LG G2 review: Beautiful monster

Handling the LG G2

The LG G2 is a solidly built smartphone with a practical design and innovative placement of the hardware controls. It has good looks, though its rear pattern is quite similar to its major rival - the Galaxy S4. One-hand operation with the device is surprisingly possible thanks to the key on the back and the one-hand keyboards LG has provided. Pocketing isn't a problem either, the LG G2 has its slim profile that will fit in almost any pocket or purse.

Handling the LG G2

Display

The eye-catching 5.2" True HD IPS Plus display of Full HD resolution is definitely one of the LG G2's key selling points. LG is keen on making lots of noise about how the colors are rendered, pitting it against Samsung's AMOLED displays. Long story short, LG claims the G2's display shows 100% accurate colors, unlike AMOLED screens.

Here's what the screen looks like through the eye of our digital microscope:

LG G2 display under a microscope

Of course, we took it for a test drive ourselves and we can safely confirm that the images indeed look great and colors pop, especially the reds. The display is impressively sharp too, thanks to the amazing pixel density of 424ppi.

So, the screen junkies that we are, we decided to take out the Galaxy S4 and put its Super AMOLED 1080p screen next to the True HD-IPS+ 1080p LCD of the G2. The direct comparison showed that the Galaxy S4 has better contrast and juicy, oversaturated colors (which is plus or a minus, depending on who you ask).

LG G2 and Samsung Galaxy S4 displays

LG has done great in minimizing the screen's overall reflectiveness and we are glad to share that unlike the Optimus G Pro, the G2 True HD IPS Plus display is quite unreflective when it's on. There is some contrast loss when you are viewing the screen at an angle, but it's minor and won't take away from the otherwise great picture quality.

We also compared the G2 screen to the Optimus G Pro's, which theoretically uses the same technology. The Optimus G Pro's screen has about the same level of contrast, but it is a bit more reflective and as a result its sunlight legibility is worse.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
LG G2	0.10	149	1522	0.45	667	1495
LG Optimus G Pro	-	-	-	0.41	611	1489
LG Optimus G	0.14	197	1445	0.33	417	1438
Sony Xperia Z Ultra	-	-	-	0.47	467	1001
Sony Xperia Z	-	-	-	0.70	492	705
Huawei Ascend Mate	0.23	222	982	0.67	711	1053
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3	0.12	160	1364	0.32	440	1379
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4	0	201	∞	0	404	∞
HTC Butterfly S	0.15	165	1117	0.43	451	1044
HTC Butterfly	0.14	173	1200	0.45	501	1104
HTC One	0.13	205	1580	0.42	647	1541
Oppo Find 5	0.17	176	1123	0.51	565	1107
Apple iPhone 5	0.13	200	1490	0.48	640	1320

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  3.419
• Nokia Lumia 925
  3.402
• Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
  3.352
• Samsung Omnia W
  3.301
• Samsung Galaxy S
  3.155
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  3.127
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  3.118
• Nokia N9
  3.069
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.970
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  2.832
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• Nokia Lumia 720
  2.512
• HTC One
  2.504
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  2.262
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Nokia N8
  2.144
• Oppo Find 5
  2.088
• BlackBerry Z10
  2.051
• Apple iPhone 4
  2.016
• HTC One mini
  2.003
• LG G2
  1.976
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
  1.955
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• Huawei Ascend P6
  1.865
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  1.691
• HTC One V
  1.685
• BlackBerry Q5
  1.682
• LG Optimus Vu
  1.680
• LG Optimus GJ
  1.666
• HTC Desire V
  1.646
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  1.578
• Samsung Galaxy Core
  1.563
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• HTC Desire C
  1.300
• Nokia Asha 501
  1.270
• LG Optimus L7
  1.269
• LG Optimus L9
  1.227
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E dual
  1.203
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  1.180
• Sony Xperia tipo
  1.166
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114

LG G2 flip covers

LG will be also offering the cool QuickWindow flip covers, but unlike the Galaxy S4 S Cover, those will wrap around the back instead of replacing it. This is because the LG G2 uses unibody construction and you can't really remove the back cover.

LG G2 flip cover

As the name suggests, QuickWindow covers feature a small windows that the G2 nicely utilizes turning it in a "mini phone" within the bigger phone. You can make calls, use the music player, read your messages, check the notifications, all without having to open the cover. LG has also pre-bundled lots of fancy clock skins.

LG G2 flip cover