LG G3 Full Detail Review The year's best innovations undermined by one fatal flaw

LG is readying the local release of its best smartphone to date, the G3, right when hysteria for the Galaxy S5 has tired. Innovations include a 1440p screen, a laser autofocus camera and worthwhile software add-ons, but is the G3 good enough to push LG out from under Samsung's shadow?

Raising the bar in design

Every part of the G3 looks to be pushing the absolute limits of what is technically possible for a smartphone. Simple styling brings this to the forefront.

Up until now the HTC One (M8) was our darling looker of 2014

Double tap the Gorilla Glass and a 5.5in screen powers. It’s the lack of bezel that captures our attention; no other smartphone has managed to cut the fat so savagely.

Flipping the smartphone reveals the LG’s fat-cutting method of shifting buttons to the rear. A removable back cover is studded by power and volume buttons. Placement is below a high resolution camera and adjacent to a dual-LED flash.

A hairline finish on the faux metal cover accentuates the smartphone’s ergonomic curve, which proves key in keeping the G3 phablet as comfortable in the hand as its 5in competition.

Up until now the HTC One (M8) was our darling looker of 2014. The G3 might not have the One (M8) beat on materials, but the combination of a bigger screen, thinner bezel and brushed body is enough to sway our opinion: the G3 is the best looking smartphone to launch locally in 2014.

Note: The LG G3 goes on sale in Australia on 4 August. The unit reviewed by Good Gear Guide was provided by online retailer UniqueMobiles, who is currently selling the LG G3. This review will be updated when GGG receives a local G3 for review.

Tomorrow’s 1440p screen, today

No other smartphone has launched in Australia with a 2560x1440 resolution display. The G3’s 5.5in display packs 534 pixels-per-inch, which far exceeds the 432 pixels-per-inch (ppi) delivered by Samsung’s Galaxy S5, the 441ppi of HTC’s One (M8) and the 326ppi of Apple’s iPhone 5S.

LG has leapfrogged leader Samsung in the display department

Technically the rich screen of the G3 has four times the pixels of a high-definition television. All multimedia, whether it’s zooming in on a high resolution photo or watching a compatible 1440p movie, is richer when it’s watched on the G3.

A 5.5in screen classifies the G3 as a phablet, but the smartphone’s fine bezels ensure it is no taller than the 5in HTC One (M8). LG integrating a display of this calibre in its G3 represents the company leapfrogging Samsung in the display department.

A likeable Android overlay

For all of the G3’s innovation and hardware, the flagship could’ve been spoiled if the software hadn’t matured. LG has fitted the current Android 4.4 KitKat operating system with an overlay closer to Android’s design language. Circular shapes are prominently featured, applications are colour coded and there’s a fashionable flatness to the iconography.

Connectivity is top notch with the G3 packing 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Miracast and a microUSB SlimPort.

This is yet another way LG caters to its customers’ needs while asking of them less

Several additions have been made to LG’s rendition of Android. Standouts include knock-code and, although it may seem redundant, an intelligible keyboard.

Typically entering a password and unlocking your smartphone requires two separate steps. Knock code combines two steps into one by recognising a patterned and unlocking the smartphone simultaneously. The patterned tap can be done across the whole screen or over a fraction of it; no matter, the smartphone will be unlocked provided the pattern is the same.

The task manager of the G3 is one of our favourites. It displays thumbnails of all running applications and they can be cleared at the press of a button

LG’s keyboard earns a mention for its intuition. Swiping left or right over the spacebar grants you control over the cursor for simple editing, while the settings menu makes it possible to resize the height of the keyboard.

There’s a tact to the way the G3 handles incoming text messages. Rather than necessitating the messaging app to be opened mid-way through whatever you’re doing, incoming messages pop-up on a fraction of the screen with the added option of inputting text. This is yet another way LG caters to its customers’ needs while asking of them less.

Our only gripe with the G3’s software is the colour scheme. Some colours fail to take advantage of the vibrant screen and leave the interface looking less attractive than the colouring adopted by HTC’s Sense UI. As far as gripes are concerned, this one is an easy trade off for the many improvements.

The LG G3 has a tiny infrared blaster for use as a remote control. Unfortunately the remote still lacks a complementing electronic program guide

Click over for hardware, camera, battery life and the final thought

Powerful hardware, but at what cost?

Beating inside the LG G3 is a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Prop the rear cover open for access to a microSD slot compatible with a 128GB card and a removable 3000 milliamp-hour battery. Charging has been eased with the inclusion of a wireless charging pad — a supporting Qi standard charger is needed — found lining the back cover.

