ll be very hard pressed to identify the differences the 1440p panel brings.
In some photos, such as the rising smoke wallpaper used by default on the G3’s lockscreen, the added resolution means a greater level of detail can be displayed and noticed by the human eye. However in a lot of cases the G3’s screen looks just as good as a 1080p competitor, and if you don’t have perfect eyesight or you aren’t holding the phone ridiculously close to your face, the upgrade provides negligible benefits.
Some apps also aren’t suited for 1440p smartphone displays, so they lack the appropriate assets to display crisp graphics on the G3’s panel. A similar situation was observed when the first 1080p panels started to show up, and naturally it will be resolved with time. Unfortunately for early adopters, though, it means sometimes you’ll have to put up with apps that appear to be upscaled, occasionally looking worse than they would on a 1080p panel natively.
Luckily the increased resolution rarely equates to a visual downgrade, so you’re left with a panel that looks either the same or better than a Full HD counterpart. How it impacts on performance or battery life is another matter entirely though.
Of course there are many other aspects to the G3’s display than just the resolution. Display saturation and accuracy appears to be good, but not as good as the LG G2 or Nexus 5. When viewing color gradients on the panel, there’s noticeable banding, indicating either a gamut that exceeds sRGB, or increased saturation values for some colors.
Either one is a problem with Android devices, as manufacturers tend to boost these levels in an attempt to make the display look prettier for the user, rather than more accurate. Indeed with the G3 this appears to be the case, as photos on the phone’s display look somewhat different to what they look like on my PC monitors, which are calibrated to be close to sRGB.
In some cases images look better on my monitors and in some cases they look better on the G3, although the G3 is less accurate. It’d be great if there was a software setting to switch to accuracy over flare, but generally speaking the G3’s display is far from terrible. It’s not quite as saturated as the Galaxy S5’s Super AMOLED, creating a more balanced look that I’m a fan of.
Black and white points are good, but again not as great as the current crop of mature 1080p panels. This is likely due to the switch to an ultra-high-density 1440p display resolution, which forces transistors to get smaller and backlights to get stronger. Viewing angles are still great from the G3’s IPS display, but not as good as the HTC One M8.
Brightness has suffered from the resolution upgrade, putting it on-par with Samsung’s AMOLED panel used in the Galaxy S5. LCD panels can typically go brighter than AMOLEDs due to their inherent construction and use of a backlight, but smaller pixels in the G3’s display has negated this advantage. The Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8 have brighter displays by quite a margin at 100% brightness, although when full brightness isn’t required there’s little difference between the LCDs used in today’s flagships.
Trying to view the G3’s display outdoors is trickier than with the Z2 and One M8 as it can’t go as bright, but the construction of the display, with few layers, assists in cutting down on reflections. It is possible to read text on the G3’s panel in strong backlighting, although it’s certainly not the best I’ve used.
Navigation buttons are on-screen on the G3, reducing screen real estate while the buttons are visible to 5.15-inches from 5.5-inches. Android 4.4 has improved the way on-screen buttons function so more of the screen is utilized more often. This makes the 5.5-inch display with on-screen buttons a far better option than a 5.1-inch screen with physical navigation buttons, giving you greater screen real estate where it matters (such as when watching videos).
Software: Improvements All Around
LG has put a big emphasis on cleaning up the software experience for the G3, and although the skin atop Android 4.4 is still relatively feature- and design-heavy, the difference between this and the G2 is noticeable and refreshing.Overall, LG has used a flat, pastel and modern style that integrates well with the stock Android experience, but differs enough to give the G3 its own feel. I really like what LG has done with the software design, completely ditching the childish and amateurish looks of the past in favour of a more professional, pleasing style.
In fact the design of the G3’s skin is good enough to become one of my favourites, still behind the consistently beautiful stock Android, but up there with the One M8’s Sense 6.0 UI. Meanwhile, it trounces the improved-but-still-lacking TouchWiz on the Galaxy S5, and the boring Xperia Z2 user experience.
