Today I got my hands on the brand-new LG G4, thanks to T-Mobile’s speedy delivery. I went with the leather variant, because quite honestly, I’m sick of these slippery plastic back covers. It came in a similar box as its predecessor, the G3. The box even shows off the same slight curve as the device does, which is a very subtle touch.
Opening the box up, the device was face down, whereas they are usually face up. I was greeted by the Brown Leather battery cover and I was excited to get my hands on it. At first touch, it is a little finer than I was expecting, but the grip is prevalent nonetheless. It has a very warm feel to the hand, even after sitting on the table for awhile. The stitching down the middle doesn’t bother me very much, rather adds some extra grip-ability.
Flipping the device over to the front, the display is curved, but not nearly to the degree of the G Flex 2. It is very subtle and I have yet to notice it. It does give a very nice addition to the design, as it is pleasant to look at. It honestly isn’t a deal-breaking feature for me.
Aside from the slight curve of the display, the front is nearly identical to the G3. Everything is placed in the same location, even the LG logo at the bottom. This time around, under the glass is a carbon fiber look, which I think is an improvement over the G3’s swirled metal. The darker look makes the phone look more professional in my eyes. One thing to note is that the devices bezels are slightly larger, but without comparing the G3 and G4 side by side, you wouldn’t notice.
As far as the build quality goes, I have no complaints. I like metal in phones, but it isn’t the most pressing need. As long as the phone is put together well, I will enjoy it. The buttons on the back of the device are very tactile and tight against the phone; there is no wobble or play to them (hard to come by). The battery cover sits flush with the edges of the device and you wouldn’t ever think it is removable until you find the indent where to pull it up from. Another thing to note is that the vibration motor is very quiet on the G4. One of the biggest things that annoys me is a loud vibration motor. The One M9 I reviewed had it and my Nexus 6 and ZenFone 2 suffer from one as well.
One thing that everyone is wondering about is the performance, as the LG G4 sports the Snapdragon 808. I’m here to quell your worries, as I have found that the software and processor go very well together and have not had one problem. All of the benchmarks that were posted previously were on pre-release software, so there is nothing to worry about. My AnTuTu Benchmark results can be seen above. If you would like to see how it fares against other devices, check out our AnTuTu Benchmark database.
Among other things, the display is awesome and so is the camera. I haven’t had much time to test the camera yet, but definitely will in the full review. I’m not a photographer (aside from taking pictures of other phones), so I am excited to try out the manual mode and see what I can do.
The display definitely rivals Samsung’s in my eyes. In the small time I’ve used it, LG definitely upped their game for the G4 and it shows. Colors look very good and vibrant and blacks are actually pretty deep. It is definitely the best LCD display I have seen on a phone to date.
That’s it for my first impressions of the LG G4. I will post the review up in about a week or so, the ZenFone 2 is up first. Keep an eye out for it as well. I will go more in-depth in the full review and cover battery life, performance, and the camera more thoroughly. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop a comment down below.
