LG announces the G3 a high-res ‘simple’ smartphone.

LG has this morning in an event, streamed live to the world, announced their latest flagship, the LG G3. The phone has of course made an appearance in so many leaks over the last few weeks that there wasn’t much to find out about the new phone, but there were a few bits and pieces that LG had up their sleeve.

The LG G3 was officially introduced by Dr Ramchan Woo, head of LG’s Smartphone division. He spoke briefly on how the LG G3 has been designed with the focus on ‘simple’. Hardware wise, the LG G3 will have :

• 5.5″ Quad HD IPS (2560 x 1440, 538ppi)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 801 (up to 2.5GHz Quad-Core)
• 2/3GB DDR3 RAM
• 16/32GB on-board storage with microSD slot (128GB max)
• 2/3GB DDR3 RAM
• Rear 13.0MP with OIS+ and Laser Auto Focus / Front 2.1MP
• 4G / LTE / HSPA+ 21 Mbps (3G)
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth Smart Ready (Apt-X), NFC,
  SlimPort, A-GPS/Glonass, USB 2.0
• Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet, Burgundy Red
• Smart Keyboard, Smart Notice, Knock CodeTM, Guest Mode, etc.
• 3,000mAh (removable)
• Android 4.4.2 KitKat
• 146.3×74.6×8.9mm @ 149g

Dr Ramchan then handed over to James Marshall, Head of mobile Product Marketing for LG Europe who took us through the features of the phone.

Display

The LG G3 has leapt ahead of their main-stream competitors in introducing a QuadHD display on their flagship. The LG G3 will have a 5.5″ Quad HD IPS (2560 x 1440, 538ppi). Mr Marshall spoke about the so called ‘retina’ display level which has seemingly been arbitrarilly set at 300PPI, but new research shows that the human eye can discern PPI much higher than this, which is why LG has tried to redefine ‘Real’ in three ways on the G3.

Firstly in Resolution, LG has utilised their world leading expertise in manufacturing smartphone displays to offer a reduced size of each pixel to re-define resolution. They have reduced the size of each pixel by 44% going from FullHD to QuadHD to make the display more visually pleasing.

Secondly, LG has addressed concerns with battery consumption on the QuadHD display. The G3 is designed to be more efficient using three adaptive optimisations, or their 3A approach to achieve better battery life to offset the increase in power consumption. The 3A approach uses

• Adaptive Frame rate
• Adaptive Clocking
• Adaptive timing control

Unnecessary frame rates are minimised, when looking at a still image, the display uses less energy. Overall, the G3 is aimed to be a stunning display, as well as a step forward in technology,

Thirdly is the way that LG has squeezed a 5.5″ screen in terms of width to a 5″ smartphone. The bezel has been lessened to the point where they have been able to achieve this. This could be attributed to moving the volume and power keys to the rear of the phone, allowing them to shrink those bezels down.

Camera

LG is also very proud of the camera they have included on the LG G3, the G3 brings a 13MP sensor to the party, and includes three main improvements (notice a three theme?).

Firstly the camera on the G3 includes Laser Auto-Focus. The laser included on the G3 allows it to focus on a subject in just 0.276ms, by comparison it takes 300ms for a person to blink or for a signal from the brain to reach the hand, so the G3 focuses literally in the blink of an eye. Laser Auto-Focus is faster than Phase Detection Auto-Focus currently in use and is noticeably faster on ‘first find’ of a subject. The laser auto-focus is used to help in the UI, to take a photo you focus and take the shot in one gesture – simply tap the screen and the screen instantly focuses and takes the shot. The use of OIS+ Technology in the G3, which sees a 20% improvement in stability from the G2, again allows the G3 to take almost instant shots which are in focus.

Secondly, LG has addressed the world-wide ‘Selfie’ trend. People are doing it, so why not embrace it? The LG G3 has upped the amount of lenses on the front-facing camera to improve the quality of shots taken. They’ve also included a gesture in the UI to help you take a selfie, simply raise your hand in front of your camera and the camera starts to countdown, allowing you time to get ready to take the shot.

LG has also focused more on Video with the G3, the G3 offers full QHD video capture as well as improved sound quality. More microphones on the handset allows the G3 to automatically choose the best audio setting from the surroundings while filming, giving better overall sound in your films.

Design

LG has certainly been learning from design on the G3, improving on the G2 which already sat well in the hand. LG has again taken a three-step approach to explaining the design of the G3, which they say not only looks great, but feels great in the hand.

The front of the G3, offers a sleek modern design which suggests style rather than shout ostentatious oppulence. A minimal front which is mostly screen offers a small flash of colour which catches the eye. LG has also tuned the UI on the G3 to take advantage of this understated look. The wallpapers included are tuned to compliment the new colours available on the G3 – Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet, Burgundy Red.

