The new LG G6 Phone is overall a beautifully designed phone. It feels slick and smooth and it is definitely worth considering if you are looking to upgrade your current phone as it is cheaper than the Galaxy S8. LG has done a superb job and it is definitely better than the LG G5.
I am a fan of removable batteries though (which is a feature of the LG G5) and find it a shame that all companies have moved away from this. There are many benefits for having a battery that can be taken out and replaced.
Design
The LG G6 has a very stylish and sleek design and I think that it is their best looking phone to date. It is covered with a combination of metal and glass. The fingerprint sensor is built into the back of the phone. That is different from all other models and does require a bit of time to get used to. But once you are it becomes second nature to unlock the phone using the sensor on the back.
The sharp, 5.7-inch screen is clear and easy on the eyes. The screen resolution of the LG G6 is 2880 x 1440, and even though it isn’t AMOLED, it delivers vivid colours as well as deep blacks. It’s the first phone with Dolby Vision support and it is HDR10-enabled too.The LG G6 also has an impressively thin bezel all around the screen. The LG G6 is unique in that it has an 18:9 aspect ratio (basically 2:1), and with the exception of the Galaxy S8, most phones are 16:9. It is a tall phone but very comfortable to hold and use.
The LG G6 is also dust and water resistant. I love this feature as there is no fear pulling out the phone and using it to respond to email or take photos when it is raining outside – which I have done without issue many times in the past month. It’s rated IP68, so you can dunk it in up to 4.9 feet of water (about 1.5 meters) for up to 30 minutes. This means that if you accidentally spill something on the LG G6 it won’t stop working. This is part of the reason that you cannot remove the battery. Water proofing a phone and having a removable battery don’t work well together.
Battery
The LG G6 does have improved battery power over the LG G5 (from 2,800mAh in the G5 to 3,300mAh in the LG G6). I can easily use the phone the entire day – checking emails, social media feeds, etc and have plenty of battery power to spare. I even used the phone at a conference where I was on wifi and taking photos all day long and I had no problem with battery life. Many other people around me had to stop and charge or top up their phones throughout the day. I had even brought portable battery chargers with me just in case and I didn’t use one once.
Software
The LG G6 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processing platform which is last year’s chip model. Most phones are now using Qualcomm’s newest 835 chip. That to me is a bit of a con when comparing to newer models but overall the phone runs well and still performs to my expectations. Unless you want to be on the absolute cutting edge of technology, the idea of using a phone with “last year’s” processor is not a huge deal. The advantages of the 835 aren’t that dramatic on paper. In the real world, the usual differences between one super fast processor and another on a phone are hardly discernible for most users. Apps are quick to launch, there were no performance issues with the camera, and I did not notice anything lagging during my month using the phone.
The LG G6 comes with Android’s latest, 7 Nougat. I love the new features of 7 Nougat, including being able to ditch the apps tray, and a quick swipe down from the home screen brings a clever iOS-like universal search. The LG G6 also does not come with a lot of bloatware like many other phones do. It has a a few built in LG apps but not nearly as many as other phones. I love that about LG.
Camera
The camera is one of the most important features of a cell phone for me. I use the camera a lot – for social media posts, business use and for capturing memories. I love that the LG G6 has a normal camera plus a wide angle camera. They are both 13 MP which is great!! I have included an example below taking the same photo with the normal camera and then with the wide angle camera. The colors are bright and vivid. I find the camera on the LG G6 to be one of the best that I have used to date.
The main image sensor packs optical image stabilization, with a faster f/1.8 aperture. The other wide-angle sensor is f/2.4 but lacks the same stabilizer as the normal camera. That means that images taken with the wide angle can come out less sharp.
There is a 5 megapixel camera for selfies which is pretty standard. 4K video recording is also supported in the LG G6.
Square Camera
This is the Instagram friendly camera support. I love this feature!! My favorite is the large preview, where you can take pictures on one side and have the full-screen previews alongside, which you can scroll through while still snapping shots. There is also a feature which lets you build square photos with 4 shots. (I have included a few examples below.)
Key Features of the LG G6
- 18:9 quad-HD display
- HDR10 and Dolby Vision
- Android 7.0
- 2 x 13-megapixel rear cameras
- Very thin bezel
- Snapdragon 821, 4GB RAM
- 32GB storage, microSD with the up-to-2TB expansion option
- 3,300mAh battery, USB-C
Overall
I think that the LG G6 is the best flagship phone that LG has produced to date. I loved using the LG G6 and consider it to be one of the best phones on the market! I would recommend it for its overall elegance, ease of use, and price. This phone is a winner in my books! If you are looking to upgrade your phone this year, then the LG G6 is a smart choice! I secretly wish I could keep it. 🙂
I received an LG G6 reviewer model on loan from LG for this review. Good or bad, my reviews are honest with my readers best interest in mind. I am not compensated for my reviews.
I bought the G6 around a fortnight ago but is still testing it out. It definitely has a much more solid build than predecessors, and the audio quality via headphones is great! Camera requires a bit more manual tweaking to get the best results, though. Have to get used to that.