If Samsung represents one extreme in the move to add bells and whistles to smartphones, LG seems to be aiming for the other end of the spectrum.
In its Galaxy S line of phones, Samsung has taken the kitchen sink approach each year by adding a host of new features, from new ways to shoot photos to new hardware elements such as pulse monitors. But too often, the add-ons have been either poorly conceived or partially developed.
LG takes the opposite approach. With its new flagship smartphone, the G3, the company focuses on only a handful of new features, most of which are subtle improvements rather than flashy advances.
I like the idea, but I think LG might have carried things too far. The G3 is a good phone, but it’s not exciting.
Like many other Android flagship phones these days, the G3 touts a jumbo screen, a long-life battery and a fast quad-core processor. But unlike those phones, the G3’s interface is relatively unmodified from standard Android. And its tweaks — like its three-page home screen that flips like pages in a book — are fairly subtle.
LG has sought to distinguish the G3 not through its interface or the size of its screen, but through the resolution of its display. It’s one of the first phones to have more than 500 pixels per inch.
By contrast, Apple’s iPhones, which flaunt a “Retina” display, have a resolution of about 326 pixels per inch, while the HTC One has a resolution of 440 pixels. LG calls the G3’s 538 pixel resolution “Quad HD,” noting that it has about four times the number of pixels as a 720p HD display.
The screen is certainly beautiful and vibrant. But the difference in pixel resolution is subtle at best, even if you are comparing the G3 with the iPhone 5S. And it’s likely to be imperceptible if you are comparing it with an ultra-high resolution Android phone such as the HTC One.
The other key feature that LG pushes with the G3 is the laser-based autofocus system for its camera. The company says the system, which is more commonly found in high-end DSLR cameras, is a first for a smartphone. It is supposed to focus much faster than a typical smartphone and perform better in low-light situations.
In my tests, I found the speed improvement marginal at best. In most cases, the time it took for my iPhone to focus and shoot wasn’t noticeably longer than the time it took the G3.
The G3’s camera did do a better job at quickly shifting focus from an object in the distance to one extremely close up. But that’s not a situation I experience frequently.
That said, the G3’s 13-megapixel camera is very good for a smartphone. The pictures it took were generally clear and sharp, even when I zoomed close in to examine particular details.
The G3 is a nice phone and worth consideration if you are looking at the Galaxy S5 or the HTC One. Just don’t expect to be wowed by it.
In its Galaxy S line of phones, Samsung has taken the kitchen sink approach each year by adding a host of new features, from new ways to shoot photos to new hardware elements such as pulse monitors. But too often, the add-ons have been either poorly conceived or partially developed.
LG takes the opposite approach. With its new flagship smartphone, the G3, the company focuses on only a handful of new features, most of which are subtle improvements rather than flashy advances.
I like the idea, but I think LG might have carried things too far. The G3 is a good phone, but it’s not exciting.
Like many other Android flagship phones these days, the G3 touts a jumbo screen, a long-life battery and a fast quad-core processor. But unlike those phones, the G3’s interface is relatively unmodified from standard Android. And its tweaks — like its three-page home screen that flips like pages in a book — are fairly subtle.
LG has sought to distinguish the G3 not through its interface or the size of its screen, but through the resolution of its display. It’s one of the first phones to have more than 500 pixels per inch.
By contrast, Apple’s iPhones, which flaunt a “Retina” display, have a resolution of about 326 pixels per inch, while the HTC One has a resolution of 440 pixels. LG calls the G3’s 538 pixel resolution “Quad HD,” noting that it has about four times the number of pixels as a 720p HD display.
The screen is certainly beautiful and vibrant. But the difference in pixel resolution is subtle at best, even if you are comparing the G3 with the iPhone 5S. And it’s likely to be imperceptible if you are comparing it with an ultra-high resolution Android phone such as the HTC One.
The other key feature that LG pushes with the G3 is the laser-based autofocus system for its camera. The company says the system, which is more commonly found in high-end DSLR cameras, is a first for a smartphone. It is supposed to focus much faster than a typical smartphone and perform better in low-light situations.
In my tests, I found the speed improvement marginal at best. In most cases, the time it took for my iPhone to focus and shoot wasn’t noticeably longer than the time it took the G3.
The G3’s camera did do a better job at quickly shifting focus from an object in the distance to one extremely close up. But that’s not a situation I experience frequently.
That said, the G3’s 13-megapixel camera is very good for a smartphone. The pictures it took were generally clear and sharp, even when I zoomed close in to examine particular details.
The G3 is a nice phone and worth consideration if you are looking at the Galaxy S5 or the HTC One. Just don’t expect to be wowed by it.
