When I first saw the LG G2 back during LG’s launch event in NYC it made me happy to see LG launch a single flagship smartphone and make it available across multiple carriers, specifically the big 4 here in the US. This signaled to me that LG is ready to step in and play ball with the big boys like Samsung and Apple . Does the LG G2 step up to the plate and hit a homerun?
The LG G2 Has Great Design But Shouldn’t Make Changes Just To Make Changes
When I first saw the LG G2 the design screams out sleek and sexy. The thin bezel makes the 5.2 inch Full HD IPS display stand out. When you have it in your hand, which it’s very light in the hand and lighter than expected, it feels like your picking up all screen. The unique design feature of the LG G2 is all the buttons are on the back behind the 13 Megapixel camera. Your power and volume up and down are place behind the phone which LG says is more “natural” according to their research. I found it to be a bit of a learning curve to use.So many smartphones have buttons on the side that we have become used to so it doesn’t make much sense to me that LG made this change other than to just make a change to be unique. But when you make change just to do it, most of the time it doesn’t work out intended and I think that’s the case here with the button placement choice for the LG G2. Outside of I find the LG G2 to be one of the best designed phones from LG.
5.2 Inch IPS Full HD Display Is Gorgeous To View
The 5.2 inch 1902×1080 Full HD IPS display on the LG G2 is simple gorgeous to look at everyday. The color reproduction is more on the accurate side then the extra color pop that you see in AMOLED displays. I like both types but preference will vary. Video content will look good and playback smooth and photos will have more realistic color tone to them. This will be a display you will enjoy to look at a on a daily basis.
LG’s Intuitive UI Brings Solid Software Enhancements And Maturity.
For their new flagship phone the LG has re-branded their user interface to now Intuitive UI. The packed a boatload of features into it. Some of it from past version of the UI and some are features we’ve seen from competitors. I want to try and focus on some of the core new features they have added. First is the knock on feature, by just double tapping the screen when turned off it will turn the phone on to the lock screen, double tap again and the screen turns off. Very useful feature if you don’t want to press the power button or if you just want to take a quick peek at a notification. Once you have the screen unlocked you will see a very responsive and fast experience in the UI which is powered by a 2.3 Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2 GB of RAM. LG has included a number of unique apps like QSlide which are mini apps for multitasking. You can run up to two mini apps at the same time while running anything else in the background. You can re-size them and change the transparency and even move them to the right and keep them on the side to open later. There is also Slide Aside which lets you take any app you have open, swipe to the left with 3 fingers and put it in a save state. you can do this up to 3 apps. Useful way to multitask quickly.
Most of LG’s customization options and software like Miracast, Wireless storage, custom icons are in the LG G2 along with features that have been seen on other devices like Smart Screen and Smart video are there. Overall LG has done a great job of cleaning up their US and making it much more streamline than before. There are still some areas that they need to tighten up and I would like to see them go with a more sleek and pro look for their interface however, LG has done a solid job here in creating a great user experience. Battery life and call quality is a bit tough to measure since we are using a global version of the LG G2 and isn’t optimized for US networks but i will say using it on AT&T’s network I was able to go a full day on the battery. I had about 2 e-mail accounts, 5 social networks and made a few calls and the battery kept me going all day. We’ll do more of a battery test when we have the G2’s that are meant for the US with LTE.
The LG G2 13 Megapixel Camera Is As Good As The Rest
The LG G2 packs a 13 megapixel camera with OIS and the quality is right on par with other cameras in it class. The color reproduction in photos and video is more realistic and doesn’t have that extra pop but the quality overall it right up there with the competition. The camera software gives you all the features and options that a lot of top-tier android smartphones have but I will say the layout isn’t my favorite. I would like to see them clean this up a bit and make it eaiser to switch between modes without having to dig too deep into the menus. Outside of that one criticism the LG G2’s camera is great.
LG Has Stepped Up To The Big Leagues With The LG G2
This is by far my favorite smartphone from LG. They have done an amazing job with the LG G2. It’s packing the power, software and unique features to be a great option against other top-tier smartphones. I’m not a fan of the button placement, non-removable battery and would like to see the UI get some more refinement. Other than those few items there isn’t much bad to say about the LG G2 and if you’re in the market for a new smartphone this is definitely one to consider.
LG G2 Product Shots
LG GS Camera Photos
LG G2 1080p 60 FPS Video Camera
Comments