Gadgetory

LG's present is trying to be like it's past a little bit different from the competition in a number of very key areas but is LG's newest flagship now available on all carriers in the States enough of an upgrade from the previous one what we're about to find out because it's Joshua Vergara from Android Authority what's going on everybody and this is the LG g4 versus the LG g3 LG made it clear that the large form factor device was here to stay and started in the g3 to keep the 5.5 inch general screen size the g3 brought the first quad HD displayed to the forefront without any buttons on its face or on its sides because the signature back button layout returned from the g2 with power button flanked by the volume rocker this design cube became quintessentially LG and is still one of its most distinguishing features but the back also had a brushed plastic design that gave the phone a sleek and stylish profile with some of it bleeding into the bezel on the front that being said the bezels are pretty respectable so handling is mostly dictated by the larger form factor in the screen and the back cover was removable allowing access to the battery and the card slots the g4 on the other hand keeps the larger size but adds in curves not only for durability but also for handling the curve is most pronounced on the back so the phone sets very well in the hand but the very subtle curve on the front affords the smartphone a bit more durability than any typical flat competitor back buttons return once again as expected but this time around the power button is a little thinner and is not as easy to feel as the larger circle from the g3 and despite it being just a bit narrower the g4 is actually noticeably taller but thankfully the curve tries to even this out in the handling Department the finished plastic backing doesn't quite have the clean look of the brushed g3 as the subtle grid pattern seems just a bit aughter to us in this design cube but the main story in design for the g4 of course are the leather backings which are a big change to the aesthetic sourced from actual cows and vegetable tanned these leather backings provide much more grip and gives the profile more of a unique look than last year's offering which we think was the main point of this change so ultimately handling is largely the same between these two but we mostly enjoy the curves of the g4 LG definitely learned from their releases in the Flex line and put the aspects into their newest flagship the g3 is a bit simpler in its design philosophy without getting too generic so the changes in the G form might seem like they are reaching a little bit still these are two of the more unique offerings from their respective release years because LG has stuck to their signature design language in creating an attractive but still accessible line of devices considering their larger screen sizes and it's precisely because of the screen sizes that last year LG brought out the first widely available quad HD display while it is still debatable if this kind of resolution is ultimately useful for daily usage quad HD is basically considered a requirement in the high-end flagship these days the g3 then was a pioneer in this sense but the display did not come without its quirks sure the higher resolution brought much pixel density but LG made compromises and how the elements were displayed on the screen a smoothing was noticeable especially when scrolling through heavy text areas and admittedly colors did like a little bit of punch despite the LG UI exacerbating this with its lighter and warmer tones nonetheless having a larger screen with this kind of resolution turned out pretty fun for both work and play these nuances were not heavy offenders it was just what we tended to notice from time to time which is why the g4 needed to improve on the quad HD display and they certainly did with what is now called the quantum display science aside the point of this new version of LG's IPS panel was to meet a standardized level of quality the DCI film standard boosts underneath the surface bring the kind of saturation that we did miss in last year's phone but it remains within the DCI levels of color rather than going over it like Samsung does apparently what they're super amyloids though I did notice some of the smoothening still happening it was definitely lower than it was from last year and because of the better color output so this is definitely easier to excuse this year it shouldn't be any surprise that the g4 screen is an improvement from last year but in this comparison it did feel necessary the enhancements make this a proper flagship offering for this year and for either of these devices the larger screen size should still please anyone that wants a little more real estate for work and play LG continues to rep Qualcomm though this year this may be more true than ever and to good effect last year's LG smartphone brought the Snapdragon 801 and the audrina 330 with RAM capacity depending on how much storage you had the 800 line really came out with some speedy performance around this time last year and the g3 despite some really feature pack software was able to move along without many problems the generally few instances of stutter were usually the results of any software presentation holes and multitasking via the recent apps screen or via the dual window allowed for the power user to get done what they wanted even sometimes all at once but last year was last year and performance has taken quite the leap in this crop of flagship smartphones this year the g4 fits squarely in with the best here but not because of really stripped-down software or even in house created processors like with Samsung rather it does the work of a real optimization that makes this Android iteration really snappy instead of going far into the power departments the Snapdragon 808 with 3 gigabytes of RAM rounds out the g4 but LG worked very closely with Qualcomm to ensure the software was catered to the power of the processor and vice versa as a result fluidity and easy navigation are the cornerstones of this LG UX which got a few more features from last year's iteration without sacrificing daily use speed despite not really fulfilling the desires of perhaps the overly spec hungry even power users should get the kind of performance from the g4 that they really need so another improvement arrives in the g4 from the g3 not just arbitrarily but because some real thought was actually put into how the usage of this smart phone could actually be felt despite changes on the outside subtle or otherwise much of what comes underneath the shell remains the same and that matters more now than it did a year ago this is because LG finds itself in a landscape where plenty of other manufacturers are omitting certain features that many users view as essential and in both of these devices they are found under those removable covers a replaceable battery and expandable storage expandable storage is probably most important considering this space grabbing rock capture in the camera of the g4 but otherwise it is nice to still have that buffer on space the g3 was our first example of how a higher resolution screen might blunts battery life and that meant a solid day's work might be a