As Mobile World Congress (MWC) got
underway in Barcelona, Spain, there
were thousands of companies vying for
your attention. One that tries to do so every year
is LG, and this year it has gone big – literally –
with its latest high-end handset, the LG G6.
LG has lagged behind the popularity of fellow
South Korean rival Samsung in recent years, and
with no Galaxy S8 in Barcelona, LG is desperate
to make sure the G6 takes all the headlines,
thought it faces sti competition from Sony
and even Nokia this year.
The design has been overhauled again following
the leather-clad G4 and the modular G5
debatably more uniform metal and glass a air. LG’s Friends didn’t last long, did they? But the G6 looks stunning and performs just as well as the best smartphones on the market after our initial tests. Price MobileFun has revealed the UK price of the LG G6: £699. You can pre-order the LG G6 from its site now. The release date is unconfi rmed, though we expect it to be in April or May, and we expect it to be available on all four major UK networks. Design So LG has gone big, but it’s the screen, not the handset itself, that’s grown. The G6 has an 18:9 screen, expanding the display from the traditional confi nes of 16:9. This leaves it with a 5.7in Quad HD display. It looks seriously good. Alongside that wonderful display is a design that conforms, unlike the modular G5 and the leather-clad G4. The G6 takes a leaf out of the iPhone 4’s book with a solid aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass on the front and back. It comes in white, platinum and black, with only the latter being a true fi ngerprint magnet. The refi ned design is simpler and more elegant, with the dual rear cameras and fi ngerprint sensor that acts as the power/lock button sitting fl ush with the body. The bottom edge houses the USB-C port (fully waterproof), single speaker and mic. The right edge is smooth and clear save for the SIM tray, while the left edge has the two volume keys. The top edge has that very welcome 3.5mm headphone jack. AA36 PAGES.indd 5 09/03/2017 10:45 6 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36 Even though the metal and glass frame isn’t entirely original, the rounded design is made all the more striking thanks to the rounded corners of the actual display as well. It’s a clever detail that doesn’t negatively a ect use while accentuating the handset’s thin bezels and unusually tall screen. It works really well. LG said that its goal with the G6, after extensive customer research, was to make a phone with a huge screen but that you could still comfortable use with one hand. The problem here is that this is basically impossible, even for those with large hands. Where the company has succeeded though is by making the G6 perfectly pocket friendly while packing in a screen that it’s easy to scroll through and hold with a single paw. This might sound easy to achieve, but it can be rare to fi nd on phablets like the LG G6. The iPhone 7 Plus, for example, is a through and through two-handed device, and the LG succeeds in fi tting a larger screen than that phone into a smaller overall body. Hardware Processor One point of contention among the tech community is LG’s decision to go with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor rather than its latest 835 that we expect to see in the Galaxy S8. The 821 is in its third generation, and LG told us in an interview that it therefore has more expertise in how to optimise the user experience (UX) and implied the 835 wouldn’t have brought any more noticeable advantages. AA36 PAGES.indd 6 09/03/2017 10:45 ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 7 We hope that the as yet unannounced price will refl ect this. LG needs to undercut its rivals somewhere, something HTC failed to do with its overpriced HTC U Ultra, another phone with the 821 processor. We aren’t too worried about performance, though. Display The display is a 5.7in Quad HD display with a resolution of 2880x1440 – it’s stunning. Aside from the 564ppi, the extra height of the 18:9 aspect means the whole experience of using the G6 is improved from the G5. If that sounds a bit too vague, it’s because you really need to get your hands on it to see what we mean. This impression is also intrinsically linked with the changes to the software, which we’ll come on to. The screen also retains the always-on functionality from the G5, with a slightly altered setup lower down on the screen with a new default AA36 PAGES.indd 7 09/03/2017 10:45 8 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36 font. It still displays the time, date and apps that you have notifi cations for. One thing that we need to investigate further when we receive a fi nal review unit is how the 18:9 aspect ratio behaves outside of the LG UI. During our hands on time, we played