Many of the basic Android experiences on the LG G3 are things you will have seen before if you’re familiar with Android. The homescreen layout is a 5x5 grid for apps and widgets, denser than other flagships, while the lockscreen looks nice and displays the time plus a few notifications.
Speaking of notifications, the notification pane keeps some of the features of the G2, such as sliding panel of quick settings and sliders for both brightness and volume, but does so in a more visually pleasing way. Again, nothing innovative here, but it gets the job done in a simple, effective fashion.
The standard smartphone applications are a return to simple interfaces without the clutter of pointless features. I’m definitely a fan of expanding on the feature set of stock Android if the new features are actually useful and don’t overwhelm the UI. Unfortunately though, LG has been an offender of adding pointless crap to the software in the past, so it’s great to see a return to the way things should be with the G3.
Most of the interesting and useful features found in the G3 are found in separate applications or settings. In keeping with LG’s philosophy for the G3, it’s entirely possible to ignore these features if you don’t want to use them, as they’re integrated in such a way that doesn’t clutter or overcomplicate the software experience.
QuickMemo+ is LG’s main note-taking application, and it’s packed with all the necessary features such as text and drawing input, as well as the ability to insert images, audio and more. The app itself could be taken to the next level if LG included some way to sync the memos with an online cloud service like Evernote; instead they’re only available locally on the handset.
One of the reasons to use QuickMemo+ is that it’s integrated throughout the OS. You can launch the application by holding down the volume up button on the back when the device is locked (volume down launches the camera), giving you quick access to a digital notepad. In the notification drawer you can also find a QuickMemo+ button, which captures a screenshot ready for annotation.
Quick Remote makes use of the infrared LED along the top of handset, allowing you to control your home theatre devices. The app has a simple interface that collects remotes by rooms, and you have the ability to add remotes from a list of manufacturers, or create a universal remote through learning remote codes from the physical remote. A button in the notification pane also lets you slot a mini remote into the pull down menu, which can be very useful for quick channel or volume changes.
Several multitasking and productivity features have made the transition from the G2, including Dual Window, for using two apps on the display at once; and QSlide, for putting a mini app on the display in a floating window. Both features are effective, and their implementations are essentially the same as what LG included in the G2.
On the homescreen, LG has included a pane to the far left known as Smart Bulletin. In this panel you’ll find two panes, one for LG Health, and one for Smart Tips. I find the inclusion of Smart Tips unusual because after using the phone for a few months you should be familiar with the features of your phone, and won’t need the tips anymore. That said, you can remove the pane in the settings menu (or remove Smart Bulletin entirely).
You’ll need to keep Smart Bulletin if you want to use LG Health, though, as strangely there’s no app shortcut in the app drawer. The app itself is a basic health tracker that supports step counting and GPS tracking from walking, bike riding, running, etc., but you won’t find a food calorie counter like Samsung’s S Health has. I can see LG Health being useful for casual fitness tracking, but there are better apps in the Play Store for more serious health enthusiasts.
Smart Notice is LG’s take on Google Now (despite Google Now being included on the handset), showing handy information through the main weather/clock widget on the homescreen. There’s not a huge range of things Smart Notice will display, but I find the weather information to be particularly useful: if it’s going to rain or be windy later in the day, Smart Notice will tell me to take an umbrella or coat when I leave the house.
It’ll also show you LG Health information, some app information and missed call data. It’d be great if Google Now was integrated into Smart Notice, although I don’t think Google allows it to be integrated into third-party apps.
Knock Code is one of my favourite features in the G3’s software stack, allowing you to unlock the handset by tapping on the screen in a certain pattern. The best thing about Knock Code is that it functions when the display is turned off, not only giving you a method of turning the G3 on without using the back buttons, but also securing the device in a novel way. It’s also reliable, rarely failing if I enter my code correctly.
