News - LG G3 launched, boasts 5.5-inch QHD display and laser AF camera

[HEXUS]

LG's new Android flagship smartphone will be first to feature laser-assisted autofocus.

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[Tabbykatze]

Actually...looks quite good. I doubt it's going to be below the £600 mark though.

[AETAaAS]

Definitely like the shift to user swapable batteries. When I'm away for a while or travelling, swapping batteries is much faster and more convenient than using a powerbank.

[Jowsey]

I will never complain when technology advances but I'm seriously not seeing the benefit of that screen over a 1080p one. It's a bit of an e-peen spec. I have a HTC One M7 with a 1080p 4.7 inch screen and it's immaculate, there is no pixelation at any point I can see, text is so sharp I honestly don't believe I would be able to notice the difference.

The laser autofocus sounds like a great feature, I hope it's as useful in real life applications as it sounds and it's not just a buzzword feature. And it's always nice to see a big battery included.

But for the time being I'm more than happy with my HTC One.

[lumireleon]

wow! best phone for 2014

[crossy]

The much anticipated device features a 5.5-inch True HD-IPS+ LCD display with a QHD 2560x1440p resolution, beating rival Samsung to the highest resolution screen on a smartphone

So the PR department will be happy - big deal. I'd be more interested to know how that super duper hi rez screen performs in bright sunlight. Plus 5.5" is too close to "phablet" territory for my liking.

Software wise, the LG G3 is packed with some exciting new features, which include a selfie trigger that allows users to take photos by making a hand gesture.

Ooo, some NSFW things spring to mind ...

Smart Notice is a new service that quietly collects information it believes may help the user throughout the day, such as weather and location-based reminders, and uninstalls apps which haven't been used for a while. It also activates a Wi-Fi switch when you arrive home or at the office, for instance.

Can Smart Notice be configured to preference or is it all or nothing? I like the auto Wifi switch idea, but aren't very happy with the idea of - for example - an app that you use only on holiday suddenly disappearing without so much as a "can I delete this". Then there's the small mater of what it's doing with the information collected... is that being used for user profiling by LG?

I'd also be interested to find out how Smart Notice co-exists with Google Now. That's one of the objections I have to Samsung's gear - that their (Samsung's) features actually get in the way of stuff like Google Now, so you end up with a horribly unpredictable mess.

The rest looks good - replaceable/large battery, upgradeable storage, decent cpu and memory spec, latest OS release, appealing design (the S5 isn't). Only fly in the ointment (other than price, although I guess this'll be priced around the same as the S5) being whether OS upgrades will be available for more than 12 months and will they be pushed out quickly.

EDIT: just realised what the design reminds me of - Samsung Galaxy S3 front with a HTC One m8 back. No problem with that - curves are good.

[jimborae]

Mmmmm looks good, me likey a lot.

[Funkstar]

O2 have confirmed they will be carrying it. I wonder if it will appear on EE? They have the G2 after all.

Very similar spec to the rumored HTC One (M8) Prime. Both of these are what I'm interested in, for me 5.5" is just about perfect right now. MicroSD is essential and it looks like the trend for not having them is coming to an end for he time being, swap-able battery is also a bit of a bonus.

edit How are LG with their software updates these days? They used to be pretty terrible didn't they? I know it isn't such a big deal now with the majority of things being updated with Google Play Services or just via the Play Store, but it would be nice to get at least one system update during the life of the handset. Also thinking that there has to be a significant update to Android at some point soon, July perhaps if the past few years are anything to go by.

[deejayburnout]

This is a nice phone. I like the small bezels on it. The screen is nice but nothing is ready for it yet. I can only think of YouTube that will benefit from the high screen resolution as some bids in it are 4k. Games and websites are not coded to make use of the high pixel density.

It seems wierd that the 16gb version has 2gb of Ram and the 32gb version has 3gb of Ram. Don't know what they would do that.

The camera auto focus feature seems nice.

[Funkstar]

It seems wierd that the 16gb version has 2gb of Ram and the 32gb version has 3gb of Ram. Don't know what they would do that.

Standard version and premium version. I guess with a microSD slot just having more storage isn't really much of a pull to a pricier version. Adding that extra RAM would be a big draw for the high end crowd.

[deejayburnout]

Fair point.

I would expect all high end phones of 2014 to have at least 3gb of Ram

[Funkstar]

I guess to most people a G3 is a G3 and it will appear to be a top end phone when in reality the 16/2GB version will be an almost top end phone.

I also expect most networks to plump for this version. Will make deal comparisons interesting if some do go for the higher memory version though.

[Joey2oo7]

I guess to most people a G3 is a G3 and it will appear to be a top end phone when in reality the 16/2GB version will be an almost top end phone.

I also expect most networks to plump for this version. Will make deal comparisons interesting if some do go for the higher memory version though.

You're assuming of course the 32GB version ever makes it to these stores, you ever seen the 32GB S4/S5 or the 32GB M8 in the UK??