Lji g6 review. Review of the LG G6 smartphone: only the screen remains. The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers

In 2018, the LG G6 looks like an extremely interesting option in terms of price and quality. A year ago, it was a top-end smartphone that could do almost everything. Today, although the G6 lost its lead to the Galaxy S8, it still looks good. It's powerful, stylish and knows a few tricks, and its price tag has almost dropped into the mid-price segment.

Vibrant and borderless display

The design of the front panel of the LG G6 is built around a large 5.7-inch IPS display (resolution 2880 by 1440 pixels), which occupies almost the entire front panel of the smartphone. And this is not an exaggeration, the frames around the LG G6 screen are really tiny, which is why sometimes it seems like you are holding just a large screen in your hand. The screen quality is excellent. A nice feature of the screen is that it supports HDR 10 technology, which makes the picture more saturated. True, this thing works in a few applications like Netflix.

Still a flagship filling

The LG G6 is powered by the most powerful processor of the last generation - the 8-core Snapdragon 821 processor. Today it no longer sets records in synthetic tests, but in reality its power will be enough for tasks of any complexity for at least a couple of years. A separate plus is that the processor is cold, so the smartphone practically does not heat up even under heavy load.

Aces up your sleeve

The G6 still has a lot of tricks up its sleeve that the next generation of smartphones don't have. For example, damage protection according to the MIL-STD 810G standard, which is why the G6 is approved by the guys in the US Department of Defense and NATO. In addition, there is standard water and dust protection (class IP68), thanks to which the G6 can be lowered to a depth of one and a half meters for 30 minutes. Another interesting feature of the G6 is the presence of a Hi-Fi Quad audio converter, which allows the smartphone to produce sound at the level of expensive Hi-Fi players. There is also Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging and USB port C.

LG G6- This is an attempt by the company to regain its former positions. Now you can’t change the battery yourself, but the smartphone has received such an important function as protection against water and falls. They finished off the unsuccessful idea with modules, but now the engineers have a new entertainment - a 2 to 1 screen. The entire shell was redrawn for it, but they still didn’t think through some things.

Here's the first thing you need to know about a smartphone. It cannot in any way be compared with previous generations. was gorgeous. with its own twist (skin on the back), but he was no longer so cheerful. - absolutely no device that could not be purchased. Now we have the G6 and that's a different story. It is unlike any of its predecessors. The only thing that unites our hero with them: the letter “G” and positioning as a flagship. Although... we also have one, who is also not bad-looking.

Now let's get down to business.

Equipment

Traditionally, the Russian representative office does not indulge in a complete set - I only had a smartphone. Not scary. I know how to use Google and will be happy to tell you what is included in the kit:

• Charger
• USB Type-C cable
• OTG adapter
• wired headphones

Design

The appearance of the smartphone is at least original. And at the most, the G6 is very good-looking. I gravitate more towards the second option. But let's take things in order.

The metal frame here is the most ordinary, with slots for connectors, with inserts for antennas - nothing interesting. There is also only one speaker, although many top-end devices are already starting to deviate from this rule.

The speaker's volume is slightly above average, but its quality is not so great. At 100% volume the speaker starts to wheeze, at 80% everything returns to normal.

On the front we have absolutely flat protective glass Gorilla Glass 3. Yes, 2.5D glass is in fashion now. But wait, there must be some variety!

I really liked the idea of ​​the rounded edges of the display. Looks cool and original! Unfortunately, there are two BUTs here.

First, the corners on the front panel are perfectly round, but the pixels of the screen itself are “cut off” roughly and my inner perfectionist just can’t come to terms with this.

Secondly, not all applications have an interface adapted to this feature. However, more on this later.

The side frames here are moderately thin. The smartphone is convenient to use - there are no phantom touches.

The back of the device is even more interesting. Firstly, here we have Gorilla Glass 5. It is curved in all directions. The light shimmers beautifully on the curves - it looks great.

Despite the 5th generation of protective glass from Corning, it still gets scratched. I don't know what previous reviewers did with the device, but I handled it quite carefully. However, there are still scratches. Although there were no them around the perimeter of the bumper, this means the smartphone was not thrown to the ground.

On top are two symmetrical camera eyes, and below it is a power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. This solution is convenient, so we won’t start a debate about moving the “Power” key. It's good that LG is true to its traditions. Partly.

The scanner works great. The device is unlocked in 10 and 10 cases. Fast enough, but not record-breakingly fast, like, for example, .

It’s also nice that the camera modules don’t protrude above the body. This should always be the case for everyone!

Protection from everything

I decided to talk about smartphone protection standards in a separate paragraph. Believe me, this is one of the main features of a smartphone.

The minimum requirement for a 2017 flagship is IP68 protection against moisture and dust. The G6 doesn't let us down here. You can safely bathe your smartphone in the pool, take it with you to the bath, drop it in the mud and then rinse it under running water. However, LG went further.

The device is drop-resistant. Moreover, we are not talking about falling on carpet or laminate. Here we have adult protection, confirmed by the American military certificate MIL-STD-810G. It is understood that the device can fall from a height of 180 centimeters onto a concrete floor and nothing will happen to it. I saw such an experiment with my own eyes, so I know what I’m talking about.

