LG G4 officially announced with premium leather design and powerful internals

Today the LG G4 was officially unveiled, nearly a year after the company announced their first QHD smartphone, the LG G3. The newest flagship hopes to content with the latest lineup of competitors with a premium leather design and powerful internals along with a brand new interface.

Design

The LG G4 has dimensions of 148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3mm (in the thinnest spot) - 9.8 mm (in the thickest spot) and weighs 5.46oz (155g). Its body also exhibits a slight curvature along its height, which leads to an improved grip and somewhat better ergonomics. The back panel has seen a substantial makeover, as LG exchanged the smooth matte plastic of its predecessor for either a diamond-shaped pattern, or a genuine leather finish, complete with actual stitching.

The LG G4 is clearly an evolution of the LG G3 design. Its not "radically different" like the LG executives promised, but it is slightly bigger and edgier than the considerably rounder LG G3. LG opposed the modern smartphone glass & metal design by opting for an "analogue feel", which gives the smartphone a deliberate retro-chic character. While not everyone will be taken by the design of the LG G4, the design is still a premium and aesthetically pleasing one. Many users will also appreciate the microSD slot and removable back panel, which still turn slim metal phones into non-sellers for some.

Display

The new LG flagship comes with a 5.5 inch LCD display which has a Quad HD (1440 x 2560-pixel) resolution and a 538ppi pixel density. LG boasts a considerable improvements in color gamut, brightness, contrast ratio, touch function, power consumption, and thinness. On paper, this translates to 120% color gamut, a 50% higher contrast ratio (supposedly, from earlier model), and a 30% increase in brightness. LG claims its newest display has a 25 percent improvement in brightness and 50% improvement in contrast over the LG G3.

Camera

The LG G4 comes with a 16MP camera built by the company, which has a wide f/1.8 aperture. According to LG the new camera module can receive 80% more light than its predecessor, allowing it to take high quality photos in low light scenarios, as well as when capturing moving subjects. Meanwhile, the OIS module seeds the addition of a third axis, while the range of image stabilization has been expanded from one to two degrees on the X and Y axis. 

There's also the addition of Color Spectrum Sensors - LG claims it's the first of its kind in a smartphone. CSS improves color accuracy by precisely reading the RGB values of the ambient light in a scene, as well as the infrared light reflected from objects. CSS uses this information to adjust the camera’s white balance and flash color to create images that are as close to what one would see with the naked eye.

LG has also outfitted their new flagship with an 8MP front facing camera in response to selfies taking over the human society. Thanks to an "ultra-thin IR filter" that prevents infrared light from sneaking into the camera lens, the new 8 MP front cam should give those selfies more natural and accurate colors.

The camera app has also received a major update, giving photo enthusiast full control over the images they capture. Besides the automatic mode, you get simple, basic, and manual control modes that offer complete creative control and storing of images in RAW format, among other advanced photography features.

Processor and Hardware

For the LG G4, the company has chosen Qualcomm's hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, instead of opting for the octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor found no HTC's flagship. The Snapdragon 808 is a 64-bit, six-core (4+2) processor, with four ARM Cortex-A53 and two ARM Cortex-A57 cores which work together with the Adreno 418 graphics chip and 3GB of RAM. While the Snapdragon 808 may not be as powerful as the Snapdragon 810, it should be capable of running Lollipop and all the applications you throw at it with ease.

The handset packs a 3000mAh removable battery, which LG promises will last a full day of normal use. Since each individual's definition of a normal's days's use may differ from the other, we will have to wait for a hands on test with the device when it is released.


Software

The LG G4 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, with the company's LG UX 4.0, a colorful experience styled after the LG G3's simple, straightforward UI. LG kept what was great about the UI, and expanded its concepts with new shortcuts and features . Quick Shot lets you take pictures quickly by double-tapping the rear key, even if the display is off. Smart Bulletin can now aggregate information from multiple apps. Think of it as a blend between Google Now and the Android 5.0 recent apps menu.

Pricing and Availability

LG itself hasn't formally announced price and release date information, but the LG G4 is expected to arrive in South Korea by the end of May/early June. Its global launch campaign is set to include as many as 170 countries. In the US, the handset will be offered through Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular, while retailers like Amazon and Best Buy are also expected to offer the LG G4.

The LG G4's base variant will be sold in Ceramic White with 3D patterns, Metallic Gray, and Gold. The leather variants will be available in six colors.