LG G2: outside and inside the new Korean flagship
LG smartphones have always been something of parallel reality for me. Like the famous Korean singer with the hands of PSY - I know that he exists, saw a couple of clips and is familiar with people who bought his recordings in iTunes. But the thought of listening to Gangnam Style at home, for the soul somehow did not arise.
I have been watching mobile phones and - subsequently - LG smartphones since 2001. Many held in their hands, examined from different sides and put in place. I didn’t even write reviews, because I felt that they were not made for me. And if so, what's the point to write unpleasant. A lot of people buy, use, satisfied. Well, fine. We will not spoil their mood.
')
Everything was so until September of this year, when at the IFA exhibition in Berlin, the author of the post wandered onto the LG stand and held the new G2 smartphone in his hands. His first impression was left so unusual that, returning to Moscow, I immediately requested a copy for the test and autopsy. And now, two weeks later, I must say that for the first time LG released a device that I was interested in and pleased to use every day.
G2 was presented on August 7 at a rather pretentious event in New York. Characteristics of the smartphone inspired respect: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor (MSM8974), operating at up to 2.26 GHz, a 5.2-inch FullHD screen, 5.2 GB of RAM, some particularly good 13-megapixel camera, Wolfson WM5110 DAC, responsible for sound quality in headphones. Even at the presentation, the importance of moving the Power button and the volume control from the side faces to the back cover was stressed. Say, a very harsh innovation, changing the feeling of using the device.
But experience suggests that Korean innovation should be treated very carefully. Too many of them are implemented more for beauty than for use, and the concept of beauty is somewhat different with the Koreans ... Therefore, starting to get acquainted with the LG G2, I decided to forget about the presentation and the read marketing materials. And to get acquainted with it from a clean slate, already in the process of deciding whether to pay attention to some function or not.
It should be noted here that there are as many as 7 versions of G2, differing significantly from each other. Differences relate to battery capacity, support for memory cards, supported LTE bands, etc. etc. The model D802 is officially supplied to Russia, and the text will deal specifically with it.
The exterior of the G2 is quite ordinary. Almost the entire front side takes the screen, and in the off state the eye clings except for the LG logo. The back side, when the smartphone is only removed from the box, looks pretty impressive: it is perfectly smooth, but in the sun it looks rough, like denim. Unfortunately, pretty soon it becomes difficult to see the beauty, because the plastic collects and holds fingerprints and palms. Have to constantly wipe.
The camera lens is covered with sapphire glass, which virtually eliminates the deterioration of the quality of shooting from the appearance of minor scratches. Directly below it is a combination of buttons, where the central is responsible for on / off, and the upper and lower - for adjusting the sound. Also on them "hangs" some more functions about which we will talk slightly below.
Interestingly, we only need the hardware Power button only when we turn on the smartphone for the first time or turn it off completely if we want to. In other cases, just double-tap the screen with your finger - and G2 will turn on. To shut down, you need to knock twice more. Conveniently? Very comfortably! I used to see this only in Nokia N9 on MeeGo and I missed this feature very much. With her management is much more natural, or something.
As for the moving of the hardware keys to the back part, I did not quite understand it. Yes, indeed, when you hold the device with one hand, the index finger rests on the keyboard unit itself. But it was not very clearly made, and to the touch you do not always get exactly where you wanted. In general, it is not bad, but the language does not rotate to call it the killer feature. By the way, for some reason I had the feeling that the Power button was combined with a miniature touchpad, which allowed flipping through the contents of the screen without touching it. Indeed, it would be very sensible. I want to believe that they will add in the following incarnations.
The screen of the G2 is just gorgeous. Rich vibrant shades, impeccable clarity, even illumination over the entire area, excellent viewing angles. The latter is somewhat distressing during trips in public transport, because the neighbors on the bus / wagon read with interest your correspondence, but oh well, what could be. The main thing is that the correspondence is not interspersed with fascinating photos.
Twist, do not twist - shades do not spoil.
It's funny that, despite the increased diagonal, it is just as easy to control G2 with one hand as with the five-inch Galaxy S4 or Xperia Z. After a while, I even began to doubt about the extra 0.2 inches - and how were they invented? He took a ruler, measured it - really 5.2, without cheating. LG says that control has been achieved through very thin side frames.
