LG G3 vs LG G2 Specs Comparison

The LG G3 is on the market for a while and it’s considered by many the most powerful Android smartphone yet. As you may know, the G3 is the successor of the popular LG G2, therefore we though we should compare the two handsets.

The LG G2 was released almost a year ago, but it’s still a competitive smartphone. Furthermore, it’s price has dropped quite a bit, so we’re wondering whether it’s worth to purchase the LG G3 or go for the older LG G2.

Our loyal readers may know from our previous Versus articles that the LG G3 vs LG G2 specs battle will be divided into ten rounds. Each round is worth one point and, at the end of the battle, the smartphone that manages to score most points is declared winner. In these ten rounds we will be judging the smartphones’ performance when it comes to Display, Dimensions, Processor, Connectivity, Camera, Memory, Design, Battery Life, Operating System, and Price.

Display

To me, and probably to many of you, the screen is the most important characteristic when it comes to choose between smartphones. Why? Because the display is what you’re looking at every time you pick up your smartphone.

The LG G2 features a 5.2-inch True HD-IPS + LCD display with 1080 x 1920 resolution and a pixel density of 424 ppi. It’s protected against scratches by a Gorilla Glass 2 layer. The LG G3 boasts about a 5.5-inch True HD-IPS + LCD screen with 1440 x 2560 resolution, 534 ppi pixel density, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

As you can see, the LG G3 has the higher resolution display and, besides that, it’s slightly larger, too. This makes it more appropriate for web browsing, watching videos, or gaming. The point allocated for the Display round goes to the LG G3.

Dimensions

The Android OEMs are increasing the screens of their smartphones each year. That’s why the body of their phones grows larger, too.

The LG G2 measures 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm and has a weight of 143 grams. Because it has to accommodate a slightly larger display, the LG G3 is 146.3 mm tall, 74.6 mm wide, and 8.9 thin. It also weighs in at 149 grams.

There’s no doubt that the G2 is more compact than its successor and it’s a bit lighter, as well. The G2 wins the dimensions round.

Processor

The folks at Qualcomm are currently dominating the mobile processors market, as most smartphone makers are choosing Qualcomm’s solutions when it comes to processing. Let’s see what’s inside the G3 and the G2.

The LG G2 is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset which was the most powerful processing unit of 2013. It has a quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU. The LG G3 is underpinned by a Qualcomm MSM8975AC Snapdragon 801comm SoC based on four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.5 GHz and an Adreno 330 GPU.

Even though the Snapdragon 801 SoC of the G3 is newer than the Snap 800 of the G2, the differences in performance are minor. However, the end user won’t be able to feel that difference. The Processor round ends as tie.

Connectivity

In the last couple of years, the connectivity features have pretty much became standard for all high-end Android smartphones. The LG G3 and the LG G3 make no exception.

The LG G2 packs HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 21 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL/ EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0. The LG G3 features HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 21 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL/ EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0.

Did you spot the difference? You probably didn’t because there’s no difference between the two devices when it comes to connectivity options. Another round ends as tie.

Camera

I’m not too much of a photographer myself, so my belief is that the best camera is the camera you’re carrying with you. Because I have no idea how to handle a DSLR, I prefer to get a smartphone that has a decent camera.

The LG G2 sports a 13 MP primary camera with autofocus, optical image stabilization, 1/3″ sensor size, Simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR, and support for Full HD video recording. It also comes with a 2.1 MP secondary camera with 1080p video recording support.

The LG G3 has a 13 MP rear-facing camera with phase detection/laser autofocus, optical image stabilization, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/3” sensor size, simultaneous video and image recording, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR, and 4K video recording support. Just like its predecessor it has a 1080p video recording-capable user-facing 2.1 MP camera.

The camera unit of the G3 is definitely an upgrade. Even though both smartphones have similar sensors, real life tests have shown that G3′s shooter is capable of snapping higher-quality photos. Furthermore, the laser autufocus it’s worth every penny. The Camera round point goes to the LG G3.

Memory

Should I remind you that are over a million apps in Google Play Store? Not to mention about your music collection and favorite TV shows. You’ll be needing a lot of storage for that.

The LG G2 is available in two storage options 16 and 32 GB. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have support for microSD cards. For your multitasking needs you will be able to access 2 GB of RAM.

The LG G3 has support for microSD expansion, up to 128 GB supported. You will be able to grab the G3 with either 16 GB storage and 2 GB of RAM, or 32 GB storage and 3 of GB RAM.

The latest LG flagship has bigger storage and a higher amount of RAM (the 32 GB model), so it wins the Memory round. Another point for the G3.