a couple of preloaded games that displayed in 16:9 (as is the standard) with a black bar on the far right edge as we held the G6 landscape. This could be an annoyance to users if LG doesn’t manage to sort out standards. LG told us that it ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 9 has optical image stabilisation. LG claims it has found an algorithm that lets you zoom between the two cameras smoothly without a software jerk. On a pre-production unit this actually didn’t work, but fi ngers crossed it will in the retail version. These cameras can record up to 60fps at full HD quality, and in ultra HD at 30fps. HDR support is only for still images, not video, but this is quite usual for smartphones – even the high-end ones. Storage and RAM All variants of the LG G6 will have 4GB RAM as standard. Regionally, some of the features di er. The European version of the LG G6 will have 32GB storage but a microSD slot for expansion up to 2TB. The same applies to the US version. The Korean variant will have 64GB storage, but also the microSD support. LG said these di erences were down to regional marketing decisions. Hopefully it won’t make too much di erence given the storage is expandable. Connectivity and extras Where those regional decisions become a bit more frustrating is in the extras. The US G6 will have wireless charging, which adds extra convenience, minimal extra weight and no design changes. However, the Korean and European versions miss out on this handy addition. The G6 will have Hi-Fi Quad DAC, a component that allows for high quality audio playback. LG told us it doesn’t cost much more to add this, but the US and Europe miss out on it. It referred back to regional decisions on included components, but AA36 PAGES.indd 9 09/03/2017 10:45 10 ANDROID ADVISOR
• ISSUE 36 for us it’s frustrating that the European version will miss out on two desirable features. There will also be a dual-SIM version, but don’t expect this to come to the UK or Europe. These three missing features aren’t vital to the G6’s success in the UK, but we’d certainly welcome them and it’s frustrating to see a major phone split its features like this dependent on market. Extra features are universally appreciated. The G6 does have one trick up its sleeve for all regions though. LG claims it’s the fi rst smartphone to support both Dolby Vision and HDR 10. In basic terms, it’s the fi rst smartphone to theoretically support superior audio-visual standards normally associated with high-end televisions. We say theoretically because while it supports both, streaming services such as Netfl ix don’t actually yet o er playback of this combined quality on mobile devices. Remember when everything was ‘HD ready’, before HD actually existed? It’s like that. Watch this space. Software The G6’s software has been quite substantially overhauled from the G5’s in order to play nice with the taller 18:9 screen. LG’s own apps such as messaging, weather and calendar have been redesigned to better manage white space and information displayed since there’s more room to play with. When presented side by side with the G5’s screens, the di erence is noticeably positive. As you can see, apps have more space to work with, so LG has worked very hard to bring the user a AA36 PAGES.indd 10 09/03/2017 10:45 ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 11 more aesthetically pleasing experience, working on attractive, modernised graphics in the main apps. The camera software too has been redone, with some excellent use of the extra screen space – we love that when taking photos landscape, you get a camera roll of the last few photos taken, rather than the smartphone norm of one tiny thumbnail of the one most recent photo. With our hands-on of the pre-production model we liked the use of the two square idea (app presentation split into squares) in the camera functions LG calls guide shot (for comparison snaps), grid shot (2x2 grid shots) and match shot (for collages). They are a tad gimmicky and the software was buggy, so we will fully test it on the fi nal review unit. We also welcome LG’s decision to choose whether or not to display apps iOS style on the home screen or store them in an app tray. We don’t mind it on iOS, but given the choice on Android, we’ll pick the app tray every time. AA36 PAGES.indd 11 09/03/2017 10:45 12 ANDROID ADVISOR
• ISSUE 36 Verdict The LG G6 is no doubt a striking smartphone. Metal and glass shimmer while the huge 18:9 screen is impressively brought to life with the improved software and its rounded corner design. It is a more refi ned smartphone than both the G4 and G5, and should appeal to a broader audience – even if its features aren’t the same globally. If the price is right, the G6 will prove a canny high-end Android purchase next to whatever Samsung has up its sleeve.
