LG Electronics unveiled its new G4 flagship smartphone at simultaneous events in New York, London, Paris and Seoul. The phone comes barely a year after the G3, which sold better than expected.
The G4 will go on sale first in South Korea, LG's home market, on 29 April. It's expected to reach Europe late in May, selling for a recommended price of EUR 649 and in a choice of metal grey, white and gold colours. Versions with black or brown leather on the back will sell for more, at EUR 699, and come with an alternate metallic back cover. Pre-orders start 28 April and include a free 64 GB memory card.
The G4 comes with a 5.5-inch Quad HD IPS Display (2560 x 1440, 538ppi) from LG Display, 32GB storage and 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM, plus a microSD card slot. It runs Android 5.1, the new UX 4.0 user interface, a 3,000 mAh removable battery and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor and X10 LTE modem. According to LG, the phone can run 20 percent longer than the G3 on the same battery thanks to the energy-efficient Qualcomm processor.
The G4 features a 16 megapixel back camera with the earlier announced f/1.8 aperture lens to allow in 80 percent more light to the sensor and improve photos in low light. It also offers optical image stabilisation and Laser Auto Focus, plus complete manual controls for focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance.
LG said the G4 is also the first phone with a Color Spectrum Sensor (CSS), to improve colour accuracy. On the front, it has an 8 megapixel camera. In addition, the Gesture Interval Shot feature, activated by opening and closing a hand in front of the camera, takes four photos at intervals of two seconds to help get the best shot.
LG announced a number of partnerships to enhance services over the G4. This includes pre-installed Google Office and 100GB free on Google Drive for two years. Users with a Volkswagen can use the MirrorLink function to display the G4 interface in-car and access features such as music and navigation.