Here lies the down point in an otherwise glowing review; the one reason why some people shouldn’t commit to the LG G3

Here lies the down point in an otherwise glowing review; the one reason why some people shouldn’t commit to the LG G3. A 3000 milliamp battery in today’s climate is competitive, but that screen — that resolution rich and luminous affair that puts the G3 a step ahead of its rivals — heavily taxes the battery. Over the course of a week the Good Gear Guide test G3, provided by online retailer UniqueMobile, struggled to hold charge for one day.

LG’s senior marketing manager, Brad Reed, previously told Good Gear Guide the higher resolution screen demands approximately 20 percent more battery life than the equivalent Full HD panel. Reed added LG had offset this through software magic.

Over the course of a week we tested the G3 with the ‘battery saver’ mode both disabled and enabled. We toggled between the most efficient settings and the most demanding. The G3 was our primary device for the week and handled our calls, texting and emailing; our web browsing and social networking, and; some video consumption and music playback. We would describe our use throughout the week as moderate to heavy.

Our highest recorded battery life reached a commendable 22 hours, but the promising one-time result is undermined by an average battery life of 12 hours. (We hit 9 hours on a few occassions.)

The battery saver mode will only deliver results to users who flippantly leave the screen brightness really high and have superfluous functions, such as Bluetooth and GPS, enabled when not in use. We found it did little to extend the battery life based on our usage patterns.

The poor battery life delivered by the G3 makes us question whether today’s smartphones are ready for such high resolution screens. The perk is undeniably desirable, but we’d rather a Full HD panel in exchange for not having to charge bi-daily.

LG pushed out an update during our testing period for “power optimisation”. We hope the company continues to improve the battery life of the G3 in future updates.

Real photographic innovations, UHD recording

LG has introduced a worthwhile camera innovation with its G3 flagship. The rear 13 megapixel camera works with an infrared laser in order to improve autofocusing times. The contention is the camera will miss fewer moments by taking quicker photos.

Point the camera at a scene and multiple points of focus will be marked. A single tap registers the point of focus you’re interested in and takes the photo simultaneously. Capturing high-resolution photos quicker is an improvement we can get behind.

The camera UI is as attractive as it is easy to use. Only one submenu icon rests on the screen when the laser autofocus is at work. Tapping it will enable a manual tap-to-focus and require the soft shutter key to be tapped when ready. Other points are gained for featuring a pause option during video recording and for never feeling cluttered.

Using a smartphone is a lot more fun when it’s thinking a step ahead

Overall camera performance is good enough to rely on the G3 daily. Photos at native resolution are characterised by a negligible amount image noise and little feathering. Colour isn’t as vibrant as the Nokia Lumia 930, but the G3 edges ahead by featuring a clever HDR mode, which will breathe detail into shadowy landscapes when the Nokia Lumia 930 won’t. The higher megapixel count puts it ahead of HTC’s One (M8); however, G3 photos don’t have the same colour vibrancy as Samsung’s 16 megapixel Galaxy S5.

Taken with the LG G3

Panorama captured with LG G3

Taken with the LG G3

Taken with the LG G3 - cropped image

Photo above at 100 per cent native resolution

Videos recorded in Ultra high-definition (UHD) resolution are overall good, bar a few small gripes. Camera aficionados may notice little ghosting and frame jarring when at motion, with an increase in image noise in dimly lit environments.

Playing the UHD content on the G3’s 1440p screen is a bit of a ‘wow’ moment. Trying to spot an individual pixel when 534 of them are crammed into each inch is a tall order indeed. Only the little signs of image noise in a UHD video ejects us momentarily from the otherwise fantastic experience.

Endorsing UHD recording is tough, however. A 63 second UHD recording required 227MB of internal storage. Worse yet, the battery dropped approximately 10 percent during 20 minutes of camera usage. A Full HD — or even HD — video remains the resolution we recommend when capturing videos with your smartphone.

Final thought

The smartphone flagships from LG and Samsung couldn’t be further apart. The G3 makes simplicity a priority by eliminating redundant steps in how you unlock the phone, take photos and reply to texts. Using a smartphone is a lot more fun when it’s thinking a step ahead.

Almost everything about the LG flagship represents an improvement. The design and screen put LG in a league of its own, while throwing in a wireless charging pad makes it that much easier to use everyday. Furthermore, LG’s laser autofocus technology brings genuine innovation to the stagnant smartphone camera.

Unfortunately the G3 is too powerful for its own good. The 3000 milliamp-hour battery isn’t large enough to offset the 1440p display’s hunger. Those with piqued intrigue should consider living with a phone that has half to almost one day battery life. If the sacrifice isn’t too much, then buy the G3.

Otherwise we have to concede this sore point: LG may have bitten off more than it can chew.