Finally, LG enters the intesnive flagship battle with its flagship G3. In terms of specs, the LG G3 has raised the bar with its Quad HD display, powerful Sanapdragon 801 processor coupled with 3GB RAM, 3000 mAh battery, Android KitKat, circular Windows mode and more. With the Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and Xperia z2 already up for sale across the globe, and India, the LG G3 already has some stiff competition out there. We’ve put all four smartphones in the ring for a specs battle, to see who emerges as the winner, at least on paper.
LG G3
LG G3 unveiled
The LG G3 sports a 5.5-inch QuadHD display, with a 2560×1440 pixel resolution. That results in a pixel density of 538PPI, the highest seen on any smartphone so far. It’s powered by a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 801 SoC, which is clocked at 2.5 GHz. Curiously, LG has gone with two configurations for the RAM and internal memory. The 16GB version gets 2GB of RAM, while the 32GB version gets a full 3GB. LG promises that both versions run the software equally well. Both versions get a microSD card slot, which is good to take in cards up to 128 GB in size. Also on the back is the 13MP camera with OIS+ and the laser autofocus to go along with its two-tone dual LED flash. LG has chosen to please selfie lovers with a 2.1MP camera on the front, that can take pictures by seeing your off-screen gesture, allowing you time to pose for the shot. The G3 has support for 4G LTE, HSPA+ and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac for data. It comes with Bluetooth 4.0 LE and NFC chips along with SlimPort compatibility, A-GPS/Glonass, and micro USB 2.0.
Sony Xperia Z2
Take it for a swim
Sony’s latest flagship Z2 sports a 5.2-inch 1080p full HD Triluminos display with the “widest colour palette”. The Z2 has borrowed waterproof and rugged capabilities from its predecessor, and runs on Google’s latest Android 4.4 KitKat. Under the hood, it comes powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 and Adreno 330 GPU, coupled with 3GB of RAM. One of the highlights of the device is its 20.7-megapixel camera with 4K recording support, along with 1/2.3-type Exmor RS for mobile CMOS image sensor, Sony’s G Lens and intelligent BIONZ. The 4K resolution (3840×2160 pixels/30p) helps capture four times the detail of Full HD. It is fuelled by a 3200 mAh battery for prolonged battery life, which is further spruced by Sony’s Battery STAMINA Mode. Check out the Xperia z2 review.
HTC One M8
The new HTC One (M8)
The new HTC One M8 gets rid of any polycarbonate or plastic for the sides as the chassis is almost completely metal. The phone also introduced its latest version of Sense which features an enhanced BlinkFeed experience. It is believed to be selling faster than its predecessor and could help claw back market share in developed markets such as the US. The One M8 gets a 5-inch full HD Super LCD 3 display that’s just as good as last year’s One. HTC has retained the front-facing BoomSound speakers, so you get a rich audio experience, but at the cost of handling, as the device is quite a bit taller than the One released last year. Internally, the One M8 gets Snapdragon 801, the top-of-the-line SoC from Qualcomm, with the quad-core CPU clocked at 2.5 GHz. It also gets 2GB of RAM. Software-wise, the One M8 runs Android 4.4 KitKat, with Sense 6 UI and gets some nifty gesture-based controls. Even though the One M8 gets a new Duo Camera setup, it’s still the same lackluster UltraPixel camera. Check out the HTC One M8 review.
Samsung Galaxy S5
Galaxy S5
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a 5.1-inch upgrade to the year older Galaxy S4 and sports a full HD screen with the same Super AMOLED panel. The dust-proof and water-proof device follows the latest trends by embedding a fingerprint scanner. The Galaxy S5 is the only flagship with a 16MP camera; up front there is a 2.1MP camera. Samsung Galaxy S5 supports the fifth generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and it uses LTE Category 4 standard. The Samsung Galaxy S5 runs on a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 800 SoC with 2GB of RAM. It will ship with Android 4.4.2. It comes in the 16GB and 32GB variant with microSD slot for adding in a microSD card up to 64GB. It packs in a 2800mAh battery. Check out the Galaxy S5 review.
Take a look at the comparison table below:
The bottom line
The LG G3 unveiling wasn’t particularly exciting, since pretty much everything about the phone was already leaked. The lack of a metal housing was a bit of a disappointment although we’ll take a metallic skin any day over a plastic body. The major upgrades are the display, laser auto-focus and new tweaks to the interface. The new OIS+ feature might just tip the scales in LG’s favor as this is one thing no other flagship Android posses right now.
While there was no mention of pricing, you can rest assure that it will be very competitive. All four smartphones offer more or less similar power and functionality and it all boils down to the pricing, brand preference and which ever unique features you buy into. LG has shed their image of being a ‘value oriented’ brand with the introduction of the G2 last year, followed by the Nexus 4 and now the Nexus 5. The fact that they’re now the third when it comes to sales figures for Q1 2014, shows their new found strategy working quite well.
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