Like with the G2, LG allows you to alter the on-screen navigation buttons. In the settings menu there are options for changing the arrangement and number of buttons: you can have up to five buttons, including the traditional back, home and recent apps, as well as a button to open the notification pane, load QuickMemo, open QSlide apps or use Dual Window.
Personally I keep the default arrangement, but if you’re a heavy multi-tasker being able to add in some of the other buttons could come in handy.
Other settings included in the G3’s software that add to stock Android include Smart Screen (keeps the display on when you’re looking at it), Smart Cleaning (to free up internal storage space), One-Handed Operation (if you can’t manage the large display), Quiet Mode (to mute the phone at night), and a basic Guest Mode.
Finally, as I come to the end of a massive software offering, it’s time to talk about the keyboard. LG has labelled their keyboard as “Smart Keyboard”, and it’s one of the most versatile I’ve seen included with a smartphone. By default the layout is fantastic and easy to use, but there are plenty of settings to play with to optimize the typing experience.
The only complaint I have with the keyboard is that the auto-correction isn’t enabled by default, but when you head into the settings to fix this, also consider altering the height of the keyboard and its layout (if you want to make minor alterations). The prediction engine powering the G3’s keyboard also appears to be really solid, allowing you to type fast without worrying about errors.
Performance: Hampered By Resolution?
It’s no surprise to find another high-end smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 SoC, which, like its predecessors, has proven to be extremely popular. In the LG G3 you’ll find the MSM8974AC, which is the highest-end SoC Qualcomm currently provides, clocked at up to 2.45 GHz across four Krait 400 CPU cores.Also on the Snapdragon 801’s die is an Adreno 330 GPU clocked at 578 MHz, a 32-bit dual-channel LPDDR3 memory controller providing 14.9 GB/s of bandwidth, a Hexagon QDSP6V5A DSP, LTE/HSPA+/2G cellular radios, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 and IZAT Gen8B GPS+GLONASS. I’ve covered the SoC in greater detail in my HTC One M8 review, so head over there if you’re after more details.
The LG G3 is one of the first smartphones I’ve come across to have two SKUs with different internal NAND capacities as well as different amounts of RAM. The 16 GB G3 comes with 2 GB of RAM, while the 32 GB model I have on hand for review has 3 GB of RAM. In general use I’d be surprised if there was significant performance difference between the two models, unless you are a heavy multi-tasker.
Also found in the LG G3 is an NFC chip, separate to the SoC, and a microSD card slot supporting up to 128 GB cards. The microSD slot is situated directly above the micro-SIM slot in a stacked package like we’ve seen on other handsets with removable back covers.
Comparing the internals of the G3 to G2 reveals a few differences, but nothing ground-breaking; typical for a 2014 flagship release.
| Specs | LG G3 | LG G2 |
| SoC | Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC | Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 |
| CPU | 4x Krait 400 @ 2.45 GHz | 4x Krait 400 @ 2.26 GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 330 @ 578 MHz | Adreno 330 @ 450 MHz |
| Memory |
2 or 3 GB dual-channel LPDDR3 @ 933 MHz |
2 GB dual-channel LPDDR3 @ 800 MHz |
| Storage | 16/32 GB internal + microSD | 16/32 GB internal |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 | |
| LTE | Category 4 | |
| Other | NFC, Infrared LED, MHL, GPS, HSPA+, 2G | |
| Display | 5.5” 1440p True-HD IPS+ LCD | 5.2” 1080p True-HD IPS+ LCD |
| Battery | 11.4 Wh (3,000 mAh) | |
| Camera | 13 MP 1/3.06” sensor with f/2.4 lens, OIS | |
| Video | Up to 2160p/30 (4K Ultra HD) | Up to 1080p/60 |
I noticed the G3 was particularly quick at multi-tasking and switching between applications, faster than the Sony Xperia Z2 which also comes with 3 GB of RAM. I’d say this comes down to some LG-specific optimizations and very fast NAND, which makes pulling app data from the internal storage a speedy proposition.
