Vs
Michael Grothaus
LG has just announced its new flagship, the G3, but how does it compare to Apple's biggest and baddest handset yet?
LG's G3 has been leaked left, right and centre over the past few weeks. In fact a full list of the specs were accidentally revealed earlier today. We’ve been getting a lot of questions about how the G3 stacks up against the market-leading iPhone 5s. Here’s how it does.
Specs
First let’s look at the raw specs of each phone.
iPhone 5s
Screen: 4 inch 640×1136 pixels at 326 ppi
Weight: 112 grams
Dimensions: 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm
Colours: Gold, Silver, or Space Grey
Processors: Apple A7 64-bit 1.3GHz dual-core, M7 motion co-processor
RAM: 1GB LP-DDR3
OS: iOS 7.1
Storage: 16, 32, or 64GB
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light, Fingerprint identity sensor
Battery: fixed 1560 mAh battery
Cameras: 8 Megapixel rear camera, 1.2 Megapixel front camera
Connectivity: 3G, 4G, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
LG G3
Screen size: QHD 5.5 inch 2560 x 1440 pixels at 538 ppi
Weight: unknown
Dimensions: 146.3 x 74.7 x 8.9 mm
Colours: Gold, Black, or White
Processors: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with 2.5GHz Quad-core CPUs
RAM: 2GB LP-DDR3
OS: Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Storage: 16GB, microSD card slot supports additional 128GB
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity and Ambient Light
Battery: removable 3000 mAh battery
Cameras: 13 Megapixel rear camera with 4k video, 2.1 Megapixel front camera
Connectivity: 3G, 4G, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
Design, Display, and Build
The iPhone 5s and the LG G3 have different screen sizes, which dictate other differences between the two, like size and weight. In terms of colour choices the iPhone gives you Gold, Silver, or Space Grey whilst the LG G3 offers Gold, Black, or White.
The iPhone 5s has a 4-inch screen with a 640×1136 resolution at 326 ppi. The LG G3 has a 5.5 inch screen with a 2560x1440 resolution at 538 ppi. Despite being larger than the iPhone 5s, the LG G3 actually crams more pixels per inch into its display, meaning it’s almost 30% sharper than the iPhone’s screen.
The G3 is 8.9mm thick versus the iPhone 5s’ 7.6mm. The iPhones thinness has always been one of the best features of the 5s, not to mention it's a pretty amazing engineering feat as Apple’s phone is about 12% thinner than the G3, yet because of its screen size it has less room to shove internal components into. Given that the G3 is made of a 'lightweight metal housing’ it's disappointing LG couldn’t have gotten it as thin as the metal housing in the iPhone 5s.
So who wins here? It’s hard to say. The iPhone’s screen is a paltry 4-inches while the G3 has a big beautiful 5.5 inch display. However, the iPhone is a lot thinner.
Processors and RAM
The G3 owns the iPhone in the RAM space. It’s got 2GB of RAM compared to the iPhone 5s’ 1GB. I will note that the amount of RAM doesn’t always translate to more is necessarily better. Apple spends a lot of time refining its software to take advantage of lower hardware specs. This often means that an Apple product can get by on less RAM and actually work faster than a product with more RAM. But from a pure numbers perspective the LG G3 does have twice the RAM.
From a surface perspective it’s easier to think that G3 would be twice as fast since its processor is 2.5Ghz versus the iPhone’s 1.3GHz. That’s because though Apple’s is a dual-core that runs at 1.3Ghz, it has also got a 64-bit chip. The chip inside the G3 is Qualcomm’s killer quad-core Snapdragon 801 running at 2.5GHz, but it’s only 32-bit.
A dual-core 64-bit chip will trump a quad-core 32-bit chip in a smartphone any day of the week. That’s not to say that the Snapdragon 801 found in the G3 isn’t a great chip, it’s just not as good as the A7.
But the 64-bit awesomeness of the A7 isn’t the only processor that trumps the LG G3. The iPhone 5s also has another chip called the M7 motion co-processor. The M7 motion co-processor’s sole job is to measure motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass--something which in the past would have been the A7’s job.
The immediate advantage this co-processor provides is a whopping savings on battery life because the A7 doesn’t have to be constantly engaged anymore to measure motion data. The M7 handles all that in the background much more efficiently.
What’s more, however, is that the M7 is so sensitive it can tell the difference between when you are walking, running, sitting, or driving. This means apps that support the M7, like many fitness apps, can give you more accurate reading of how many calories you are burning since they can now tell what activity you are doing while moving.
