LG caused a collective jaw drop last year when it announced that its new flagship phone will have a massive, incredibly sharp screen - 5.5" at QHD. It kept those measurements for 2015 (there's really no sane way to increase them further) and worked hard to improve the image quality.
The new Quantum Display is similar to Sony's Triluminos display, both companies competing in the TV panel business. LG turned to DCI (which normally works with TV studios) to calibrate the LG G4 display, achieving 98% coverage of the DCI standard, which means accurate colors with no oversaturation.
If anything, lack of saturation was the problem with LG G3's screen, colors looked dull in comparison. The other major issue was the contrast, which was quite low.
The Quantum Display fixes both of those niggles. Colors are vivid (but not oversaturated) and viewing angles are perfect. The display is marginally dimmer (hard to notice without measurement equipment), but black levels went down which pushed contrast way up.
Display test
50% brightness
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
LG G4
0.09
108
1240
0.43
532
1238
LG G3
0.14
109
763
0.72
570
789
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
0.17
208
1197
0.52
705
1361
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
0
291
∞
0
399
∞
OnePlus One
0.39
317
805
0.75
598
799
LG G Flex2
0
152
∞
0
398
∞
Motorola Nexus 6
0
149
∞
0
372
∞
We have one complaint here - the brightness slider isn't smooth, at 50% it's barely 110nit, which is too dim for daily use. Going lower than 50% is as good as switching off the screen.
While brightness is basically the same, the new screen is less reflective, which improved sunlight legibility enough to match the HTC One M9. It's pretty far from other current flagships though
Sunlight contrast ratio
Nokia 808 PureView 4.698
Samsung Galaxy E7 4.485
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
Samsung Galaxy S6 4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4.033
Apple iPhone 5 3.997
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 3.997
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Apple iPhone 6 3.838
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 3.799
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Oppo R5 3.678
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 3.675
Nokia Lumia 930 3.567
Apple iPhone 5s 3.565
Samsung Galaxy S5 3.549
Nokia Lumia 735 3.547
Motorola Nexus 6 3.543
Alcatel Idol X+ 3.527
Apple iPhone 5c 3.512
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 3.509
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 3.487
LG G Flex2 3.465
YotaPhone 2 3.453
Motorola RAZR MAXX 3.42
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 3.419
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 3.406
Nokia Lumia 925 3.402
Gionee Elife S5.5 3.386
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 3.352
Samsung Omnia W 3.301
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 3.174
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S 3.155
Samsung Ativ S 3.129
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 3.127
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 3.118
Nokia N9 3.069
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 3.023
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Samsung Galaxy Premier 2.958
Sony Xperia Z1 2.95
HTC One S 2.901
Lenovo S90 Sisley 2.892
Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express 2.861
BlackBerry Q10 2.856
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 2.832
HTC Desire Eye 2.815
Gionee Elife S5.1 2.812
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus 2.801
BlackBerry Z30 2.79
Meizu MX4 Pro 2.765
Sony Xperia ZR 2.672
Huawei Ascend P1 2.655
Sony Xperia Z3 2.618
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 2.616
Sony Xperia T3 2.609
BlackBerry Passport 2.595
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Nokia Lumia 900 2.562
Motorola Moto G 4G 2.546
HTC One Max 2.537
Nokia Lumia 720 2.512
HTC One 2.504
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
Motorola Moto G 2.477
vivo Xshot 2.465
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Xiaomi Mi 4 2.424
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 2.422
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 2.416
LG G Flex 2.407
HTC Desire 820 2.372
HTC One (M8) 2.371
Meizu MX4 2.366
Motorola RAZR i 2.366
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Sony Xperia ZL 2.352
HTC One M9 2.334
LG G4 2.317
HTC One (M8) for Windows 2.291
Oppo Find 7a 2.279
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 2.262
Nokia Asha 311 2.25
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Nokia Lumia 820 2.193
HTC One (E8) 2.185
Oppo N3 2.181
Nokia Lumia 920 2.17
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
HTC One X 2.158
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 2.149
LG Aka 2.145
Nokia N8 2.144
Nokia Lumia 620 2.142
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
Nokia 515 2.134
HTC Desire 500 2.129
Sony Xperia C3 Dual 2.12
Sony Xperia acro S 2.119
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Nokia Lumia 1020 2.103
Oppo Find 5 2.088
Sony Xperia SL 2.078
Nokia Lumia 630 2.056
BlackBerry Z10 2.051
Huawei Ascend Mate7 2.024
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 2.022
