Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. LG G2: Neighbor squabble

Screen comparison

The LG G2's screen is bigger - but is that extra size really meaningful? After all, the on-screen buttons take out a chunk of the screen that's not accessible by anything but video players.

Those buttons take out 144 pixels out of the 1920 pixels of the screen (they are always on the short side). That's 7.5% of the screen real estate unavailable to apps. Subtracting that area leaves only 2% more screen real estate for apps running on the LG G2 than the Galaxy S4 offers. That 0.2" advantage is turning out to be mostly on paper (outside of the video watching scenario).

LG G2 vs. Samsung Galaxy S4 screen comparison

With the display measuring contest out of the way, it's time to talk about the screens themselves. One is a True HD-IPS+ LCD (the G2) and the other is a Super AMOLED (the S4), both protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The edges on the LG G2 glass are ever so slightly rounded, making horizontal swipes a bit more natural and pleasant.

Both screens are capacitive, but the Galaxy S4's digitizer is put into overdrive - it will detect your finger from an inch away, which enables some S Pen like gestures in the TouchWiz UI called Air View and, better yet, means you can use the S4 while wearing gloves (a major advantage in colder climates).

Let's talk about the screens themselves - they differ on more than just size. The LG G2 has a True-HD IPS+ LCD screen while the Galaxy S4 uses Samsung's own Super AMOLED. The difference is clearly visible under a microscope.

LG G2 screen under a microscope * Samsung Galaxy S4 screen

The G2 screen has a standard RGB matrix, no surprises there. The Super AMOLED uses a diamond-shaped subpixel arrangement, but due to the very high pixel density (441ppi), that's not visible to the naked eye. The thing about AMOLED is that all those dots are individual light sources that can be powered on and off as needed, so only a few pixels can be lit up to consume energy.

This allows a clock with notifications to be displayed efficiently, which is used for the S View cover. The LG G2 has to backlight the entire 5.2" screen to display even one pixel, so the Quick Window covers use more power.

Those are relatively minor things and having a whopping big backlight comes in handy when you need brightness - the LG G2 easily wins in this regard. It's 667nits vs. 404nits though keep in mind the Samsung plays tricks that make it hard to nail the brightness.

Then there's another problem - to display black pixels, the LCD has to block the backlighting. The LG G2 screen manages that very well, scoring 1,495:1 contrast, which is about as high as you can expect on an LCD screen (note that this is actual contrast with black and white next to each other, there's none of that "dynamic contrast" trickery that HDTV makers use).

An AMOLED display can, however, simply turn off the pixels that are black, so that they emit no light whatsoever. This gives it theoretically infinite contrast ratio.

Most often though the screen isn't the only source of light - there are house lights and the sun. That light reflects off the protective glass of the screen and the screen itself, so even if black pixels are completely off, reflected light can still ruin the contrast ratio.

Samsung has put a lot of effort in minimizing reflectivity - one of the major advantages Super AMOLED had is that it attached seamlessly to the glass, without any air gaps causing glare. But LG started laminating its screens a while back, meaning there's no air gap there either.

However, the end result is strongly in favor of the Samsung Galaxy S4. It took a small step back compared to the Galaxy S III, but it still has one of the best screens to use in direct sunlight. The LG G2 has a fairly disappointing sunlight legibility score of just under what the Apple iPhone 4 managed. Apple has greatly improved its screens since, while the G2 is beaten by a midrange HTC Desire 600 dual sim (to be fair the higher end HTC One mini is actually worse).

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  3.419
• Nokia Lumia 925
  3.402
• Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
  3.352
• Samsung Omnia W
  3.301
• Samsung Galaxy S
  3.155
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  3.127
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  3.118
• Nokia N9
  3.069
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.970
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  2.832
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• Nokia Lumia 720
  2.512
• HTC One
  2.504
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  2.262
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Nokia N8
  2.144
• Oppo Find 5
  2.088
• BlackBerry Z10
  2.051
• Apple iPhone 4
  2.016
• HTC One mini
  2.003
• LG G2
  1.976
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
  1.955
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• Huawei Ascend P6
  1.865
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  1.691
• HTC One V
  1.685
• BlackBerry Q5
  1.682
• LG Optimus Vu
  1.680
• LG Optimus GJ
  1.666
• HTC Desire V
  1.646
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  1.578
• Samsung Galaxy Core
  1.563
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• HTC Desire C
  1.300
• Nokia Asha 501
  1.270
• LG Optimus L7
  1.269
• LG Optimus L9
  1.227
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E dual
  1.203
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  1.180
• Sony Xperia tipo
  1.166
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114

Another place where the Samsung Galaxy S4 has an advantage is viewing angles. It's subtle but when you view the LG G2's screen at an angle you can see the white balance go from warm through neutral to cold. There's also a slight contrast degradation, while such effects are almost nonexistent on the Galaxy S4's Super AMOLED screen.

