LG G4 Review: Sticking With What Works | Pocketnow

[@GeorgeTengTV]

I will never tire of Michael Fisher's reviews. If this man is not the top mobile device reviewer of our time, I'm not sure how far off we can get.

[@dral22]

And MKBHD, but I agree. He gets straight to the point good or bad.

[@ajtronic]

GeorgeTengTV Fisher is the best reviewer out there. WE OUT HERE, REVIEWING.

[@0097King]

GeorgeTengTV I agree but Jon Rettinger is not too far behind imo

[@MrTheenDx]

Dral B I'm not a hater, but I think MKBHD is so overrated.

[@blaze45657]

He'll yeah he's great

[@Pocketnow]

Hi folks! Just wanted to share an update on our LG G4 review. Contrary to the company's original assertions, LG informs us that all LG G4 units do indeed support QuickCharge 2.0 (which we've confirmed in our own testing). In addition, the 2900 mAh battery in our T-Mobile US test unit was an anomaly; all retail units will ship with a 3000 mAh pack. More details in our full review at Pocketnow: pocketnow.com/2015/05/06/lg-g4-review ^M

[@pfd1970]

I see red leather in my future 😀

[@ProphetRay]

***** and some really nice pictures from now on, :-)

[@WillKennard]

Got the LG G3 at the moment, best feature - you can take the back off. Good to see they are sticking with this.

[@MarcusArtorius]

***** if we're lucky. I have a feeling that LG is going to screw over the American market like they did with the G3. Announced a bunch of colors, only sold two. On the US page on LG's site for the G4, they only lost black and tan leather along with grey and white plastic.

[@pfd1970]

Marcus Thomas​​ The Net is vast and infinite 😁 I'm sure coming by the other colors will be possible.  There is always EBay.

[@LukeBaatjies-LBN4K]

I would like to see G4 vs S6 vs M9. Anyone else?

[@AceofZeroz]

Luke Baatjies Practically the matchup of the year if the Z4 would have made it in time..

[@LukeBaatjies-LBN4K]

Mundher Al Lawati Definitely in the camera dept.

[@aashrithr.v8022]

Me 2 dude. Very eager for it

[@LukeBaatjies-LBN4K]

M9 speakers + S6 Edge screen + G4 camera = ultimate phone of 1st half 2015

[@LemAsiedu]

Luke Baatjies droid life have a video on just that

[@AbhinavValecha]

some times I prefer Michael over MKBHD.. awesome review as always Michael..

[@blessedred]

MKBHD can be too nice about a phone often afraid to say necessarily how bad something is about it. And he's very general when it comes to reviews as Michael is a little more in-depth.

[@AbhinavValecha]

Justen Simpson​ yes, exactly.. and not to mention Michael's narration is amazing! 😍

[@blessedred]

Abhinav Valecha Yeah I agree. Iron Man surely does some great narration.lol

[@LeoRizoLeon]

Michael is number two in my book. Mkbhd takes the cake still for me. That's quite an accomplishment if u consider their age.

[@AbhinavValecha]

Leobardo Rizo​ indeed, it is!

[@AnandJC21]

For me..LG G4 has the edge over S6...Fits my needs perfectly

[@daviidon]

Why are people worrying about the 808...the nexus 6 and note 4 has the 805 and they both were great performers.

[@DasdenDJ]

ICE Starboy Some people want more processing power. blog.gsmarena.com/lg-g4-performance-benchmark-results/

[@xtacee1990]

Kristian Johnsen losers

[@Kidsnd274]

ICE Starboy Exactly, the 810 sucks, got the LG G Flex 2 D:

[@svartdraken]