little bit tough to get and though the battery capacity remains the same this year as it did last year the LG g4 optimization still keeps longevity where it should be with a bit more moderate usage and perhaps some work to keep the background apps from running all the time users can stretch battery life past the day-and-a-half mark with a little bit of frugality though it might not have been particularly important last year having a removable backing with everything that it entails flies in the face of the other manufacturers this year that have decided not to go that route and it's a feather in LG and the g-force cap for this year LG has not been tried to roll out new ideas and in the camera that was true for the g3 in continuing their pursuit of optical image stabilization the g3 also came with a laser guided autofocus this was the main story of the g3 camera as it thus benefited from one of the fastest camera experiences available at the time just type your subject focusing in no time and get the shot as a result of the app got simpler focusing on whether you wanted HDR or the focus and then shooting the photo or the video with just a few extra modes rounding out those features last year we only really dot down the g3 Ford's noise reduction and post-processing but it still brought otherwise detailed and mostly well colored photos that could be enhanced by HDR but this year LG bolstered the g4 by upping the megapixels from 13 to 16 and lowering the aperture to 1.8 the front-facing camera was also strengthened for the selfie generation with a wide enough angle and eight megapixels controlled by a number of gestures most notably the ability to check the picture by simply bringing the device down after the shot but along with the laser autofocus and the larger sensor comes the color spectrum sensor a beefed up IR that analysis the scene in order to achieve proper white balance levels and dust more accurate colors in the photo and in the app a manual mode was added to contrast to the fast and easy simple and auto modes you can use a histogram a leveler and change in minut values everything from the shutter speed to the ISO to even the Kelvin levels in the white balance not to mention the ability to shoot RAW simultaneously so you can put your own post-production on those photos and it's that post-processing that is really the g4 it's only misstep again this year as the smudgy noise reduction takes away from what our otherwise really great photos a better depth of field is observed in this lower aperture camera and the colors do definitely get a little bit more of a boost this time around the lower aperture also somewhat helps low-light situations though the larger sensor can get a bit of this quite as well again we shouldn't be surprised that the g4 is an improvement from the g3 here but what is important to note is that this year's high quality offering set the bar pretty high and the g4 stays with the pack providing a package that is great for common users as it is just as good for experienced shutter bugs finally in software we won't be seeing quite as much in terms of additions but improvements have been made to keep the g4 feeling fresh the LG UX often gets slammed by users because there are too many features that bog down the system and in the g3 that was somewhat the case plenty of features end up not getting too much play particularly the qslide apps that can take up quite a lot of space in the quick settings but this was remedied with the release of the lollipop powered UX which also cleaned up a little bit of that clutter unfortunately my g3 hasn't gotten that update just yet otherwise the new NOC code rounded out the features that included the dual window functionality for multitasking but if you are update to lollipop much of what you see in the g3 comes out of the box in the g4 with a couple of main additions namely the beefed up calendar that can save just about anything to the dates and then the more powerful gallery app that categorizes pictures and videos in better ways the smart notice from the most recent G flex device is here now too though it now gives even nicer weather notifications and warnings about battery draining background applications but like mentioned before and often it's LG's commitment to optimizing the UX with the Snapdragon 808 that yielded a very snappy and smooth Android iteration this time around jumping in and out of recent apps dual windowing and just about anything else move along with that much stutter which is important for this year's crop of flagships and the g4 thankfully keeps to that standard so if you want fast yet reliable performance the updates of the g3 help keep it from falling too far behind but the g4 is definitely the fuller example of what LG software can feel like out of the box though the g3 is increasingly becoming available for lower prices you will be buying a previous year's phone though updates keep it from feeling like a fossil the g3 is still a great value especially at those lower prices with a still solid camera a good daily driver speed and one of the first quad HD displays we saw in the world of Android but for the expected premium price you will still get the definite premium in the g4 with improvements across the board that may worth the extra dough the camera is even better than before and is more robust than ever the user experience is as smooth as it should be at this point in the game and the signature LG style keeps the G line as one of the more unique offerings especially when you factor in the leather backings for me personally I would really like the black leather backing save some money or don't that's what it really comes down to but if you do go for the g3 you might feel like you're missing out just a little bit on the latest and greatest that LG has to offer as always thank you guys very much for watching and hope you got something out of this versus between the LG g4 and the g3 LG's flagships especially in the most recent past have been some of the best available during their years and the g3 as one of the best from last year is still a great experience to have now so if you're looking to save a little bit of money the g3 is probably a better bet but the g4 does come with some enhancements that make it the worthy upgrade to the flagship and with those leather backings you might just want a more unique offering this time around and also compared to the other flagships that are available this year the g4 does provide some features that are missing in the rest so really it take your pick but also know your budget and between these two you're going to get pretty much what you would expect from an LG flagship and it is pretty great so keep it tuned to you for even more from Android Authority including all of our coverage on the g4 and if you want to look back you can check out videos on the g3 the reviews are right over on the side after that you can go ahead and drop us some likes on our videos hit that thumbs up head on over to the subscribe button and make sure you subscribe to our channel if you haven't already listen to the FDP our podcast every single week and remember once you're done with all of that - head on over to android authority comm because we are your source for all things Android