LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF) has officially unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the G3, in London at an event. The new 5.5-inch handset is the first one in the mainstream to feature a quad HD display.
Does the LG G3’s new display matter?
The display features a 538 ppi pixel density, which many will say really makes no difference because the human eye supposedly isn’t able to see anything better than a pixel density of 300 ppi on a smartphone. But don’t tell LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF) executives that, as they insist that it is possible to see the difference. The LG G3 has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440.
LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF) has also significantly improved the battery life for the G3 in order to compensate for the display, as increasing the pixel density means that the smartphone uses more power. The company said the handset is designed to make the most of the 3,000 mAh battery. One of the ways it does this is by not using extra energy when showing a still image. This involves adapting the frame rates on the handset. The battery is easily removable by the user and features support for optional wireless charging, which is available with a different back panel.
Other features of the G3
The smartphone also features a 13-megapixel camera with OIS+ and laser autofocus. LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF) said the upgraded autofocus feature functions in a manner that’s like the radar guns police use to catch speeder. It’s designed to reduce how much time is needed to focus. There’s also a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera with a bigger image sensor than the previous versions.
The LG G3 runs on a Snapdragon 801 chip and a 2.5 GHz quad-core Krait 400 processor with an Adreno 330 GPU. The 16-gig version of the handset has 2 GB of RAM, and the 32 GB has 3 GB of RAM. Both of them will have microSD slots which support cards of up to 128 GB in size. The handset also features Bluetooth 4.0, an IR blaster, near-field communication and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac.
The G3 also features something called Smart Notices, which is a sort of personal assistant, although it operates differently than Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Siri and similar features on competing smartphones. It uses natural language to speak to the user like a person, for example, saying things like, “You might want to take an umbrella today since it will rain this evening.”
LG amps up security in the G3
One of the more interesting features of LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF)’s G3 handset is the use of a Knock Code. This enables users to use a series of taps to unlock their smartphone. The company has also included a Content Lock, which locks down some of the owner’s files so that friends can’t access them when looking at the smartphone.
LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF) also included a Kill Switch so that owners can wipe the phone remotely if it is lost or stolen.
The G3’s design features
LG Electronics Inc. (KRX:066570) (OTCMKTS:LGEAF) made the G3 from polycarbonate and then finished it with a coating layer that makes it look like metal. The company chose not to make the casing from metal because of potential weight concerns. The handset weighs 150 grams, which is considered a good weight because of the large size of the handset. Having a metal casing would have significantly added to the weight of the G3.
The handset is scratch and fingerprint resistant, although it isn’t waterproof.