The 805 is a beast, I have it on my Note 4. It has 4 cores (you don't need more, there are no apps that use more than 4 cores, even heavy games) clocked at 2,7 Ghz (no processor has higher clock). The 808 is a downgrade from the 810, because the 810 has over heating problems (one of my classmates has bought the G Flex 2, it has great performance, but after 10 minutes on asphalt 8, the only heavy game he uses, the phone becomes hot and slow, you just can't keep on gaming because it starts lagging very bad)... Antutu results confirm that thing... We compared the benchmarks: we turned off our phones and powered them on, then put them in a plastic sealed box into the fridge for 15 minutes to obtain the highest performance (I scored 54.500 on the note and he scored 56.000 on his flex, about 2.000 points higher than normal for both the phones); after playing the same time asphalt 8, we compared benchmarks then and well... I had 49.000 and he scored only 43.000... He even had the 64 bit version of antutu, that is supposed to make better use of his processor... These 2 new processors are very bad in my opinion

[@EugeneKee]

Among all the top reviewers of this phone, you are the only one who got the leather back. You're the man! 👍

[@damnhockey]

Great review. I bought a LG G4 and I love it. With a 128 GB card I have lots of memory. The camera is excellent and this week I just received Marshmallow . Your reviews are the best in the business. Bravo.

[@gilangs8484]

MIke White is good for daily usage?

[@TheWarnberg]

Looks like a solid offering. That camera is compelling, as is the leather back.

[@dbrxsdgo]

Still rocking my G4 in 2019. Camera is awesome! Not sure why most reviews on phones talk about the backs as I'd like to think most people end up buying a proactive case anyway. Gotta protect your investment. 😀

[@MrunalKapadia]

This is how a review should be, simple, cool, to the point, cover equal positives and negatives. Great job Michael Fisher // Pocket Now. Definitely a must buy phone - LG G4.

[@MegaPP95]

For the phantom apps, which are draining your battery with no noticable effect (except for the short battery-life of course), you can use greenify which hibernates automatically apps.

[@user-tz8pf4pd4q]

The king of smartphone reviews!! Good job Michael. You the real MVP.

[@philphillips7744]

@Marijn Molenaar I think the g4 is a better choice it deals with most of screen problems the g3 had

[@jortuspelatus7364]

I'm still having trouble trusting the S808. It's not as future-proof as the S810 or the Exynos 7420. But that's just me...

[@MarcusArtorius]

If the phone performs well, then it's future proof.

[@thefinder8087]

Bon Jorte Badiango Not sure what you mean by future proof when speaking about a smartphone, but the 808 could actually be a better performer than the 810. The reasoning behind this is that in nearly all of the 810 phones I've seen there's been very aggressive throttling when the four larger cores are in use. This causes performance issues (obviously). The 808 however only has 2 of those larger, hotter cores therefore minimizing throttling. In other words while the 810 in theory is faster, in practice it's throttled so much that the 808 is very likely a better performer.

[@blessedred]

The S810 has super aggressive throttling so actually its future looks quite short.

[@dpkg04]

Nathaniel Graham But SD 808 uses DDR3 ram which is a bit disappointing.

[@TheJanhalsema1]

Bon Jorte Badiango Don't worry, I run a LG Nexus 4 Underclocked at 1.2 ghz and it's still butter smooth in any task (:

[@TheNightshotBR]

The main reason why i swapped android for Blackberry was multitasking. Some will say multitasking on android is fine, but those who´d say that never had their hands on a BB device. I still like android, but for me, multitasking prowess is a MUST. If android ever gets close to what BB can do, i´ll consider getting back. As for the video, the G4 looks gorgeous. I was surprised to realize it suffers from memory issues. Oh well..,

[@Xshinobi2k8]

"Sticking With What Works"....works for LG not for HTC.

[@mayankgupta6213]

Htc camera is only reason I don't wanna buy m9

[@Julianna.Domina]

Mayank Gupta They sent out an update that fixed the camera.

[@ichigouzumaki324]

Datafiend That's why the quote was for the LG G4 and not the M9 o_0

[@Julianna.Domina]

***** The iPhone 6, Galaxy s6, and other devices prove you don't need OIS. What I have been hearing is massive improvement in the camera.

[@toryn5017]

New American Fishkeeper Still garbage.

