Motorola has been teasing a new launch smartphone for a while, and it seems that the Moto G4 play will launch much before the Moto E3 Power which was on sale in Hong Kong recently. The Moto G4 Play has a MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 along with a 5 inch 1280 x 720p display.
The G4 play should come in it a more affordable price, and we are expecting it to be around the Rs. 10,000 price bracket or lower. The Moto G4 play is also among the few phones available today that will offer up a removable battery.
Motorola is attempting to increase penetration of the already popular Moto G4 by introducing a more budget friendly, gaming centric handset. Possibly to take on the Samsung Galaxy J lineup.
The Moto G4 Play will be an Amazon.in Exclusive as seen from the tweet below.
The opening day fight for the spotlight at the MWC 2016 was always going to be between Samsung and LG. While Samsung had a very sober event, unveiling its S7 devices which didn’t really wow the mass as one would have liked, LG, on the other hand, stole the show with its new modular G5 flagship. Samsung may not have changed too much with the S7, but LG redefined the smartphone with the G5. We look at how much the LG G5 has changed from its G4 predecessor.
Design
LG G4
The LG G4 was designed in a new way back in 2015 with the introduction of a genuine leather back panel that received mixed reactions in certain religious countries. For example in India, LG refrained from mentioning that the leather back panel was made from cow hide, which prevented some people from buying the handset. The use of leather, however, was done in a brilliant way. The back panel takes 12 weeks to manufacture and uses a new technology for a process which normally takes a few days.
Although some had mixed opinions about the design and use of leather, LG had done it rather tastefully and not only did it look impressive, but also felt great in the hand.
LG G5
With the G5, LG again made a drastic design change and incorporated a modular design to its new flagship, which is, in our opinion, a stroke of brilliance. The G5 introduces a full metal body and comes with impressive specifications but the what sets the phone apart from its competition is the fact that it comes with modular attachments which can be utilised to enhance the camera and battery of the phone. Over to the back, you can see the dual camera module and a rounded fingerprint sensor below it which was missing in the G4.
However, the back of the G5 looks rather dull and pales in comparison to the back of the G4. Of course, this is just going by the images of the G5 and it may just feel good in the hands. The actual look of the G5 isn’t much to brag about but what will really sell it is it’s modular nature.
Display
The G4 had a 5.5-inch Quad HD LCD display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 534ppi. Now while the display on the G4 was bright and crisp, the size factor and poor battery pack made it hard to make it through an entire day with enough juice.
LG has reduced the screen size of the G5 from 5.5-inch to a 5.3-inch Quad HD display. This will not only add much sharper colours and brightness, but will also help conserve precious battery life. Add to this, you also have a new Always On mode that displays notifications and messages without having to turn on the phone. The Always On feature uses only 0.8 percent of battery per hour, which means the phone will last a lot longer than the G4.
Hardware
Like every new flagship successor, specifications are bound to get a bump. 2016 is the year of the Snapdragon 820 and many flagship devices this year will be sporting that chipset. The G5 is no different. It comes with a smaller 5.3-inch screen as compared to the G4 and is powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset and Adreno 530 GPU. RAM also gets a bump to 4GB and adds a USB Type-C port. The battery pack drops from 3,000mAh to 2,800mAh, though it is still removable and LG has some ‘Friends’ that bring in some help when needed.
But the USP of the G5 is its modular design and modules is what you get with the G5. The handset comes with various modules that can be attached to the bottom of the device. LG calles these modules Friends that include LG Cam Plus and LG HI-Fi Plus.
LG-G5 CAM-Plus
The LG Cam Plus is a camera module that is attached to the device for grip and raises the battery capacity to 4,000mAh by adding an extra 1,200mAh battery pack module to the existing 2,800mAh pack. The module also includes other camera functions including auto focus with the shutter button and zoom with the analogue dial.
Next is the Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play module. This is a Hi-Fi DAC audio player which is perfect for audiophiles. It can also play high-definition audio files encoded in 32-bit at 384KHz that will offer better sound quality over the 24-bit DAC that is already on the G5.
Specs
LG G4
LG G5
Display
5.5-inch Quad HD LCD
5.3-inch screen Quad HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4
The G4 had an impressive camera with a 16MP rear and f/1.8 aperture that gave excellent low-light captures. Over the past few years, LG has done well with its camera modules, and is among the top brands in that department.
The G5 takes the camera module from the G4 and adds a little more to it. The rear camera on the G5 comes in two this time, one with a 16MP sensor and one with an 8MP 135-degree wide angle lens, both together promise a lot more functionality, offering impressive auto wide angle captures. LG has stated that its wide angle camera offers a field of view like a human eye and doesn’t restrict photography like other standard camera modules.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that LG has made some crazy changes with the G5 over the G4. The company did not rest on the laurels of the latter and instead made some bold new changes while still keeping the best parts from last year. LG has basically taken one step forward towards making a truly modular phone a reality.
LG has dropped a panic bombshell on the audience and the tech industry, and the world should take notice. This is the evolution of smartphone design, and with the future only closer to what modular requirements each customer would have.