With every flagship Android smartphone using the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, there’s barely a difference between them when it comes to CPU performance. The LG G2 came loaded with a Snapdragon 800 SoC, clocked slightly lower (2.3 GHz vs 2.5 GHz) across its Krait 400 CPU cores, so it’s not surprising to see there’s only a 15% advantage to the G3.
The G3 again performs very well in Vellamo, falling into the bracket of other Snapdragon 801 SoCs. It’s worth mentioning that the G3 doesn’t cheat in benchmarks either, ditching the nasty practice since the release of the G2.
GPU benchmarks are where things start to get interesting, because the Adreno 330 has to power a 2560 x 1440 display instead of the usual 1080p display used in all the other flagships.
3DMark’s Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark is run off-screen, so it’s no surprise to see the G3 perform in the bracket of Snapdragon 800 and 801 devices. A similar situation can be seen below with GFXBench’s offscreen benchmarks, with the G3 performing as expected.
In onscreen benchmarks, this is where we see the performance hit attributed to the 1440p display. On average the G3 recorded 32% lower frame rates than a 1080p handset that also has the Adreno 330, which is actually respectable considering there are 1.78x more pixels to render to; if benchmark performance mapped directly to changes in resolution, we’d be expecting a 44% drop.
Still, a 32% drop could be significant when playing high-end 3D games on the G3. In the T-Rex benchmark in particular we see performance drop from 27 FPS to 20 FPS, which is the difference between a near-playable frame rate and completely unplayable.
With that said, I tried a few popular titles available on the Play Store, and I had no trouble running any of them at smooth frame rates. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas couldn’t successfully run at maximum settings without being choppy, but other titles like Gameloft’s Modern Combat 4 were no match for the Adreno 330.
It seems that while on paper the G3 has a disadvantage, actual real-world titles aren’t using the full capabilities of the GPU. Obviously I can’t say whether this will change in the future, but at least in 2014 you’re not going to see the G3 struggle.
Moving on to NAND performance, and this is where the G3 really excels. The handset outstrips its competitors by quite a margin on both sequential read/write and random read performance, which gives it a clear edge when loading applications and data from the internal storage.
You only get USB 2.0 transfer rates with the LG G3, but nevertheless it performs well enough when transferring content from a PC, although read speeds are fairly low. Ideally I’d like to see USB 3.0 on all high-end handsets as the NAND read/write speeds are above what USB 2.0 can support, but it doesn’t seem like the market is ready to transition just yet.
Out of the box the 32 GB LG G3 has 23 GB of free space available to users, which is plenty for apps and data. There’s also a microSD card slot in case you need more space, supporting up to 128 GB cards, although as the internal NAND is much faster I’d suggest using it first and foremost.
Like most smartphones I had no trouble using any of the wireless networks in the handset. The international unlocked model supports LTE Category 4 on 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2600 MHz bands, plus HSPA+ on 850, 900, 1900 and 2100 MHz, which is good for most nations but it’s always worth checking what your local carrier supports as well as whether there’s a carrier-specific version.
Camera: LG Continues The Trend
LG has largely stuck with what’s familiar for the camera on the G3. The rear module is a 13-megapixel Sony Exmor RS IMX135 1/3.06” CMOS – the same sensor on the G2 with 1.12µm pixels – plus a 29mm-effective f/2.4 lens with optical image stabilization. LG could have upgraded to Sony’s newer 13 MP sensor, the IMX214, but ultimately appears to have decided against it despite the increased quality it would have brought.The front selfie camera is again a Sony sensor, this time the IMX208 1/6” 2.1-megapixel sensor with a wide f/2.0 lens. Both cameras are capable of 1080p/30 video recording, although the rear camera can record at 4K as well.
