LG G2 review: Beautiful monster
Introduction
While other companies were bracing for war at the IFA 2013 expo and lining up their latest phablets, LG was counting down to the G2 launch. The Koreans did a few cool tricks to promote the beast, like shooting the Earth from the stratosphere, but the G2 is an attention grabber even without the expensive PR.
LG G2 is powered by the best mobile chipset available, it has a beautiful big screen with almost no bezel to speak of, and it even runs the latest Android version. But that's not what the LG G2 is going to be known for. No, the G2 will be remembered as one of the few devices to bring true hardware innovation for the first time in many years. While most makers just keep on pushing the number of CPU cores or go overboard with screen size, LG takes a fresh approach to how you interact with a big-screen phone in the most natural way.
With high-end smartphones going bigger by the day, the hardware design is struggling to keep up and slowly turning into a disadvantage. The lock key at the top of the HTC One is nearly impossible to reach, volume rockers keep switching sides and places until the moment you start guessing instead of knowing what you are clicking on? And this is just the beginning! How about those lockscreens with unlocking routines, which are getting increasingly weirder?
We guess we didn't realize how things could've been different until we actually get to see them from a fresh perspective. The LG G2 revolutionizes the Power/Lock key by putting it on the back of the device at the direct disposal of your index finger. You can unlock the screen with just a double tap too. No more finger stretching, using the other hand or doing some magical air gestures.
Now that we are done enjoying the new way of making things happen, we should also say a few words about the spectacular hardware the LG G2 is running on. The smartphone uses a brilliant 5.2" IPS+ display with great colors, contrast, viewing angles and very low reflectiveness. The G2 has the most powerful chipset on the market too - the Snapdragon 800 with a quad-core 2.3GHz Krait 400 processor, Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM. Finally, there is the 13MP camera with optical image stabilizations and full HD videos shot in 60 fps. And these are merely
| GENERAL | 2G Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
|---|---|---|
| 3G Network | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| 4G Network | LTE 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 / 850 | |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | |
| Announced | 2013, August | |
| Status | Available. Released 2013, September |
| BODY | Dimensions | 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm (5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 143 g (5.04 oz) |
| DISPLAY | Type | True HD-IPS + LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 inches (~424 ppi pixel density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes | |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 2 |
| SOUND | Alert types | Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones |
|---|---|---|
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes | |
| - Dolby mobile sound enhancement |
| MEMORY | Card slot | No |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 16/32 GB, 2 GB RAM |
| DATA | GPRS | Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps |
|---|---|---|
| EDGE | Class 12 | |
| Speed | HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 21 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot | |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| Infrared port | Yes | |
| USB | Yes, microUSB v2.0 (SlimPort), USB On-the-go, USB Host |
| CAMERA | Primary | 13 MP, autofocus, LED flash, check quality |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face detection, optical image stabilization, HDR | |
| Video | Yes, 1080p@60fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., video stabilization, check quality | |
| Secondary | Yes, 2.1 MP, 1080p@30fps |
| FEATURES | OS | Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 | |
| CPU | Quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 | |
| GPU | Adreno 330 | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | |
| Messaging | SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS | |
| Browser | HTML5 | |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio with RDS | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS | |
| Java | Yes, via Java MIDP emulator | |
| Colors | Black, White | |
| - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - SNS applications - MP4/DviX/XviD/H.264/H.263/WMV player - MP3/WAV/FLAC/eAAC+/AC3/WMA player - Photo viewer/editor - Document viewer - Organizer - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input |
| BATTERY | Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-by | Up to 790 h (2G) / Up to 900 h (3G) | |
| Talk time | Up to 16 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 17 h 30 min (3G) |
| MISC | SAR US | 0.50 W/kg (head) 0.69 W/kg (body) |
|---|---|---|
| SAR EU | 0.41 W/kg (head) 0.47 W/kg (body) | |
| Price group |  |
the most obvious things! Here comes the complete list of features.
Wow, what a long list of features! And look at those few alleged flaws - we are already quite used to seeing droids launching without an additional memory slot and with the battery sealed in. Somehow, the manufacturers managed to convince us - users - that we don't actually need to worry about replacing the battery. And while that may be ok for some, the 24GB of inbuilt storage is likely to run out at one point on a device that records 1080p videos at 60 fps.
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