Now that iPhone 6s has hit the markets, it’s time to pit the newest Apple wonder against the best of the smartphone industry. Apple has never failed to woo its users with its fluidity and smoothness in the past. One wonders if it’s likely to happen now as well in the face of tough competition from equally snazzy and up to date tech names like Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC.
Specs
LG G4
Samsung Galaxy Note 5
Samsung S6 Edge+
HTC One M9
Sony Experia Premium Z5
iPhone 6s
Display
5.5-inch Quad HD LCD
5.66 inch Quad HD
5.7 inches
5.5 inch HD
5.5 inch 4K
4.7 Retina HD display with 3D Touch, LED-backlit widescreen
Despite not being able to match its competitors in terms of specs and numbers on paper, Apple has always managed to fulfil the demands of the tech world so far. On the launch of the very first iPhone eight years ago in 2007, Steve Jobs had promised to “reinvent the phone”. This promise has indeed been taken care of if statistics are to be believed which suggest that 53% of the smartphone market is dominated by Apple.
LG in the past years has emerged as a true Android champion. A South Korean counter brand to the kingship of Samsung, especially in the Android smartphone market.
LG came into light after their partnership with Google on building the Nexus 4 and then the Nexus 5 along with LG’s own iterations of the handsets for the global consumer markets. All four of the devices by LG led them into a high stake position in the Android rat race.
Last year however, LG fell off the map with the LG G3, it also had a fall out with Google, who then decided to go with Motorola to manufacture the Nexus 6.
This year LG is back and they want vengeance, pitting up points in almost all areas, LG tried to reach the top of the ladder with their new flagship, the LG G4. But, just as the relevance of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, on the stage at the time of launch, LG didn’t seem to think this through.
Hardware
The LG G4 is an iconic design from LG, while many companies have attempted to make leather looking handsets (Note 3 and Galaxy S5), LG actually made a smartphone with a genuine leather back panel.
LG also one upped Samsung with their interesting fast aperture camera and lens, with 16 MP and a f1.8 lens setup vs the f1.9 on the Galaxy S6 and Edge.
The LG G4 also has dual sim (certain regions) and a removable and replaceable battery along with micro-SD expansion all of which is lacking in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.
Hardware Specs
LG G4
Display
5.5-inch Quad HD LCD
Resolution
2560 x 1440 PX
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 with X10 LTE
Processor
1.8GHz Hexa-core
GPU
Adreno 418
RAM
3GB
Primary Camera
16MP f/1.8 aperture
Front Camera
8MP f/1.8 aperture
Storage
32GB
Expandable Up to
2 TB
Battery
3,000 mAh
Operating System
Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG UX 4.0
Bluetooth
4.1 LE (APT-x)
Design, Build and Aesthetics
The LG G4 is designed in a new way, the introduction of a genuine leather back panel may have mixed reactions in certain religious countries. For example in India, LG has refrained from mentioning that the leather back panel is made from cow hide, which may prevent some people from buying the handset. The use of leather however is done in a brilliant way. The back panel takes 12 weeks to manufacture and uses a new technology for a process which normally takes a few days.
Leather Back Panel
Made from only the top layer (epidermis) of high quality cow leather, the back features tiny 0.001 micrometer pores for breathability. The end result is a smooth, soft touch back that should feel unlike any other smartphone on the market, while still allowing heat to dissipate.
Although some have mixed opinions about the design and use of leather, LG has done it rather tastefully and not only does is look impressive, but also feels great in the hand. There is also a Ceramic white which might become the preferred option, also because it is about 100$ cheaper (Rs. 6000 approx)
The front houses a LG G3-esque minimal bezel design from LG which is highly applauded on their previous smartphones, and the LG G4 is expected to have the same outlook.
The construction, however seems a lot less sturdy compared to previous generation G phones from LG. Gorilla Glass 3 has been used in place of Gorilla Glass 4 found on the Galaxy S6 and Edge.
The back panel is removable and replaceable, which means that it can be swapped out if damaged. Also reports of the leather weathering faster than ever, however we faced no such nuisance.
The buttons remain on the back, volume rockers and the main power button, which can also be used as a selfie mirror, sort of.
The phone also lacks premium materials, made mostly from plastics. In an age where Samsung’s flagship is a premium metal and glass device the LG G4 is sub-standard, and less premium.
Performance, Gaming and Display
Here is where the leather laden phone from LG, faces the first from the competition. The underpowered Hexa Core Snapdragon 808 is far inferior than expected. LG’s optimizations to improve battery have further reduced the performance output of this chipset.
In our Benchmark test the G4 stood last with the poorest score. when compared to HTC’s devices and Samsung devices.
The GPU works overtime to deliver high resolution to the 2K display, therefore reducing the graphics quality displayed during gaming.
Although the affect is minimum, but if have been playing on other devices like the HTC M9+ and the S6 you will notice the considerable amount of difference.