Apple iPhone 4 2.016
HTC One mini 2.003
Xiaomi Mi 3 2.001
Huawei Ascend P7 1.992
LG G2 1.976
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Oppo R819 1.957
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray 1.955
Lenovo Vibe X2 1.952
Sony Xperia Z2 1.944
Sony Xperia E3 1.943
Nokia Lumia 1320 1.941
HTC One mini 2 1.94
Samsung Galaxy Camera 1.938
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 1.935
Sony Xperia J 1.932
Acer CloudMobile S500 1.931
ZTE Blade S6 1.927
LG Nexus 4 1.926
LG G Pro 2 1.922
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 1.913
Nokia Asha 308 1.911
HTC Butterfly 2 1.905
Sony Xperia T 1.894
Nokia Lumia 830 1.887
HTC Desire X 1.878
HTC Windows Phone 8X 1.873
HTC Butterfly 1.873
HTC Butterfly S 1.867
Huawei Ascend P6 1.865
Huawei Ascend Mate 1.845
LG G2 mini 1.838
LG G3 1.82
Nokia Lumia 1520 1.813
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 1.797
Sony Xperia V 1.792
HTC Desire 816 1.783
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 1.772
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 1.769
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Meizu MX3 1.754
LG Optimus G 1.753
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 1.74
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact 1.735
Acer Liquid Jade S 1.734
Sony Xperia SP 1.733
LG Optimus 4X HD 1.691
Oppo Find 7 1.691
HTC One V 1.685
BlackBerry Q5 1.682
LG Optimus Vu 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 1.672
LG Optimus GJ 1.666
LG Optimus 3D Max 1.658
HTC Desire V 1.646
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 1.632
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 1.622
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 1.578
Sony Xperia go 1.577
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160 1.566
Samsung Galaxy Core 1.563
LG Optimus G Pro 1.552
Motorola Moto E 1.545
LG Optimus 3D 1.542
Nokia Asha 302 1.537
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime 1.507
BlackBerry Curve 9320 1.488
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Oppo N1 1.47
Sony Xperia E4 1.467
Meizu MX 4-core 1.462
Nokia Lumia 610 1.432
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 1.4
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 1.393
Sony Xperia M2 1.393
Microsoft Lumia 535 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 1.38
Sony Xperia E1 1.372
Nokia Lumia 625 1.371
Gigabyte GSmart G1355 1.361
Sony Xperia L 1.351
Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 1.35
Xiaomi Redmi 1S 1.35
HTC Desire 510 1.34
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua 1.331
Sony Xperia miro 1.324
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand 1.321
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 1.315
Xiaomi Redmi 2 1.311
HTC Desire C 1.3
Nokia X 1.291
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Nokia Asha 503 1.281
Nokia Asha 501 1.27
LG Optimus L7 1.269
Nokia Lumia 510 1.268
Samsung Galaxy Fame 1.245
LG Optimus L9 1.227
Meizu MX 1.221
Samsung Galaxy Young 1.22
Sony Xperia E 1.215
Nokia XL 1.204
Sony Xperia E dual 1.203
Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C 1.198
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 1.18
Nokia Asha 305 1.178
Nokia Asha 306 1.175
Sony Xperia neo L 1.169
Sony Xperia tipo 1.166
Nokia Lumia 520 1.161
Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos 1.148
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 1.114
Connectivity
The LG G4 comes with the full connectivity suite. It has 4G LTE for up to 300Mbps of download and up to 50Mbps of upload and 3G HSPA+ (42.2Mbps/5.76Mbps) when you're outside of 4G coverage.
Wi-Fi 802.11ac is no surprise, you can use the latest Wi-Fi routers at home at either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. There's also Bluetooth 4.1 with Low Energy mode and apt-X for better audio streaming.
NFC is on board as well. For file sharing you can use ShareBeam, which is LG's take on Android Beam.
For wireless multimedia streaming there's DLNA and Miracast (which can mirror your phone's screen). There's also the wired option with SlimPort 4K, which lives in the microUSB 2.0 port.
For old-school TVs you can use the IR blaster and QRemote. The app can also control audio equipment, projectors and air conditioners.
Battery life
The LG G4 comes with a 3,000mAh battery - the same capacity as the G3 and the G2 before it. The G2 was a battery life king, but the G3 was quite average. Our tests show that the LG G4 also fails to recoup the G-series former glory.
The Endurance rating worked out to 54 hours, 9 hours less than the G3. The issue was with the high standby power draw, which puts a strain on the battery even when you're not using the phone. The other disappointment was the talk time, which couldn't reach 17 hours - an 8 hour drop from the G3.
We reran the tests several times and kept getting the same results. The LG G Flex2 got basically the same results so we wonder how much responsibility Qualcomm shoulders for the lackluster battery life.
Anyway, the web browsing time was pretty good - nothing spectacular, but good. It also marks the only improvement since the G3 as the video playback is below average for the flagship class.
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