By the way, G6 is also good because it is not at all as slippery as, for example, . Glass traditionally clings to fingers better than matte metal.

But what Korean engineers could have done more reliably was the SIM card tray. It feels like it is made of some kind of dense rubber or thin plastic. In general, it broke for me. No crime, I just took it out with a paper clip as usual and this is what came out of it.

Display

The second key feature of the smartphone is a screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9 or 2 to 1. Let me remind you that for now the 4:3 standard reigns supreme.

There is something to praise for, and something to scold for.

So here's what I liked:

1. With this ratio it is very convenient to watch Hollywood blockbusters. It is known that the Star Factory now adheres to the 21:9 standard, and on the G6 display the black stripes are minimal at the top and bottom. In addition, you can use your finger to expand the image to fill the entire screen of the G6. And here's your second advantage.

2. Cool! Cinema with neatly rounded rather than straight corners looks really interesting. The same can be said about the standard system desktop or camera application when the viewfinder opens to full screen. This is where the positives end and the harsh reality begins.

1. LG came up with a feature, but failed to adapt it properly. As a result, in most applications the bottom of the display is eaten up by virtual touch keys. Yes, they sometimes crawl off the screen, but not in all programs. And on Instagram at the bottom there are two stripes with control keys: some are system ones, others are from the application itself.

Where the main interface is made in a color other than black or light gray, the bottom bar with keys looks simply ridiculous. If anything, there are 95% of such applications.

In the parameters, you can expand each program to full screen (18:9) and it works - the top status bar becomes the same color as the interface of a particular utility. However, the bottom bar with buttons does not disappear anywhere.

Why couldn't this strip be made transparent? Or at least adapting to the colors of the main background? In general, after the wow effect has passed, you begin to understand that it would be better if the screen was ordinary - rectangular, and the touch buttons were placed on the body.

2. The manufacturer claims that the display is 5.7 inches and he managed to squeeze such a large panel into a compact body. On the one hand, this is true. However, we say “thank you” to the touch buttons, which noticeably reduce the actual diagonal to 5.39 inches. I was not lazy, I measured it.

As a result, instead of 5.7, we have a screen of only 5.39 inches. This is how a good idea meets a bad implementation.

I wish I could remove the touch buttons somewhere from the screen...

Otherwise, there are no complaints about the screen. This is a high-quality IPS matrix with a very serious resolution - 2880 x 1440 pixels. The dots per inch density is 564 ppi.

Oh yes! Another number that is now fashionable to compete with. The screen occupies 80.7% of the front side area. Woohoo!

I won’t say anything about support for HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. We will soon have a separate material on this topic with all the numbers and facts. I'll add a link here.

Specifications LG G6 (model LGH870DS)

When a new generation of a flagship comes out, I compare its characteristics with its predecessor. For greater clarity. However, the G6 is a very different device from the . So we won't compare them.

• 5.7-inch IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection and a resolution of 2880 x 1440 pixels (564 ppi)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 MSM8996 processor (quad Kryo cores clocked at 2.35 GHz)
• Adreno 530 graphics accelerator
• RAM 4 GB LPDDR4 standard (free after reboot 1817 MB)
• flash memory 64 GB UFC 2.0 type (actually 49.78 GB available)
• Supports Micro SD cards up to 2 TB
• two rear cameras: 13 + 13 MP with a viewing angle of 71 and 125 degrees and dual (f/1.8 and f/2.4, 4K recording)
• front module 5 MP (f/2.2, 100-degree lens)
• 3300 mAh battery + Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
• Android 7.0 OS (Google Assisstant support - only in English for now)
• LG UX 6.0 shell
• Sensors: compass, proximity sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, sensor
• lighting, fingerprint scanner
• connectors: USB Type-C 2.0 (OTG works), 3.5 mm output
• case dimensions: 148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm
• weight 163 grams
• case colors: white, black, platinum
• IP68 protection against moisture, dust and drops

Wireless standards:

• 4G (LTE bands: 3, 7, 20, 38, 40)
• support for two Nano SIM (slot combined with Micro SD)
• Wi-Fi (802.11 ac 2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, FM radio
• Navigation: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou

Performance

How does it happen? You pick up another flagship, admire its reactive performance and don’t want to use anything else. So this cannot be said about the G6.

I don’t know why, but in operation it does not at all resemble a device for 52 thousand rubles. The interface is clunky at times, apps don't launch instantly, the camera takes a long time to open, and photography isn't particularly fast. Moreover! A couple of times I praised real and noticeable brakes in third-party programs. Yes, engineers cannot be responsible for the performance of applications from third-party developers, but there are no such problems on other devices (for example).

And yes, I will not scold the smartphone for the fact that it has a 2016 processor installed - Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, at a time when all newly released flagships receive and will receive the 835th “dragon”. I will only scold the device for the fact that it costs 52 thousand rubles - almost the same as Samsung Galaxy S8, and they just put a fresh chipset there.

Let me remind you that Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 is not only a performance increase. The new “stone” includes a modem that provides LTE speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s, as well as Bluetooth 5.0. These are innovations for which you can overpay quite a lot, but when they are not there... we pay for other features. Luckily, the G6 has them.

For example, this is audio transmission via Bluetooth using the aptX HD codec or the same Dolby Vision. So far, only the flagship from LG and no other smartphone in the world can boast of these bells and whistles.

