LG G3 hands-on: First look

27 May 2014
The LG G2 is a living legend for its razor thin bezels but it's time to pass on the torch. The compactness spell worked once again and the LG G3 fits a massive 5.5" QHD screen in a body barely bigger than that of its competitors. Who needs phablets...

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • 4QS
  • 28 May 2014

Anonymous, 28 May 2014using a set of its own unique battery life optimizations, k... moreUsing a 3200-3600mah battery could have helped too. And there is definitely room.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 4QS
    • 28 May 2014

    I like the OIS+ and the auto focus setup. But they could've at least 16mp or larger pixels in the back too.
    Though I'm sure it will be great. And nice on the front camera too.
    Hopefully the screen is at least as bright as the G2. Maybe brighter and less reflective.
    I'd like to hear this speaker too. Al though they could have made it stereo even if they are rear.

      • D
      • AnonD-130464
      • HIG
      • 28 May 2014

      Camera samples are amazing! Much better than z2 and s5.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 4QS
        • 28 May 2014

        I think they did great. However.
        They CHOSE to not make it water resistant? Or give it USB 3.0? No usb 3.0 because it would look bigger/uglier?????? Really?
        They moved up to QUADHD for the display...Turned it into a PHABLET....and only used 3000mah battery??? Even if it works decently...
        It's phablet sized, quad hd, and still 8.9mm thick.....
        There is no excuse for that size battery. Working decent or not...
        And it's supposed to be a phone...But it's a phablet now.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 4QS
          • 28 May 2014

          AnonD-268160, 28 May 2014SIMPLE IS GREAT... The first thing comes to mind when the ... moreThat's A STEP ahead of others screens. Not steps. And it's not the first.

            • D
            • AnonD-268160
            • fCx
            • 28 May 2014

            SIMPLE IS GREAT...
            The first thing comes to mind when the name"Lg" appears -is its beautiful and absolutely stunning display.
            And this time LG has gone steps ahead of the current flagships displays.It has a quad hd 5.5 inch screen which holds 538ppi. Quad hd is 1.8 times better than the current full hd displays (440ppi)
            LG G3 is amazing in all ways -1.design-the razor thin bezel,brushed metallic back, the"Clean Sides"..absolutely clean and clear design
            2.camera with not only great increase of 20% in optical image stabilization but also the high-end laser auto-focus which focus in few milliseconds(the best autofocus in a smartphone).
            3.Knock code- the new way to unlock your LG G3
            4.smart notice,smart security and the amazing adjustable tying pad.
            5.The LG G3 is available in 5 different color.
            6.The "Quick cirle case"
            The smartphone makes the overall experience very simple to unleash its true power.....
            7.Great battery life

              • D
              • AnonD-194793
              • uCa
              • 28 May 2014

              Pros: Powerful CPU, OIS and very capable camera
              Cons: QHD Gimmick, no wacom stylus
              HTC M8 is a disappointment, S5 pricey, Z2 ugly bezel and design. Price is very important too.

                • D
                • AnonD-259899
                • YTd
                • 28 May 2014

                So the early sample that was purported to be from the LG G3 as shown here http://www.stuff.tv/g3/incredibly-detailed-photo-cat-was-apparently-taken-lg-g3/news

                proved to be a fake. The model number was also different from what we know now. Either it's a complete fake or it is from another LG device.

                It was too good to be true and proved just the case. To be honest the camera samples GSMArena have managed are nothing to write home about. Decent at best.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • sG%
                  • 28 May 2014

                  Anonymous, 28 May 2014Only on the home screen. They dissapear during gaming, vide... moresorry but there are many games and apps where the virtual buttons still appears, but im talking about sony z1 phone, not sure if its the same with LG phones.