The UI is fast and snappy, transitions are quicker and lag is virtually non existent. We still find LG’s UI a little cluttered, and non easy to navigate.
Phone and Battery
The LG G4 in India comes with Dual Sim LTE, which means that both cards can run LTE networks. Networks speeds are weak, due to network strength issues, but we got 14 Mbps downloads in health network areas.
The dual sim setup is handy for a lot of people and on the LG G4 works well. However battery life is adversely affected by the G4 SIM usage, mostly from network searches.
LG is offering a spare battery with an external charger in many countries, this is justified thanks to the poor battery performance. The battery will barely last you a day, and the drain is massive due to the display and the network searches.
Talk Time : 3 Hours
Standby : 24 Hours
Internet : 3.5 Hours
Music : 9 Hours
Gaming : 2 Hours.
Honestly, the battery is a big let down for us. You cannot have a flagship, running lower spec hardware, with a poorly performing battery.
16MP f/1.8 aperture
Camera
The highlight of LG’s new-gen smartphones, and especially the G series smartphones has been the camera and optics. With the new G4, LG continues to use laser autofocus, but improves the camera considerably. Low light performance is excellent, thanks to a f1.8 lens, whereas the Galaxy S6 only manages a f1.9. The front camera however is not as wide on the G4 as on the S6/edge, but seems to have great capture capability.
Dynamic range is much improved, however we feel that indoor image quality needs to be better. The way the software is processing the images, they feel a lot more digital. Outdoor images are high in detail and contrast.
Images will almost always be in focus and sharp, thanks to the laser sensor, which is accurate and super fast.
Video is captured at 4k but to limits of 5 minutes to prevent the chipset from overheating. Finding the 4k option is slightly difficult for the first time around, as the phone records 1080p out the box.
4k Video Option
The front camera has a brilliant image quality and works well for “selfies” in low light conditions. The gesture shot allows you to click a picture by making a fist in front of the camera. This allows for a better image, which is less shaky.
Android and UI
With a lot of things built in as smart features, the usability of the LG G4 as a daily driver is easy. Android 5.1 comes out of the box and the UI is highly customizable.
Lg also allows you to customize individual icons, using inbuilt set of icons or your own images can be converted into an icon for any App.
Smart features also allow you to auto-magically enable or disable features as per your usage requirements. For eg. “When at Home turn on Wi-Fi” will automatically enable Wi-Fi on the G4 when you arrive at your’s home’s geolocation. While these features can be really handy, they are an added drain on the battery.
There is still a lot of clutter on the UI as LG is trying to do a lot. Qslide Apps sit in the notification panel, along with quick toggles. There is just so much happening on the G4, that you really want to simplify the usage.
LG’s included apps are also handy, like LG Health for fitness enthusiasts and LG Backup for security of data. Qremote lets you use the inbuilt IR blaster on the top of the phone to control your electronics and appliances, like a TV, Dish box, Air-Con etc. The Qremote turns out to be more useful than mentioned.
Conclusion
Just like each year before this, LG has maintained high quality and managed to make the phone good looking. However, the leather back restricts buyers and the phone may be too any for the female audience.There is a pink leather back cover as well as a red one, which also are more easily handled by men than women. The ceramic white drops the leather for a more LG plastic (they call it polycarbonate) approach.
It is distinctively a man phone, with features which are slightly lower than the competition. A price tag which is higher than the competition and a not so impressive performance and battery life. It does excel in the camera department, only if you are an outdoorsy kind of person. The UI is much more refined than seen in the past and the array of customizations is extensive. But, our money is well spent elsewhere.
After launching the LG G4 Stylus yesterday, LG has released another variant called the LG G4 Beat. The new phone is the latest in the G4 line-up after the G4 Stylus and G4c. With this phone, it seems LG is trying to imitate Samsung’s successful Galaxy series, which offers a wide range of affordable and premium phones.
Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics said
Too often, mid-tier phones sacrifice overall usability in order to include that one killer feature. Our goal with the LG G4 Beat was to create a phone that was not only well- balanced in terms of display, camera, performance and design but delivered terrific value and satisfaction.
The G4 Beat sports a 5.2-inch full HD IPS LCD display with 423 ppi. The phone is powered by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM. The internal storage of 8GB can be expanded, allowing you to store more images, music and videos. The G4 Beat will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with LG UX 4.0.
The phone will sport an 8MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. For some reasons, LG has decided to include a 13 MP rear camera in the G4 Beat for select Latin America countries. A 2,300mAh removable battery will power the phone. As far as connectivity is concerned, the phone supports LTE, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC.
LG has not disclosed any pricing for the G4 Beat, which is expected to be launched first in countries like France, Germany and Brazil followed by Canada, India, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey, among others.
Specification
LG G4 Beat
Display
5.2-inch full HD IPS LCD display
Resolution
1920 x 1080 pixels, 423 ppi
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset
Processor
1.5GHz octa-core processor
RAM
1.5 GB
Storage
8GB
Rear Camera
8 MP Laser Autofocus, LED Flash, 13 MP in select Latin America countries