With Snapdragon 800, we met recently when we disassembled Sony Xperia Z Ultra . Given that the graphics core (Adreno 330) and the screen resolution of both devices are the same, benchmarks give similar results. True, the processor frequency in G2 is slightly higher (2.26 GHz versus 2150 in Z Ultra), and therefore the figure in AnTuTu is even more impressive. In practice, this means very, very fast work in applications and games. True, the games picture a little strange. For example, I used to test smartphones and tablets with Asphalt. The latest version for today is the eighth, but Google Play on G2 only shows the seventh. Understanding the cause of discrimination is impossible, because on the Z Ultra with a similar platform, and even on the Xperia Z with an older processor, the eighth series is visible and works perfectly. Perhaps this will be corrected in the new firmware version (this is the first, but not the last time, when I express such hope during this review).
The onboard flash memory is 32 GB. Most guglofon reviews should clarify that “it can be expanded with a microSD card, but in this case it is not. There is no slot for memory cards in the G2 (D802). It is in the F320 model, but it a) is not supplied to Russia, b) supports fewer LTE varieties, and c) contains a smaller capacity battery inside (2610 mAh vs. 3000 mAh).
Why LG made such a decision - I do not really understand. Moreover, Russia was lucky: judging by the news from Ukraine, a 16-gigabyte version is generally delivered there. Personally, I have 32 GB enough with a margin. But for those who are used to carrying with them a huge audio library, and even a few films in good resolution, on G2 it may seem cramped.
Infrequently today you will meet the Korean assembly smartphone
By the way, about the audio library. As already written above, in G2, a separate Wolfson WM5110 chip ( released in May 2012 ) is responsible for sound processing. In my spare time when testing smartphones, I study headphones , and I have a reference player at the moment - iRiver Astell & Kern . There is also a Wolfson chip, but a bit more serious is WM8740. The sound gives a very decent, easily reproducing FLAC with a bit depth of 24 bits and a sampling frequency of 192 kilohertz.
For G2, the same features are claimed. But in practice, some nuances have surfaced. MP3 device plays fine. The elaboration of details is very worthy, and I had never heard anything like that on Google phones. There were no problems with FLAC 16 / 44.1. But when playing FLAC 24/96 metal suddenly cut through the music. The sound has become very unnatural, sharp, hoarse. Very similar to 64-kilobyte MP3s.
I wrote about this in the forum, and I was reproached - they say, who is using a standard player to listen to music in such a blessed format? It is necessary to put the audiophile Neutron, and then! Not lazy, set. And nothing has changed, except that wheezing was a little less.
But let's not demand from the smartphone the same sound as from a heaped player for a thousand dollars. Moreover, the MP3 and images of ordinary CD G2 plays just fine. Even if the new firmware does not teach it to more accurately reproduce 24-bit tracks, I will still recommend this model to fans to listen to good music on the road.
Very controversial impression from the camera. Theoretically, it should be very decent, because this is almost the first case on Android, when the camera module has optical stabilization (previously, only top Nokia Lumia was famous for it). Pleases and quite impressive size of pictures, 4-5 MB, and sometimes more. So - the minimum characteristic for the compressed JPEG artifacts.
But in practice, good photos are obtained only with good light and almost complete immobility of the object. In other cases, “shake” just creepy. As far as I understand, the point is not in the camera itself, but in the unfinished firmware. The craftsmen have already made their version of the camera software, forcing it to work as it should. Most likely, this misunderstanding will be corrected in the official update. I hope that the hands will reach the excessive effect of the “wide-angle” of the lens, which greatly distorts the geometry of the objects in the image. You can, of course, correct it in Photoshop, but every time you do it.
Here are some sample photos.
Originals can be downloaded here . Also some additional examples can be seen in the Sony Xperia Z Ultra review .
By the way, thanks to the developers for the opportunity to take pictures by pressing the volume button. This greatly simplifies the process of manufacturing the crossbows - for example, the other day I perfectly photographed myself for a passport application form. I used to have to mess around with a camera and a tripod.
There are no complaints about the radio part of the smartphone. It catches LTE from MegaFon and MTS, and what it didn’t catch from Beeline is just very little. The dual-band Wi-Fi module is sufficiently chained to smoothly stream HD video through two concrete walls, despite the presence of at least two dozen networks on the air (“Thank you” MGTS for a free GPON who installed a Wi-Fi router in each pensioner’s apartment).
So the signal is caught through two walls. Of course, there is a merit in this and Zyxel Keenetic Ultra router, but still .