Back to productivity. Now there is no task that would be too tough for our hero. I am sure that nothing will change in the coming year. And if you are not an advanced mobile gamer, then the G6’s safety margin will easily last for 2-3 years. Just optimize the system and everything will be great!

Cameras

I especially liked the HDR work. I set the function to auto once and forgot. Pay attention to the example pictures - they are all very contrasting, but these are not the most simple conditions filming. We say thanks to the evening sun for this. Fortunately, the algorithms easily coped with the too dark areas of the frames. Not perfect, but still very good.

Night shots also turn out decent. And these are perhaps the most difficult shooting conditions for any equipment.

And now that same two-chamber feature. You come almost close to the building, and the maximum door can fit into the lens. For G6 this is not a problem. I switched the shooting to wide-angle mode and everything fit into the frame. Gorgeous!

Of course, at this angle a barrel effect appears. You can't go anywhere without him. All this looks as if the pictures were taken on some kind of action camera. So much the better - why have two devices when everything is combined into one - a smartphone.

And now about what I didn’t like. LG is promoting Collage features and square ratio shooting. Let me remind you that exactly two of these squares fit on a 2:1 screen and it looks cool on a smartphone display. When you open photos on a computer, you realize that all this is pampering - the algorithms greatly reduce the quality of the photo. In principle, I didn’t expect anything else.

There is a mode for creating 360-degree images. However, this is actually a deception, because the smartphone takes the most ordinary panorama and adds a blur below and above that matches the primary colors in the photo.

And there is also no optical stabilization. Absolutely not. For a flagship for which they are asking 52 thousand rubles, this is simply unacceptable.

The smartphone can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second. The quality of the video stream is excellent, there’s simply nothing to complain about.

The same cannot be said about the Slow Motion mode. The resolution is only 1280 x 720, and the FPS frequency is 120. At the same time, the quality of the videos is poor, even on a smartphone screen.

Let me remind you that back in the fall I set a new bar in this regard. Now our benchmark is 1080p at 120 FPS, and 720p slows down motion at 240 FPS.

Sound quality

I'm happy about two things. LG engineers did not kill the 3.5 mm jack, although they could easily have done so. Moreover, the device supports the aptX HD codec from Qualcomm. And this is the second moment that warms my soul.

Just recently we talked in detail about what this aptX HD is. I recommend this standard, because it is the future. And the G6 is ahead of the rest here.

In short, the sound quality when transmitting a signal to Bluetooth headphones that support this codec is higher than on a CD. That is, WAW, FLAC and other Hi-Res formats - this is all a story about really cool sound. If anything, at the moment there are only 5 smartphones with such support, 3 of which are made by LG.

I'm lucky, I just have the right headset - . She knows how to decrypt the codec we need and this is what I can say about this.

The sound quality in wireless headphones is simply amazing!

I can't say that I'm a great listener, but for the first time I can hear and feel the difference between a wired connection and a Bluetooth transmission. The last option, in theory, should be inferior to the cable, but not this time. True, the difference is quite small, it seemed that way to me.

Software shell

There is nothing here from Android 7 in the form in which Google bequeathed it to us. Everything is tightly closed with the proprietary LG UX 6.0 shell. However, do not be upset, because the add-on is stylish, beautiful and bright.

It has its own logic that you need to get used to. However, what smartphone doesn’t have it?

The developers are proud that the interface is adapted for a screen with an 18:9 ratio. Apps can be scaled two to one in portrait and landscape orientation. In fact, it looks very ridiculous - again, we say “thank you” to the wide strip with touch buttons.

In general, if you are expecting some new experience from software on a screen with such a ratio, then don’t wait. The G6 is just a smartphone with an elongated display, which makes it a little more convenient to watch Hollywood content. That's all.

Battery life

The built-in battery is only 3,300 mAh. And taking into account the fairly “hot” iron inside, it would be stupid to count on something extraordinary.

LG G6 works one daylight hours and no more.

Unplug the device from the outlet at 8 am and be prepared that it will be completely discharged by 8 pm.

The screen glow time in my case did not exceed 3-4 hours, and this despite the fact that I left all wireless protocols turned on, activated the Always-on-display function, and taking into account the IPS matrix, it eats up one percent of the charge per hour.

Samsung Galaxy S8, and all owners of the new Snapdragon 835 processor. However, the smartphone has its own unique features, which can play a decisive role for certain needs.

Pros:

• Nice, at least original design
• The rounded display is essentially useless, but a cool feature
• Unbreakable screen (uses two pluses at once)
• Waterproof IP68
• A wide-angle lens is an excellent replacement for an action camera
• aptX HD codec support
• Beautiful video thanks to Dolby Vision (special content required)

Minuses:

• “On paper” the diagonal is 5.7’’, but in fact it’s 5.3’’ - on-screen buttons eat up the useful display area
• Not a flagship processor
• Weak front camera
• Lack of optical stabilization
• Performance still needs to be improved
• Not very capacious battery

Taking into account all the pros and cons, the smartphone still turned out to be very interesting. However, it definitely does not cost 51,990 rubles, which is exactly what they are now asking for it in official retail. Let me remind you that abroad it costs from $650 to $750 and this cost is much more consistent with the level of the device.

