Mumbai: Not even a year has passed since LG introduced the G2 smartphone in India back in September, and now the company has launched its successor named the G3 at an event in Mumbai. While the LG G3 is based on the same design principles as its predecessor, but technically it has a lot more - more beautiful finish, improved display, enhanced camera, new security features, and from the looks of it, a more powerful engine. But is upping the specs enough to entice potential customers who have been looking for next-gen smartphones with cutting-edge innovation?
We got to experience the device at the launch event, and here is what we think about the device that comes to India at Rs 47,990 for the 16GB model. The 32GB version, on the other hand, costs Rs 50,990. Here are our first impressions with the device, which are based on a brief period that we got to spend with it. We will soon be out with our exhaustive review.
When LG had introduced the G2, we were impressed with its innovation, especially because it was a first-of-its-kind. The company had taken an altogether different approach and designed a phone devoid of side buttons. It integrated the traditionally placed side buttons (power and volume buttons) into a single element and placed it at the back below the camera lens. This was something no one had till then implemented. There was a freshness to it. But this time there's no such innovation on the hardware front.
The LG G3 has borrowed the design principles from its predecessor. But what seems to have changed is the look and feel of the back cover that is removable. The back cover, though is made up of plastic, but has a brushed-finished coating that gives it a look of a metallic panel. The back cover indeed looks much better than in the G2.
The rear key at the back has also been given a new look; the power button at the back which earlier was more of rectangular in shape is now a circle. The buttons at the back is slightly softer and easier to press than what we had found on the G2.
On the front, there are no remarkable changes. The front of the LG G3 has a thin bezel around the sides - quite like the G2. In terms of design, there seem to be a few changes in the G3, but even with a few tweaks, the G3 looks elegant and appear prettier. The LG G3 can be titled the most handsome phone from LG's stable till date - excluding the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 as they are not solely LG's products. The LG G3 does not have anything path breaking on the hardware front.
The phone comes in three colours - Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold in India. I found all the three colours okay, but some of you may find the golden-coloured G3 slightly tacky.
If the uniqueness to the G2's design was what LG had banked on last year, the screen resolution of the G3 is what LG is gambling on this year. The phone has a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, which the company says is four times the resolution of HD and almost two times higher resolution than a full HD display.
Indeed, the phone has one of the best displays available on premium smartphones from tech titans across the globe. With sharp details, vivid colours and excellent colour reproduction, the display is the G3's one key highlight. The viewing angles on the phone are great and it was very smooth to operate.
Even with such a humungous display size, the phone does not feel bulky in hands courtesy of its curved back and consequently, the comfortable grip. Also, the phone does not weigh much.
As expected the camera is of excellent quality. Not only rear but also the front camera on the G2 is impressive - and an apt for selfies. The 13 megapixel rear camera with a dual LED flash captures rich and detailed images. You would rarely find the cameras on flagship phones unsatisfactory. The company has added a new feature to its camera that lets users refocus photos after they are captured. We have already seen a similar feature on other phones including the HTC One (M8). But what is interesting here is the that you can activate the flash even when taking a selfie using the front camera. Once you do it, it illuminates your frame in low-light conditions. This feature, though not new, is a welcome addition.
The G3's 1W speaker generates high quality and loud sound. We tested its speaker by playing some music. How it produces results when on a call is something we are yet to ascertain. The 32GB model offers around 24GB of user-accessible storage space. Users can expand its storage as the phone supports a microSD card of up to 128GB.
The phone runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat and comes preloaded with its proprietary apps. I have never been a fan of LG's user interface. The look and feel of the UI is something I believe LG needs to work on.
At its heart is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (up to 2.5GHz Quad-Core) processor. There is a small catch in the specs. The 16GB model comes with 2GB of RAM, while the 32GB model has 3GB of RAM. Its 3000mAh battery is likely to give a good battery life, but this is something we can't comment on without using it for a longer duration.
Stay tuned for our detailed review of the LG G3.
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