But what makes me really excited is the battery. Its capacity is 3000 mAh. In itself, this almost does not mean anything, because “Google phones” have the secret gift to survive a battery of any capacity for a light day. But in LG, in addition to the rather energy-efficient MSM8974 chipset, most of the time running at 300 MHz, they put the GRAM memory into the smartphone. According to the developers, it allows you to significantly reduce the load on the GPU, eliminating the need to redraw the picture 60 times per second, even if nothing changes on the screen. The reduction in energy consumption at the chipset level is 26%, and within the smartphone entirely 10%. Honestly, I do not understand yet - what is more in this innovation, engineering magic or zaboristogo marketing. But the fact remains: LG G2 lives on a single charge all day, and in the evening at least 40% of the charge remains, even if you have been hanging out on social networks all day, taking pictures of different things and visiting your favorite websites.
Here is a simple example. Now, as I write these lines, Sunday evening is outside the window. I removed the G2 from charging more than 25 hours ago, and all this time I used it quite actively - all according to the scenario described at the end of the previous paragraph, plus six series of “Interns” and two “Real kids” (watched from NAS via Wi-Fi, The processor frequency at the same time was kept at 300 MHz). The screen worked 4 hours 17 minutes. And now the charge level is 25%. The smartphone says it will last another seven hours. As for me, the result is just great. Moreover, the last time the smartphone is charged not all the way, but 80 percent.
When you use the LG G2, you completely stop thinking about whether the device will live to the end of the day or not. Of course, she will live. No options. There is a very pleasant feeling of autonomy. I would say, pleasant and forgotten.
We will return to the gland when we analyze the smartphone, and now a few words about the program part.
About software
No matter how good the original Android may be, serious companies still try to finish it a little. Someone gets better, someone gets worse. Personally, I (personally I) like the Sony approach the most. And Korean shells were just one of the reasons why our relations with smartphones from this country were not very developed. The sensation was as if an experimental model of AvtoVAZ was fastened to the top with a puppet theater, and drunken jugglers topped with burning torches on the sides. The car rides, sometimes sneezing with the engine, Parsley pounding with the baton of the policeman, and the jugglers constantly miss and get torches at the audience. And it is not clear - whether to laugh, or hide.
The shell in G2 surprises with conciseness and forethought at the same time. It is based on Android 4.2.2, and, considering the current tender relationship between LG and Google, there is no doubt about the upcoming update to 4.3, or even to 4.4.
There are no frills in the shell, and when meeting it, it seems that the developers carefully looked at the work of competitors and did something in between. In some ways it resembles Sony, in something Samsung, but, despite some secondary nature, no irritation arises. Quite the contrary. For example, at Sony I really didn’t like that the worker’s screens couldn’t be driven around in a circle. Home to one end - if you please shake in the opposite direction. On the G2, where even the weather and player widgets are located exactly the same as on Sony smartphones, the screens are spinning like on Samsung.
Pleasant little things please, like dew drops on a graphic password screen instead of standard circles. Incoming messages pop up from the upper left corner, and immediately with a field for a reply. Do not forget about the "Do not disturb" mode, forcing the smartphone to quiet down in the evening and at night. If G2 is given to the child to be torn apart, it can turn on the guest mode, and then the little experimenter will not be able to remove the “unnecessary” programs or confuse all the icons (this is hello from Windows Phone 8).
I repeat, I had the impression that this time LG decided not to reinvent the wheel, but to assemble the most useful thing on the market in its firmware. Not fair? Well maybe. But as a user, this approach suits me perfectly. Agafi Tikhonovna’s dream came true “If Nikanor Ivanovich’s lips and Ivan Kuzmich’s nose were to be attached, let him have some sort of looseness, like Baltazar Baltazarovich ...”.
I can not praise the omnivorous video player: I have not yet managed to find a single film in the collection, which he choked. Among the proprietary applications should be noted QuickRemote, turning the smartphone into a universal remote control (infrared port is present), and LG Backup, which makes it unnecessary to install third-party software, like Titanium Backup.
Despite the fact that I have the very first firmware version installed, it is surprisingly stable. That is, no sudden crashes, reloads and other joys. Compared with the Galaxy S4, which in the first two and a half months it was impossible to use at all because of glitches, it is just a triumph of professionalism. Of course, it is possible to cure lags that arise from time to time, optimize the interface of some system applications, but on the whole - a strong four with a plus. Just like the smartphone did not LG.
Inside
Contrary to the rumors about the body being unseparable, removing the back cover of the G2 is quite simple - it is enough to have some strong and very thin instrument. Oddly enough, an ordinary nail came up best. Just be careful, but it can be easily broken (nail, of course, and not a smartphone). It is better to start from the SIM card slot, there is something to cling to.