Section winner: Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 screen backlight could have been brighter, but 400nits is enough, too. The much better sunlight legibility is the bigger factor. The viewing angles, the more sensitive touchscreen (AirView and the ability to operate it with gloves) also seem like important perks.

The LG G2 has a bigger screen, but not really after you subtract the surface of the on-screen keys from the total usable area. It has brightness going for it, but it's more reflective. LG also tout their screen as displaying colors much more accurately than AMOLED screens. Well, this is the case indeed, but color accuracy on a smartphone is not really that important to the user experience, unless your particular job requires it. And even if it were, a tablet would do a much better job, we think.

Battery life

As usual, the best flagship smartphone becomes a paperweight as soon as the battery runs out, so let's see how the LG G2 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 manage. Mind you, it's two different versions of the S4 we'll be looking at: the I9500 (Exynos 5 Octa) and I9505 (Snapdragon 600). There's the Google Play Edition of the S4 too (Snapdragon 600 based, running vanilla Android).

The LG G2 has a bigger battery - 3,000mAh - that's sealed inside its body. The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a removable 2,600mAh battery. There's a difference in screen size and tech, but the chipsets are also different - we already covered the S4 situation, the LG G2 has a Snapdragon 800.

Let's start off with the most basic function of a smartphone (emphasis on the phone). The LG G2 is the second best phone we've tested yet (behind the Huawei Ascend Mate, a 6" phablet with a 4,050mAh battery). The Galaxy S4 using the older Snapdragon chipset comes a full 7 hours behind - that's nearly a third less talk time. The Exynos-based Galaxy S4 managed just 11 hours, less than half of what the LG G2 did.

Talk time

• Huawei Ascend Mate
  25:12
• LG G2
  25:01
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  24:23
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  22:16
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  21:18
• LG Optimus G Pro
  20:45
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  20:24
• Motorola RAZR i
  20:07
• BlackBerry Q10
  20:00
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  19:54
• Sony Xperia SP
  19:49
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  18:03
• Sony Xperia ZR
  17:48
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  17:33
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  16:57
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  16:40
• Sony Xperia Z
  16:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  15:32
• LG Optimus G
  15:30
• Sony Xperia ZL
  15:22
• Nokia Lumia 720
  15:17
• BlackBerry Q5
  14:31
• Huawei Ascend P6
  14:17
• Oppo Find 5
  14:17
• Google Nexus 4
  14:17
• Moto X
  14:06
• HTC One
  13:38
• HTC One X+
  13:31
• Nokia Lumia 520
  13:33
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  13:10
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  12:45
• LG Optimus GJ
  12:39
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  12:37
• Huawei Ascend P1
  12:30
• Sony Xperia L
  12:30
• HTC Butterfly
  12:18
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  12:14
• HTC One mini
  12:04
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  11:58
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  11:58
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  11:52
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  11:30
• Asus Padfone 2
  11:20
• HTC Droid DNA
  11:07
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  11:07
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  11:07
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  11:06
• HTC Desire X
  11:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  11:01
• HTC One X (AT&T, LTE)
  10:35
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  10:20
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  10:15
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  10:03
• HTC One V
  10:00
• Meizu MX 4-core
  10:00
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  10:00
• HTC One X
  9:57
• HTC One S
  9:42
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  9:40
• HTC Sensation XL
  9:30
• Nokia Lumia 810
  9:05
• Nokia Lumia 710
  9:05
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  9:05
• Motorola Atrix HD
  9:04
• HTC Vivid
  9:02
• Nokia Lumia 920
  8:56
• Nokia Lumia 610
  8:51
• HTC Rhyme
  8:48
• Apple iPhone 5
  8:42
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  8:42
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  8:41
• Meizu MX
  8:39
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  8:35
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  8:28
• Nokia Lumia 800
  8:25
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  8:23
• Nokia Lumia 510
  8:22
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  8:21
• BlackBerry Z10
  8:20
• HTC Desire V
  8:20
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  8:20
• Sony Xperia T
  8:15
• HTC Rezound (LTE)
  8:10
• Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE)
  8:02
• LG Optimus Vu
  7:57
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  7:42
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  7:41
• Apple iPhone 4S
  7:41
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  7:25
• HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE)
  7:21
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  7:14
• Nokia Lumia 820
  7:09
• Sony Xperia acro S
  7:09
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  7:09
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  6:57
• Nokia N9
  6:57
• HTC Radar
  6:53
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  6:53
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  6:52
• Sony Xperia E dual
  6:42
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  6:22
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  5:54
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE)
  5:53
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  5:52
• Sony Xperia P
  5:33
• Nokia 808 PureView
  5:16
• LG Nitro HD (LTE)
  5:16
• HTC Titan II (LTE)
  5:10
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  5:00
• Pantech Burst
  4:46

