[G4 General] nipun1110:
PREFACE:

I don't know when was the last time I used a non-rooted phone and a completely stock ROM. My last android devices were HTC Desire S > HTC One M7 > HTC One M8. So you can guess I am a big fan of HTC's build quality, sound quality, lately user interface etc. The only sector HTC couldn't shine for me, ever, was camera quality. It's not that their cameras are horrible, it's just that always there is something missing. M7 had pink tint issue & M8 camera used to take good pictures but Megapixel becomes an issue when u use a camera in day to day life. Well decision of joining LG league was a big leap for me. I am quite sure you all know all the little details & specs of G4, so I will not go for specs. Neither I am going to read the same script saying all the goods about G4 like many youtubers. I will share what experience I have gathered during my short time playing (almost 3 days) with LG G4. I will try to divide my each category into Pros & Cons. So let's begin.

1.

BUILD:

Pros:

- Leather back has a good grip and attractive design.

- Feels slim in hand and maintains the curve of the face while talking.

- Big but not uncomfortable. In fact all those saying, this device is big but doesn't feel so, are 100% true. I have used HTC Desire 816 for a short time & I can ensure you G4 doesn't feel as big as 816.

Cons:

- As I am used to having cases on my previous devices, using without one makes me insecure sometimes dropping the phone, not due to slipperiness, but due to thin profile (which is not actually a bad thing).

- Doesn't feel as expansive as S6 Edge or M8, but doesn't feel cheap at all.

2.

DISPLAY:

Pros:

- Very good quality - sharp & crisp.

- Good backlight in outdoors.

- Colour reproduction very accurate.

Cons:

- 720p videos looks dull. 1080p and above are ok.

3.

CAMERA & GALLERY:

Pros:

- Everything you already know.

Cons:

- No Resolution choosing option.

- No 360 panaroma option.

- You have to touch right above the dialer for changing the manual control options, anywhere else will switch between front & back camera, which takes time to get used to as the dialer is not that wide.

- OIS very aggressive in video mode. Videos seem to be stretch at corners which is not very pleasant. Audio quality is not good enough too. Voice seems to have no depth.

- No option for choosing which albums you want to show in "Albums" section in gallery, so some random folders containing random images i.e. music folder, app folder show in the "Albums" and you cannot hide them which is possible in Sense gallery. One other tiny pick - when u open an image, all the options are on the upper part of the screen which is not accessible with one hand. It was located below the photo is Sense gallery. Otherwise gallery is a nice one.

4.

AUDIO:

Pros:

- Loud & clear. I think louder than M8. One of the loudest and good quality speaker I have ever used in a smartphone.

- No problem enjoying youtube and music videos.

Cons:

- Not as clear as M8 in a very few occasions. (Not due to blocking by palm)

- Bass almost absent.

- Facing to the wrong direction.

- Not much appealing while listening to music on speaker.

5. CHARGING & BATTERY LIFE:

Pros:

- Only phone I have ever used which if I leave idly at 100%, after 2-3 hours I will get is back at 99-100%. (wifi & mobile data off, 1-2 calls maybe) Very much impressed with the stand by time of the G4.

Cons:

- Poor charging speed, even with the provided LG charger & cable. Fastest I have found when I switch off the phone. Couldn't try with any quick charger yet.

- Battery drains drastically even with only wifi (2mbps connection, don't lough, i know) as if it is connected to 3g mobile data connection. It's like 1% drain in 1-3 minutes. M8 was much better in such scenario. Some people, of course, saying that this condition improves over time. Can't verify though as never before used a LG phone.

[UPDATE: Switch off auto-brightness. You will see much improvement of the battery. Although I have changed my first device and brought another one & I actually found this device to be better in battery management than previous one. Sorry, not speaking scientifically though.]

[UPDATE 2: Charging problem seems to have solved in the newer device.]

6.

HEATING ISSUE:

- Charge your phone first to 100% (switching off) right after you buy the phone.

- I have had serious heating issue for the first 2 days. It's not that it used to become untouchable, in fact you will feel no heat on the back, rather I lifted the phone to my cheek to talk, it almost made red flush on my cheek.

- Things seem to have improved now. I think heating issue will resolve automatically in time.

[UPDATE: As I exchanged my previous G4, new one seems not to have such heating issue from the get-go. Although I need to use it for a few more days to confirm.]

7.

PERFORMANCE & UI:

a) Call quality & Phone app:

- Must tick the "noise suppression" & "voice clarity" option in "settings > call". Person hearing you will find significant improvement bcoz of this.

- Phone app doesn't seem quite bad. I was actually bragging on the fact that HTC Sense has the best intelligence in merging and organizing phone contacts. No AOSP or even Google's built-in phone app has the same level of intelligence. But LG seems to have done better with this (although not as good as HTC, but better than others).

- But no "Remove Duplicates" option is a bummer for me.

- Also no "Default Tab" option (i.e. whenever you open the app, a selected tab e.g. recent / dialer will open first) is a disadvantage for me.

- Rather than making a seperate dialer tab, if LG would make a dialer floating button like lollipop's stock dialer, IMO it would be better.

b) Messaging:

- Here's a quick tip. If you coming from a old phone & trying to recover all the messages by some app, at first merge your contacts in the people app. Otherwise your messaging app will freeze quite often.

- Messaging app seems quite nice.

- Customization options are very limited. Provided background wallpapers and bubbles are very childish. And you cannot apply new theme which is weird in 2015 where HTC & Samsung have gone far ahead in this segment.

c) RAM management:

- You will not be happy. I am not saying the phone will freeze now and then, but LG G4 is not doing well in this segment. Don't know it's Lg's or Lolllipop's fault.

[UPDATE: With my newer G4, didn't actually feel any lagging or difficulty yet. Although I didn't restore all my apps yet. I will update if anything changes.]

d) Performance issues: (updated)

- Sometimes misses a few taps. But I don't think it's any LCD issue. It seems to me that deafult ROM isn't as fluid as HTC's or Samsung's or Apple's. Maybe Lollipop has also something to do with it. But I definitey think this will improve in custom ROMs (if & when they will be available :( )

e) Other things:

- Missing Sense 7 very much. Nothing can beat the integrate themes in Sense 7. No idea why LG almost completely opted it. Yah theme is there, but very limited like IOS.

- And also missing "swipe to lock" feature. Many-a-times swiping the nav bar subconsciously.

- No root or unlock bootloader yet for my H815T. It's causing hell on me. I am not at all used to live with a unrooted locked phone. Evenn Helium doesn't quite work for LG G4.

Well I tried to cover as much and as precise as possible about my experience with G4. I think an update from LG can solve many of the issues and later stage custom ROMs can eliminate all the issues I have mentioned here as hardware-wise it is really a nice device. And LASTLY guys, if you think your device isn't performing well, go and change it, don't wait coz yah all devices may not same built. I have found significant improvement changing my older G4. Yah there may or may not be any scientific explanation, but it helps actually. Go & change yours if it seems lagging, charging slowly or overheating....

Thanks for reading. And share your thoughts.