The removed cover demonstrates that, with its design, LG was clearly inspired by the example of HTC. It was the Taiwanese who invented at one time to place all the antennas on the back cover, and leave only the contacts on the motherboard and cables. This approach is both good and bad at the same time. Good - because the size and shape of the antenna is not limited to the body. With proper design, this ensures stable operation with wireless networks, which we, in general, observe in the case of G2.
This approach is bad in cases where the smartphone is operated in difficult climatic conditions. Heat-cold, rain-dry, etc. Contacts do not like this and are oxidized. When the back cover is removable, there are no problems - it is enough to wipe the contact pads and the contacts themselves with alcohol once a year for prevention (I’ll emphasize wiping, not breathing in pairs). In the case of G2, access to them is somewhat difficult ... However, all the contacts are gold-plated and, judging by the marks on the sites, they gnaw into the latter quite thoroughly.
A huge battery occupies 2/3 of the internal space of the case. Its capacity is exactly the same as in the Sony Xperia Z Ultra (3000 mAh, 11.4 WH). But the screen area is much smaller, which means that the backlight needs relatively little energy. Plus the mysterious memory of GRAM. About what this combination leads to, we spoke above.
The cable in the LG G2 is not divided into upper and lower - it is, shall we say, common, and unites almost all peripheral devices. Microphones, charging, vibration motor - it's all on it.The design looks pretty neat and durable. It is good if it turns out to be this way, because replacing the cable will be expensive because of the large amount of work and the relative rarity of components for LG smartphones. With spare parts everything is simple: the more popular the brand and the more expensive the model, the easier it is to get them. And most of the budget models in the event of a serious breakdown after the warranty period is cheaper to throw out than repair.
LG G2 recently went on sale, and so far I managed to find only screens for it on sale (1300 rubles excluding delivery). Perhaps, over time, the rest will appear. The same iPhone 4 / 4s / 5, with some desire, can be ordered in parts on eBay and assemble yourself. Judging by the proposals on Avito, some do.
Chip RAM Hynix, traditionally located on top of the processor, is really some kind of unusual. At least, I could not find its specifications either on the Internet or on the manufacturer’s website.
The rest of the layout is pretty standard. Master Levchenko noted the increased accuracy of soldering and the use of more expensive components than in previous models. There, he said, saved to his full height.
Looking around the entire filling of the smartphone, say: no frills, but neat and sound. Frankly weak points, such as unsuccessfully bent loops and flimsy connectors, could not be found.
Total
G2 is the first LG smartphone that I really liked. High performance, luxurious screen, high-quality sound in headphones, long battery life, stable firmware - all this makes a very pleasant impression. And if in the firmware update the camera’s light thoughtfulness is corrected, there’s practically nothing to complain about.
The only thing that can be a serious argument against the purchase is the non-expandable amount of flash drive. An autopsy clearly showed: there is no secret slot for microSD inside, as, for example, in HTC Mozart. So it will have to cost 32 gigabytes or buy a wireless drive, like ADATA DashDrive Air.
Funny wireless "memory expander", able to work with SD-cards and USB-flash drives. It can also be used as an external battery, from which even the LG G2 is fully charged once and half again.
The retail price of LG G2 from official deliveries is 24,990 rubles. A copy of the grayish lots can be found for 22,000, just check the amount of memory - sometimes they try to sell 16-gigabyte smartphones, which is absolutely not enough.
For the same amount (and even a bit cheaper), you can buy another Korean flagship - Samsung Galaxy S4. The GT-I9505 model on the Qualcomm platform is comparable in user experience, only the processor is noticeably slower, and the battery life is not so impressive. And, of course, the sound is not so interesting. But the camera is excellent and very fast. And there is where to insert microSD.
Model GT-I9500 on its own SoC Samsung Octa Core is very hot under load and quickly puts the battery. Also there were small roughness in the firmware, like a slow start of the camera. There is no support for LTE, although, hand on heart, it is still more necessary for a tick than for business.
But I vote for G2. It is a powerful, harmonious and somehow not Korean-designed smartphone. Scaling yourself up at 32 gigabytes to most people is not at all difficult.
And I want to believe that this model will become the forerunner of new, even more interesting, and not the only bright spot among the well-balanced in terms of price / quality ratio, but surprisingly boring LG products.
In the household appliances LG confidently squeezes Samsung. We'll see if it’s possible to bypass our compatriots not only in microwaves and refrigerators, but also in a more compact genre.
