12 things you need to know about the LG G4

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE—By the time you read this, the LG G4 would have made its Philippine debut, but 2.O was fortunate to be the sole Philippine tech mag invited to the six-city (New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Istanbul, and Seoul) global launch last April 29. Approximately 1,000 guests around the world gathered to view the new G4, the ambitiously designed, much-awaited successor to the award-winning G3. So what makes the G4 special? Here are 12 reasons:

1. The LG G4’s design is defined by the subtly curved Slim Arc, which runs along its entire body. More than just a design accent, Slim Arc offers 20 percent better durability than a flat smartphone in face-down drops and gives the smartphone a more comfortable and secure feel in the hand.



2. The G4 is beautifully wrapped in handcrafted, genuine full-grain leather in six classic colors. The leather comes from an age-old traditional and environment-friendly vegetable tanning process. The dyes used for the leather are rich with warm tones that look authentic and change over time. (Other material options for the G4 rear cover include pure Ceramic White with 3D patterns, artisan-forged Metallic Gray, as well as lustrous Shiny Gold.)
3. Icon colors for the user interface are more vibrant with icons that have rounded corners, consistent with the Slim Arc design.
4. The LG G4 camera boasts a rare-in-smartphones F1.8 aperture lens. This allows 80 percent more light to hit the image sensor than in the G3.
5. Low-light camera performance is further boosted with OIS 2.0, which expands the range of image stabilization from one degree to two degrees on the X- and Y-axis and adding a third axis for the first time.



6. New for G4, Manual Mode allows experienced photographers more artistic expression by letting them control focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, and white balance for every shot. Advanced photographers can also save their photos in RAW format for more precise editing with no loss of details.
7. The advanced camera in the LG G4 is complemented by Color Spectrum Sensor (CSS), the first of its kind in a smartphone. CSS improves color accuracy by reading the RGB values of the ambient light in a scene, as well as the infrared light reflected from objects. CSS adjusts the camera’s white balance and flash color to create true life-like images. No longer will reds appear as bright orange or whites as dull yellow.
8. It’s got an industry-leading 8MP front camera for sharp, detailed portraits and group shots. Gesture Interval Shot takes four shots spaced two seconds apart, increasing the chance of getting that perfect shot. Triggering the shutter is as simple as opening and closing one’s hand twice in front of the camera.
9. Quick Shot allows users to take pictures without opening the camera app by double tapping the phone’s Rear Key while the display is off. The G4 has a super-fast camera startup time of just six-tenths of a second.
10. The stunning, new 5.5-inch IPS Quantum Display offers 20 percent greater color reproduction, 25 percent improvement in brightness, and 50 percent greater contrast. This new display is calibrated for Hollywoodspec DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) standards for color expression.



11. It’s equipped with a high-capacity 3,000mAh battery that is removable, a rare feature in today’s smartphones.Combined with the benefits offered by the snappy yet energy-thrifty Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor with X10 LTE, the LG G4 gets through a full day of normal use. The G4’s battery is estimated to last 20 percent longer than the G3.
12. The LG G4 is the first phone to utilize the new configurable and more human-centric UX 4.0 that’s simpler and more intuitive to use.

But that’s not all it can do. Here are the other neat tricks of the G4:

• The new Gallery makes it extremely fast to scroll through thousands of pictures and view them on a timeline. The Memories feature automatically organizes photos and videos into event albums based on the time and place they were taken, without having to upload to the cloud.
• Event Pocket allows users to create one, unified calendar by dragging and dropping appointments and activities from multiple calendars and social media sites. After the initial setup, there’s no need to log into multiple calendars.
• The improved Smart Notice provides more personalized notifications for weather, travel and more by analyzing habits, such as how a user commutes to work. This allows Smart Notice to issue personalized messages such as, “Make sure to take an umbrella on your way to the subway.”
• Quick Help allows users to search for instant answers to any questions about operating the G4, right in the Smart Notice widget. Quick Help can guide users through the phone’s settings and even schedule a call with customer service.

With blockbuster features and specs plus a game-changing tactile feel and form factor, the new LG G4 (which has a Philippine retail price of P31,990 for the ceramic and metallic variants, and P32,990 for the leather variant) is poised to take its place in the superphone stratosphere with the likes of the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6, and Xperia Z4. A comparo is in order.