July 1, 2015
Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback! I have used my fair share of smartphones over the years; my daily drivers alone have included the OG iPhone, HTC Desire, Samsung S2, HTC One X and HTC One (M7). Each of those devices was ahead of the curve at the time, but each had its own share of annoyances. After two months with the LG G4, I can honestly say that this is the first smartphone I have owned with which I am ALMOST entirely content; it is all I want a smartphone to be, and more.The phone's obvious stand-out features, as noted by many reviewers, are its camera and its display. The G4 provides, hands down, the greatest smartphone camera experience I have ever encountered. The simple and auto modes produce great, reliable results (and very quickly): great for those moments where one simply doesn't have the time to play around with exposure, white balance and manual focus. But when one DOES have the time, boy are the results spectacular. I have taken macro shots that my friends' iPhone 6 Pluses (and one friend's S6) can only dream of thanks to the G4's f/1.8 lens, and photos taken in tricky lighting conditions look true-to-life; I have yet to experiment with long-exposure shots (since I don't currently possess a tripod) or with the ability to shoot in RAW (I'm not great at photoshop), but I am genuinely excited for the chance to try these out in the future. The phone's display is a joy to behold. Yes, its blacks aren't as black as those on OLED screens, yes, it is a smidgeon less bright than that on the S6, and yes, it is no longer the only qHD display on the market, but none of these detract from the fact that it is a stunning looking display: it is only in the darkest of rooms that one notices that the blacks aren't really bad, it is more than readable under direct sunlight, and qHD is still more pixels than one really needs on a smartphone. I would also like to add that, out of the box, it produces the most accurate (more accurately accurate-looking as I lack the technical know-how to test the display rigorously) colours out of the current generation of flagships. The top-bottom curve of the phone, subtle though it may be, makes watching landscape videos an incredibly immersive experience.These two oft-exalted features aside, I was also pleasantly surprised by the G4's performance, software, and battery life. LG's decision to use the Snapdragon 808 rather than the more powerful 810 was criticised by many (in comment sections of technology blogs). While it certainly cannot match the Exynos 7420-powered S6 or its Snapdragon 810-powered brethren in terms of graphics or raw power, not even my most resource-intensive apps were able to cause any perceivable lag, and I daresay that the UI on the G4 runs more smoothly and with fewer problems than that on my friends' S6 or HTC One (M9). A great deal of work must have gone into optimising the software for the SoC, which shows a complete departure from the laggy UIs that LG has produced in years past. This increased focus on software is apparent throughout the device: aesthetically, it is closer to stock Lollipop than ever, with no unnecessary gradients or shadows; the camera app is incredibly powerful and offers an incredible degree of control without being intimidating; Q-slide, dual window and other features unique to LG have all been improved, but are implemented in a way that one would never have to use them should one not wish to. Unfortunately, I still find LG's default icons to be too colourful and somewhat childish, but installing a launcher which allows for custom icon packs (Nova, for instance) makes this a non-issue. The 3000 mAh battery does not sound particularly impressive, but in conjunction with the Snapdragon 808, it easily lasts me through the day with heavy use, and through two days with light to moderate use; that it is removable and that it supports Quickcharge are just icing on the cake.I mentioned earlier that I was only almost entirely content with the phone, and I'm afraid I must now address the sources of the "almost": the build and design of the phone, and the speaker. Visually, I think the phone is stunning: the blank monolithic front is beautifully minimalist, the bezels are pleasantly thin, and the subtle curve and textured-back give the device a refreshingly different look. It is only when one holds it that its flaws begin to show. The positioning of the power and volume controls on the back invites one to use the phone with one hand, but the width of the device combines with its sharp edges and corners to make it quite impossible to hold it comfortably without cradling it with both hands. The lack of metal in its construction, while beneficial in many ways, simply lacks the jewel-like premium quality that I have grown to love in HTC devices. The G4's single back-facing speaker, while certainly above-average for smartphones and loud enough for most situations, cannot compete with the HTC One (M9) 's superb dual front-facing speakers. One would most probably prefer to use the excellent futuristic LG Infinim bluetooth headset for music needs: it is solidly built, its earbuds are comfortably positioned, and its sound quality is superb.It should be clear from this review that I am absolutely enamoured with this device. It is the closest we have ever gotten to a smartphone sans annoyances, and is an absolute joy to use. And, with a RRP that is considerably lower than those of its closest competitors', I must recommend that anyone in the market for a new smartphone look into the LG G4.