[@mndlessdrwer]

I have to say that, in the past, I wasn't as aware of the reasoning behind all of the emphasis placed on smartphone camera quality. I didn't really get why people made such a fuss over them. Then I got the Samsung Galaxy S6, and it has changed the way I look at mobiles for photography. It comes astonishingly close to, if not better than, the quality of the average point-and-shoot cameras on the market while being infinitely more convenient and featuring one of the best displays on the market on which to view the results. By comparison, it would appear that the G4 lacks some of the ready-to-shoot functionality, but compensates by giving you decent point-and-shoot functionality backed by a massive suite of custom controls, so you can really dial in the shot. This is amazing to see on any phone and is great to have, if you have the time.

[@Marios5556]

Finally someone mentions what the sides are made of. Some reviewers are saying it's metal...

[@Sexitoya24]

Great video Mr Fisher, LG did a good job with the G4, although I would of like to see a finger print scanner and fast charging/wireless charging.

[@akinwaleakintoye8304]

I love Michael Fisher voice, his introduction and reviews....obviously one of my best smartphone reviewers on KZbin. I will appreciate if he can review the attention getting- media hyped Asus zenfone 2 especially the 4gb variant

[@platinumninja6571]

Really like Michael Fisher's reviews, covers everything any passionate smartphone enthusiast, potential customer would need to know about a particular product before buying it. This phone I will probably not buy since I am waiting for other flagships in the fall, but it's checking out if you want an LG flagship as your next smartphone.

[@blademasterzero5295]

There is quick charge 2.0 included on the G4, check Qualcomm's page.

[@Mr123awesomecoolio]

the G4 with the leather back looks so nice- almost having second thoughts about my S6 Edge

[@itseman2]

How did I miss this review? Very well written! Pocketnow

[@insanecoolaid7299]

Quick charging is bad for the battery, 3 months of charging over 3.0amps can degrade its quality and lose 10% of its full capacity because of cracks within.

[@J0shM0dz]

Insane CoolAid Yeah I know what you mean, have had an Oppo Find 7 for about 9 months now. The phone actually dies at about 20-25% rather than 0% which is really quiet annoying when you think your all good for a short trip then suddenly... no phone. Shame you cant buy replacement batteries in Australia.

[@namoudany]

Can you back this up? I don't mean to say your dishonest or anything. I would just like to read about this.

[@insanecoolaid7299]

***** Overloading isn't a problem anymore on today's smartphones because of a certain thing inside that stops anymore voltage from going in.

[@insanecoolaid7299]

khoaiii You BUY another one~ that's great but what about built in ones?

[@insanecoolaid7299]

khoaiii Miss, may i ask the amps of your charger?

[@cuddles6938]

Edit your video with annotations about Quick Charge, most people will not bother to read the Video Description and assume the G4 still doesn't have Quick Charge when it has had it the entire time, it was just not activated on all those free phones they sent out to everyone. I got the invite to get one but missed the email by 2 days.

[@IvanAtli]

That camera, along with the expandable storage makes my mouth water, this phone got things right. If only the battery wasn't better, I wish smartphone manufactures would realize we want a long battery over pixels. Still looks like a great phone

[@Mega07]

Lumia 930 had the best low light pic but I'm baffled on how the M9 wasn't up to par like a M8 would be on low light

[@raymondgao5877]

I still have my G4 mid 2017. It's honestly amazing. My only problem I had with it was the software. It wasn't bad, it just looked ugly. I solved this by installing Nova Launcher on it and now all the only problem I had with the phone is fixed. Everything else is still perfectly fine after 2 years.

[@luiscorreia5260]

My LG G3 shots a photo when you said:"Bravo LG!"kkkkkkk

[@Steven178p]

Only phone reviewer I will ever watch, Great job Michael!

[@marilyto]

Loved my G3!!! Now it's time to upgrade!

[@OviWanKeno9i]

Are the sides not metal for sure?? I've heard metal and plastic from different sources. I can't tell. I love the leather part.. leather, glass and metal spells luxury for me.

[@johnmatthews2227]

Here I am stuck watching it on the Optimus G...will there be a discount please :(

[@BWOne]

6:00 Making my usual appearance in a Pocketnow Selfie by *****

[@Pocketnow]

BWOne Wouldn't feel right without you somewhere in the frame! ^M

[@Tesseract9630]

Michael Fisher's narration is very unique and awsome.

