The LG G4 missed MWC 2015 but we will see it on April 28, so the wait is almost over. It
should be worth the wait too, with talk of a premium new design, a
super-sharp display and a whole lot of power. Plus this is the company
which brought us the LG G Flex 2, so a curved screen is never entirely off the table.
With the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 out the way LG G4 rumors are heating up and flooding in and we're hopeful that it can stand up to such tough competition. Cut to the chase
What is it? LG's next flagship smartphone
When is it out? Will be announced on April 28
What will it cost? It will command a high, flagship price - but cheaper than the competition
LG G4 release date We've received an invite
for an LG announcement on April 28 and it doesn't mess around with what
we can expect, stating "LG invites you to the official unveiling of LG
G4." You're not going to get clearer than that.
Of
course it could be a few weeks or more after that before the LG G4
actually lands in shops, so don't expect to be able to buy it before
May. Though if you can't wait that long you could always apply to take
one for a 30 day test drive.
LG G4 design There
have been a number of potential sightings of the LG G4 - and now with
the invite to its launch event confirming the camera and sensor setup on
the rear it looks like a lot of the following leaks are pretty close to
the mark. No sign of that leather finish though. We first caught a glimpse
of the G4 in the wild a while ago, as a metal-backed LG phone was
snapped. It was a little on the large side though and appeared to have a
stylus, which suggested it could be the LG G4 Note.
It's still unclear whether the G4 will have a metal body or not. Some rumors say yes while others say no. The event invite suggests leather - so your guess is as good as ours.
The LG G4 is almost with us, and case makers are already selling protective covers.
If they're an accurate fit then you can expect a return of the laser
autofocus and dual-LED flash found on the LG G3 judging by the cut-outs.
We've also seen several press renders,
supposedly showing a non-final version of the handset, with a curved
back, a large camera lens (check) and dimensions of 148.9 x 76.5 x
9.9mm, which oddly would make it bigger than the LG G3. It also seems to
have the same metal-effect casing.
That last bit clashes with a previous rumor though, as LG's mobile chief Juno Cho has stated
that the G4 will be "radically different" to anything that's come
before, with those changes including a metal casing rather than a
polycarbonate one. Another case render has also further cemented the claim LG will be keeping the rear power button and volume rocker on the G4.
In this leaked case render from Versus you can spot the buttons underneath the camera but it doesn't give a full look at the uni-body the phone is rumoured to have.
LG G4 screen LG has teased the G4's screen
in a video, revealing that it has a QHD IPS Quantum Display, which is
25% brighter and has a 20% wider color range than the display on the LG
G3.
The LG G4 might also have a bigger display than the LG G3, as @OnLeaks claims it will come in at 5.6 inches. It also looks like the LG G4 will have an ever so slightly curved screen, as @OnLeaks attempted to prove with the drawing of a very straight line over a leaked press image.
Additionally
it seems almost guaranteed that the LG G4 will have a QHD 1440 x 2560
display, as an official teaser lists it as QHD and before that both a user agent profile page and an html5test result suggested as much.
It could also be goodbye bezel
on the LG G4, as the South Korean firm has launched a display with a
super slender 0.7mm of fat around its perimeter. The screen in question
measures 5.3 inches, which is a jot smaller than the 5.5-inch G3, though
given other rumors point to a 5.6-inch screen we wouldn't count on it.
The LG G3 has 1.15mm of bezel either side of the screen, so this new display if used could make the G4 look visually stunning.
LG G4 rivals As a flagship Android phone the LG G4 will have the Samsung Galaxy S6 as a major rival and if it ends up being curved then it could also have some direct competition from the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
Of course the HTC One M9 will give it a run for its money too with its stylish build and similar specs to those the G4 is rumored to pack. The Sony Xperia Z4, which may well arrive at a similar time to the LG G4, could give it pause for thought as well.
Then there's always the iPhone 6 and the looming threat of the iPhone 6s for anyone not married to Android. In short the LG G4 is going to have some serious competition.
LG G4 camera Rumours
had been swirling about the snapper that LG will include with the G4,
but on April 9 an official announcement was made, giving us a clear look
at the camera of the LG G4.
A brand new camera module
has been created that features an aperture of f/1.8, which according to
LG makes it the "widest aperture camera developed for a smartphone".
In
plain English this means the LG G4 should be excellent at taking
photographs in low light conditions, allowing 80% more light in than the
LG G3,
as well as less blur when taking photos of fast moving objects. You can
see the results for yourself in LG's teaser video below.
The
LG G4's camera will also be boosted from the 13MP resolution of the LG
G3 to 16MP. Further information was later revealed, with the LG G4's
camera coming with an impressive six-layer lens that is twice the size
of the one found in the LG G3.
An ultra-thin 0.1mm blue
IR filter will also be included to help give photos a natural look with
accurate colours by blocking out infrared interference.
A
new and improved front-facing camera has also been announced that will
feature an impressive 8 megapixel resolution, the highest resolution for
a "selfie" camera that LG has produced.
LG G4 OS and power LG has confirmed that the G4 will run the newly announced UX 4.0.
This includes a new Quick Shot feature, allowing you to take a photo
even when the screen is off, a Smart Alert, which makes activity
suggestions based on the weather forecast, a Smart Board, which combines
information from multiple apps into a single widget, and an expert
camera mode for serious snappers.
The LG G4 is also bound to run Android 5.0 Lollipop straight out of the box, which is good news if you want a handset that comes with Google's latest mobile operating system.
Surprisingly the LG G4 might pass on the Snapdragon 810 and use the weaker Snapdragon 808 instead, if a benchmark
believed to be from the LG G4 is to be believed. It could be true
though as the Snapdragon 810 reportedly suffers from overheating issues.
Alongside that it's shown with a meaty 3GB of RAM.
Though that flies in the face of earlier rumors, which suggested that the LG G4 would sport a Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM. That had seemed likely, given that the HTC One M9 has arrived with exactly those specs and even the LG G Flex 2 uses the Snapdragon 810.
LG G4 other features One particularly spurious LG G4 rumor
suggests we may see a fingerprint scanner on the back of the handset.
This would seemingly be a last minute decision and LG officials have
denied the rumor, but with Samsung and Apple both including them in
their flagships there's a possibility that LG could follow suit.
There is also a suggestion that the LG G4 may pack a stylus
in its body, but we'd be surprised if LG put this on its core flagship
device. It's probably something that will arrive with a variant, like
the LG G3 Stylus.
