There are a lot of smartphones out there now. You know this. To add to the confusion, many companies are now parading out multiple top-drawer phones: think Samsung's Galaxy S and Note series, or the Xperia Z and Z Ultra from Sony. Even LG, whose new G2 flagship I'm poring over this time around, has both the G and G Pro to tempt buyers. It's getting increasingly difficult to launch a smartphone with some standout feature, something more than just bigger screensand faster processors.
For the G2, LG's decided to make a major change to the phone's physical layout -- in a bullet-point summary, it has buttons on the back. Three, in fact. LG reckons that as the size of smartphones has increased, at this point, the viability of buttons around the edges is now questionable. The new G model lands between last year'sOptimus G and the Pro size-wise, breaking through the 5-inch screen barrier with a bright 5.2-inch, 1080p IPS screen. The rest of the feature set will seem familiar to anyone who's read a flagship Android phone review in the last 12 months. Optical image stabilization, remote control blaster, a mixed bag of proprietary software features and Android 4.2.2. There's also some new stuff, including 24-bit / 192kHz audio recording and playback, and it could well be the first Snapdragon 800-powered smartphone to reach US stores -- that's Qualcomm's most potent mobile processor yet. But with IFA just finished and the Galaxy Note 3 now official, is a button transplant going to be enough? In fact, that's a red herring, because there's actually a far better reason to buy the G2 -- and it's none of the above.
LG hasn't broken the mold with the G2. It doesn't stop me from whimsically looking back to the HTC One or the iPhone -- high-water marks in smartphone design -- but it's no eyesore either. From the front, it's like a conceptual sketch of a smartphone made real. What's impressive, though, is how when you switch the G2 on, that front surface just comes to life. LG has squeezed a 5.2-inch screen into a phone with the same footprint as 5-inch devices like the Galaxy S 4. How? With 0.1-inch-thick bezels, made possible by a new display touch-sensor using two connectors. Even above and below the screen, there's only 0.4 inch of space before the phone's edges. The lower part has an LG logo and nothing else (Android buttons are of the on-screen variety); above you'll find the loudspeaker, light sensor and front-facing, 2.1-megapixel camera. There's also a satisfying curve to the Gorilla Glass 2 front, similar to what you'll find on the Nexus 4 and recent Lumias. It adds a pinch of class to what is (at least from the front) an otherwise standard-looking handset.
It's when you flip the phone over that we begin to see a bit more flair. Aside from the rear-button trio, there's a glossy patterned finish to this black model, and while the pattern helps disguise it a little, it loved my fingerprints; completing our typical melee of glamor shots with the G2 bordered on an exercise in futility. I'd advise carrying around a cloth if you're averse to smears.
The lack of a removable battery cover is going to aggravate power users looking to swap out batteries and SD cards, but the payback is in the solid build quality -- and also the fact that you get more space for the battery. If I prodded the back with a bit of force, I could see the plastic flex a little, but not enough to detract from the otherwise sturdy design.
The volume buttons on either side of the primary power nub are covered in a matte, almost gritty finish, which means they stand out from the phone's glossy background and also offer a little bit more grip. The power button is surrounded by an LED outline, but it's not capable of the same fancy light show seen on the Optimus G Pro's power switch. Nope, those tricks are found in the front-facing LED notification light, and you can choose whether that front-facing one will inform you of calendar events, alarms, missed emails, calls or just tell you when the phone's charging. The rear LED will flash for incoming calls and alarms only.
There are no other buttons on the device, which is a little daunting at first. If you've ever moved from a Google device to an iPhone, or simply switched to a different brand within Android, you'll know it takes a while for you to get used to the new button arrangement. With the G2, double that. Then add a day. I had to recalibrate how I held the phone, to ensure my index finger was in the right place -- meaning a few inches higher than I normally do. A big deal? No, but it certainly felt slightly more precarious in the hand than usual. LG has made some efforts to reduce the issue: two taps to the screen will wake the G2 up, lessening your need to reach for the power button on the back.
As I continued to use the G2, however, I became more at ease with the button placement. The raised portion that houses the power button was the most prone to bumps, but it didn't result in any long-term scratches. In fact, I preferred to leave the phone facedown on surfaces and let the Gorilla Glass 2 do its job protecting the G2's beautiful display.
Is a 5.2-inch IPS screen with 1080p resolution the limit of what we can call a smartphone before classifying it as another smart-device bridge between tablets and phones? At the moment, yes. At just less than 5.5 inches tall, it's a tight call. You'd think smaller hands would likely fare better with a 5-inch screen, but the G2's shaved dimensions mean it's really not much different than the Xperia Z (5.47 inches), the GS4 (5.38 inches) or even its predecessor, the Optimus G, which measures 5.2 inches. All told, it's definitely a notch below the likes of the G Pro or Galaxy Note II.
LG's IPS smartphone displays are some of the best in the business. Bright and rich, with great viewing angles, I've got no gripes with them -- alongside HTC's Super LCD 3, this is the level I want to see in all future smartphones. This 1080p, 5.2-inch version was suitably bright in harsh sunlight, although the auto brightness setting didn't seem to work at all on this model -- something I'm chalking up to this being an early build. Alongside the IPS display, LG has added in Graphic RAM (GRAM), which adds a memory cache of the screen when static, meaning when the screen isn't changing, the CPU and GPU don't have to communicate, allowing the processor to cool down and saving on battery burn. LG reckons it can reduce the display's energy use by up to 26 percent. We'll see how that fares in the battery test section.
Stepping up to complement the richer visuals, LG's included 24-bit / 192kHz music support --- for recording and listening -- on both FLAC and WAV files. Now, you'll have to be using those sorts of files to begin with, but the G2 is the first to support audio at a level above CDs, and for that it should be lauded. However, it's not the earth-shaking feature LG likely wants it to be.