[@kensg]

Thanks for the update on the battery. I did think it was odd that the battery was smaller on this newer model. I've been using the tmobile version of the G3 and loving it.. Maybe I missed something ..but does this model have Qi wireless charging included? Thanks again for your always great review Mr.Fisher.

[@chevymuscle4life]

Between the S6 and G4 it's a close race. I have the G3 and im waiting on the G4. Nothing is perfect but i think the G4 is for me.

[@SteveLauterbachJr]

Nice review, but your facts are a bit off. The G4 is Quick Charge 2.0 ready and your terminology of the display is wrong. It's a Quantum IPS display. Not a Quantum Dot IPS. There's a huge difference.

[@Pocketnow]

Steve Lauterbach Thanks for the heads-up on IPS Quantum vs Quantum Dot; we've appended a correction to the description. But the G4 doesn't support Quick Charge (2.0 or otherwise) even if its chipset does. If you need a non-Pocketnow confirmation, PhoneArena explains it pretty well: www.phonearena.com/news/Does-the-LG-G4-have-Quick-Charge-2.0-Sorry-thats-a-no-and-heres-why_id69020 ^M

[@drmoynihan]

Switchable battery & flexible memory !!! What innovative ideas. :) Sounds like a great phone when my S4 is gone. Thank you for a great review.

[@A-Doug]

Michael Fisher could review a toaster and make it enjoyable to watch. Good job man!

[@joelg7136]

fantastic review, i will be upgrading soon G4 is officially at the top of my list.

[@davideoman1000]

Will you guys do a video about old like a year or two old smartphones and how relevant they are now?

[@JTheAndroidFreak]

Great review Mr Fisher. Thanks very much :D

[@OffroadGeekDxb]

How come no one mentions or is impressed with the Custom programmable IR remote that comes along with LG G3/G4 ... I have all my remotes programmed on this and it works great!! Beast of a phone! Love it.

[@MarionChitoDelaCruz]

Michael is one of the few tech experts. Good review, but im glad with S6 edge.

[@TechLineHD]

great review! Michael Fisher nails it as usual reviewing the device.

[@sauljase5801]

instablaster...

[@roguequill]

Whoa this review came out fast- fantastic video as usual, though I'm interested in what you guys thought about battery life in comparison to your S6 unit.

[@TuPhonez4Free]

Awesome review! Right on target Michael.

[@kmann1994]

Well, crossing this off my list of potential next smartphones this fall. What's left: 1. GS6 Edge 2. Note 5 Edge 3. Moto X 3rd Gen

[@MrTobersheer]

LG snatched me from HTC because it just makes sure it addresses all the needs and wants the customers mention. Thank you LG. I'm buying the G4 next month.

[@zxyzee]

Good review.... Can you get a part 2 as well for a camera comparison with s6... Thanks a lot though eased out my confusion to buy it... 😊

[@jeraldnobles4516]

Perhaps making 2 versions of the phone- one unibody (for those people who prefer the "premium" feel) and one with removable batteries and expandable storage( for the power users, which most OEMs have somewhat ignored) might make things interesting in the next LG flagship iteration.

[@nicholaicorbie]

I love his reviews they feel so professional good job. Well done!

[@leiya107]

The camera looks very promising. But what about the "highlights in the shadows"?

[@TimotiusAustin]

Nice review but you didn't mention the color spectrum sensor on the camera.

[@fabriciovs94]

Great review! And I'm surprised with the camera! One of the best right now.

[@eaytkon]

I would be really pleased if you can compare it to the g flex 2

[@jimmy4437]

I did like the review are you break it down and I appreciate that was a lot of people that go out there and tell you a lot about the phone but it actually now using the phone correctly and break it down day by day and how's need to be done and thank you for

[@TayoAAdetola]

Anyone know exactly why the T-mobile LG G4 has a 2900 mah battery instead of a 3000 mah one? Seems random to me. Also will the 3000 mah battery work inside of the T-mobile unit or is it a different size?