Outside

To be fair, I note: LG implemented the idea of ​​“stretching” the screen in length in a smartphone. However, it was the LG G6 that became the first device to be widely available on a global scale with a non-standard (yet) 18:9 display, beating the Galaxy S8 by a week or two in most markets.

With the exception of this feature, the smartphone does not stand out much from the background of dozens of other current models: a metal frame, “crossed” in two places by antenna inserts, a glass back panel, slightly curved at the edges, a dual camera and a round fingerprint scanner in the middle of the rear panel.

The scanner (small, flush with the back panel, and therefore difficult to feel) is combined with the power button. Its atypical design is perhaps the biggest flaw in the LG G6's ergonomics. That is, after two weeks of use, I got used to this method of control, but I never began to experience joy from it.

But the screen here is simply magical. Not in the sense of picture quality, although it is at a level worthy of a flagship, but in the sense of how convenient a smartphone allows you to create a display of 18:9 proportions (2:1, 2880 by 1440 pixels) compared to the usual 16:9. A 5.7-inch diagonal with such proportions does not turn the device into an awkward phablet. It retains the familiar grippy width and one-handed typing capabilities of the 5.2-inch models. The display can show the clock and notifications in white on black even when the device is locked.

At the same time, for example, the text on each page fits no less than on the 5.5-inch screen of the massive iPhone 7 Plus. The only “but”: standard 16:9 video will be played with black bars at the ends of the smartphone, or, when scaling “to the edge”, a little of the image above and below will be lost.

The LG G6 correctly displays high dynamic range videos in HDR 10 and Dolby Vision formats. In such videos you can see the slightest shade transitions in both the darkest and lightest areas of the image. The picture on the screen is easy to read even in direct sunlight; the display without an air gap has almost no glare.

Unlike most flagship models on the market, the glass protecting the front panel (Gorilla Glass 3) here is completely flat, without sloping “2.5D” edges. It seems to me that this was done for the sake of greater resistance to cracking when dropped. There is also Gorilla Glass on the back, but the fifth version: it is somewhat softer, tactilely similar to plastic, because of this, small scratches collect faster, but it is more difficult to break. LG is talking about certifying the smartphone according to the American military standard MIL-STD 810G ().

To prove its outstanding impact resistance, the G6 was dropped repeatedly from a height of about 1.5 meters onto a hard porcelain tile floor at its Russian presentation. Other than some minor dents on the metal frame and scratches on the back panel, there was no damage. The device is also resistant to the penetration of water or dust - the LG G6 can “swim” for up to half an hour at a depth of up to one and a half meters (IP68 certification). If LG had kept the modular design of the G5 in the new generation of flagship, this would have been impossible.

Inside

Qualcomm's 2017 flagship system-on-chip - Snapdragon 835 - was not included in the LG G6. Business laws are harsh: . Instead, the smartphone is built on . The same chip is used, for example, in Google smartphones Pixel. LG has thus become the latest major manufacturer to release a flagship smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 821.

The rest of the characteristics are definitely flagship: 4 GB random access memory, 64 GB built-in, installation of two SIM cards or one SIM and microSD. There will be no performance problems even in the most demanding games, not to mention ordinary applications. Of the advanced features of the Snapdragon 835 that owners of the LG G6 will not get, the only thing worth regretting is the .

Below you can see the results of testing the LG G6 in popular synthetic tests. The smartphone is not the “king of the hill”, but it is located quite close to its top. Without tests, it is impossible to notice the difference with the leaders of the AnTuTu rating - the device works quickly and without lags, and even in demanding games it heats up very moderately.

The battery capacity of the LG G6 (now non-removable) is 3300 mAh. This was enough for me with a good margin for a day of full use - by night the indicator never fell below the 20 percent mark. In HD video playback mode at 50% brightness, the smartphone lasted 9 hours and 10 minutes. Full charging from scratch with a standard adapter supporting Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 takes about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Camera, sound

The LG G6 camera has two 13-megapixel sensors, with one of the lenses being standard and the other being ultra-wide-angle (a viewing angle of 125 degrees is no joke). The first is a relatively standard smartphone lens with an f/1.8 aperture, complemented by phase detection autofocus and an optical stabilization system. The second (aperture f/2.4) is perfect for shooting landscapes and architecture (the ensemble of some medieval square in Spain has a chance to fit entirely into the frame), but it does not have optical stabilization or autofocus. Yes, on other phones the same “wide-angle” is achieved using panoramic photography, but it is not possible to use it in all situations. You can switch between lenses using on-screen buttons, or you can smoothly zoom in and out of the picture by spreading your fingers apart and bringing them together on the screen. Unlike the iPhone 7 Plus, the moment of switching between the two modules is clearly visible, including when shooting video.

Here's how the LG G6 shoots:

This and the following photo were taken from the same point with the regular and wide-angle lenses of the LG G6, respectively.

By clicking, the original photo will open in a new tab - notice how the photo with the sky reflected in the river lacks sharpness

But for the opportunity to take such interesting shots, I would like to forgive the blurriness of the wide-angle lens

Night shots are impressive, but you often have to manually reduce the exposure - by default, the smartphone tends to “overexpose” such scenes

When shooting against the sun, the device turns on the HDR mode, but the bright sky is inevitably overexposed

The price to pay for being able to fit something large into a frame from a short distance is geometric distortion

This photo was taken only in manual mode - automatically the smartphone stubbornly refused to focus on the object in the middle, preferring the background. Open the photo at full size to see how detailed the fibers of the opening bud are. Since the shooting was carried out in manual mode, underexposure here is entirely at the discretion of the photographer.

