As promised, LG took to the stage today with simultaneous events in London, New York and San Francisco (with more to come tomorrow in Singapore, Istanbul and Seoul) to unveil its latest flagship smartphone. With the tagline “Simple is the new Smart,” LG focused on how it made the LG G3 an easier to use smartphone.
According to Dr. Ramchan Woo, Head of Smartphone Planning, LG Electronics Mobile Communications, who unveiled the LG G3, the company learned from its users to create the LG G2. It continued to listen for the LG G3 and found that users wanted more simplicity. As Woo explained, simplicity is not a simple matter but the company “obsessed about the concept” to be able to “get more with less effort.”
James Marshall, head of Mobile Product Marketing, followed to focus on three core technologies of the LG G3.
Needless to say, the new 5.5-inch WQHD display was the first of these. LG dispelled the idea that the human eye cannot discern resolutions higher than 300PPI. This is why LG pushed beyond the FHD resolution for its latest flagship. Developing smaller pixels allowed it to pack more pixels into the same space to create sharper images with better colour reproduction. Battery life is managed with an adpative frame rate that can reduce frame rates when higher ones are not required, an adpative CPU clocking technology that can slow the processor down and adaptive timing control.
With a screen ratio of 76.4%, LG was able to effectively cram a larger display into a device not much larger than the current raft of smartphones with displays in the 5- to 5.2-inch range.
On the camera front, the LG G3 is the first smartphone to come with a laser auto-focus. It allows for extremely fast focus, as fast as 0.276 seconds. OIS+ has further been improved as well and is now 20% better than on the LG G Pro 2. LG also introduced a simpler interface which lets you tap once to focus and take the shot you want.
With selfies being the phenomenon that they are, the LG G3’s front facing camera also got some attention. It sports a larger sensor, better lens and a faster aperture to improve the quality of the picture. Triggering a selfie was also made easier with a new gesture-based mechanism.
LG’s design was the third area of focus. Marshall touted the new flatter user interface featuring small touches like giving key apps their own colours, the ” Floating Arc design” featuring a curved back with the “ideal radius” to ensure that such large smartphone was as comfortable as possible, the metallic skin with matte overlay and redesigned signature rear buttons.
Andrew Coughlin, Head of Mobile, UK and Ireland, followed to focus on three user experiences.
The new Smart Keyboard is LG’s take on the software keyboard. It promises to speed up your typing while reducing errors by not only providing predictive capabilities but also analyzing your typing habits to offer better prediction. It also sports an adjustable keyboard height for a better fit and individual keys can be customized with frequently used symbols for even faster input.
Smart Notice is the official name of the concierge service we first heard about back in April. As expected, it learns from the user’s behaviour to offer a more personalized service. For example, it reminds you to return a call after you sent a text that you would do so later. It also keeps track of app and file usage to regularly remind you of apps you may no longer use to free up system resources.
With smartphones increasingly carrying more and more of our personal data, security was the third area of focus. Joining the LG Knock Code that was first introduced at Mobile World Congress are the Content Lock feature that lets you keep personal files hidden when you share your phone and Kill Switch which lets you disable and remotely wipe your phone should you lose it or have it stolen.
LG G3 specifications
- Processor: Quad-core (2.46GHz × 4) Qualcomm Snapdragon 801
- Operating system: Google Android 4.4.2
- Cellular connectivity: LTE/HSPA+42Mbps/GPRS/EDGE
- Other connectivity: A-GPS/GLONASS, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC
- Display: 5.5-inch WQHD (2560×1440/538PPI) IPS
- RAM: 2GB/3GB
- Internal storage: 16GB/32GB
- External storage: MicroSDXC cards up to 128GB
- Rear-facing camera: 13MP with OIS+, dual flash and laser Auto-Focus
- Front-facing camera: 2.1MP with “enhanced selfie mode”
- Battery: Removeable 3,000mAh
- Dimensions: 146.3 × 74.6 × 8.9 millimeters
- Weight: 149 grams
- Colours: Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet and Burgundy Red.
- Other: Wireless charging support, metallic skin, 1 watt speaker with amp
As you can see from the specifications, the LG G3 will be available in two configurations: One with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and a second with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of RAM.
If there is one feature missing, it is that the LG G3 will not follow in new trend of making flagship smartphones dust and waterproof. That feature may have to wait until the LG G4.
LG did not announce availability and pricing details for the LG G3 at the event. According to the press release that followed the announcement, the LG G3 will launch first in Korea on May 28. A global rollout with 170 carriers will follow with further details to be announced later.
Source : LG