Henry Burrell Specifi cations
• 5.7in (2880x1440, 565ppi) 18:9 Quad HD display
• Android 7.0 Nougat
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU
• Adreno 530 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 32/64GB storage (region dependent)
• 13Mp dual-rear cameras
• 5Mp front camera
• 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 4G LTE
• Nano-SIM (Dual-SIM in some regions)
• GPS
• NFC
• Hi-Fi Quad DAC (Korea only)
• 3300mAh non-removable battery
• Wireless charging (US only)
• Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
• IP68 water resistant
• 148.9x71.9x7.9mm
• 163g
debatably more uniform metal and glass a air. LG’s Friends didn’t last long, did they? But the G6 looks stunning and performs just as well as the best smartphones on the market after our initial tests. Price MobileFun has revealed the UK price of the LG G6: £699. You can pre-order the LG G6 from its site now. The release date is unconfi rmed, though we expect it to be in April or May, and we expect it to be available on all four major UK networks. Design So LG has gone big, but it’s the screen, not the handset itself, that’s grown. The G6 has an 18:9 screen, expanding the display from the traditional confi nes of 16:9. This leaves it with a 5.7in Quad HD display. It looks seriously good. Alongside that wonderful display is a design that conforms, unlike the modular G5 and the leather-clad G4. The G6 takes a leaf out of the iPhone 4’s book with a solid aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass on the front and back. It comes in white, platinum and black, with only the latter being a true fi ngerprint magnet. The refi ned design is simpler and more elegant, with the dual rear cameras and fi ngerprint sensor that acts as the power/lock button sitting fl ush with the body. The bottom edge houses the USB-C port (fully waterproof), single speaker and mic. The right edge is smooth and clear save for the SIM tray, while the left edge has the two volume keys. The top edge has that very welcome 3.5mm headphone jack. AA36 PAGES.indd 5 09/03/2017 10:45 6 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36 Even though the metal and glass frame isn’t entirely original, the rounded design is made all the more striking thanks to the rounded corners of the actual display as well. It’s a clever detail that doesn’t negatively a ect use while accentuating the handset’s thin bezels and unusually tall screen. It works really well. LG said that its goal with the G6, after extensive customer research, was to make a phone with a huge screen but that you could still comfortable use with one hand. The problem here is that this is basically impossible, even for those with large hands. Where the company has succeeded though is by making the G6 perfectly pocket friendly while packing in a screen that it’s easy to scroll through and hold with a single paw. This might sound easy to achieve, but it can be rare to fi nd on phablets like the LG G6. The iPhone 7 Plus, for example, is a through and through two-handed device, and the LG succeeds in fi tting a larger screen than that phone into a smaller overall body. Hardware Processor One point of contention among the tech community is LG’s decision to go with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor rather than its latest 835 that we expect to see in the Galaxy S8. The 821 is in its third generation, and LG told us in an interview that it therefore has more expertise in how to optimise the user experience (UX) and implied the 835 wouldn’t have brought any more noticeable advantages. AA36 PAGES.indd 6 09/03/2017 10:45 ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 7 We hope that the as yet unannounced price will refl ect this. LG needs to undercut its rivals somewhere, something HTC failed to do with its overpriced HTC U Ultra, another phone with the 821 processor. We aren’t too worried about performance, though. Display The display is a 5.7in Quad HD display with a resolution of 2880x1440 – it’s stunning. Aside from the 564ppi, the extra height of the 18:9 aspect means the whole experience of using the G6 is improved from the G5. If that sounds a bit too vague, it’s because you really need to get your hands on it to see what we mean. This impression is also intrinsically linked with the changes to the software, which we’ll come on to. The screen also retains the always-on functionality from the G5, with a slightly altered setup lower down on the screen with a new default AA36 PAGES.indd 7 09/03/2017 10:45 8 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36 font. It still displays the time, date and apps that you have notifi cations for. One thing that we need to investigate further when we receive a fi nal review unit is how the 18:9 aspect ratio behaves outside of the LG UI. During our hands on time, we played a couple of preloaded games that displayed in 16:9 (as is the standard) with a black bar on the far right edge as we held the G6 landscape. This could be an annoyance to users if LG doesn’t manage to sort out standards. LG told us that it ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 