In my opinion, the LG G6 camera, although not ideal, is capable of producing quite “flagship” results, especially in a special manual mode; "automatic" occasionally misses the mark with exposure and color rendition. I was very impressed with the results of night shooting in the city. A wide-angle lens is indispensable in a number of situations; the main problem with it is the lack of clarity in many pictures. Moreover, the point is not the lack of stabilization: even photos taken in sunny weather at shutter speeds of about 1/500 s look cloudy on the monitor screen. But for viewing on a smartphone screen or posting to Instagram, the clarity is acceptable. All photos taken during testing on the LG G6 can be seen at this link (Google Photos).

In Russia, LG sells a “premium” version of the LG G6: while America and Europe got the phone with a 32 GB built-in storage, Russia received not only 64 GB of memory, but also 32-bit audio chip manufactured by ESS. This advanced digital-to-analog converter (even 4 DACs in one) with an excellent amplifier significantly improves the sound of music - there is more space and “air” in it, and it is easier to distinguish individual instruments and sounds. I note that the chip only works when transmitting sound via cable.

Having tried the phone paired with Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 headphones, I can say that music with a wired connection sounds more detailed and generally more pleasant than on the iPhone 7 Plus, noisy compositions put less pressure on the brain, the sound picture is more clearly drawn. There is no bias towards any frequency range: bass, highs and mids were measured just right for our ears. And I’m talking about the sound of regular streaming mp3s from Google Play Music; well-made 24-bit FLAC files generally sound amazing. There is not much to say about the built-in speaker; it is quite loud, but if you turn the volume to maximum, distortion is inevitable. Perhaps this is it for today best smartphone for audiophiles with high-quality headphones who do not want to bother with external DACs and amplifiers. Just keep in mind that when you turn on the “Hi-Fi” chip, the battery starts to drain one and a half times faster.

Interface and software features

LG G6 goes on sale with Android 7.0- despite the fact that the most current version of the Google mobile platform today, already available for Pixel and Nexus smartphones, is 7.1.2. It’s not that users risk missing out on important functions. Rather, the question is how much time will pass between the release of a new numbered version of Android and its appearance on the LG G6. You can focus on the experience of the previous flagship: LG G5 in Europe and the USA began receiving Android 7.0 in December 2016, four months after the “nexuses” with a clean version of the OS, and the update was completed only by February 2017. The year before last, the flagship G4 at LG initially refused to update to Android 7.0, and only when the owners of the devices were indignant, they promised to do it... in the third quarter of 2017 - that is, about a year after the release of this version of the OS.

The interface shell of the LG G6 cannot be called “clean” - a lot of things were painted on top of classic Android. Moreover, the reason for this, apparently, is one: the management of the Korean company is still confident that without “its own” interface the device will lose to its competitors. In fact, the non-standard interface only creates additional problems for users who, when switching from other smartphones, have to learn many new actions. However, most of LG's competitors have the same problems with their inability to abandon their own shells or reduce modifications to stock Android to a minimum.

Some proprietary applications from LG are really interesting: for example, "Square Camera" or "HD Voice Recorder" with a bunch of settings, capable of recording “high-resolution” sound in FLAC format, with a sensitivity adjustment function for high-quality recording of loud concerts.

conclusions

LG G6 is an excellent device. Yes, outwardly it is an ordinary glass-metal block without design frills, but the “long” screen definitely classifies it as a new generation of smartphones that remain convenient and compact when the display diagonal grows to 5.7 inches or more. LG G6 has one of best cameras, which is only slightly inferior in automatic mode to the market leaders, but at the same time can take interesting wide-angle photos. Finally, this is the most suitable smartphone for those who want maximum audio quality in a portable package. But if 52,000 rubles doesn’t burn your pocket, and the LG Watch Style smart watch offered as a load without a heart rate monitor is of no use to you, you should wait a couple of months with the purchase - the price will certainly become more acceptable. At its current level, most buyers will find it very difficult not to be tempted by the futuristic, streamlined shapes of its main competitor, which now costs only about 6% more.

Let's summarize the LG G6 review.

Pros:

Large "tall" screen with support for HDR content in a convenient body

Resistant to water and drops

Additional features shooting with a wide-angle camera

Owners of expensive headphones will note excellent sound thanks to the 32-bit DAC

Minuses:

Undistinguished case design

Modifications in the interface shell that are not needed by most users, the very existence of which makes operational system updates difficult

High price at the start of sales

The LG G5 was lukewarmly received by critics and the general public. After the stylish G4, the company offered a very boring-looking device, replacing leather with metal and relying on a modular design. Only the metal was hidden under plastic, and the implementation of modularity was not the most successful. This year the company decided to correct all the mistakes made, abandoned modularity and minimized frames on all sides. Let's see how the LG G6 turned out in the end.

