Given the amount of leaks and officially-released information about the phone we’ve seen in the run-up to its unveiling, it’s hardly the most bombshell-filled launch of the year, but there’s still plenty to get excited about. We’ve compiled the eight most important facts about the G4 here, so read on for the key details.
1. IT HAS A PIONEERING NEW 2K SCREEN
That’s not all, however: the screen’s Advanced In-Cell Touch (AIT) tech means it’ll respond to touch commands even with water droplets on the surface; and its treated glass makes it 30 percent tougher than the G3’s display.
2. THE REAR CAMERA HAS EVOLVED
The G3 had a pretty impressive rear camera, teaming a 13MP sensor with fast laser-assisted autofocus and optical image stabilisation. The G4 ups the specs slightly with a 16MP sensor, improved stabilisation and f/1.8 aperture – an increase of 0.1 on the f/1.9 camera of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge that, in theory, should improve performance in low light in comparison to LG’s great Korean rival. There’s a full manual mode (with RAW capture) and a colour spectrum sensor which LG claims “reads exact colour” from your subject. No other phone currently has this.
We’ll know if that difference means anything when we’ve had a chance to test the camera properly. It also includes a bulb shutter feature, allowing you to keep the shutter open for up to 30 seconds in order to capture long nighttime exposures – which means star trails, light paintings and streaking car headlights.
3. AS HAS THE FRONT CAMERA
The front-facing camera has undergone an even bigger change, with the G3’s 2.1MP setup being replaced by an 8MP wide-angle camera designed to facilitate selfies. Aside from the wider angle (which means you can fit more in the frame without having to hold the camera too far away), the front-facing light and gesture-controlled shutter should make capturing your best side a lot simpler.
4. IT’S CURVACEOUS
LG does love a curved screen, and the G4 is the latest of its products to benefit. The phone’s body and display have a slight concave curve (LG calls it “Floating Arc”), which apparently makes it more comfortable to hold but doesn’t distort the image.
5. IT’S LEATHERY AND LUXURIOUS
Despite this, you can still remove the back to get at the battery and bolster storage, which brings us to…
6. IT HAS LOTS OF STORAGE… IN THE CLOUD
The G4 comes with 32GB of internal storage. So far, so average – but thankfully there are ways to boost it. MicroSD cards up to 200GB in capacity are supported, and anyone buying the phone gets a free 100GB of Google Drive space for years.
7. IT DOESN’T OFFER THE LATEST, GREATEST SNAPDRAGON PROCESSOR
8. THERE’S A BRAND NEW UI TOO
As is traditional, LG’s flagship phone comes sporting a brand new user interface. LG has teased us with a fair bit of information about “LG UX 4.0” ahead of launch, so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but this tweaking of Android may well be the company’s best to date. Stripped down and lacking in bloatware, it features Smart Notice, that will keep you bang up to date on which apps are responsible for draining the battery, while Smart Bulletin automatically brings essential info into one place (a bit like Google Now). We’ll have to see how it fares in day-to-day use before making a proper judgement, of course.