LG launched another phablet with a big screen at 5.2 inches. The company has already launched in the market the 5.5 inches LG Optimus G Pro and the 4.7 LG Optimus G so the G2 comes right between these two devices. The device has a beautiful software package that reminds us the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 except from the S-Pen. There is a big war lately on phablet devices with a lot of options on the highest price range. Let’s compare LG G2 to phablets and all Android phones.
SCREEN
The screen is big and great. We are talking about a 5.2 inches screen that is unique. We can find a lot of 5.0 inches phones (like Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z or Huawei Ascend D2), two devices with 5.5 (LG Optimus G Pro and Samsung Galaxy Note 2) and some bigger devices. So it’s a unique size. Beyond the size, this screen is really good, True HD-IPS with 424 pixels per inch. There are a lot of phones with more pixels (4 devices with 441 pixels per inch, Huawei Ascend D2 with 443PPI and HTC One 469PPI). But the differences are small, all the devices beyond the 350PPI are really exceptional So the 424PPI of LG G2 are giving a really great screen for video, photos and games.
CAMERA
The camera of LG G2 is 13MP like the cameras of premium phones. You can find more than 10 phones with a 13MP camera so what is important here is the software associated with the camera. LG G2 has a software called OIS for less blured photos. When you take a video you can focus the audio to a specific place to listen to it. It’s the only device with that function and it is good. There is also dual camera option that takes shots from the front and the back camera at the same time (like some Samsung devices do) and some other settings. The camera is one of the best cameras LG has ever launched but the best camera phone right now is Sony Xperia Z1 with the 20.7MP camera.
PROCESSOR
This phone is fast. It has a quad core processor at 2.26GHZ and 2GB of RAM. Apart from the octa core Samsung monsters (Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3), LG G2 is one of the fastest phones as the most quad core phones are at 1.6GHz or 1.5GHz. Only Sony Xperia Z1 with the quad core 2.2GHz processor can go to the battle with G2. So you have a real power phone. Only Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is faster (even with the quad core version) because it has 3GB of RAM instead of 2GB that every other smartphones has right now.
BATTERY
All phablets must have strong batteries as the quad core processors and the huge screens consume a lot of power. LG G2 has a 3000mAh battery and belongs to the big family of 3000+mAh devices. All The best battery can be found on Huawei Ascend Mate (4050mAh) and also Samsung Galaxy Note 3, ZTE Grand Memo and Samsung Mega have a 3200mAh battery. LG Optimus G Pro has a slightly bigger battery (3140mAh) although it is just 0.3 inches bigger so LG could do better on the size. Of course there is a battery saver app with a lot of options to save battery and some useful battery tips to never forget.
SOFTWARE
LG G2 comes with Android 4.2 instead of the newer Android 4.3. There are not a lot of devices with Android 4.3 but Samsung Galaxy Note 3 launched the same period has it. So why not LG G2? On the inside you can find some interesting features like Knock On, you just tap twice on the screen and the phone wakes up. It’s like saying “hello” on other devices. It can be useful. I really like that option. There is also guest mode to let your children access only certain apps and some useful apps to let you transfer text between apps or take a screenshot of the whole page. You can also control your TV or other devices with IR included in the phone. QSlide apps make multitasking easier and we love them and you can also take notes on a screenshot. Great app package that makes this phone better than the competiotion and can be found only on Galaxy Note 3.
SIZE & DESIGN
LG G2 has a button we have not seen on any other device, the rear button which lets you turn on and off the screen and increase decrease the sound. It’s a nice idea and it is really useful. The phone is beautiful but the back is really really slippery (only use this device with a case) and it weights 143g, heavy compared to other smaller devices but not as heavy as other phablets like Sony Xperia Z Ultra (212g) or Samsung Mega (199g). When you compare with other big screen phones you find just two devices lighter than LG G2: Samsung Galaxy S4 (130g) and ZTE Grand Memo (120g). The 8.9mm of thickness is also average. It’s not the most slim device (Sony Xperia Z Ultra is with 6.5mm) and you can find a lot of slimmer devices around 5 inches screens like 5” Samsung Galaxy S4 (7.9mm), 5” Sony Xperia Z (7.9mm)or even 5.7” Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (8.3mm) and 6.3” Samsung Mega (8.0mm).
VIDEO REVIEW
VERDICT
The phone is brand new so we wanted the latest Android version (4.3) but it doesn’t have it. If you want a big screen phone Sony Xperia Z1 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 are also big and have better rating based on our famous AVC rating method. Overall this is a big screen device with a lot of other choices available in more or less inches. The overall rating puts this phone in the top 10 of all Android devices and the software package is a plus on LG G2. We really love the knock on smart idea and the back button. LG G2 has a great big screen, a software rich camera, a really fast processor and some apps to help you take photos and make some daily functions easier. It’s one of the best LG phones we have ever seen.
Should I buy this phone?
1. If the 5.5 inches are big and the 5.0 inches are small, buy LG G2 with 5.2 inches screen
2. If you want a fast phablet with great camera and big bright screen choose Samsung Galaxy Note 3. If you want smaller size, you can choose LG optimus G Pro and if you want even smaller then try LG G2.
3. If you the best phablet of the market, try Samsung Galaxy S4 or Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and choose LG G2 only if the price is much better or you find a smartphone deal.
COMPARISON CHART
| Spec | LG G2 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 8.9 | Sony Xperia Z Ultra | 6.5 | 56% | |
| Weight | 143 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 57% | |
| Screen PPI | 424 | HTC One | 469 | 90% | |
| Camera MP | 13 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 32% | |
| 2nd Camera | 2.1 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 42% | |
| Processor | 4 * 2.3 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 8 * 1.9 | 61% | |
| RAM MB | 2000 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 3000 | 67% | |
| Battery mAh | 3000 | Huawei Ascend Mate | 4050 | 74% | |
| Android | 4.2 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.3 | 83% | |
| Release Date | 2013-09 | - | Today | 92% | |
| Our view | 90% | - | 100% | 90% | |
| AVC rating method | Total Rating | 67.6% | Best price |