Specifications LG G6:

• Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), WCDMA (900/2100 MHz), FDD-LTE (Band 3, 7, 20), TDD-LTE (Band 38, 40)
• Platform: Android 7.0 Nougat with LG UX
• Display: 5.7", 2880x1440 pixels, 18:9, 564 ppi, IPS, HDR+, Dolby Vision
• Camera: dual, dual LED flash, video recording 2160p@30fps
  Main: 13 MP, f/1.8, 71 degree capture angle
  Additional: 13 MP, f/2.4, 125 degree capture angle
• Front camera: 5 MP, f/2.2, 100 degree capture angle
• Processor: 4 Kryo cores, up to 2.35 GHz, 64 bits, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
• Graphics chip: Adreno 530
• RAM: 4 GB
• Internal memory: 32/64/128 GB
• Memory card: microSD (up to 2 TB)
• A-GPS
• FM radio
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Audio: ESS Saber ES9218+ DAC
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Concurrency
• Ports: USB Type-C 2.0, 3.5 mm headphone
• Led indicator
• Fingerprint's scanner
• Battery: non-removable, 3300 mAh
• Fast charging: Quick Charge 3.0
• Protection: IP68, MIL-STD-810G
• Dimensions: 148.9x71.9x7.9 mm
• Weight: 163 g

Video review

Equipment and design

The LG G6 comes in a small and unassuming black box. Inside, the buyer will find the smartphone itself, a proprietary piece of cloth for cleaning the device from fingerprints, a pin for removing the SIM card (there are two nano-SIM trays, one of which can also accept microSD), a set of documentation, a USB cable, a charger (up to 16.2 W) and good headphones.

LG G6 in Russia is presented in three colors - black, blue-gray and white with a pink frame. In black the G6 looks pretty good, but in others you might be bothered by the black frames around the screen. The design can be described as very neat and calm - there are no conspicuous elements, accents, or absurdities. All design elements are made as inconspicuous and bright as possible so as not to attract attention. Small and flat volume buttons, a barely noticeable logo under the screen, a tiny earpiece - all together create a complete picture of calm and tranquility. The only exception is for the G6 badge on the rear panel.

The main design feature of the LG G6 is, of course, its framelessness. According to our calculations, the width of the side frames was 3.58 mm, and the top and bottom margins in total were only 19.4 mm. As a result, the screen occupies 78.32% of the front surface. The display itself has a diagonal of 5.7" and a resolution of 2880x1440 pixels, the pixel density is 564 ppi. The corners of the screen are rounded, but this does not affect the use of the device in any way.

The display is made using IPS technology, with multi-touch for ten touches built directly into the pixel layer (In-Cell Touch). Using IPS means excellent whites, but not the best blacks - with Always On Display enabled, the screen borders are easily distinguishable. By the way, Always On Display on IPS is generally a big stupidity, sucking up battery power. Viewing angles are ideal, with only slight color changes at extreme angles. Color reproduction is good, which is typical for screens of this type (although the temperature is slightly on the cold side). HDR10 and Dolby Vision are supported - if you find content for them, then you're great.

And if LG’s design is good and the screen is also cool, then there are plenty of complaints about the ergonomics and choice of materials. Although, it would seem, the dimensions are more than acceptable (148.9x71.9 mm) and at least the ergonomics should be at their best. But no. The volume buttons are placed a bit high. The lock button on the rear panel is not always convenient. By the way, the fingerprint scanner built into it recognizes me every time. But what you can’t argue with is the fact that the device can be used with one hand, it’s not at all huge.

Now about the materials. Both the front and back panels of the smartphone are made of glass, which collects fingerprints well. They are easy to wipe off even without the included cloth. The glass for the main cameras is separate - and I always thought that this was done in order to protect the camera with more durable glass. But LG did the opposite - to fray back panel It’s almost impossible, but the part with the cameras gets scratched very quickly. The assembly is excellent, there is dust and moisture protection according to the IP68 standard (judging by the warranty card, sometimes water getting into the case is even a warranty case). You can trust the shock resistance of the LG G6 until the moment you drop it and break it. It is the most common, like other glass-metal phones. Of the five G6s I saw without chips, cracks and with the camera glass intact, there was only one device. Our.

Software

LG G6 is based on operating system Android 7.0 Nougat, likely to be updated to Oreo. The “green robot” is hidden behind the LG UX shell, which evokes little sympathy. The general style, organization of the application menu and many little details in the system return the user almost to the era of Android 4.x. At the same time, I cannot praise the shell for its wide functionality; I did not find any particularly interesting functions in it (except that Knock Code unlocking is a very cool thing). Maybe I didn't notice something. In general, look at the screenshots, we have a lot of them.

Sound

The ESS ES9218+ DAC is responsible for the sound in the smartphone. This is a Hi-Fi Quad solution, and LG claims it provides 50% clearer sound than a single DAC. In general, I try to talk about sound from the point of view that it is very individual and a lot depends on what files you listen to and with what headphones. Therefore, everything may seem different to you. And in order to be as objective as possible, I listened to the same songs in the same headphones (the choice fell on Denon D7200 and Plantronics BackBeat PRO 2) on LG G6, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Aquaris X Pro and Meizu Pro 7 Plus, changing them in turn. Of course, I would arrange blind audition, in order to exclude the brand factor, but that will happen later.