One obvious talking point from the G3’s camera setup is the ‘laser autofocus’ system. Sitting next to the lens is a small blacked-out section dedicated to the laser autofocus array, although you might be disappointed to discover the lasers used don’t use the visible light. Instead, a conic infrared beam is projected into the area to measure the depth of objects; data which is then used to assist with autofocus.
The use of this active laser depth-measuring autofocus system allows the G3 to focus quicker than any other smartphone. LG claims focus can be achieved in 276ms with laser autofocus, under the 300ms boasted by the Galaxy S5 and One M8, with greater accuracy in dark environments. When depth data is untrustworthy, the G3 switches to using traditional contrast detection autofocus, which is slower but still accurate.
I haven’t done any testing to back up LG’s claim that the autofocus system achieves focus in 276ms, simply because I don’t have the tools to do so. However it’s immediately obvious from using the camera that the G3 focuses faster than the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S5, especially when switching focus between macro and wide shots.
The simple reason for the speed advantage is that the G3 doesn’t need to ‘hunt’ for focus. When photographing an item up close, it knows how far the item is from the lens and can instantly position the focusing element at the correct distance. On a smartphone using contrast detection, it defaults to a certain focus distance, and then has to move up the focus range, testing each distance very briefly, until it arrives at what it believes is correct.
The speedy focus system easily gives the LG G3 the fastest time-to-capture of any flagship smartphone, including the time to open the camera app, focus, meter, and capture the image to storage. It’s not a massive difference that annihilates the competition, but it’s certainly noticeable.
Moving on to the actual quality of photos from the camera, and once again LG has been able to deliver in this department. Before the release of the G3 I would have classed the Galaxy S5’s and Xperia Z2’s Android smartphone cameras as the number one and two respectively, although in some departments the G3 could end up dethroning the Xperia Z2.
In strong lighting the G3 produces some excellent results, assisted by the camera application automatically selecting HDR mode where necessary. The sensor itself has decent dynamic range, but HDR mode gives it that extra boost that leaves photos looking even more detailed when there’s contrasting areas in the shot.
The 13-megapixel sensor falls behind Sony and Samsung’s 20 and 16 megapixel sensors respectively in terms of resolution, however that doesn’t stop the G3 from producing crisp and well-detailed shots. Zooming in reveals some artefacts as a result of post-processing, though there’s still plenty of room to reframe and crop images without noticing; you’ll have to get down to a 100% crop before the artefacts become apparent.
By default the G3 will capture 10-megapixel shots with an aspect ratio of 16:9, so make sure you switch to capturing in 4:3 to get full use of the sensor. At its highest resolution setting, the device will capture 4160 x 3120 images, which at over four times 1080p looks great when you downscale or view on the handset’s Quad HD display.
In sunlight and other generally good photography conditions, the G3 meters perfectly to deliver shots with vivid, realistic colors and perfect white balance. The Galaxy S5 has a slight edge in that its camera sensor is newer and better (wider dynamic range, higher resolution), and its lens is faster (f/2.2), but the G3 still captures some awesome photos.
When conditions get worse, such as indoors or rainy days, so do the G3’s photos. Occasionally you can get a gem that defies the usual trend of disappointing indoor images from smartphone cameras. Mostly, though, images are a little dull for the conditions: lacking in color intensity compared to real life and tending towards being washed out, despite being sharp thanks to OIS and the software holding back on post-processing.
Similar to the way the Galaxy S5 operates, the G3’s camera software will start by using ISO 50, and then will lower the shutter speed progressively down to 1/17s as conditions get darker. Only after it hits this shutter speed will higher ISOs get used, up until a point where it also starts using slower shutter speeds. Unlike the GS5, which could barely handle shooting at 1/33s, the inclusion of OIS makes 1/17s a perfectly viable shutter speed to use.
