Last year’s LG G3 was one of the best phones of 2014 packing one of the best cameras in the entire ecosystem of Android, and possibly of all. But are the upgrades significant enough to keep up with the ever-changing nature of smart phones?
Build Quality
In an effort to not beat around the bush, I will just come out and say it. While the phone is made of the durable Gorilla Glass 3 with metal surrounding the sides, the phone lacks a highly premium feel in comparison to the Galaxy S6 or the HTC One M9 or the iPhone.All three phones use the same materials as the G4, but the others feel much more premium. If you are the kind of person who cares more than anything about the build quality, stop here. Buy something else. Until you get to the back of the phone, the device itself might appear rather boring. What makes the build unique this day in age is the removable back. That means the user has access to the battery and microSD card slot. Those are two features that are going the way of the Dodo in more recent iterations of Android smartphones.
One design element that LG added was a slight curve to the device. The curve is so marginal that it would not be noticed until heavy inspection of the phone. Apparently, the curve makes the phone more durable during drops as there is no direct impact if the phone were to fall. I will take their word for it as I am not crazy enough to try to drop a phone on purpose.
Another one of the more interesting design choices that LG decided to go with that accents the already nice feature of battery swapping and expanded storage is the option of backs that consumers can buy for the phone. There are the obvious plastic backs reminiscent of last year’s model, but this year brings all new leather options to the table. The model I have came with the black leather back. While I cannot figure out how I entirely feel about the choice of material, it looks very nice. I have gotten comments on it, such as “You look like a businessman!” or “That phone looks distinguished.” In the hand the leather feels weird, not because it poorly made, but because phones are not made of leather. It takes getting used to, but overall I think it does add to the experience a bit. The leather is grippy enough that you won’t feel like the phone is about to slip out of your hand, but smooth enough to not stick like glue in a pocket. LG reached the perfect balance. Whether or not the leather lasts the tales of time remain to be seen, but the best part is its ability to be swapped out if it does get worn. If you are picking up a G4, definitely go with the leather. The plastic back option is simply too boring this day in age. I have a theory that LG knew that modern consumers do not like plastic anymore and went with leather as a kind of unique spin on premium materials.
The last remarkable feature of the phone is LG’s signature button placement. Rather than on the sides of the phone, the volume rockers and power button are located right under the camera in the back. While the location may be offputting at first, it does make sense. When holding the phone, no matter which hand, the index finger naturally rests right where the buttons are. I have relatively small hands and even I felt the button placement comfortable, which brings me to my favorite part about the build of the phone. Because of the buttons on the back, and a lack of home button, the phone packs a big screen, but has a small footprint. It is not cumbersome to hold, but it still has all the screen real estate of a 5.5 inch display. While the device feels great in the hand, those buttons can also unfortunately be a curse. If the phone is laying on the table, and you feel that the music or video is not playing loud enough; you have to pick the phone up off the table to adjust the volume. It sounds nitpicky, but I found myself having to do that very often.
Overall the look and build of the phone leave much to be desired. The redeeming qualities are the swappable back and the good/bad button placement on the back. For a 2015 smartphone, it feels like one of the lower-end build quality regardless of the materials used in it. For a metal edge and glass screen, it feels less premium than competitors. The build, however, is made up for by the outstanding performance it achieves.
Performance
When designing the phone, LG pulled no punches to make the G4 one of the top performing phones on the market. Already running Android 5.1 Lollipop, the G4 is a hardcore Android user’s dream. Apps and animations are blistering fast, and I saw almost no hiccups playing a few games or browsing the Internet or checking Twitter. It just works.
The brand new QuadHD display that phone manufacturers are starting to put in their phones are bringing a new level of sharpness to the modern smartphone that challenges even Apple’s Retina Displays. While I still see a few pixels on the screen, especially on blank white pages, that takes away little from an otherwise gorgeous display. The level of sharpness does not exactly match the crisp Galaxy S6 display, but it balances colors much better than the over saturated displays Samsung has to offer.
On top of Android 5.1, LG has added a couple of their own features to the software. The most obvious right off the bat is the clock and weather widget on the home screen. It takes up a whole two rows, but I like it because it gives me a detailed description of the weather powered by AccuWeather. It gives a couple of sentences to break down what it means rather than give raw information. To me it felt more humanized than a normal weather widget, saying things like “Stay hydrated” or “Put on sunscreen before heading out.” The one issue I had with it was its refusal to refresh most of the time.
Another useful feature that LG added was the Smart Cards that can be accessed by swiping right at the leftmost home screen. These cards represent a number of tools and applications that help you get the most out of the phone. I was legitimately impressed that I actually found a use for the cards because they actually did useful things, something that cannot be said about most manufacturer software. These cards can represent anything from a calendar to quick settings, and if you do something that triggers something in the phone, a new card will appear.
Besides of a couple of quirky flaws here and there, LG has done a great job of adding useful features to an already great operating system. LG is one of the few who can say that they actually improved the operating system.
The camera on last year’s G3 was one of the best on the market at the time. LG improved on last year’s model by widening the aperture, making it the widest aperture ever on a smartphone. The level of quality on the camera shows in all of the photos I took. Part of the reason the camera is so good is due to the laser auto focus that LG flaunts. It does make a big difference in focus speed.
I am clearly not a photographer.
Battery life is one of the best I have ever seen. It seems to never die. The duration is thanks to a 3,000 mAh battery that just keeps on chugging. On standby, the G4 lasted days and even on days that I was actively using it I got hours upon hours of use. And in the event that the phone does ever need to charge, it charges quickly. It does support some quick charging, but I could not get it to respond to my Qualcomm Galaxy S6 quick charger. Fortunately, the charger that does come with the phone is very quick. Not as quick as an actual quick charger, but complaining about it would be nitpicky and obnoxious.
In terms of performance, I have almost nothing negative to say about it. The G4 has all the power and speed I could ever want this year, and finding a more buttery smooth phone would be tough to find.
Wrap Up
I love this phone. Despite the less than wonderful build quality, the way the phone operates makes up for it. I have never used such a quick phone, and I’m the guy who always plays with every phone at Best Buy. If you are looking for a phone that moves fast, lasts forever, and has a swappable battery with expandable storage, do yourself a favor and get the G4. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Final Score: 9/10

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Rebecca Docter