PS Asphalt 8 appeared in Google Play, it works fine. Flaws in FLAC playback can be fixed by installing the free DeadBeef player.
I have been watching mobile phones and - subsequently - LG smartphones since 2001. Many held in their hands, examined from different sides and put in place. I didn’t even write reviews, because I felt that they were not made for me. And if so, what's the point to write unpleasant. A lot of people buy, use, satisfied. Well, fine. We will not spoil their mood.
')
Everything was so until September of this year, when at the IFA exhibition in Berlin, the author of the post wandered onto the LG stand and held the new G2 smartphone in his hands. His first impression was left so unusual that, returning to Moscow, I immediately requested a copy for the test and autopsy. And now, two weeks later, I must say that for the first time LG released a device that I was interested in and pleased to use every day.
G2 was presented on August 7 at a rather pretentious event in New York. Characteristics of the smartphone inspired respect: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor (MSM8974), operating at up to 2.26 GHz, a 5.2-inch FullHD screen, 5.2 GB of RAM, some particularly good 13-megapixel camera, Wolfson WM5110 DAC, responsible for sound quality in headphones. Even at the presentation, the importance of moving the Power button and the volume control from the side faces to the back cover was stressed. Say, a very harsh innovation, changing the feeling of using the device.
But experience suggests that Korean innovation should be treated very carefully. Too many of them are implemented more for beauty than for use, and the concept of beauty is somewhat different with the Koreans ... Therefore, starting to get acquainted with the LG G2, I decided to forget about the presentation and the read marketing materials. And to get acquainted with it from a clean slate, already in the process of deciding whether to pay attention to some function or not.
It should be noted here that there are as many as 7 versions of G2, differing significantly from each other. Differences relate to battery capacity, support for memory cards, supported LTE bands, etc. etc. The model D802 is officially supplied to Russia, and the text will deal specifically with it.
The exterior of the G2 is quite ordinary. Almost the entire front side takes the screen, and in the off state the eye clings except for the LG logo. The back side, when the smartphone is only removed from the box, looks pretty impressive: it is perfectly smooth, but in the sun it looks rough, like denim. Unfortunately, pretty soon it becomes difficult to see the beauty, because the plastic collects and holds fingerprints and palms. Have to constantly wipe.
The camera lens is covered with sapphire glass, which virtually eliminates the deterioration of the quality of shooting from the appearance of minor scratches. Directly below it is a combination of buttons, where the central is responsible for on / off, and the upper and lower - for adjusting the sound. Also on them "hangs" some more functions about which we will talk slightly below.
Interestingly, we only need the hardware Power button only when we turn on the smartphone for the first time or turn it off completely if we want to. In other cases, just double-tap the screen with your finger - and G2 will turn on. To shut down, you need to knock twice more. Conveniently? Very comfortably! I used to see this only in Nokia N9 on MeeGo and I missed this feature very much. With her management is much more natural, or something.
As for the moving of the hardware keys to the back part, I did not quite understand it. Yes, indeed, when you hold the device with one hand, the index finger rests on the keyboard unit itself. But it was not very clearly made, and to the touch you do not always get exactly where you wanted. In general, it is not bad, but the language does not rotate to call it the killer feature. By the way, for some reason I had the feeling that the Power button was combined with a miniature touchpad, which allowed flipping through the contents of the screen without touching it. Indeed, it would be very sensible. I want to believe that they will add in the following incarnations.
The screen of the G2 is just gorgeous. Rich vibrant shades, impeccable clarity, even illumination over the entire area, excellent viewing angles. The latter is somewhat distressing during trips in public transport, because the neighbors on the bus / wagon read with interest your correspondence, but oh well, what could be. The main thing is that the correspondence is not interspersed with fascinating photos.
Twist, do not twist - shades do not spoil.
It's funny that, despite the increased diagonal, it is just as easy to control G2 with one hand as with the five-inch Galaxy S4 or Xperia Z. After a while, I even began to doubt about the extra 0.2 inches - and how were they invented? He took a ruler, measured it - really 5.2, without cheating. LG says that control has been achieved through very thin side frames.
With Snapdragon 800, we met recently when we disassembled Sony Xperia Z Ultra . Given that the graphics core (Adreno 330) and the screen resolution of both devices are the same, benchmarks give similar results. True, the processor frequency in G2 is slightly higher (2.26 GHz versus 2150 in Z Ultra), and therefore the figure in AnTuTu is even more impressive. In practice, this means very, very fast work in applications and games. True, the games picture a little strange. For example, I used to test smartphones and tablets with Asphalt. The latest version for today is the eighth, but Google Play on G2 only shows the seventh. Understanding the cause of discrimination is impossible, because on the Z Ultra with a similar platform, and even on the Xperia Z with an older processor, the eighth series is visible and works perfectly. Perhaps this will be corrected in the new firmware version (this is the first, but not the last time, when I express such hope during this review).
