LG Electronics recently unveiled the company’s flagship smartphone, the G4, at ArtScience Museum in Singapore on 29 April 2015. The event was part of a coordinated global launch for the successor to the award-winning G3, and was shrouded in much secrecy until it was launched in Paris, London and New York the day before, followed by Seoul, Singapore and Istanbul. I attended the fabulous launch event, complete with lightshows and models, with local and regional media.

Here are my top five reasons to consider the LG G4 if you are in the market to upgrade your phone.

Reason #5: Nimble Operating System

The G4 launches with the latest Android Lollipop 5.1 with LG’s UX 4.0.  Different phone brands have their own customised Android interfaces to distinguish themselves from one other, and more functions over the stock Android version.  Sometimes, this may result in making the phone feel sluggish or bloated with features and options.  LG has, in my opinion, kept their operating system relatively close to stock Android without over stuffing it with a ton of features.

The human-centric UX 4.0 “promises to be simpler and more intuitive to better understand and respond to the needs of each user.”  While I only managed to preview the phone for a while, LG seemed to have kept the OS light and nimble even with new features. Among other features, the Gallery app has been improved to allow for faster scrolling of photos, and the Event Pocket allows the creation of a unified calendar by adding events from multiple calendars and social media.

Reason #4: See the Great. Feel the Great.

The G4 looks and feels great.  Alright, looks can be subjective, but there is no denying that the genuine leather cover is eye-catching. The leather stitching accents the visuals and also guides the finger to the power and volume rockers.  The new leather covers come in a variety of colours, although the colour range may differ according to region and market. If you are lucky, the leather cover colour might just match your car’s leather seats.  How awesome that would be!

The G4 has curves all over.  The Slim Arc design language curves the rear to fit the palm.  However, the surprise curve is in the front – the glass screen is so subtly curved that it is imperceptible.  The Slim Arc design with the curved screen is supposed to offer 20 percent better durability than a flat smartphone in a face-down drop.

Additionally, the LG G4 has one of the smallest “handprints” for a 5.5 inch screen, thanks to its thin bezel and lack of buttons on the front.  The G4 inherits one of the highest screen-to-body ratios, and combined with the pliant leather cover and curvatures of the phone, makes the G4 feel fabulous in smaller hands.  The placement of the power button and volume rockers on the back has also won many fans from users of the G4’s predecessors.

Reason #3: Beautiful Screen

The G4 screen looks beautiful and sharp.  The 5.5-inch quad-HD screen uses the new LG IPS Quantum Display, which offers 20 percent greater colour reproduction, 25 percent improvement in brightness and 50 percent greater contrast from its predecessor.  The new screen is also calibrated for DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) standards for color expression.  What this means is, you get to see a wider range of reds and violets on this screen compared to others.

In the hands-on area at the launch event, LG confidently displayed the IPS Quantum Display side by side with current flagship phones from other brands, and indeed the reds looked richer in the sample photos.

Reason #2: Cameras and Camera App

The camera ability of the G4 is outstanding.  The new 16MP rear camera module boasts an F1.8 aperture that allows for 80 percent more light compared with an F2.4 aperture, and improves upon the optical stabilization of the G3 by adding a third axis stabilization.  These dramatically improve the low-light ability of the camera and allow for some stunning low-light shots.

Taking advantage of the hardware improvements, the G4 has a wonderful full manual mode in the Camera app, which allows a photographer full creative controls.  For example, the larger F1.8 aperture gets you more of that blurred background look when used with Aperture Priority, or you get light trails with long exposures in Shutter Priority.  Additionally, the G4 allows photos to be saved in RAW format for better post-processing for the enthusiasts.

Retaining the laser range-finder from the G3 used for speedy focusing, the G4 also sports a unique Color Spectrum Sensor (CSS) below the LED flash.  This new sensor improves colour accuracy in the photos that the camera takes by precisely reading the RGB values of the ambient light, as well as infrared light reflected off objects in the scene.  The phone uses the information from the CSS to adjust the white balance and flash colour to create images that are close to what you would see with the naked eye.

One of my favourite features is the Quick Shot – Double clicking on the down volume button, even when the screen is off, makes the phone take a picture and opens the camera app. This is great for times when you need to take a shot quickly before it passes. Lastly, the G4 has an 8MP front camera for sharp clear selfies.  The Gesture Interval Shot improves upon the popular Gesture Shot by allowing you to take four continuous shots by opening and closing your palm in front of the camera.

Reason #1: Removable Battery and SD Card Slot

The G3 had one of the best battery endurance levels when it was launched back then, and the G4’s battery life with its 3000mAh battery coupled with Lollipop, should be no slouch either. However, with all photos that you will be taking with the cameras, you will need plenty more battery and storage. The G4 has got that covered with the removable battery and SD card expansion slot.  This means that you can change out your batteries on the go, without fearing that you will run out of juice.

Price and Availability

The LG G4 will be available end of May, retailing at S$998 (Genuine Leather) and S$928 (Metallic) from local telcos and authorized LG Mobile retailers. Singapore customers will also get an additional battery and charger with the phone worth S$126 while stocks last.

Key Specifications

• Chipset: Qualcomm®Snapdragon™ 808 Processor with X10 LTE
• Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440, 538ppi)
• Memory: 32GB eMMC ROM, 3GB LPDDR3 RAM / microSD slot
• Camera: Rear 16MP with F1.8 Aperture / OIS 2.0 / Front 8MP with F2.0 Aperture
• Battery: 3,000mAh (removable)
• Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
• Size: 148.9 x 76.1 x 3 – 9.8 mm
• Weight: 155g (with battery)
• Network: 4G – LTE Cat6 (Up to 300Mbps)/ 3G -DC-HSPA+ (Up to 42Mbps)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.1LE / NFC / USB 2.0
• Colors: [Genuine Leather] Black/Brown/Red, [Metallic] Metallic Gray/Shiny Gold
• Other: Manual Mode / Gesture Interval Shot / Quick Shot