The LG G3 specifically adjusts its camera settings to ensure that photos even in the lowest light are never blurry. Occasionally you’ll take a photo in near-pitch-black conditions that’s very grainy and highly post-processed, but it’s still crisp enough that detail can be seen. Ideally I’d like a slightly longer shutter speed used as I feel the OIS could compensate well with a steady hand, similar to how the Lumia 1520 operates.
That said you can get some decent photos out of the G3 in low light. An f/2.4 lens and 1.12µm pixels aren’t a great combination for night time photography, and that’s where OIS assists greatly. Image brightness is usually better than the Xperia Z2 or Galaxy S5 in the dark, and always less blurry. The two-tone LED flash is good for those times where it’s simply too dark, although I tend to use it sparingly.
Even though the G3 is a good performer in dark conditions, the HTC One M8 and some of Nokia’s Lumia smartphones blow it out of the water, as their use of larger pixels and wider lenses leads to an advantage of a stop or more.
LG has gone back to basics with the G3’s camera application, which is great for end users who may have found the G2’s app too packed with options. Unfortunately there’s no longer a way to adjust ISO or exposure – or any other advanced settings for that matter – so if you were after more control than just standard auto mode, you’ll have to download a third-party camera app.
Comparison of cameras in good artificial lighting conditions. Click to compare 100% crops.
There are just four standard shooting modes included in the camera
app: the standard auto mode; panorama; dual shot, which takes a
picture-in-picture using the front and back cameras simultaneously; and
“magic focus”. Since the launch of the HTC One M8, every major
smartphone has attempted to recreate the effect of changing focus after
the photo has been taken, and magic focus is what LG brings to the table
in the G3.Thanks to the One M8’s depth sensor, the handset has a near-perfect implementation of the effect without needing a light field camera. The G3 does a pretty good job in that it takes a burst shot at different focal points, allowing you to select a focus distance, or area in the photo to bring into focus, after the image is captured.
Comparison of cameras with the lights off. Click for a larger look.
The end result is decent and doesn’t require any simulated bokeh,
although as the bokeh from the f/2.4 lens isn’t strong or particularly
pleasing, you don’t achieve the blurred-out background effect that other
smartphones provide. It does, however, give a much better end result
than the Xperia Z2 or Galaxy S5, with those smartphones often failing to
accurately guess the edges of the foreground subject, resulting in
sloppy fake focus effects.As for video recording, there are only two main options to play with: standard 30 frames per second recording at up to 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), and 120 frames per second recording at 720p for slow motion footage. For some reason LG decided to remove 1080p/60 recording and HDR video, perhaps because they were seldom used and 1080p/60 in particular is hard to share without sending the raw file.
4K video is recorded as 30 Mbps H.264, which is oddly a much lower bitrate than 4K recording on the Galaxy S5 (48 Mbps) and Xperia Z2 (55 Mbps). Regardless, the quality is very good from the G3’s Ultra HD video, with strong colors and overall quality essentially the same as still images. Audio is also good from the G3’s multiple microphones.
Oddly, with 720p slow motion video, the video produced is only saved as a 120 frames per second file at 26.6 Mbps, whereas most other handsets will set playback at 30 or 24 FPS to give the slow motion effect. This means on your PC you won’t see get a ‘slow motion’ video unless you change the playback frame rate in post, although by default the Videos app on the G3 will slow the video down.
Quality from slow motion videos isn’t fantastic, but the frame rate is most important. If you’d like to download a sample, you can do so here
Battery Life
The LG G2 had the best battery life of any mid-sized flagship last year, but with the upgrade to a Quad HD display, LG hasn’t been able to back this up. Despite the new display, LG hasn’t included a larger battery in the G3, opting for the same 11.4 Wh (3,000 mAh) battery and hoping the efficiency improvements in the Snapdragon 801 will provide similar performance.
Dynamic clocking is present in the display’s firmware, reducing the refresh rate of the panel when static content is being displayed, in an attempt to reduce power consumption. There’s also some clever manipulation of display brightness to ensure it’s as low as possible while still being readable, plus a typical power saving mode that gets activated when the battery level falls below 30%.
