The LG G3 Review
by Joshua Ho & Anand Lal Shimpi on July 4, 2014 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- LG
- Mobile
- Laptops
- G3
Final Words
Without question, the G3 has been the most interesting smartphone to learn about this year. With a 1440p display, laser autofocus, and all sorts of new power saving methods, there was a great deal to learn about. However, just because a device has a novel design doesn’t mean that it’s a good phone. On the other hand, a novel design makes a good phone that much better. The HTC One (M7) is a great example of the latter, with a radio system that is novel enough that people continue to misunderstand how it actually works. In some ways, the LG G3 draws similar parallels. Before launch and during the launch, there was pervasive misinformation on how the laser focus system actually worked. Even now, it’s not uncommon for people to say that there’s no significant delta in battery life from the 1440p display.
Unfortunately, if there is any real flaw in the LG G3, it is the display. The goal of attaining a ~540 PPI has come at immense cost. Relative to the competition, the LG G3 definitely sees a noticeable reduction in battery life, although it’s still firmly above what we’ve seen from 2013 (Snapdragon 600) flagships. Outside of the power trade-off, the display doesn’t get particularly bright for daytime viewing. There are also issues with the saturation compression that causes obviously oversaturated colors in almost every situation. LG has also added significant artificial sharpening to the display image, which causes noticeable artifacting in some situations.
Yet, outside of the display, LG has done a great job on the G3. The industrial design and material design is surprisingly good for a plastic phone. LG has also addressed the complaints of users by adding a removable battery and microSD slot, although the former has a significant cost to the battery life experience for those that don’t swap batteries.
LG has also innovated on the camera. While they still use the same camera module from last year, LG seems to have struck an acceptable balance with the G3’s camera system. By leveraging the 1.1 micron pixel pitch for higher spatial resolution and OIS for low light photo quality, I suspect most people will be happy with the camera. The new laser auto focus system works surprisingly well in most situations, allowing for better focus in low light and low contrast scenarios. In my experience I almost never saw a situation where AF failed, even in macro.
The camera isn’t the only area where LG has done well. I found LG’s UI to be genuinely good, and well-designed. While I have some minor nitpicks (at best), I would have zero problem using this UI. KnockCode is surprisingly great, and the addition of LED feedback over the G Pro 2 makes for far greater reliability. I used to question whether I was entering my code incorrectly or if the display simply wasn’t registering my taps, and with this small feature that point of frustration is gone. In the past, I found that LG UI was more usable than TouchWiz, and the same seems to be true now. LG has managed to follow Google’s UI guidelines to make the interface out of familiar elements, yet put their own unique visual style.
Even in the display, there are still signs that LG is actually trying to do things well. While I object to the dimming behavior, LG is correct in saying that the dimming behavior is below the level of human perception. It’s also interesting to see that they continue to push power savings through mechanisms such as dynamic refresh rate. There’s also potential in this area to adjust battery life through kernel modifications, although it’s unclear just how far LG can push in this area without visible decreases in smoothness.
Overall, the G3 is frustratingly close to perfect. A much-improved 1080p display, smaller size, and staying with the stacked battery design would’ve made this phone much easier to recommend as the best phone of the Snapdragon 801 generation. Unfortunately, as-is I can only say that it’s equal to everything else on the market. Everything seems to be similarly imperfect in their own way, and it comes down to personal preference which imperfections are tolerable and which aren’t. HTC delivers the best audio experience, LG provides the best balance of camera experience (from day to night shots), and Samsung offers the best display. Perhaps this is a taste of what the future will hold for enthusiasts. However, if the past is any indication, there’s still hope that there will be one phone to rule them all.
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blabby - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
I saw a movie where some characters had shiny buttons instead of eyes. This review reminded me of that movie.On a positive note, maybe the line to get this phone will be shorter! That's good because I want it ASAP!
plonk420 - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
is it just me or does the SGS4 and 5 oversharpen? that good ole ring around hard lines...snark9a - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
If I root it to make it useable and give the better user experience (i'm a designer, after all) will I sacrifice a battery life? I guess I could carry another battery with me an charge it up.soldier45 - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
Will wait to see what the Note 4 brings in September over this phone.austinsguitar - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
oh man that camera though.... bestxmen77 - Monday, July 7, 2014 - link
phonearena.com/reviews/Camera-comparison-LG-G3-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-S5-Galaxy-Note-3-iPhone-5s-LG-G2-Sony-Xperia-Z2-HTC-One-M8_id3728eprice.com.tw/mobile/talk/124/4899661/1/rv/sony-xperia-z2-review/
eprice.com.tw/mobile/talk/124/4899662/1/rv/sony-xperia-z2-review/
4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=515584&st=860#entry30435226
blog.gsmarena.com/weekend-poll-samsung-galaxy-s5-vs-sony-xperia-z2/
phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-S5-tops-our-blind-camera-comparison-for-the-third-time-in-a-row-LG-G3-close-second_id57178
polls-polarb-com.a.ssl.fastly.net/000/186/650/186650-1-large-d063293267b7ddb6.jpg
pp.vk.me/c618826/v618826401/95e9/7bw7hDlOdSg.jpg
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phonearena.com/reviews/LG-G3-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-S5_id3724/page/3
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2662379&page=65
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2662379&page=62
xmen77 - Monday, July 7, 2014 - link
good only low light shotscnet.com/news/lg-g3s-laser-equipped-camera-put-to-the-test/
aryonoco - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
Thank you for another excellent review. Your display, battery and camera tests are again without a doubt the best in this industry.Just a couple of off topic points:
1) It would be great if you also reviewed the Sony Xperia Z2. Along G3, the SGS5 and the M8, it is arguably the other 2014 Android flagship. And I would love to have your take on its camera. I understand that Sony has a negligible presence in the US market, but you guys have significant number of readers from other countries where the Z2 is readily available and popular (Australia and the UK for example). Also a good number of your US readers are the kind of tech savvy people who buy their phones outright and so the review would be of use to them as well. I'm sure Sony would love to send you a sample if you asked.
2) While I don't want to take anything away from the stellar job that Josh Ho is doing, I do miss Brian Klug. I understand that you are not at liberty to shed any light on his sudden disappearance, but I just wanted to raise it here.
ZeDestructor - Sunday, July 6, 2014 - link
As Anand has said before: They review what get's sent in. Nothing more, nothing less due to budgetary concerns.If you really want a Z2 review, you could always try and organise loaning out yours (something like order off amazon, ship to AT, then have it shipped along to you after the review is done) or something similar... I'd give it a try if I lived in the US, but I don't, I live in Australia, and the shipping costs make me sad.
Klug4Pres - Friday, July 11, 2014 - link
I don't think it is that simple, actually.They review things that the manufacturers want them to review, as evidenced by them being supplied with the review item.
They do not say they will review anything that their readers are prepared to lend them.