In general, I liked the LG G6 with Hi-Fi mode (it can be turned off to save energy) more than the Aquaris X Pro with the ESS Saber ES9118 DAC - the Spaniard plays almost as cleanly, but there is less volume reserve and the lower frequencies are played out less energetic. I liked the bass better on the Pro 7 Plus with the Cirrus Logic CS43130 DAC, it has a noticeably higher volume headroom, but the G6 plays cleaner - for rock, which I respect most, the Meizu would be preferable. Well, the Galaxy Note 8 looked nothing compared to the G6. Sure, it has EQ and tube amp emulation, but it just plays dirty and boring. Samsung has improved its flagships in many ways over the years last years and it's time to start doing audio.

I praised the phones for their sound, but don’t think that they can outshine the sound of some cheap Chinese audio player for 10 thousand. Not to mention expensive portable solutions or stationary DAC amplifiers to listen to music from a PC. The Denon D7200 headphones play with the not-so-expensive Audinst DX1 DAC amplifier in a way that neither LG nor Meizu can even come close to - they are simply not capable of producing the same depth of sound, such a volume margin and such a wide stage. All smartphones with DACs are budget audiophile solutions. Almost all flagships already play, plus or minus, the same way, for which thanks to Qualcomm and its codec, so don’t worry and better start looking for headphones. Ideally, wireless. As a person who has a hi-fi player for $1,500, who has expensive Denons and Beyers, I prefer a combination of a smartphone and Bluetooth headphones for flights. Because it’s convenient without wires, because any smartphone will give any player a head start in controlling it, because at an altitude of 10 thousand meters the noise reduction is decisive, and you simply won’t hear any audiophile nuances - I tried it, believe me. In general, take quality wireless headphones and you will be happy.

Camera

The main camera of the LG G6 is dual. Both modules have a resolution of 13 megapixels and differ not only in the image capture angle, but also in aperture ratio and autofocus (the “Shirik” does not have it). For a standard camera this is a quite modest 71 degrees, and for a wide-format camera it is as much as 125 degrees. Along with the change in the capture angle, the aperture ratio also changes as expected - f/1.8 for the main camera and f/2.4 for the wide camera. The proprietary camera application allows you to both shoot in “auto” mode and adjust the photo settings manually. In this case, the photographer has a histogram and a level at his disposal, and he can also highlight the boundaries of objects in focus.

We didn’t bother with the manual mode, because most smartphone buyers are not photographers and prefer to shoot with a car, minimally interfering with the process. In addition, the LG G6 usually turns out to be good in a car. Of course, there are bad shots, but they are minimal. In most cases, LG produces well-detailed images with calm but accurate colors, good noise suppression, and properly rendered lighting. The G6 camera does not give in to very bright colors and shooting in low light.

Much of what I said applies to the wide-angle camera too. Although it certainly shoots a little worse - not so great detail, distortion, problems with image quality in low light. However, these are all common problems of any wide-angle cameras, and so far no one in the world of smartphones is able to offer wide-angle shooting quality comparable to the LG G6. And we personally really like the distortion from the “shirika”; it has a special charm. By the way, you can make collages from pictures taken with a regular and wide-angle camera, but this is some kind of meaningless function. I don't know why it is needed.

regular camera – wide angle camera

Now let's talk about the video. It is recorded on both cameras in 4K resolution (2160p) with a frame rate of 30 fps. Videos can also be recorded in simple and professional modes; in the second you can adjust both picture and sound parameters. There is a wind crusher (in the absence of wind, turning it on makes the sound recording louder), the ability to adjust the sensitivity of microphones and some other parameters that mere mortals don’t even understand. But even without all this, in normal mode The LG G6 shoots excellent videos with good detail and stabilization. It’s nice to be able to switch between two cameras right while shooting (with ASUS Zenfone 4, for example, you had to turn off recording to change cameras). In the evening, the quality of wide-angle video shooting expectedly drops (remember about aperture?), but a regular camera remains good.

You can shoot panoramas, including 360-degree panoramas, which are then adapted for viewing in a VR helmet. There is a function for shooting short animations, for some reason called clips, slow-mo (saved as 120-fps video) and time-lapses (from x10 to x60). As for the front camera, it uses a 5-megapixel sensor with wide-angle optics (100 degrees). Selfies turn out sad, at the same level budget smartphones, which is strange considering the advanced core module. Examples above.

Performance and tests

The biggest compromise LG made with the G6 is hardware. There is no Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, installed in most flagships this year, here is last year’s Snapdragon 821. It is complemented by 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory, of which, after the first inclusion, the user has 2 GB and 51.27 GB, respectively. Then the situation with available RAM gets worse, now, when I am writing this text, after “completely clearing” the memory, CPU-Z shows 1.2 GB of free RAM. We have already discussed the situation in games in detail - in order not to repeat ourselves, we will attach a spring video and a link to the text to it.

Well, the benchmarks:

Judging by AnTuTu, all these months LG engineers did not sit idly by and somehow tried to fight throttling. As a result, the result in AnTuTu in three runs drops not from 153 thousand to 105 thousand, but from 155 thousand to 123 thousand. The GFXBench Manhattan scores also differ less between the regular and long-term tests - the drop is not from 1006 to 479.5 frames, but from 1063 to 590.1. The final victory is still very far away (that is, it will not happen), but there is definitely progress. There is also heating, but I couldn’t get the LG G6 very hot. The smartphone remained so that it could be safely held in your hands.