And what happens when the big screen comes on for a bit of web browsing? The LG G2 cleanly claimed the top spot there, no phablets to get in the way. The Galaxy S4 (Snapdragon 600 edition) is 4 hours behind, with the Exynos 5 Octa another half hour short.

It's important to note here that we run the tests at 50% brightness and the Galaxy S4 screen is brighter at that setting - 201nits compared to 149nits for the LG G2. If you adjust the G2 to 200nits (which is a fairly standard brightness level), its battery life will be reduced somewhat (but the Galaxy S4 still has no chance of jumping in front).

Web browsing

• LG G2
  11:22
• Sony Xperia ZR
  11:20
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  10:10
• BlackBerry Q5
  10:04
• HTC One
  9:58
• Apple iPhone 5
  9:56
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  9:47
• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  9:12
• Apple iPad mini
  9:05
• ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
  9:03
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  8:51
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  8:48
• BlackBerry Q10
  8:42
• Nokia Lumia 810
  8:20
• Asus Padfone 2
  8:20
• Moto X
  8:17
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  8:17
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  8:17
• HTC One mini
  8:12
• Nokia Lumia 610
  8:01
• HTC One X+
  7:56
• Sony Xperia E dual
  7:42
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  7:38
• Nokia Lumia 720
  7:37
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  7:35
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  7:24
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  7:23
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  7:23
• HTC Radar
  7:17
• Nokia Lumia 520
  7:15
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  7:13
• LG Optimus GJ
  7:11
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  7:10
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  7:09
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  7:09
• Motorola RAZR i
  7:06
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  6:58
• Apple iPhone 4S
  6:56
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  6:54
• HTC One V
  6:49
• LG Optimus G Pro
  6:40
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  6:40
• Sony Xperia L
  6:40
• HTC Droid DNA
  6:40
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  6:40
• Motorola Atrix HD
  6:40
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  6:40
• Sony Xperia Z
  6:37
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  6:35
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  6:34
• Huawei Ascend P6
  6:30
• BlackBerry Z10
  6:27
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  6:27
• HTC Butterfly
  6:24
• Sony Xperia SP
  6:18
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  6:15
• Nokia Lumia 510
  6:13
• Sony Xperia ZL
  6:04
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  6:01
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  5:56
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  5:55
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  5:53
• Pantech Burst
  5:51
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  5:45
• HTC Desire V
  5:44
• HTC Evo 4G LTE
  5:41
• Nokia Lumia 920
  5:40
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  5:34
• Oppo Find 5
  5:33
• Sony Xperia T
  5:33
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  5:33
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  5:28
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
  5:24
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  5:23
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  5:23
• HTC Sensation XL
  5:20
• Meizu MX 4-core
  5:19
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  5:17
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:16
• HTC Rezound
  5:16
• HTC Desire X
  5:16
• LG Optimus G
  5:15
• HTC Rhyme
  5:08
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  5:07
• HTC One X (AT&T)
  5:03
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  4:50
• LG Optimus Vu
  4:49
• HTC Vivid
  4:46
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  4:45
• Meizu MX
  4:35
• Google Nexus 4
  4:34
• Nokia N9
  4:33
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  4:32
• Nokia Lumia 820
  4:24
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  4:24
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  4:20
• HTC One X
  4:18
• Nokia 808 PureView
  4:14
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  4:10
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
  4:10
• Nokia Lumia 800
  4:07
• HTC Titan II (LTE)
  4:05
• HTC One S
  4:03
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  4:02
• LG Nitro HD
  4:00
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  3:59
• Sony Xperia P
  3:59
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:51
• Nokia Lumia 620
  3:50
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  3:47
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  3:35
• Huawei Ascend P1
  3:23
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  3:01

For video playback, the Samsung Galaxy S4 actually managed to snatch a victory by 40 minutes. That's for the Snapdragon 600 version running TouchWiz. This is also the only test where the Google Play Edition does as well as the TouchWiz version. The LG G2 gets a consolation prize of beating the Exynos 5 Octa powered Galaxy S4 by 20 minutes.

