Samsung and LG are making great devices as smartphones, TVs, coolers and now they have already launched their super devices, Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG G2. This is a battle of titans but these two phones are not alone in the market (check all the 5″+ phablets), there are a lot of great devices beyond the 5 inches that are equally strong. Sony has launched a lot of devices as Xperia Z, ZL, Z1 and HTC has the powerful HTC One. But let’s focus on Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG G2.
Screen
Samsung Galaxy S4 has a 5 inches screen and LG G2 has a 5.2 inches screen. The 0.2 inches difference is small so you have two big screens to fit your daily life. Samsung Galaxy S4 has 441 pixels per inch and LG G2 has 424 pixels per inch. The difference between them is too small (only 17 pixels) and you won’t notice it. So now it’s a personal matter. It is true that the screen of LG G2 is bit brighter but the screen of Samsung Galaxy S4 has better contrast and viewing angles so keep in mind, whatever you choose, you will have one of the best screen of the market.
Camera
Both phones have a 13MP camera as almost all the premium smartphones these days. So it’s a software advantage that will give the lead to one of the two. LG G2 has optical image stabilization for clearer photos at low light conditions. It also has a wider lens to take bigger photos and can record videos at 1080p at 60fps while Samsung Galaxy S4 takes videos at 30fps. That is called a difference. LG G2 is also faster in taking pictures but Samsung is a winner on the software side as it lets you make GIFs, it can record the sound of a photo and has the Drama shoot mode for multiple copies of the same object. On the other side LG G2 has audio zoom that will let you zoom in a sound which is something we really love. Generally LG G2 has a better camera unless you like all these software add ons Samsung has preinstalled in S4.
Processor
Samsung Galaxy S4 has a quad core processor at 1.9GHz or an octa core processor at 1.6GHz (depends on the market) and LG G2 has a quad core processor at 2.3GHz. Both have 2GB of RAM so the difference is on the technology behind the processor, the Android customization and the benchmark. Let’s start from the benchmark, LG G2 has better results in 9 of 9 tests but Samsung Galaxy S4 (the quad core and the octacore) is not far away. The fact that the Snapdragon 800 of LG G2 is faster when pushed to the limit doesn’t make necessarily LG G2 the fastest phone. It’s very important to test the phones in real conditions (open / close photos, edit photos, browse, play games), that means the feeling of the speed. Of course no one can say that the newer Snapdragon 800 of LG G2 is not faster than Snapdragon 600 or Exynos 5 Octa of the different versions of Samsung Galaxy S4.
Battery
The battery of Samsung Galaxy S4 is 2600mAh and LG G2 has a 3000mAh battery that is much bigger. You can talk for 25 hours with LG G2 and only 11 hours with Samsung Galaxy S4 so that’s a difference. The same is true for web browsing but in video playback Samsung Galaxy S4 lasts longer. So this is why numbers don’t always say the truth, that depends on the customization and the use but a 400mAh difference is something to take into consideration.
Software
Both phones have the Android 4.2 version right from the beginning and the two companies are working on the updates. They also have the latest custom interface so it’s Samsung VS LG and the answer is personal. I like more the Samsung interface, I think it is more beautiful. The two phones give you a lot of options and we like the Guest Mode of LG G2 and the QSlide and Slide Aside for multitasking that are pretty the same as MultiWindow solution from Samsung. Samsung has a bunch of apps like Air View or Smart Stay whick looks at your eyes and keeps the screen enabled if you are looking at the screen. It can also scroll down automatically if you read a text. That’s pretty smart but LG G2 has the same apps called Smart Screen and Smart Video. We like the efforts LG did on their phone but Samsung has the lead in the software section.
Size & Design
Both phones are beautiful to touch. Samsung Galaxy S4 is slimmer (7.9mm to 8.9mm) and lighter (130g to 143g) so this is an advantage. You need to take the devices on your hands to see which one you like most. The 1mm of difference in the width is important but it is not a game changer as there are much slimmer devices like Sony Xperia Z Ultra (6.5mm). LG G2 has a button on the back that we are not used to. It’s difficult not to touch the back button, you need to hold the phone lower than expected. That’s a good try but we like most the classic side buttons. Samsung Galaxy S4 also wins because it lets you access the battery and there is a microSD slot to expand your memory.
Verdict
There are two great phones that’s for sure. Samsung Galaxy S4 was launched in April 2013 and LG G2 was launched in September 2013. These 5 months were enough for LG to take a better processor, a better camera and a bigger battery. As the battery is bigger and the phone is 0.2 inches bigger, the whole device is weighing more and is not as slim as Samsung Galaxy S4. So LG G2 has a hardware advantage, Samsung Galaxy S4 takes the software points. It also has a more useful and beautiful body and more apps for the camera. Both have a great screen and come with a lot of extra apps.
Which phone should I buy?
1. If you want the overall better device you should buy Samsung Galaxy S4
2. If you want to buy the device which takes the best video possible, select LG G2.
3. If you want to buy the device with the best camera buy one the two or take a look at Sony Xperia Z1
Samsung Galaxy S4 specs rating
| Spec | Samsung Galaxy S4 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 7.9 | Sony Xperia Z Ultra | 6.5 | 78% | |
| Weight | 130 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 70% | |
| Screen PPI | 441 | HTC One | 469 | 94% | |
| Camera MP | 13 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 32% | |
| 2nd Camera | 2.0 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 91% | |
| Processor | 8 * 1.6 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 8 * 1.9 | 84% | |
| RAM MB | 2000 | Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 3000 | 67% | |
| Battery mAh | 2600 | Huawei Ascend Mate | 4050 | 64% | |
| Android | 4.2 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.3 | 83% | |
| SAR | 0.85 | - | 0.00 | 75% | |
| Release Date | 2013-04 | Today | 2013-09 | 90% | |
| Our view | 90% | - | 100% | 90% | |
| AVC rating method | Date Rated: | 2013/09/24 | Total Rating | 75.3% | Best price |
LG G2 specs rating
| 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 |