The LG G6: A Smartphone That Gets It Right
Another year, another smartphone competing for your wallet. The LG G6 is one of the major flagships you might be considering if you plan to upgrade at all. So what's the deal with this thing? Well I've been using it for a little over a week now, so I think it's time I share my thoughts on this new phone.
As you may know from last year, the previous LG G5 didn't do so well, and it seems like LG took a much safer path this time around. There aren't any gimmicks or overly ambitious design choices, which is fine with me. So let's start off with the physical features on the outside of the phone.
The display is definitely the first thing you'll notice when you turn the phone on, because it basically takes up the entire front of the thing. But even though it's a big screen, the bezels are so small that it doesn't feel like an oversized phone. The corners are also rounded which I like, and it really is a great looking display. It's 5.7 inches, with a 2800x1440 resolution, which is an 18:9 aspect ratio, and the panel type is IPS.
The size of the screen is very welcomed, and makes it nicer when scrolling through websites or Instagram feeds or whatever. Though it is pretty tall, so it can sometimes be tough to reach the top of the screen. At first I was skeptical at the choice of IPS over OLED, but that didn't last long. It's got great contrast, and was impressed that it seems to be able to show blacks just as deep as OLED panels.
Because it's IPS, it has the benefit of being slightly brighter than OLED, and should have less risk of color shift. For example, the color balance on the G6 looks spot on, and when I compared it to my Pixel XL, I didn't even notice that the Pixel has almost a yellow tint. Whether it was designed with warmer white point, I'm not sure, but the G6 clearly looks to have more accurate colors here.
And I should hope so, because the screen is also advertised to support Dolby Vision HDR, so that's plus if you like to watch movies on your phone. Continuing on to the rest of the body, on the front you also have a front-facing 5 megapixel camera, a speaker, and that's about it. On the sides you have most of the standard stuff - volume up and down buttons, Sim card and SD card tray, headphone jack on the top, USB Type C and speaker on the bottom.
No real surprises for any of that. On the back things get a bit more interesting, we have the power button which doubles as a fingerprint sensor, dual cameras, and a dual LED flash. The fingerprint sensor is nicely placed and is easy to reach, and I like that it automatically unlocks the phone without having to actually press the power button. Though it's actually so fast that you can't really use it just to look at your notifications, you basically have to double tap the screen to do that.
As for the camera, I'll go into more depth later, but the reason that there are two cameras is that one is a wide angle, and the other is a typical focal length. Next let's get into the internal specs you can't see. The processor is a Snapdragon 821. Not the latest 835, but still very fast.
Then it's got a standard 4GB of RAM for most users, which I think is enough to handle most of the apps and games that people use on their phones. However, if you're someone who likes to have everything open at once, or you like to play resource-intensive games, you might find yourself wanting more RAM.
The storage capacity is also standard, with 32GB being the base model, but I think 64GB would be a better option for most people. And finally, there's no expandable storage, which I don't really mind about, but some people might be disappointed that they can't just pop in an SD card to add more space.
The battery life is also standard, with LG claiming that the G6 will last up to two days on a single charge. However, after using it for a week, I found that it was able to last me about 1.5 days before needing to be recharged.
One big missing feature is a notification LED, not sure why they didn't just add a small one. Sure there's the always-on display, but I'd prefer not to use it for the sake of battery. Plus it's pretty dark anyway, making it hard to even see if you have new notifications or which ones.
It would much rather have a little LED that flashes different colors. That way, I could get an idea of how many notifications I had without having to turn on my screen and risk killing my battery. However, one big plus is the fact that it's water resistant, with IP68 certification meaning that it can withstand being submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.
Next let's talk about performance and experience using the phone. Starting with the camera. Both the rear cameras are 13 megapixels, with the standard lens at f 1.8 aperture and the wide angle at f 2.4. And I think it's nice that they included two different focal lengths so you can get more in the shot if you want.
Besides that though, the cameras are just painfully average. It doesn't seem to offer anything new from what we saw in last year's phones. Especially when some new phones like the Pixel are able to take outstanding images using multiple frame samples, I can only describe the image quality on the G6 as mediocre at best.
I think that's one of the biggest letdowns of the LG G6, which is a shame because I really wanted to like it. But I guess you get what you pay for, and if you're looking for a phone that takes great photos, the Pixel might be the better choice.
But overall, the LG G6 is still a solid choice for anyone who wants a high-end smartphone without breaking the bank. The design is sleek and modern, the display is big and bright, and the performance is smooth and responsive. It's not perfect, but it's definitely one of the best options out there right now.
And that's my take on the LG G6. I hope you found this review helpful in deciding whether or not this phone is right for you.