LG G3 review: Dream catcher

Display

The display of the LG G3 is by far its most notable feature. It is of the True HD-IPS+ LCD variety, with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and a 5.5-inch diagonal. This results in a pixel density of around 534ppi.

It's the same type of panel as found on the LG G2, and has the same great colors and good viewing angles.

LG G3's QHD display

The level of detail is obviously much better than that found on 1080p displays, but you probably won't notice it if you are simply browsing the UI. It's more apparent in the gallery and while watching videos than throughout the interface.

Contrast is another story, however, as the G3 is markedly worse than its predecessor both at 50% and 100% brightness. At 100% brightness the black luminance is among the highest we've seen, while the whites are markedly dimmer than on the G2. Here's how it stacks up to other top flagships:

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
LG G3	0.14	109	763	0.72	570	789
Sony Xperia Z2	-	-	-	0.41	488	1195
Sony Xperia Z1	-	-	-	0.38	580	1513
Sony Xperia Z	-	-	-	0.70	492	705
Oppo Find 7a	0.33	280	842	0.68	580	852
Samsung Galaxy S5	0	274	∞	0	529	∞
Samsung Galaxy S4	0	201	∞	0	404	∞
HTC One (M8)	0.20	245	1219	0.46	577	1256
LG G2	0.10	149	1522	0.45	667	1495
HTC Butterfly S	0.15	165	1117	0.43	451	1044
Apple iPhone 5	0.13	200	1490	0.48	640	1320

The LG G3 has a very reflective screen, and the resulting sunlight contrast ratio suffers. Nevertheless, the 1440p display is readable in strong sunlight, even if doing so isn't the greatest experience.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  3.997
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  3.549
• 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
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2.950
• HTC One S
  2.901
• BlackBerry Q10
  2.856
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  2.832
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• BlackBerry Z30
  2.790
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• HTC One Max
  2.537
• Nokia Lumia 720
  2.512
• HTC One
  2.504
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• HTC One (M8)
  2.371
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• Oppo Find 7a
  2.279
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  2.262
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• 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
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1.944
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• LG G Pro 2
  1.922
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• Huawei Ascend P6
  1.865
• LG G3
  1.820
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Meizu MX3
  1.754
• Sony Xperia T2 Ultra
  1.740
• 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
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  1.622
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  1.578
• Samsung Galaxy Core
  1.563
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Samsung Galaxy Core LTE
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo
  1.393
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• Samsung Galaxy Grand
  1.321
• 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

Battery life

The LG G3 is powered by a robust 3,000mAh battery, which in most cases would be ample, but in this case is almost mandatory considering the amount of pixels the device has to push out. We noticed that during periods of high exertion the device will adjust to lower maximum brightness levels, either to conserve battery or lower heat dissipation.

The G3 performed very well when it came to 3G talk time and standby, making up for the somewhat low numbers achieved when the display is on - ie. videos and web browsing.

Update: we retested the battery life after the LG G3 was updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop. We wrote a blog post on how Lollipop affected its battery life and that of some other flagships.

Connectivity

The LG G3 has quad-band 2G/EDGE support, quad-band 3G with HSPA+ (up to 42Mbps downlink) for the international version and tri-band LTE support too, depending on the model (the CDMA version also comes with LTE connectivity).

Local connectivity includes dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac (that's both 2.4GHz and 5Ghz), Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA. There is also stereo Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS.

The handset has a standard 3.5mm audio jack and an Slimport-enabled microUSB port, meaning you can use it to output content to an external screen with an appropriate adapter. The microUSB port can also be used in a USB host mode letting you connect various USB peripherals, but again you'll need a separately-sold adapter.

NFC connectivity lets you transfer files between other NFC-enabled Android devices via Android Beam, and you can also read NFC tags. Oddly, an NFC Tag manager is not included as part of the standard app package, so you'll have to download one from the Play Store if you want that functionality.

Otherwise, there's also support for Miracast streaming for compatible televisions, while SmartShare Beam lets you send and receive files to other LG devices over Wi-Fi.

Finally, the IR-port on the top of the device lets you control a wide variety of electronics and appliances via the QRemote app. QRemote has seen a wide range of improvements over its initial iteration on the G2, and now features a much larger database of TV sets, set-top boxes, and audio receivers than before. Even better, it gives you the ability to create a universal remote, complete with button mapping.

The updated QRemote app