[@maksuree]

those annotations in the corner mess with trying to change resolution. please move them.

[@Majestia27]

Does it have an IR blaster? What about voice recognition? Also, what type of camera modes does it have? You mentioned a 'beauty' mode... is it as good as the Note 3? One more thing... are you able to capture photos while shooting video, and if so, is there a hiccup in the recording like there is in the Note 3? Thanks and great video!

[@MrKodanNche]

Now, Michael, when you said the frame rate was kind of choppy, does that happen with video under low light?

[@ErnestMarvinEsteban]

The only advantage this phone has over the S6 is the better manual controls in the camera app. But normal/automatic mode seems to better on the S6.

[@MrAviranshahino]

Great review. Very professional opinion. Tnx

[@all4android970]

No galaxy s6 for me. I am totally getting this beast of a phone in July! Cant wait!

[@nemolovesy0u]

We missed you Michael!

[@AdrianFirdhawanSoekotjo]

Do you also get another back cover if you choose the leather one? since leather will not be as sustainable..

[@jenniferlorenzo7282]

Just curious why they refuse to release the stylus version of this in the U.S. Hopefully that will change soon.

[@CyborgSodaCollects]

I've been paying back and fourth for this review lol I've started to notice a trend when it comes to new Pocketnow content. As always Michael you deliver the goods in a very digestible and engaging way. The LG G4 ultimately looks like the device that I'll be getting this year. The m9 which I was given by HTC as been very mixed in two key areas: battery and rear camera performance... The LG G4 doesn't suffer from either of these issues. Do you think that you'd put your Moto x down for some more time with it?

[@dylanryll9305]

An awesome review like always

[@TheLastNappy]

Hey rellay nice review again :)! Does the g4 supports wireless charging?

[@taroksoft]

Thank you for the excellent review Michael

[@ryuhaneda]

Thank you for another review Michael. LG really has worked out a potent performer in the G4. Naturally, like every other phone out there, it has its flaws, but there is still something quite appealing about it. For me, it's the persistence of expandable storage and a removable battery. Also, while it doesn't have a stylus - and probably not quite as large as the Galaxy Note line - I would probably pick this over the S6 (but only if Samsung had no other smartphones to sell). You are definitely right about one thing: Android phones are starting to run high-demand games with ease. Nowadays, the winner seems to be the phone that has long battery life, an intuitive display, and a good camera. In those respects, LG continues to push forward, and I for one hope that they continue to offer increasingly better competition to all others.

[@ThenManuelPerin]

i was dancing to that music tho lmao

[@kihunipunk]

'Denim dive'. That was funny. Great review, Michael.

[@happyphal1862]

Who knows what is the board in green or gray with some graph line he placed the phone on called? I am really in love with those kinds of board or sticker or wallpaper or skin or whatever it may called

[@lockbotCRM]

Pocketnow Do you know if LG will sell back plates by themselves? I would really like to have a the leather AND ceramic back.

[@isaac_a]

01:05 my jaw dropped. Corner is already taking on damage within a week give or take? Sorry LG, but I'm holding off

[@fadifayez1]

Isaac Abraham you don't have to get the leather one.... simple

[@isaac_a]

Lol if I'm trading my g3, hell yes I would get the leather

[@Marfella86]

Well,i guess thats why they make removable back cover for ths phone, so that people buy another cover when the one they are using is damage..cheeky right

[@isaac_a]

Marfella86 lol depends on the price mate. Though I'm sure 3rd parties will have is covered

[@xbliztexx9544]

Isaac Abraham they said they made it that way so your ohone was a one of a kind 😊

[@timyoung1606]

I've just decided to buy this phone in January 2016 because I wanted wireless charging, an SD card and reasonably high end specs without - if possible - breaking the bank. Having owned a Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, I was going to pay up for a 128 GB Nexus 6P (the Nexus 5 is fine for me but 16 GB is just not enough storage these days) but then discovered it has no wireless charging - which I think is great. Ever since losing 2 screens on the Nexus 5 I put all phones into a protective case, which pretty much means that the design of the case is more important than that of the phone. I looked at the VF10 which meets my criteria but decided that I simply don't need a fingerprint sensor and the other gimmicks on that phone - the LG G4 is now a real bargain, I think. I'm just a bit nervous about losing the stock Android experience for the first time ever on an Android phone...