The screen brightness consideration applies here, too.

Video playback

• Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
  16:35
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
  14:17
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  13:12
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos
  12:52
• Apple iPad mini
  12:51
• Samsung Galaxy Premier
  12:51
• Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE
  12:32
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  12:30
• BlackBerry Q5
  12:28
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  12:18
• LG G2
  11:51
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  11:29
• Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
  11:27
• BlackBerry Q10
  11:15
• Apple iPhone 5
  10:12
• HTC One
  10:02
• Moto X
  10:01
• Samsung Galaxy Express
  10:00
• Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
  10:00
• Nokia 808 PureView
  9:53
• Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
  9:42
• Samsung Rugby Smart I847
  9:34
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  9:30
• HTC One S
  9:28
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
  9:27
• Apple iPhone 4S
  9:24
• HTC Evo 4G LTE
  9:07
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  8:45
• BlackBerry Z10
  8:44
• LG Optimus G Pro
  8:40
• Nokia N9
  8:40
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  8:34
• HTC Butterfly
  8:28
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  8:25
• LG Optimus GJ
  8:15
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
  8:11
• HTC One X+
  8:11
• Motorola RAZR i
  8:11
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  8:00
• Samsung i937 Focus S
  7:55
• Samsung Wave 3 S8600
  7:52
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  7:46
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
  7:45
• Asus Padfone 2
  7:38
• Huawei Ascend P1
  7:38
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
  7:33
• Samsung I8262 Galaxy Core
  7:30
• Sony Xperia ZR
  7:30
• HTC Droid DNA
  7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
  7:30
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
  7:30
• Sony Xperia SP
  7:27
• HTC One mini
  7:23
• Nokia Lumia 610
  7:23
• LG Optimus G
  7:16
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  7:03
• ASUS Nexus 7 (2013)
  7:03
• Huawei Ascend P6
  6:55
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  6:49
• Nokia Lumia 720
  6:43
• Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue
  6:40
• Meizu MX 4-core
  6:33
• Nokia Lumia 620
  6:32
• HTC Windows Phone 8X
  6:27
• Sony Xperia E dual
  6:27
• Nokia Lumia 810
  6:27
• HTC Desire V
  6:26
• HTC One X (AT&T)
  6:26
• Nokia Lumia 820
  6:25
• Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
  6:25
• Gigabyte GSmart Maya M1 v2
  6:24
• Nokia Lumia 510
  6:23
• LG Optimus Vu
  6:23
• Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
  6:21
• Nokia Lumia 920
  6:19
• HTC Sensation XL
  6:12
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  6:06
• Samsung Captivate Glide
  6:04
• Sony Xperia ion LTE
  6:03
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  6:02
• Sony Xperia T
  6:01
• Motorola Atrix HD
  6:01
• HTC Vivid
  6:00
• HTC Radar
  5:54
• Nokia Lumia 800
  5:52
• Nokia Lumia 520
  5:50
• HTC Titan II
  5:50
• BlackBerry Bold 9790
  5:47
• HTC One X
  5:45
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  5:44
• Sony Xperia Z
  5:39
• Sony Xperia acro S
  5:38
• HTC Desire X
  5:38
• Pantech Burst
  5:38
• Sony Xperia ZL
  5:28
• Meizu MX
  5:27
• HTC Rhyme
  5:23
• HTC One V
  5:20
• Acer CloudMobile S500
  5:18
• Oppo Find 5
  5:18
• Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
  5:18
• BlackBerry Curve 9380
  5:09
• HTC Rezound
  5:03
• Samsung Galaxy Fame
  5:02
• Google Nexus 4
  4:55
• Sony Xperia L
  4:44
• Samsung Galaxy S Duos
  4:30
• Sony Xperia P
  4:30
• LG Nitro HD
  4:17
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  4:14
• LG Optimus 3D Max P720
  3:28
• Nokia Lumia 710
  3:27

Finally, we come to the overall rating. The LG G2 scores an impressive result of 62 hours between charges, so it will easily get you through two days of light to medium use and will survive a whole day at full throttle.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 gets a few hours more thanks to more efficient standby. It's a marginal advantage that will be felt by light users, but powerful flagships are usually bound to be used and abused - which means a lot of web browsing and other tasks, at which the LG G2 is more efficient. Keep in mind you can always carry a spare battery for the Galaxy S4, though perhaps not many people do that.

Section winner: LG G2

The Galaxy S4 has an advantage in its standby power consumption, but the G2 will outlast it in almost all scenarios where the phone is actually being used, instead of just sitting idle.