Simple being the new smart is also their motto with their Graphical User Interface. By minimising ornamentation such as shadow and emboss, LG has worked to create an over all simpler flatter UI to help users concentrate on content. They’ve based their new design around a circle motif which comes from the LG logo. The Circle is show across their overall iconogrpahy throughout the interface to create a unique look.

LG has avoided ‘immature’ primary colours throughout their UI to achieve a toned down look. They assigned eac app has it’s own tuned colour scheme to allow users to automatically see which app they are using, to avoid them getting ‘lost’.

They’ve also added flat animations to switch and ‘slide’ (transititon) between screens and apps. Overall it strips out the unnecessary to leave the user with an improved user interface.

LG has also taken great pains to make a 5.5″ smartphone comfortable to hold. They’ve used of a metallic skin, which gives a premium ‘sophisticated’ look and feel, but the matte finish helps it stay clean and fingerprint free.

They’ve redesigned the signature rear key layout, first introduced in the G2. The height and angle of the power key have been optimised the height of the power and volume keys, as well as improving the materials and textures used to offer a more intuitive layout.

All this adds up to LG has designed the G3 to be ‘Simply Stylish’.

Andrew Coughlin, Head of Mobile – UK and Ireland took over to talk about the User Experience. Three (gasp) new user experiences which have been introduced into the G3 to simplify your life.

LG has introduced adaptive technology to make Life not only Good, but simple- Smart Keyboard, Smart Notice and Smart Security.

Smart Keyboard

LG has taken notice of the most used feature on a smartphone – the Keyboard. LG has introduced the Smart Keyboard. The smart keyboard offers improved user control, aiming at improving the overall speed at which users can type. Using natural typing posture, the users thumbs remain in the typing area, word suggestions appear above the keyboard and you swipe up with right or left thumb to choose one. Correcting typos on the keyboard are selected using the space bar by either long pressing to select or swiping to move along.

The keyboard can also be customised, you can change the height of the keyboard, as well as the symbols on the bottom of the keyboard. There is also improved accuracy in the keyboard.

Smart Notice

Smart Notice is like a personal assistant, it actually learns from your behaviour, analysing your phone usage and location patterns to help you in your day to day life – at the right time.

Smart Notice will allow you to reply to a missed call in a meeting with a text message, but will notify you later that you haven’t called that person back yet. Also offering to add that person who called to your contacts if they’re not already in there.

Installing massive amounts of apps, which you use once and never use again is an issue, and Smart Notice will remember these and suggest you remove these. It also notes large files stored on the phone and recommends you remove them if they are unused.

Battery life is also a concern with smartphone and the G3 will prompt you to through Smart Notice to put the phone into battery saving mode.

Finally, there’s a component which will take notice of changes in the weather in your current location and prompt you to take appropriate steps – It starts raining outside and the G3 will prompt you to take an umbrella.

Smart Security

LG is concentrating on security on smartphones if your phone is lost or stolen. According to research, 62% of people have had their smartphone lost or stolen, with a third of those experiencing identity theft. To address these concerns, LG is introducing Smart Security, which offers three ways to generate peace of mind – Knock Code, Content Lock and Kill Switch.

Firstly, Knock Code, which is already rolling out onto various LG models, including their L-Series handsets, offers the ability to set a code using 3-8 taps based in four quadrants on the screen to unlock your phone. Combines wake-up and unlock in one-step using just one hand if you want. Knock Code offers up to 80,000 possible combinations and leaves no swipe patterns on the screen. Knock-on (double-tap to wake) wakes the phone so you can see notifications, and Knock Code will then open the phone.

Content Lock is used to lock files on your phone using 128-bit encryption, to lock your files away if you ever loan your phone to someone to use. Even if they connect the phone to a PC, the files remain locked. This Content lock applies to files stored on the phone storage as well as on the microSD card.

Finally, LG has introduced a Kill Switch to the LG G3. If your phone is ever lost or stolen you can disable your phone remotely, including the ability to wipe your phone. The Phone also comes with anti-virus as part of the Kill Switch security.

Overall, LG has made the G3 – Simply Safer

Accessories

LG will be offering a range of accessories with the LG G3, starting with the QuickCircle case, shown off the other day. The QuickCircle case makes accesing your texts, calls, music camera and more without opening the cover, simple. The Case will be offered in Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Aqua Mint, Indian Pink.

The G3 will also support Qi Wireless charging and LG will be offering a ‘compact and foldable’ wireless charger. The Qi charging is also available if the QuickCircle case is fitted to the phone.

Finally, the G3 will definitely be compatible with the G-Watch when it’s released.

The LG G3 will go on-sale in South Korea today, and roll out worldwide to over 170 carriers. We will be getting further local launch information as soon as possible and will let you know any details for Australia as soon as possible.

QuadHD Screen, Laser Auto-focus, Design, Flatter UI, Security. Does all this add up to the G3 being your next phone?