LG G2

LG G2 Review

Many smartphones have recently come into the market to join others that have been in existence. At the same time, a number of companies have come up with numerous top-drawer phones like Sony’s Z Ultra and Xperia Z, and Samsung’s Note and Galaxy S series. LG has also introduced G Pro and G in the market. The biggest challenge to many mobile phone manufacturers has always been coming up with smartphones with unique features beyond faster processors and bigger screens, features emphasized in most smartphones.

LG G2 comes with a big change to most smartphones’ layout. This smartphone has three buttons at its back. LG does not see it viable to have buttons around smartphones’ edges since the size of most of these phones has increased. In terms of size, LG’s G model is somewhere in between the Pro and Optimus G. It has a 1080p IPS, 5.2-inch screen, having broken through the 5-inch barrier. The rest of this phone’s features are more or less the same as those of other Android smartphones, including a remote control blaster and optical image stabilization. In addition, the phone comes with a 24-bit/192kHz audio recording and playback and is Snapdragon 800-powered ( this is Qualcom’s most potent processor for mobile phones).

Hardware

The LG G2 smartphone has an impressive design; it is like a conceptual design made into a real smartphone. When this device is switched on, its front surface literally comes to life. Its 5.2-inch screen has been squeezed to make it more or less like those of 5-inch devices such as Samsung Galaxy S4. This has been made possible by a display touch sensor that uses two connectors. The phone’s lower part has the company’s logo (LG), with Android buttons coming on-screen. Above the LG logo is a loudspeaker, a front-facing 2.1-megapixel camera, and a light sensor. The phone also has an attractive curve to its Gorilla Glass 2 front; this is similar to what is found on the recent Lumias and the Nexus 4. This has helped add class to what would otherwise be a standard-looking handset.

When the phone is flipped over, one begins to see a bit more flair. Apart from its rear-button trio, the phone has a glossy and patterned finish that helps disguise the device a little although it seems to love fingerprints. The user will need to carry a cloth around to get rid of smears. The phone does not come with a removable battery cover, which hinders users who would like to swap SD cards and batteries. This has been adequately compensated for by its solid build quality and the fact that the user gets more battery space. LG G2’s volume buttons are covered in a gritty, matte finish, making them stand out from its glossy background, and at the same time offers more grip. An LED outline surrounds the phone’s power button, although it is not as fancy as that of the Optimus G Pro. The device does not have any other buttons; this might require the user to get used to.

The LG G2 smartphone has some of the best displays in the market: it is bright, rich, and has great viewing angles. It is suitably bright even in harsh sunlight although the auto-brightness feature does not work on this model. In addition to the IPS display, LG G2 has a graphic RAM added to it; this has added a memory cache of the screen when static. This means that when the screen is not changing, the GPU and the CPU do not have to communicate, thereby allowing its processor to cool down and save on battery burn.

Camera

The LG G2 smartphone has paired a high-pixel-count camera sensor with optical image stabilization to achieve less noise and blur, as well as crisper shots. The rear-facing volume keys can also be used for zooming in addition to serving as shutter buttons.

The phone’s HDR mode makes it faster than most smartphones in the market today. It also has less ghosting and better detail than what one would see on smartphone HDR shots, thanks to its image stabilization feature. It is also possible to lock exposure and focus by just touching and holding the shutter button, then releasing the finger to capture the shot. The “shoot and clear” mode removes any moving objects from photos.

The LG G2 smartphone produces crisp videos, although one may have issues with autofocus. The phone’s image stabilization feature has managed to stop any jumpiness when recording. However, the phone keeps attempting to refocus even when the subject is not moving around. This readjusting can add moments of blur to videos. It is possible to lock focus on an object while capturing its video by simply tapping on the object in the viewfinder. The phone also comes with Audio Zoom, a new video camera software function that uses three in-built stereo microphones for amplifying sounds in a specific direction. Unfortunately, one must digitally zoom in, meaning that making any audio quality improvements compromises visual performance. Finally, the smartphone’s 1080p and 60 fps video capture makes it ideal for slow-motion playback of videos.

Software

The LG G2 smartphone comes with all the features that the Optimum G Pro had, such as the dual-camera modes and the QSlide floating mini apps. Unfortunately, the phone still lacks non-stock apps and split-screen multitasking features. On the brighter side, it has managed to keep the IR blaster that will help rid users of remotes. The phone’s unusual button placement enables the user to double-tap its screen to wake it up. The same can be done on the phone’s status bar, the lock screen, and the empty home screen space to make it return to slumber.

The LG G2 smartphone allows the user to choose the desired on-screen soft-keys with several permutations of multitask, search, menu, back, and home keys to the phone’s note-taking function. On swiping around the phone’s Android home screen, the user will arrive at a tutorial for its newer features. First is the guest mode that lets the user lock down the phone to make it kid-friendly and protect it against corporate espionage and pranks. It is possible to switch on the phone’s guest mode through its settings menu where the user can define a desired lock pattern for all guest users. Similarly, the user can specify the apps guests can access. Slide Aside is another multitasking function, in addition to QSlide, that keeps three apps running at the same time on the side.

Performance

The LG G2 smartphone comes with a 2GB RAM, a 32GB non-expandable storage, and Qualcomm’s 2.26GHZ quad-core Snapdragon processor. It uses the Adreno 330 graphics processor, which means richer titles and slicker existing games. This phone is twice as fast as Optimus G and is LTE-ready. The phone’s HSPA+ has a downloading speed of about 2.2 Mbps and uploading speed of 400 Kbps. Its voice calls are clear, with a trio of microphones helping in cancelling out any unwanted noise.

Battery Life

The LG G2 smartphone comes with a 3000Ah battery with a long life. With regular GPS usage, as well as voice and Wi-Fi calls, all with the screen on half- to full brightness, the battery can last 20 hours. In Engadget’s HD video rundown, the device can do 16 hours of playback on a single charge. By any terms, this is a sensible smartphone battery.

Conclusion

The LG G2 smartphone has borrowed many features from tablet-smartphones and crammed them all into a standard smartphone. This device has among the best screens and battery life in the market. Anybody using this phone will be in a position to watch more movies and do much more since its battery will still last long even under heavy usage. Interestingly, this phone is not even being marketed for its super battery as much as it is for its top-notch specifications. The good news is that users get to enjoy both features. The device’s new button positions are not, in any way, a gimmick, but may need users to get used to them. Although there are a few disappointments with the device’s software coffers, and the OS feels more complicated and denser than a vanilla Android, the device still boasts of a few gems that place it ahead of other smartphones. The phone’s endurance and a high level processor and screen place it in the league of the most tempting smartphones ever.