9 has optical image stabilisation. LG claims it has found an algorithm that lets you zoom between the two cameras smoothly without a software jerk. On a pre-production unit this actually didn’t work, but fi ngers crossed it will in the retail version. These cameras can record up to 60fps at full HD quality, and in ultra HD at 30fps. HDR support is only for still images, not video, but this is quite usual for smartphones – even the high-end ones. Storage and RAM All variants of the LG G6 will have 4GB RAM as standard. Regionally, some of the features di er. The European version of the LG G6 will have 32GB storage but a microSD slot for expansion up to 2TB. The same applies to the US version. The Korean variant will have 64GB storage, but also the microSD support. LG said these di erences were down to regional marketing decisions. Hopefully it won’t make too much di erence given the storage is expandable. Connectivity and extras Where those regional decisions become a bit more frustrating is in the extras. The US G6 will have wireless charging, which adds extra convenience, minimal extra weight and no design changes. However, the Korean and European versions miss out on this handy addition. The G6 will have Hi-Fi Quad DAC, a component that allows for high quality audio playback. LG told us it doesn’t cost much more to add this, but the US and Europe miss out on it. It referred back to regional decisions on included components, but AA36 PAGES.indd 9 09/03/2017 10:45 10 ANDROID ADVISOR
• ISSUE 36 for us it’s frustrating that the European version will miss out on two desirable features. There will also be a dual-SIM version, but don’t expect this to come to the UK or Europe. These three missing features aren’t vital to the G6’s success in the UK, but we’d certainly welcome them and it’s frustrating to see a major phone split its features like this dependent on market. Extra features are universally appreciated. The G6 does have one trick up its sleeve for all regions though. LG claims it’s the fi rst smartphone to support both Dolby Vision and HDR 10. In basic terms, it’s the fi rst smartphone to theoretically support superior audio-visual standards normally associated with high-end televisions. We say theoretically because while it supports both, streaming services such as Netfl ix don’t actually yet o er playback of this combined quality on mobile devices. Remember when everything was ‘HD ready’, before HD actually existed? It’s like that. Watch this space. Software The G6’s software has been quite substantially overhauled from the G5’s in order to play nice with the taller 18:9 screen. LG’s own apps such as messaging, weather and calendar have been redesigned to better manage white space and information displayed since there’s more room to play with. When presented side by side with the G5’s screens, the di erence is noticeably positive. As you can see, apps have more space to work with, so LG has worked very hard to bring the user a AA36 PAGES.indd 10 09/03/2017 10:45 ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 11 more aesthetically pleasing experience, working on attractive, modernised graphics in the main apps. The camera software too has been redone, with some excellent use of the extra screen space – we love that when taking photos landscape, you get a camera roll of the last few photos taken, rather than the smartphone norm of one tiny thumbnail of the one most recent photo. With our hands-on of the pre-production model we liked the use of the two square idea (app presentation split into squares) in the camera functions LG calls guide shot (for comparison snaps), grid shot (2x2 grid shots) and match shot (for collages). They are a tad gimmicky and the software was buggy, so we will fully test it on the fi nal review unit. We also welcome LG’s decision to choose whether or not to display apps iOS style on the home screen or store them in an app tray. We don’t mind it on iOS, but given the choice on Android, we’ll pick the app tray every time. AA36 PAGES.indd 11 09/03/2017 10:45 12 ANDROID ADVISOR
• ISSUE 36 Verdict The LG G6 is no doubt a striking smartphone. Metal and glass shimmer while the huge 18:9 screen is impressively brought to life with the improved software and its rounded corner design. It is a more refi ned smartphone than both the G4 and G5, and should appeal to a broader audience – even if its features aren’t the same globally. If the price is right, the G6 will prove a canny high-end Android purchase next to whatever Samsung has up its sleeve.
Henry Burrell Specifi cations
• 5.7in (2880x1440, 565ppi) 18:9 Quad HD display
• Android 7.0 Nougat
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU
• Adreno 530 GPU
• 4GB RAM
• 32/64GB storage (region dependent)
• 13Mp dual-rear cameras
• 5Mp front camera
• 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 4G LTE
• Nano-SIM (Dual-SIM in some regions)
• GPS
• NFC
• Hi-Fi Quad DAC (Korea only)
• 3300mAh non-removable battery
• Wireless charging (US only)
• Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
• IP68 water resistant
• 148.9x71.9x7.9mm
• 163g
No comments:
Post a Comment