LG G3 Preview

LG G3 Preview

On May 27 we finally get a glimpse of LG G3, the successor of G2. Last year G2 was one of my favourite smartphone because not only it packed a lot of power but also it has one of the best displays I’ve ever seen. Long story short, I set my expectation very high on its successor. How does it turn out to be? Will G3 hold up to its predecessor? Let's find out on this quick preview.

Design

As its predecessor, G3 retain similar design and looks, although LG has made few changes to the phone. With dimensions of 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm this phone is definitely not a small phone, but don’t take me wrong, this phone is actually smaller compared to another 5.5-inch android like One+, One, or Galaxy Note 2. This phone also quite light at 149 g thanks to its plastic body.

Unlike the LG G2, G3 has redesigned its back cover that simulate the look of brushed metal. I found this new design is very attractive. However, in the end, it’s still just a plastic. No matter how good it looks those plastic back cover will collect scratches and lose its beauty (I guess). LG also made a little change on the power and home buttons. Moving to the back side, we’ll find similar power and volume button like the G2, but those buttons are rather rounded, more flat, and hopefully easier to press than before.

Display

For me, the most interesting news is the display. After months of speculation we finally get a detail about the display. Unlike many other flagship that has 1080p display, LG G3 has 2K display or QHD instead. For you who don’t know, 2K display is 2560 × 1440 pixel display. In 5.5-inch screen we’ll get around 530 pixel per inch by which is far higher than last year HTC One (HTC One M7 had the highest density display last year). In theory it’s supposed to be a lot sharper even from phones like Galaxy S5 or HTC One M8. To be honest, I don’t see any pixel in 1080p display on 5-inch screen phone (well… At least I can’t. I guess…), but things could change when I see the new 2K display.

Having a device with the highest density display has its own drawback though. I don’t have the phone yet, but I suspect everything will be just like an HTC J Butterfly back then. LG’s original apps, icon and user interface will look great although many other apps that are not optimised for 2K display will suffer some pixelation. This may not stay for long because many other Smartphone companies are moving towards 2K display. For now we can only wait to see what happen next.

LG G3 powerhouse

Actually there is not much to talk about in this part. LG G3 has a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor like HTC One M8, 2 or 3GB of RAM depending on whether you plump for the 16GB or 32GB model and an Adreno 330 GPU. It is not like the rumours which said G3 will have Snapdragon 805.

There is no benchmark yet but my guess it will not be as fast as Galaxy S5 because of the display. I think those resolutions will slow the GPU down because there’s a lot more pixels to process. Well, we have to wait a little longer for that.

Camera

LG G3 is focusing their attention into a camera this time. Like HTC, LG is retreating from megapixel war, instead they are focusing on features which we will talk about in a few second. The G3 has 13-Megapixel sensors, LED flash, and optical image stabilisation just like the G2. However this phone has a phase detection technology/ Laser Autofocus, where a laser will be fired and measured by sensor to give more accurate details on the distance between the camera and the object so that the camera will very quickly focus on the object.

For the front facing camera, G3 has 2.1 Megapixels sensor which can take a picture simple by a finger gesture. I think this is more like just a gimmick than a real useful feature. I myself barely take a safe though, so my opinion on this is not 100% valid.

Final words

After analysing all the feature from the launching event, I really can’t wait to get my hands on LG G3. Beautiful design, over the top specs, and all things I love from the G2 makes this phone really interesting. There are actually a lot more new  features that I didn’t mention in this first preview of the phone. I’ll write more detailed review later when the phone is available. So… Till we meet again.

-Mr.Koala-