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LG G6 hands-on review: 5.7-inch flagship beast

LG G6 hands-on review: We take a tour of LG’s new G6 flagship phone, packing a massive 5.7-inch QHD+ screen, dual-lens camera and lots of smart features.

LG has started 2017 with a sexy bang thanks to the launch of the LG G6, the Korean company’s first flagship device. We’ve already seen budget mobiles launched by LG this year including the impressive X Power 2 (which packs a mighty 4500mAh battery) and a fresh series of LG K-series phones too. However, the LG G6 is a step beyond in terms of specs and premium design, and we couldn’t wait to get hands-on for this first-look G6 review.

LG G6 specs

Phone LG G6
Screen size 5.7-inches
Screen resolution Quad HD+ (2880×1440)
OS Android 7.0 Nougat
Processor Snapdragon 821
Memory 4GB
Storage 32/64GB
MicroSD? Yes
Water resistant? Yes
Read cameras Dual 13MP (standard and wide-angle)
Front camera 8MP

Hands-on LG G6 review: Design

The LG G6 is a chunky monkey just like last year’s G5, but we’re seriously impressed at how ‘compact’ the phone is despite packing a mighty 5.7-inch screen. That display stretched almost to the very edges of the handset, even top and bottom. That gives it a height and width similar to 5.5-inch phones like the OnePlus 3T and even matching chunky 5.2-inch mobiles like the Sony Xperia XZ.

Of course, it’s still a bit of a struggle to operate with a single hand, hence LG has added some handy features to help out. For instance, you can add a button to the virtual toolbar at the bottom of the screen for pulling down the notifications bar.

Like many flagship mobiles such as the Xperia XZ and Samsung’s Galaxy S7, the LG G6 is fully water resistant. You can dunk it in the bath and it’ll survive quite happily. And at 163g it’s not too weighty, although there’s a premium heft.

LG’s metallic finish sports a glossy coating which thankfully doesn’t smear up too badly, although it certainly will need a buff up every so often. It’s no grease factory like the S7, however.

Hands-on LG G6 review: Screen and media

That 5.7-inch QHD+ screen is as strong as previous LG flagship panels, offering crisp and quite colourful visuals.

One of the most interesting features of that spacious screen is its unusual aspect ratio. The G6’s display is a 2:1 panel, meaning it’s ‘stretched’ compared with other mobile screens. That’s good news for movie lovers, as you won’t get so much of a letterbox effect when watching films. And because of that design, you get a 2880×1440 pixel resolution rather than a standard 2560×1440 Quad HD resolution, with crisp, good-looking image reproduction.

The G6 is the first smartphone to boast Dolby Vision support, meaning you get the best possible HDR visuals on a mobile display. Check out our feature on the LG G6’s Dolby Vision screen for more info.

As usual you can fully configure the LG G6’s screen too, tweaking the likes of the colour balance. And the 32 to 64GB of storage space can be expanded using a microSD memory card.

Hands-on LG G6 review: Features and OS

Android Nougat gives you a great range of features, including split-screen multi-tasking, smart battery management and more. And of course LG has added plenty of its own features on top, including its Quick Memo app for scribbling on-screen notes, Smart Doctor resource management and gesture support.

LG has also built a fingerprint sensor into the back end of the phone, which provides a quick and secure method of unlocking your handset.

There’s no modular expandability this time around, which was one of the main features of the LG G5 handset. You can’t remove that 3300mAh battery either, so here’s hoping it delivers long life between charges.

Hands-on LG G6 review: Performance

A Snapdragon 821 processor is packed inside the LG G6, backed by 4GB of RAM. In our hands-on review session, this certainly seemed to give a silky smooth user experience, as you’d expect. Apps load up very quickly and there’s no delay when skipping through menus or multi-tasking.

We’ll be testing out the LG G6’s performance in full for our in-depth review.

Hands-on LG G6 review: Cameras

Like last year’s G5, LG has stuck with a dual-lens camera for the LG G6. Those two 13-megapixel lenses work separately, as one is a wide-angle lens. You swap between them with a tap of an on-screen button, depending on how much you want to fit into the photo.

Shutter action seems pretty quick and there’s full Phase Detection Autofocus to keep your subject sharp without adding much delay. You get loads of bonus features including slow motion and timelapse video capture, plus HDR support and image stabilisation. You can shoot up to 4K resolution standard video, and again the results look great, even with tricky lighting to deal with.

Around the front of the G6 you’ll find a 5-megapixel camera which seems solid enough. You get detailed photos of your mug and you can activate the shutter with a fist pump or by saying ‘cheese’. Take a closer look at both cameras in our hands-on LG G6 video review below.

Hands-on LG G6 review (video)

Check out our in-depth LG G6 video review, taking a closer look at the camera tech and other features, below. And stay tuned for our in-depth LG G6 review.

 

LG G6 unboxing (video)

Following on from our hands-on time with the LG G6 at MWC 2017, we’ve now unboxed a UK version of the phone so you know what you can expect.

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