The onboard flash memory is 32 GB. Most guglofon reviews should clarify that “it can be expanded with a microSD card, but in this case it is not. There is no slot for memory cards in the G2 (D802). It is in the F320 model, but it a) is not supplied to Russia, b) supports fewer LTE varieties, and c) contains a smaller capacity battery inside (2610 mAh vs. 3000 mAh).
Why LG made such a decision - I do not really understand. Moreover, Russia was lucky: judging by the news from Ukraine, a 16-gigabyte version is generally delivered there. Personally, I have 32 GB enough with a margin. But for those who are used to carrying with them a huge audio library, and even a few films in good resolution, on G2 it may seem cramped.
Infrequently today you will meet the Korean assembly smartphone
By the way, about the audio library. As already written above, in G2, a separate Wolfson WM5110 chip ( released in May 2012 ) is responsible for sound processing. In my spare time when testing smartphones, I study headphones , and I have a reference player at the moment - iRiver Astell & Kern . There is also a Wolfson chip, but a bit more serious is WM8740. The sound gives a very decent, easily reproducing FLAC with a bit depth of 24 bits and a sampling frequency of 192 kilohertz.
For G2, the same features are claimed. But in practice, some nuances have surfaced. MP3 device plays fine. The elaboration of details is very worthy, and I had never heard anything like that on Google phones. There were no problems with FLAC 16 / 44.1. But when playing FLAC 24/96 metal suddenly cut through the music. The sound has become very unnatural, sharp, hoarse. Very similar to 64-kilobyte MP3s.
I wrote about this in the forum, and I was reproached - they say, who is using a standard player to listen to music in such a blessed format? It is necessary to put the audiophile Neutron, and then! Not lazy, set. And nothing has changed, except that wheezing was a little less.
But let's not demand from the smartphone the same sound as from a heaped player for a thousand dollars. Moreover, the MP3 and images of ordinary CD G2 plays just fine. Even if the new firmware does not teach it to more accurately reproduce 24-bit tracks, I will still recommend this model to fans to listen to good music on the road.
Very controversial impression from the camera. Theoretically, it should be very decent, because this is almost the first case on Android, when the camera module has optical stabilization (previously, only top Nokia Lumia was famous for it). Pleases and quite impressive size of pictures, 4-5 MB, and sometimes more. So - the minimum characteristic for the compressed JPEG artifacts.
But in practice, good photos are obtained only with good light and almost complete immobility of the object. In other cases, “shake” just creepy. As far as I understand, the point is not in the camera itself, but in the unfinished firmware. The craftsmen have already made their version of the camera software, forcing it to work as it should. Most likely, this misunderstanding will be corrected in the official update. I hope that the hands will reach the excessive effect of the “wide-angle” of the lens, which greatly distorts the geometry of the objects in the image. You can, of course, correct it in Photoshop, but every time you do it.
Here are some sample photos.
Originals can be downloaded here . Also some additional examples can be seen in the Sony Xperia Z Ultra review .
By the way, thanks to the developers for the opportunity to take pictures by pressing the volume button. This greatly simplifies the process of manufacturing the crossbows - for example, the other day I perfectly photographed myself for a passport application form. I used to have to mess around with a camera and a tripod.
There are no complaints about the radio part of the smartphone. It catches LTE from MegaFon and MTS, and what it didn’t catch from Beeline is just very little. The dual-band Wi-Fi module is sufficiently chained to smoothly stream HD video through two concrete walls, despite the presence of at least two dozen networks on the air (“Thank you” MGTS for a free GPON who installed a Wi-Fi router in each pensioner’s apartment).
So the signal is caught through two walls. Of course, there is a merit in this and Zyxel Keenetic Ultra router, but still .
But what makes me really excited is the battery. Its capacity is 3000 mAh. In itself, this almost does not mean anything, because “Google phones” have the secret gift to survive a battery of any capacity for a light day. But in LG, in addition to the rather energy-efficient MSM8974 chipset, most of the time running at 300 MHz, they put the GRAM memory into the smartphone. According to the developers, it allows you to significantly reduce the load on the GPU, eliminating the need to redraw the picture 60 times per second, even if nothing changes on the screen. The reduction in energy consumption at the chipset level is 26%, and within the smartphone entirely 10%. Honestly, I do not understand yet - what is more in this innovation, engineering magic or zaboristogo marketing. But the fact remains: LG G2 lives on a single charge all day, and in the evening at least 40% of the charge remains, even if you have been hanging out on social networks all day, taking pictures of different things and visiting your favorite websites.