The battery capacity of the LG G6 is 3300 mAh. In our traditional video playback test, it lasted 7 hours and 17 minutes, which is not bad for a device with an IPS screen at maximum brightness. The discharge per hour in Asphalt Extreme was 14% - according to G6, this means that the smartphone will last for 5.5 hours, according to mathematics - which is 7-7.5 hours. Probably a smartphone knows better. In general, even with the most active use, the LG G6 will last your entire day, and in more leisurely scenarios – even two.

conclusions

But the company still remains in the top ten most successful brands and does not despair. There is no need to talk, for example, about the sad discrepancy between a big name and sales, as in the case of Sony. Nevertheless, each new LG flagship receives a new concept - and, I think, not from a good life. Koreans are constantly searching, trying to find the most effective point of contact with the public.

This year the focus is on display. Moreover, LG did not turn to AMOLED technology (unfortunately), but shifted all the chips towards increasing the ratio of the display diagonal to the size of the device. Due to the non-standard aspect ratio - 18:9 - and the reduction of free space around the perimeter of the screen, the gadget was made narrow and not too tall. Essentially, we are dealing with a smartphone whose dimensions correspond to a regular device with a 5.2-inch display, only this one has a 5.7-inch screen. Samsung did the same, presenting its Galaxy S8 the other day, but LG rightfully receives a medal for the championship.

The design has again been radically changed: the device has a glass back cover and has finally lost its removable battery, but has become waterproof (IP68). Another (and, perhaps, the most controversial) feature of the G6 is the use of hardware that is relevant for last year’s devices: Qualcomm Snapdragon 821. Thus, the company is signing up for the G6 to obviously lag in performance from almost all the flagships that will be presented after it.

But the G6 also has several elements inherited from its predecessors: a dual camera, where one lens is wider than the other, and a power button located on the rear panel. As usual, it is combined with a fingerprint scanner.

⇡ Specifications

⇡ Appearance, ergonomics and software

The main thing that LG has achieved with the choice of a new screen format is a unique look. With recognition, the Koreans did not always have everything smoothly: for example, if the G4 with its leather back cover was unlike anything else, then the G5 did not stand out so much from the general background. The G6 is again very difficult to confuse with a smartphone from another brand - and not just because of the logo under the screen. The way the latter is integrated into the front panel, the combination of shape and thickness, the volume buttons placed on the left side instead of the usual right, the unusual shape of the speaker grille...

You can argue about taste preferences: some people don’t like the glass back cover, some may find this smartphone too thick. But there is no arguing that the LG G6 has its own face.

An important feature of the case is the combination of moisture and dust protection according to the IP68 standard (like the Sony Xperia at one time and like the Samsung Galaxy S7/S8), and not IP67 (like the iPhone 7) - and for this you didn’t even have to get rid of the mini- Jack. But how did this happen for the Koreans? Apple in full force is scratching its heads. However, down with the irony - there was no problem with this, and in the past LG was hampered by either a removable back cover or a modular design. Now nothing interferes. You can submerge your G6 a little (to a depth of up to one and a half meters for half an hour) - and nothing will happen to it.

LG G6, top edge: microphone and mini-jack

The second (and main) joy of the non-standard display is that the gadget is really convenient to use. This is the first more or less “one-handed” smartphone with a 5.7-inch display that I have tried. It feels smaller than it actually is. I won’t say that my fingers on one hand can reach all points of the screen, but I don’t have to constantly grab the LG G6. By the way, G6 is narrower and lower than G5! Let it be thicker. 148.9 × 71.9 × 7.9 mm vs. 149.4 × 73.9 × 7.3 mm. And it weighs a little more - 163 grams versus 156.

The front panel, as well as the camera module, are covered with Gorilla Glass 3, while Gorilla Glass 5 is used for the rear panel. I cannot explain such preferences, although from experience we can say that the fifth generation of Gorilla Glass is better at collecting small scratches, but is theoretically more resistant in relation to extreme loads.

A nice thing is that the unit with two cameras no longer protrudes above the body, as does the power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. In terms of convenience, this is a dubious point (it was easier to find the button before), but the new option definitely looks better.

The fingerprint scanner is the most ordinary, capacitive, it is impossible to say anything special about it - it works quickly, quite stable, with “capacitive” features (if you slightly hurt your finger, rewrite the fingerprint). With its help, you can block not only the entire device, but also individual applications (namely, the gallery and QuickMemo+ notes).

Due to the very thin frames, LG had to sacrifice part of the display for navigation icons - they are displayed on the bottom line on most screens. When watching movies, photos or playing games, icons are hidden and all the inches are at your disposal. The unusual aspect ratio does not cause any inconvenience - you simply don’t notice it.

LG G6 software shell

But the 2:1 ratio (or 18:9, as LG prefers to put it) is even more tailored to landscape work than 16:9 - and ideally, this can be exploited by slightly changing the application design. LG's proprietary software, which is installed on the G6, has already been adapted to the new conditions, and the authors of third-party applications are also partially adapting it. For example, a special version of the game Temple Run was shown at MWC. However, there are no serious differences to speak of.