                    • D
                    • AnonD-252027
                    • Snu
                    • 28 May 2014

                    No isocell (isocell have better color, better dynamic range)
                    No oled (oled have ideal black color, ideal contrast, ideal viewing angle, ideal response speed, all much better than lcd) (in s5 6700k in movie and pro photo mode, not 7100k, а 106% srgb, not 130%)
                    small camera sensor
                    plastic body (lg, antennas should be behind the plastic, glass or other material, but not metal, so did HTC, Apple and Sony, otherwise the connection will be very bad).
                    no waterpoof
                    qhd (bad for battery and soc)

                      • D
                      • AnonD-264345
                      • K5h
                      • 28 May 2014

                      when is it releasing ?

                      LG release it soon to grab the market or else samsung will come up with prime and will have all this features + advertising and again sell more than u.

                      Bring as soon as possible.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-259899
                        • rAf
                        • 28 May 2014

                        AnonD-215124, 27 May 2014IR would be picked up by the camera. He said in the presen... moreIR is not picked up camera. IR spectrum is blocked out by permanent filters before the CMOS sensor. You have to manually remove that filter, (if you know what you are doing) then your pictures will all look ghostly with IR spectrum being captured. Modders do this to their dSLRs to get night vision on their cameras.

                        LiDAR based speed guns are shined on the car not on the eye. They are measuring the speed of the car. Despite it's low power it is absorbed by the human eye and that is the danger. You may not feel it but the damage is done. The eyes may heal itself for 1-2 far spaced out exposures. Frequently repeated such exposures will lead to blindness or reduced vision by middle age if the person is younger when the exposures happen.

                        Link for that claim that it is LiDAR? He must have said it worked similarly to LiDAR not that it is LiDAR. IR is use for remote sensing applications extensively. GSMArena already stated it is an IR system with 'laser' being just a trade name LG adopted.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-843
                          • 2SR
                          • 28 May 2014

                          the front looks good. but the back side finishing looks bad

                            • D
                            • AnonD-267407
                            • utY
                            • 28 May 2014

                            ogee4life, 27 May 2014This i must say is a very ugly phone, slim bezels top notch... moreRightly said

                              • G
                              • Gibby
                              • 4AU
                              • 28 May 2014

                              'LG has produced a polycarbonate plastic that looks like having a metallic finish, but it feels likes plastic nonetheless.'
                              - It's a smaller bezel version of the Note 2!! ;)
                              Looks great :)

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • tht
                                • 28 May 2014

                                AnonD-207267, 27 May 2014Question about the iR focus...even staring into an infrared... moreit's an IR emitter, not a real Laser.
                                they called it Laser fo a marketing gimmick only.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • tht
                                  • 28 May 2014

                                  will it support native video call?

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • thH
                                    • 28 May 2014

                                    using a set of its own unique battery life optimizations, known as 3A, which has kept the endurance of the 5.5" Quad HD G3 similar to what it would be with a 1080p display, despite the significant bump in pixel density. to help keep battery life as high as possible despite the increase in resolution. The "A" in the technology stands for Adaptive, while the "3" indicates the three pillars of this system - adaptive frame rate, adaptive clocking, and adaptive timing control.

                                    Adaptive frame rate cools down the display refresh times when displaying still images, similar to what Sharp does with its IGZO display technology, for instance, thus effectively limiting the power draw on the battery unit significantly. The other two seem to be a function of the processor management - the adaptive CPU clocking and adaptive timing control limit the processor speed when running less intensive apps, and shuffles the workload around in the most efficient manner possible. Thus, one improvised test already showed six and a half hours of video playback time out of the G3, which is rather impressive given that the endurance has been tested at the screen's full brightness.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-263286
                                      • 3Ce
                                      • 28 May 2014

                                      Not true 5.5" screen with On-Screen-Buttons. Its mostly only 5.2".

                                      "The company compared this to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 speaker, which is rated at 0.7W." What? Note 4?!!. Needs to be corrected

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • thH
                                        • 28 May 2014

                                        AnonD-263433, 27 May 2014...excellent, but 9mm is a bit much for my likingSIDES IS 7MM thin.
                                        only the center is 8.9mm its an ARC Curve design