Here is a simple example. Now, as I write these lines, Sunday evening is outside the window. I removed the G2 from charging more than 25 hours ago, and all this time I used it quite actively - all according to the scenario described at the end of the previous paragraph, plus six series of “Interns” and two “Real kids” (watched from NAS via Wi-Fi, The processor frequency at the same time was kept at 300 MHz). The screen worked 4 hours 17 minutes. And now the charge level is 25%. The smartphone says it will last another seven hours. As for me, the result is just great. Moreover, the last time the smartphone is charged not all the way, but 80 percent.
When you use the LG G2, you completely stop thinking about whether the device will live to the end of the day or not. Of course, she will live. No options. There is a very pleasant feeling of autonomy. I would say, pleasant and forgotten.
We will return to the gland when we analyze the smartphone, and now a few words about the program part.
About software
No matter how good the original Android may be, serious companies still try to finish it a little. Someone gets better, someone gets worse. Personally, I (personally I) like the Sony approach the most. And Korean shells were just one of the reasons why our relations with smartphones from this country were not very developed. The sensation was as if an experimental model of AvtoVAZ was fastened to the top with a puppet theater, and drunken jugglers topped with burning torches on the sides. The car rides, sometimes sneezing with the engine, Parsley pounding with the baton of the policeman, and the jugglers constantly miss and get torches at the audience. And it is not clear - whether to laugh, or hide.
The shell in G2 surprises with conciseness and forethought at the same time. It is based on Android 4.2.2, and, considering the current tender relationship between LG and Google, there is no doubt about the upcoming update to 4.3, or even to 4.4.
There are no frills in the shell, and when meeting it, it seems that the developers carefully looked at the work of competitors and did something in between. In some ways it resembles Sony, in something Samsung, but, despite some secondary nature, no irritation arises. Quite the contrary. For example, at Sony I really didn’t like that the worker’s screens couldn’t be driven around in a circle. Home to one end - if you please shake in the opposite direction. On the G2, where even the weather and player widgets are located exactly the same as on Sony smartphones, the screens are spinning like on Samsung.
Pleasant little things please, like dew drops on a graphic password screen instead of standard circles. Incoming messages pop up from the upper left corner, and immediately with a field for a reply. Do not forget about the "Do not disturb" mode, forcing the smartphone to quiet down in the evening and at night. If G2 is given to the child to be torn apart, it can turn on the guest mode, and then the little experimenter will not be able to remove the “unnecessary” programs or confuse all the icons (this is hello from Windows Phone 8).
I repeat, I had the impression that this time LG decided not to reinvent the wheel, but to assemble the most useful thing on the market in its firmware. Not fair? Well maybe. But as a user, this approach suits me perfectly. Agafi Tikhonovna’s dream came true “If Nikanor Ivanovich’s lips and Ivan Kuzmich’s nose were to be attached, let him have some sort of looseness, like Baltazar Baltazarovich ...”.
I can not praise the omnivorous video player: I have not yet managed to find a single film in the collection, which he choked. Among the proprietary applications should be noted QuickRemote, turning the smartphone into a universal remote control (infrared port is present), and LG Backup, which makes it unnecessary to install third-party software, like Titanium Backup.
Despite the fact that I have the very first firmware version installed, it is surprisingly stable. That is, no sudden crashes, reloads and other joys. Compared with the Galaxy S4, which in the first two and a half months it was impossible to use at all because of glitches, it is just a triumph of professionalism. Of course, it is possible to cure lags that arise from time to time, optimize the interface of some system applications, but on the whole - a strong four with a plus. Just like the smartphone did not LG.
Inside
Contrary to the rumors about the body being unseparable, removing the back cover of the G2 is quite simple - it is enough to have some strong and very thin instrument. Oddly enough, an ordinary nail came up best. Just be careful, but it can be easily broken (nail, of course, and not a smartphone). It is better to start from the SIM card slot, there is something to cling to.
The removed cover demonstrates that, with its design, LG was clearly inspired by the example of HTC. It was the Taiwanese who invented at one time to place all the antennas on the back cover, and leave only the contacts on the motherboard and cables. This approach is both good and bad at the same time. Good - because the size and shape of the antenna is not limited to the body. With proper design, this ensures stable operation with wireless networks, which we, in general, observe in the case of G2.