[@DaengDaeng0128]

Hey, Did I just see Joshua from Android Authority ? Lol, its cool that they know each other!

[@sujitsuram]

Wow I didn't know lollipop was so bad at managing memory ! That explains frequent crashes :/

[@gguybr]

I really don't like that leather back cover. Problem is, the other back covers for this phone don't impress me either. At least the ones that have been shown so far in video reviews.

[@abmeight08]

I would choose G4 over any flagships that was released this year, at least until now. The only drawback that I found to be in the G4 is the battery life. I still prefer OnePlus One battery life and none of the current flagships in the market can surpass the record. Other than that, G4 is an outstanding device. Great camera hardware and software, build quality, and it has its own identity with the power and volume button being in the back of the device.

[@freakenste]

Why isn't quick charging included? It's using one of the newest Snapdragon's processor though..

[@phonetechatwork]

We've been waiting Mr Fisher ...lol

[@matthewsjardine]

I really like this phone, and at this point it is definitely between the LG G4 with black leather back or the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in black or white.

[@enemybird]

If Lg wanted to I am sure they could roll out this software to the g3. Its similar enough. These days its seems that OEM's sell you new hardware for software that could run on last year's flagship. Its blind consumerism. I will hold on to my G3 for now and until the hardware becomes obsolete which wont be for sometime.

[@Louie_Vision]

Still waiting on pocketnow to upgrade their camera to support 1440P because its hard to tell how good the camera is

[@TheDark-Knut]

I love the Lg g4 but i'd choose the s6 edge over it. With the s6 u get an equally impressive phone in terms of performance along with a gorgeous design which is the best on a smartphone! Oh and AMOLED over Lcds anyday!

[@degusjacobypradana4681]

S6 edge user here, you will never regret! Damn hard to explain

[@TheDaddynate]

Top 5 - I'm torn. I've had a G2 for 2 years and love the back button to the point where I can't imagine not having it, but I do like the way those gold S6's look. One issue I see with the edge is that screen is exposed on the sides, do you guys get any problems with scratches? Most of the screen guards I see have issue sealing around the edges well.

[@VKTR_Tech]

Too bad battery life sucks on both of these phones.

[@kpeacock03]

Victor L That's subjective.

[@gnrld]

Kelvin Peacock How is that subjective? They both have sub 5 hour screen on times.

[@alexblack1051]

Does it record in slow mo

[@kimikim3975]

LG almost always forgets something when making its products. This time, the G4 lacks in performance. Though it's mostly Qualcomm's fault for screwing up the SD 810, 808's performance is not even close to that of S6. Besides the camera quality, I really dont know if G4 should be called a flagship smartphone of 2015

[@thefinder8087]

I keep hearing people talk about how buggy 5.0 is, but I used it for quite a while on my Nexus 7 2013 (just updated to 5.1) and I didn't have any issues at all. Also just updated my T-Mobile Note 4 to 5.0 and I've had no problems at all, in fact it seems to perform even better than it did on KitKat...including battery life. Maybe I just got lucky?

[@cpthornman]

Nathaniel Graham It's because you're running stock Android. People think that just because the OEM skin is running smooth now it isn't sucking a bunch of memory in the process. Which of course is a false assumption to make.

[@w3bclone]

Hmmm sounds like a good invest but how is it on RAM?

[@jjoejkh2319]

Can you update the review the note edge again as it has the new lollipop update. This update fixes some of the problems said in the review

[@flippy2332]

Could we get an after the buzz on this phone? Thanks!

[@sad6549775]

Only true downside i see against the s6 is the screen. Simply, Oled panels are the best thing so far.

[@jeffreywilliams485]

Another great review.

[@FreakyShirley]

I wish LG could move the rear speaker to bottom fired speaker just like the OnePlus One.