Generally speaking, during my time using the LG G3 as a daily driver, the battery life wasn’t bad at all, but at the same time it wasn’t outstanding. Depending on my screen on time and usage I tended to end the day with around 25-30% of the battery’s juice remaining, which is a fair result but not in the same bracket as the G2 was. Our typical battery benchmark will give a better look at the G3’s battery life, starting with the video playback test.
In this test you can easily see the battery life reduction from the G2 to the G3: the G3 performed 23% worse, even though the Snapdragon 801 is more efficient at video playback than the Snapdragon 800.
It’s a similar story for Wi-Fi and LTE browsing. The G3 performs around the same level as last year’s Sony Xperia Z1, which didn’t have awful battery life, but was soundly beaten by its competition. To last around 2 hours less than the Galaxy S5 is obviously a concern, although at least it wasn’t as poor as the HTC One.
GFXBench shows how taxing it is to render at 1440p on a large display, lasing an estimated two and a half hours in intensive 3D gaming.
Thanks to Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, the LG G3 charged very quickly, as expected.
Wrap Up: Is the G3 for You?
There’s a lot to like about what LG has achieved with the G3, building upon the strong foundation laid by the G2. I really like the low-bezel design of the device, which allows a 5.5-inch display to fit into a chassis only millimetres larger than its direct competitors. The curved back makes the G3 ergonomic to hold, and the back buttons are less of an issue than they may seem to present.At the same time, I'm at odds with the choice of the 1440p panel. Undoubtedly this display is the sharpest and clearest I’ve ever seen on a piece of technology, let alone a smartphone, so the technological achievement aspect is there, and yet the appreciable difference between 1080p and 1440p is small and it comes at a price.
It’s unlikely anyone coming from a 1080p device will say “wow, that’s a lot better than what I was using” without doing a side-by-side comparison, indicative of how minor the resolution increase is.
Because the higher resolution needs more horsepower to run, GPU performance drops 32% relative to a Snapdragon 801-powered device with a 1080p display, and generally speaking you also get shorter battery life than competing flagships. Now, those metrics become relative when even gaming the Snapdragon 801 proves capable of powering the Quad HD display. Performance around the operating system is also as good as any Android flagship.
Battery life is serviceable, never dying prematurely on me during a day’s usage, and still falling in the upper echelon of phones I’ve tested. You just have to be aware that battery life isn’t going to be as good as the Galaxy S5, Xperia Z2 and, to a lesser extent, the One M8.
With the obligatory display discussion out the way, I was impressed with almost every other aspect of the LG G3.
The 13-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization is capable of some fantastic photos and videos through a simpler camera interface. Laser autofocus is more than a gimmick as well, delivering a noticeably quick focusing experience with near-instant capture.
Android 4.4 is still the standard for all new Android smartphones, despite the impending launch of Android L, and LG has made a range of useful additions that extend upon that experience, in particular Knock Code, Smart Notice and the Smart Keyboard. Most importantly, their custom skin is no longer complete rubbish, now giving the G3 a stylish interface that looks modern and blends well with elements of stock Android.
The question now turns to whether you should buy the LG G3 if you’re in the market for a high-end Android device. At $630 unlocked for the base 16GB model, it falls in a similar price range as the Galaxy S5 ($630), Xperia Z2 ($650) and One M8 ($640). Reminder: You can get $10 off any order over $50 by entering the code ‘TECHSPOT’ into MobiCity’s checkout.
All devices also fall in the same on-contract price bracket, $99 in the United States, so differentiating on price is a hard prospect.
Instead it comes down to features, and this is where the G3 makes a really good case. You can’t really go wrong with any of the four smartphones I’ve mentioned extensively throughout this review, but the G3’s solid hardware offering and strong software feature set is enough to make it one of the better premium handsets available today.
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