Fitness apps also no longer need to be actively engaged to record your motion. Since the M7 is always recording motion data in the background, you can launch a fitness app after you started moving and it will look at the data from the M7 and update your stats appropriately.
If you are a fitness fanatic the M7 makes clear that the iPhone 5s is the only phone for you--sorry LG.
Operating System
The iPhone 5s runs iOS 7.1, generally the most well-regarded mobile OS on the planet. It’s got over a million apps and is universally parsed for its speed, design, security, and stability.
The LG G3 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat. LG has added some custom features to differentiate it from other Android handsets. One such feature is called 'Smart Notice' and it gives you context sensitive information and reminders. And example of this is when you arrive at your office the G3 might ask you if you want to turn on your Wi-Fi. A really nice new feature is custom round widgets that match the windowed flip cover's round "porthole" design.
There’s little reason to sit here comparing the two operating systems. If you like iOS the answer is to get the iPhone 5s. If you like Android, the LG G3 is your phone.
Storage and Battery
The iPhone 5s comes in in three storage flavours--16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The LG G3 only offers just one size: 16GB. However, it does offer a microSD card slot, which means you can insert up to another 128GB of storage in your G3. This blows the 64GB maximum storage of the iPhone 5s away.
As for the battery, the iPhone 5s has a 1,560 mAh capacity. Apple says that will give you 10 hours of talk time on 3G and 8 hours on 4G. However, we rarely ever only use our iPhones just for talking, so battery life is hard to gauge. As for the G3, it has a 3,100 mAh removable battery, which is almost twice as good as the iPhone’s. At twice the mAh, you’d expect the G3 to last twice as long as the iPhone, but the G3 has a larger display, which means it needs more battery power. But one thing the G3 will win points for among some users is that removable battery.
Oh yeah, the G3 also has wireless charging as well which may sway your decision.
Unique Features: Touch ID vs NFC
Each phone offers one major feature the other doesn’t have. For the iPhone it’s the Touch ID. This is the fingerprint scanner that enables you to unlock your iPhone and approve purchases in the App Store and iTunes Store. It’s a great feature (especially for unlocking your phone quickly and securely), but besides that it has little use. The Touch ID cannot currently be accessed in third-party apps or used to make secure payments.
The unique feature the LG G3 offers is NFC. While not unique to other Android handsets it is a feature that the iPhone does not have. But just as with Apple’s Touch ID, NFC on the G3 is limited primarily because there’s not a lot of places that accept mobile payments via NFC. It also doesn’t have too many benefits over short-range file transfers that Bluetooth 4.0 doesn’t offer.
Sensors and Connectivity
Both phones are packed with your standard sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, and Ambient Light. As discussed above, the iPhone offers another one, the Touch ID, while the G3 also offers NFC.
As for connectivity, both phones pretty much offer the same stuff. The 5s offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, and Bluetooth 4.0, including full support for Apple’s AirPlay and AirDrop clients, while the G3 offers Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, and Bluetooth 4.0.
All the usual 2G, 3G, 4G, GPS, and GLONASS standards are in both phones.
Cameras
Another place (the first is the display) the G3 kicks the iPhone 5s’ ass is in the camera department. The iPhone 5s features an 8MP rear camera that shoots full 1080p video and a 1.2MP front camera that shoots 720p video. This is an area where Apple really needs to up its game. The LG G3 offers a whopping 13MP rear camera with 4k video recording and, somewhat disappointingly, 2.1MP front camera--though it’s still better than the iPhone 5s’.
Yes, the iPhone’s rear camera has a slightly better aperture at f/2.2, but the sheer number of megapixels offered in the G3’s cameras plus the optical image stabilisation "plus" (OIS+) with "laser autofocus" puts the iPhone’s cameras to shame.
Price and Conclusion
An unlocked 16GB iPhone 5s will cost you £549 while the 64GB model will cost you £709. There’s no word on the pricing of the LG G3 yet, but we suspect it will fall into the £400-500 range as the other LG flagship phones have. If that’s the case it might decide your choice right there.
However, the iPhone does offer a lot of features the G3 can’t match. Those include an amazing design with a thin body, the awesome 64-bit A7 processors and M7 motion co-processor, and the power of iOS.
But then there is the G3’s gorgeous display, the ability to support 128GB of additional storage via the microSD card slot, it’s awesome 13MP rear camera that shoots 4k video, and wireless charging.
Ultimately if price and Android are your thing, the G3 is for you. If you like iOS and advanced sensors like the M7 motion coprocessor and Touch ID it’s the iPhone all the way.
Mobile Phones
LG
LG G3