At MWC 2017 Coolsmartpone was given early access to a First Look LG G6. LG’s new flagship is quite a looker, so here is a bit of an in-depth hands on with one of the most anticipated flagships of 2017.
We should make it clear at this point: the device we are looking at is not the final product which is in production now. This is a pre-release First Look device where most features will be the same but may vary from region to region.
LG G6 Specifications
- 5.7″ 18:9 (2:1) 1440×2880 display with Dolby Vision and HDR10
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 CPU
- Adreno 530 GPU
- 32/64GB internal memory with 4GB RAM
- MicroSD expansion which supports cards slot up to 256GB
- Dual 13MP camera with OIS, phase detection autofocus, dual LED flash
- 5MP selfie camera
- WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB Type-C
- Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor
- IP68 water and dust resistance
On paper the specs of this device make it look like a solid contender in the flagship market of 2017, but as we all know there is more to a device than the pure sum of its specifications.
When you pick up the First Look LG G6 you realise the device is surprisingly easy to hold despite having a 5.7″ display. That’s because of the new 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio LG have gone with and a very new approach to the industrial design of the device.
Essentially you end up getting a 5.7″ display smartphone with the ergonomics of the majority of 5.2″ devices on the market today. In my view, this is impressive.
The sides of the LG G6 are metal and have a reassuring inwards angle to them orientated towards the display. The back of the device, covered with curved glass, is almost imperceptibly wider than the front and the angle of the metal sides makes for a reassuring feeling when holding the G6. The front of the device is flat with the metal sides creating a very slight lip all round it. This lip is also barely noticeable, but the design makes the LG G6 easier to hold and gives a reassuring feeling of grip.
The LG G6 display itself is, as we’ve said, a 5.7″ 1440×2880 panel with rounded corners. The 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio is a bold choice from LG: they seem to be first to market with a display which is a departure from the industry standard 16:9, and have done a good job communicating why they are doing this. The display is clear and crisp, with good brightness and sunlight legibility. The panel itself is an IPS LCD one, which has punchy colours. On the black First Look G6 model Coolsmartphone were provided with the colour saturation looks excellent, and those rounded corners are definitely an attractive feature.
The bottom of the device is home to the Type-C data and charging port, microphone and the speaker. The speaker has good bass and is pleasant to use in the Coolsmartphone test: in an AirBnB bedroom or in a camper van it gives good overall sound and performs admirably while playing BBC From Our Own Correspondent.
The overall form factor of the LG G6 is impressive when you consider that the screen is a 5.7″ one. Placed next to a standard 5.5″ device it isn’t as wide and it is actually shorter. This makes holding the device and using it one-handed a pleasure. LG’s Android distribution is pretty close to Google experience Android, and launches with Google Assistant out of the box. On the day of the announcement of he LG G6 this was a first for Google Assistant on devices other than the Pixel, but since then we have discovered Google is rolling out Assistant to most Android 6 and 7 devices.
The dual camera setup on the back produces clear crisp images, even in low light. The wide-angle lens is a very cool feature, and particularly useful when framing some shots. Leigh and I covered the LG G6 launch in Barcelona shooting with the G6 and considered the shots to be good.
We know this is a First Look device, and look forward to bringing you a full review of LG’s new flagship in the coming weeks.