This approach is bad in cases where the smartphone is operated in difficult climatic conditions. Heat-cold, rain-dry, etc. Contacts do not like this and are oxidized. When the back cover is removable, there are no problems - it is enough to wipe the contact pads and the contacts themselves with alcohol once a year for prevention (I’ll emphasize wiping, not breathing in pairs). In the case of G2, access to them is somewhat difficult ... However, all the contacts are gold-plated and, judging by the marks on the sites, they gnaw into the latter quite thoroughly.
A huge battery occupies 2/3 of the internal space of the case. Its capacity is exactly the same as in the Sony Xperia Z Ultra (3000 mAh, 11.4 WH). But the screen area is much smaller, which means that the backlight needs relatively little energy. Plus the mysterious memory of GRAM. About what this combination leads to, we spoke above.
The cable in the LG G2 is not divided into upper and lower - it is, shall we say, common, and unites almost all peripheral devices. Microphones, charging, vibration motor - it's all on it.The design looks pretty neat and durable. It is good if it turns out to be this way, because replacing the cable will be expensive because of the large amount of work and the relative rarity of components for LG smartphones. With spare parts everything is simple: the more popular the brand and the more expensive the model, the easier it is to get them. And most of the budget models in the event of a serious breakdown after the warranty period is cheaper to throw out than repair.
LG G2 recently went on sale, and so far I managed to find only screens for it on sale (1300 rubles excluding delivery). Perhaps, over time, the rest will appear. The same iPhone 4 / 4s / 5, with some desire, can be ordered in parts on eBay and assemble yourself. Judging by the proposals on Avito, some do.
Chip RAM Hynix, traditionally located on top of the processor, is really some kind of unusual. At least, I could not find its specifications either on the Internet or on the manufacturer’s website.
The rest of the layout is pretty standard. Master Levchenko noted the increased accuracy of soldering and the use of more expensive components than in previous models. There, he said, saved to his full height.
Looking around the entire filling of the smartphone, say: no frills, but neat and sound. Frankly weak points, such as unsuccessfully bent loops and flimsy connectors, could not be found.
Total
G2 is the first LG smartphone that I really liked. High performance, luxurious screen, high-quality sound in headphones, long battery life, stable firmware - all this makes a very pleasant impression. And if in the firmware update the camera’s light thoughtfulness is corrected, there’s practically nothing to complain about.
The only thing that can be a serious argument against the purchase is the non-expandable amount of flash drive. An autopsy clearly showed: there is no secret slot for microSD inside, as, for example, in HTC Mozart. So it will have to cost 32 gigabytes or buy a wireless drive, like ADATA DashDrive Air.
Funny wireless "memory expander", able to work with SD-cards and USB-flash drives. It can also be used as an external battery, from which even the LG G2 is fully charged once and half again.
The retail price of LG G2 from official deliveries is 24,990 rubles. A copy of the grayish lots can be found for 22,000, just check the amount of memory - sometimes they try to sell 16-gigabyte smartphones, which is absolutely not enough.
For the same amount (and even a bit cheaper), you can buy another Korean flagship - Samsung Galaxy S4. The GT-I9505 model on the Qualcomm platform is comparable in user experience, only the processor is noticeably slower, and the battery life is not so impressive. And, of course, the sound is not so interesting. But the camera is excellent and very fast. And there is where to insert microSD.
Model GT-I9500 on its own SoC Samsung Octa Core is very hot under load and quickly puts the battery. Also there were small roughness in the firmware, like a slow start of the camera. There is no support for LTE, although, hand on heart, it is still more necessary for a tick than for business.
But I vote for G2. It is a powerful, harmonious and somehow not Korean-designed smartphone. Scaling yourself up at 32 gigabytes to most people is not at all difficult.
And I want to believe that this model will become the forerunner of new, even more interesting, and not the only bright spot among the well-balanced in terms of price / quality ratio, but surprisingly boring LG products.
In the household appliances LG confidently squeezes Samsung. We'll see if it’s possible to bypass our compatriots not only in microwaves and refrigerators, but also in a more compact genre.
PS Asphalt 8 appeared in Google Play, it works fine. Flaws in FLAC playback can be fixed by installing the free DeadBeef player.
The author thanks Alexander Levchenko ( www.tech-town.ru ) for his help in dismantling the LG G2
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/196938/
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