Design
The LG G2 is the new flagship from LG and is the answer to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One. Aesthetically, this phone is very attractive, its appearance will attract many.
However, the manufacturer made the dubious decision to place all the physical buttons on the back cover. Perhaps this is due to the desire not to make the phone too large, given the already huge 5.2 mm screen. Now the power / lock button of the phone, as well as the sound rocker, are located directly under the camera lens. This is unusual and although the risk of accidental pressing is lower in this case, it will take you a long time to get used to this arrangement of buttons. But the manufacturer tried to eliminate the inconvenience as much as possible. For example, in order to unlock the phone, it is enough to tap the screen twice, and the sound in most applications can be controlled on the screen.
In addition, the LG G2's body is made of plastic, so the phone is not very sturdy. Some parts of the phone, especially the back cover, bend and creak. In addition, fingerprints and dirt remain on the glossy finish of the plastic case.
The buttons on the back don't make the phone thicker, but 8.9mm is still a lot when compared to the iPhone 5S or Galaxy S4. In addition, the phone weighs more. But the LG G2 is still pleasant to hold in the hand thanks to the slightly rounded back cover.
This shape of the case is not only ergonomic, but also helps to install a powerful battery in the phone.
As mentioned above, there are no buttons on the side faces. The exception is the bottom edge, which houses a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro-USB port, speaker and microphone. Under the screen are touch-sensitive control buttons, the order of which is customizable.
Unfortunately, the LG G2 has no room for a memory card, so we'll have to be content with the device's internal storage (16GB or 32GB).
Screen
The screen in the LG G2 is truly amazing. It has a size of 5.2 inches, a Full HD IPS 1920 x 1080 display and a pixel density of 423. Although the screen size does not differ from the Samsung Galaxy S4, the LG G2 stands out for its quality. The LG G2's display looks like it's from the future.
Although the IPS matrix is not as bright as AMOLED, it has more accurate color reproduction. The sensor is sensitive, responds to pressing without delay. Thanks to the high pixel density, images and text look very clear.
Unfortunately, there is also a small defect in the LG G2's screen. In bright daylight, the screen is almost invisible, which makes it similar to the Huawei Ascend G510. But you can always adjust the brightness of the screen.
Work
The LG G2 is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 quad-core 2.26GG processor. The phone has 2 GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 graphics accelerator. It is currently one of the fastest smartphones on the market. This device handles multitasking with ease, while simultaneously launching applications, games and sending emails without any errors or delays.
One of the most demanding on device resources at the moment, Real Racing 3, which does not work on many modern smartphones, runs easily on the LG G2.
Operating system
LG G2 runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly operating system with LG UX user interface. The user interface is not as sleek as Sense, but it is also not as cluttered with unnecessary components as TouchWiz. It does not completely change the operating system, but only makes the experience of using the phone easier and more enjoyable. One such feature is KnockON, which lets you forget about the power button on the back of your phone. Just tap the screen twice and the phone is activated and unlocked. However, KnockOn does not always work quickly and without problems.Tapping should be done at the same point on the screen, at a very fast pace, and this, as practice has shown, is not always possible to do.
Another innovation is the Guest Mode, which allows you to protect all your personal data from prying eyes if you give your phone to your friends.
The Plug and Play feature brings up a menu screen as soon as you connect headphones to the phone. The menu displays multimedia applications that you could use with your headphones.
And Q Slide embodies smartphone multitasking, allowing you to display one application on top of another. With the transparency slider, you can make these applications more or less visible. The phone really copes with this task, you can watch a video and work in another application at the same time, but there will be no delays or "freezes" of the device.
There is a Weather widget from LG that you can use without even unlocking your phone.
The lock screen is not much different from the standard one. As with other devices running on the latest versions of Android, you have the opportunity to put shortcuts of the applications you need, such as Phone, SMS, Camera, on the lock screen for quick access.
There is a section for widgets in the application menu, where you can select them and see how they will look on the desktop.
Camera
The camera in the LG G2 is amazing. Recently, phone manufacturers have been racing not only among powerful processors, high-quality screens, and user-friendly operating systems. Phone cameras have also become an occasion for improvement and development. Of course, manufacturers are unlikely to revive camera phones (aside from some attempts by Nokia), but now more attention is paid to optics, image stabilization and camera interface. And this only plays into the hands of potential buyers.
You won't be able to take really high-quality, professional photos with your phone, but the 13 Mpx installed in the G2 is quite enough for the tasks that are usually set before a mobile device. Whether you want to showcase photos of your pets on Instagram or post pictures from yesterday's party on Facebook, the LG G2 camera will not disappoint you.
The camera performs well in low light thanks to its Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) system, which helps with color and detail in both photos and videos. By default, when you start the camera, all settings are in automatic mode. The focus is in the middle, but you can tap anywhere on the screen to focus on something else.
There are a huge number of operating modes: Normal, HDR, Panorama, Photo Sphere, Burst, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night and others.
You can adjust exposure, focus modes, white balance, ISO, and more. The sound control button can also be used to activate the shutter, but given that it is located directly under the camera lens, this is unlikely to be very convenient for the user. A snapshot can also be taken by saying a keyword. This system has already been used on other LG phones, it may not be very practical, but children will definitely like it.
Photos are crisp and clear, detail is at the highest level, and color reproduction is excellent, especially when taken in good lighting conditions. But it is difficult to expect otherwise, given that a powerful processor is installed here, which can easily process photos.
HDR looks natural, but as with any HDR photography, if there is a sharp transition from light to shadow, then a lot of detail is lost. And, like any modern smartphone, even despite the presence of an LED flash, the quality of photos decreases in low light.
There is also an analogue of the Eraser mode from the Samsung Galaxy S4, which is called Shot & Clear here. It also takes a series of shots, allowing you to remove moving objects later.
The phone also has a front camera for video calls. 2.1 Mpx is enough for this.You can also take photos with the front camera, but, as you would expect, their quality will be very low.
The video quality of the LG G2 is also at a high level. The phone is capable of recording video in 1080p Full HD resolution. The Optical Image Stabilization system helps a lot, but it's not as good as the Lumia 1020's image stabilization system. The video color rendition is good, although the sound could be better. However, the sound quality when recording video in smartphones is currently a common problem due to the location of the speaker, which is not primarily focused on the camera.
The phone has a photo editing application called Photo Studio. It offers a basic set of image editing functions: cropping, contrast, color correction, and several options for effects.
Battery
The LG G2 battery works great, it certainly does not have the same results as the Motorola DROID MAXX battery, but it holds a charge better than most modern smartphones. The shape of the battery matches the slightly convex back cover of the phone and has a capacity of 3,000mAh.
With active use of the phone (e-mail, social networks, phone calls, games), with GPS and Wi-Fi enabled, the LG G2 will not be completely discharged in a whole day. In the evening, there will still be about 30% of the battery charge. For a modern smartphone, this is an impressive result.
Output
The LG G2 is one of the best Android phones right now, with a great screen, good battery, powerful processor and great camera. The only drawbacks of the phone are the plastic case and the location of the buttons on the back cover, but you can get used to it. It is also worth noting the lack of the possibility of expanding memory, obviously, phone manufacturers gradually want to accustom their users to upload information to cloud storage.
