Gadgetory

so the same thing always happens when a new device launches the media gets review units ahead of the official launch and we get to use them while we write our review then the press embargo lifts every outlet posts their reviews and videos at the same time writers and commenters go back and forth and it's a huge frenzy of opinion and buzz for about a day and then it all goes away I'm sure there's some follow-up coverage but after that initial blast almost no one revisits the device to see how well it's aged because we're all on to the next big thing already so let's do something about it let's take a look at a device several months after its release when it's not shiny and new anymore I'm Taylor Martin with Pocket mal this is the lg g2 and this is episode 31 of after the bus this particular episode of after the buzz posed an unprecedented challenge our role Michael Fisher reviewed the g2 back in September and gave it a 7 point 7 out of 10 the community however disagreed with the lower than usual score and posed some convincing counter arguments for a higher one michael reevaluated his stance decided the community had a point and he changed that score to an eight point four shortly thereafter jaime also spent a couple weeks with the g2 and fell in love with the camera performance battery life and even the hardware and my first experience with the g2 was sorely tainted by a defective unit that quite literally had a mind of its own now I've been tasked with revisiting this controversial phone several months later in assessing the situation after LG has had time to collect itself here goes obviously the hardware hasn't physically changed so that's the perfect place to start at the time of its launch the g2 specifications were essentially the best combination of internals money can buy and honestly they still stand tall today only surpassed by a handful of premium smartphones it's fitted with a Snapdragon 800 with a quad-core Krait 400 CPU clocked at 2.3 gigahertz that's accompanied by 2 gigabytes of RAM and either 16 or 32 gigabytes of fixed storage the fixed battery is rated at 3000 milliamp hours and the 13 megapixel image sensor comes with optical image stabilization it also comes with the basic connectivity options Wi-Fi AC Bluetooth Low Energy LTE NFC and USB on-the-go support and the display it's still just as gorgeous as it was six months ago but your HD IPS plus LCD bares of 1080p resolution and measures five point two inches corner to corner that gives it an overall density of 424 PPI it's crystal clear and the colors pop accordingly viewing angles are great contrast and black levels are acceptable and it's still among the very best smartphone displays around more importantly than that the 5.2 inch display is packed into a comparatively small frame the bezels alongside the display measure a tenth of an inch and the top and bottom bezels are brother slim - there's something to be said for the level of engineering that made this possible to this day the g2 still has the highest displayed to bezel ratio 75.7% of the front is screen and it certainly makes a notable difference on a device with such a large display but that's only part of the hardware story flip the phone around and you'll see it one of LG's newest defining features the rear-facing standby switch and volume rocker after multiple stints with this button configuration it hasn't gotten any less awkward to use unfortunately the knock-on feature hasn't gotten any more reliable either only working about 75% of the time meaning you'll find yourself angrily tapping a blank display or picking the phone up and filling around for the standby key just to check notifications or use the phone the concept is neat sure and we get why it's useful in at least one use case voice calls but it hasn't provided any sort of unique advantage to justify their placement or to offset the aggravation and we're still not sold on the slick plastic build this would otherwise be an ultra premium handset but thanks to the Samsung S plastic housing the phone feels less luxurious than it should after just minutes of use the phone begins to feel slimy and slippery due to the oils on your hand it's a shame since the front of the device is such a pleasure to look at but if you didn't have a problem with silica last Explorer you won't now either in short LG did a great job of future proofing its smartphone and in many ways the hardware still surprisingly competes with even today's flagships the software situation it was easily the worst part of the g2 out of the gate LG fumbled hard LG shares some of the same principles as Samsung in the software front pack in every possible feature the customization features stretched far and wide from the quick settings layout in the notification shade to the system fonts and even the navigation bar layout much of Michael's initial thoughts on the software hold true today it's almost overwhelming and many of the concepts don't hold water qslide apps aren't really all that useful nor is the slide a side feature but LG clearly listened to the initial complaints of reviewers and users that layout issues of your were snuffed out as was the lag our t-mobile test unit is currently running Android 4.4.2 jellybean just one minor point update behind the most recent version of Android 4.4.3 and since those issues have been resolved the software vault it's still cluttered and overdeveloped isn't horrible to use in fact we like some of the touches like the customizable navbar and the ability to tone down some of the animations the Settings app however is still a disaster sometimes phones begin to slow down over time we can't say for sure how the g2 performs through extended months of use but we can't confirm the phone as a performing considerably better than before that's likely due to the jellybean update optimizing and making full use of the monster SOC that is the Snapdragon 800 almost every element of the software experiences buttery smooth now we have however encountered some issues when activating the slide a side feature or when over encumbering the system with a handful of tasks but it manages to cut through the muck and pick back up rather quickly gaming is a particularly outstanding aspect of the g2 the beautiful display paired with a Snapdragon 800 is an amazing combination however the phone does tend to warm up disturbingly fast sometimes while doing more basic things like heavy tweeting or just browsing news feeds and that brings us to battery life the 3000 milliamp hour battery has been for the most part great except those times when heat becomes an issue you can jump it to a game like Need for Speed Most Wanted at 70 or so percent and 10 to 15 minutes later you might be at 63% through normal uses the battery is fine lasting upwards of a full day but if you push the phone too hard you'll pay for it in stamina call quality and network speeds have still been mediocre on t-mobile's LTE network in the Charlotte metro area we've been hitting speeds as low as 1.7 megabits per second down consistently in places we're used to seeing double-digit megabit speeds and that yon where the call quality hasn't improved since the last time we checked it out the optics on the other hand is still one of the standout features of the g2 the 13 megapixel optically stabilized camera is still one of the best Android shooters you can currently get your hands on the colors are rich the low-light performance is still not quite as good as Nokia's Lumia handsets but better than practically all its Android counterparts and the camera application comes packed to the brim with countless features it isn't perfect but if camera quality is of importance to you and you like Android this will likely be among your top choices so how has the g2 held up over all innocence its aged like a fine wine it's gotten slightly better over time which is rare these days its specifications and hardware are interestingly on par with even HTC s and Samsung's 2014 flagships even today the g2 is a viable contender but it does have its quirks like the rear mounted buttons and overheating issues chances are if you've recently picked one up or are planning to in the near future you'll be pleased with the device so long as you're forgiving of busy software folks if you enjoyed this video and the after the bust series be sure to click the thumbs up button below and subscribe to the channel to see more videos like this one in the future be sure to follow us on all the usual places twitter facebook and google+ at pocket now I'm Taylor Martin you can find me on twitter at casper tech and i will see you next time