Design

Last year, when the LG G2 was announced I really liked the slim bezel approach of the South Korean company. Now, the LG G3 is here and it arrives with an even thinner bezel.

The form factor is similar for the two smartphones: slightly curved back, sharp edges, and rounded corners. Both have hardware keys placed on the back, below the camera, and both are very easy to hold. If you think that the you would have problems with the unorthodox placement of the hardware keys I am glad to announce you that you will get used to it in a couple of hours. In fact you won’t even use the unlock button too much, courtesy of Knock On and Knock Code. The LG G2 is available on Black, White, Red, and Gold, while the LG G3 can be found in five body colors including, Dark Gray, White, Gold, Pink, and Purple.

Even though the two smartphones have a lot of design elements in common, you’ll have to admit that the metallic finishing of the LG G3 is the deal-breaker. I’m not saying the G2 is an ugly phone, but it’s not as good-looking as its successor. The Design round goes to the LG G3.

Battery Life

If I had the power to change anything about modern smartphones, I would change their battery life as you can barely find one to go past the 1 day milestone. Fortunately, both the LG G3 and the LG G2 are above-average.

The LG G3 and the LG G2 arrive with pretty big 3,000 mAh batteries which, unsurprisingly provide above-average autonomy. We’ve tested both devices for a long time and both performed similarly when it came to battery life: 48 hours of moderate usage on a single charge.

Even though the G3 has a higher resolution display and the same battery as its predecessor, it still manages to stay awake through two days of moderate usage. The Battery Life round ends as tie.

Operating System

We are dealing with two Android-powered high-end LG smartphones. If you are be tempted to say that there’s no difference between them in terms of Operating System, then you would be wrong.

The LG G2 was released with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, but it’s upgradable to Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The 5.2-inch smartphone has introduced quite a few interesting software features. Just to name a few QSlide (allows you to layer two different apps over the main screen), Slide Aside (you can switch between three different open apps by swiping and tapping the screen), Clip Tray (enables you to copy and paste multiple items to a slide-up clipboard interface at the bottom of the screen, then pick whichever ones you want to use), Quick Remote (allows you to use the G2 as a remote control), or Knock On (lets you knock twice on the screen to wake the display).

The LG G3 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box and it arrives with all the aforementioned software features, while introducing a few more. It brings a smarter Keyboard that is size-adjustable, flatter UI, the ability to remove pre-installed apps to free space, Knock Code (unlock your phone using a customized knocking pattern), and Smart Notice. The latter feature is some sort of personal assistant that “suggests what you need, even before you need it.” It will remind you to remove apps you haven’t used in a while, to return calls if you happened to miss some, to turn on battery saver if battery level is low, and many other such things.

I know, both handsets are running KitKat, but the LG G3 is the one bringing more useful features. The G3 wins another round.

Price

We’ll try to keep it simple in the Price round. The cheaper smartphone wins. Furthermore, because most smartphones are sold on-contract, these are the prices we will be comparing.

Because the LG G2 is almost one year old, its price dropped significantly. In the US, AT&T and Sprint are selling the LG G2 at $99.99 with two year contracts, while Verizon is asking only $24.99 on-contract. On Amazon, the AT&T LG G2 is available for freeafter you agree to sign a two-year deal with the carrier, while the Verizon G2 and Sprint G2 cost only $0.01. You can also grab it off-contract from Amazon, at a price between $478.99 – 499.99.

The biggest carriers in the US, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, are all selling the LG G3 for $199.99 after you sign a two-year agreement with them. Fortunately, you can grab it cheaper from Amazon. On-contract, the AT&T LG G3 is available for free, the Verizon LG G3 has a price of $79.99, while the Sprint variant costs $99.99. Off-contract, you can buy the G3 from Amazon for between $579.99 – 599.99.

I guess it’s obvious that the LG G2 is the cheaper smartphone. LG’s 2013 flagship wins another round.

Conclusions

We have reached the end of the LG G3 vs LG G2 specs battle, so we must see which of the two handsets is the winner. For that, we will need to start counting points.

Three rounds have ended as tie: Connectivity, Battery Life, and Processor. In these three rounds we couldn’t choose a winner as the two smartphones come with identical connectivity options, similar battery life, and closely-matched processors.

The LG G2 has managed to score two points after winning the Dimensions and Price rounds. It has beaten its successor because it’s both more compact and cheaper.

The LG G3 outmatched the G2 in five rounds, therefore winning five points. It has won the Display, Camera, Memory, Design, and Operating System rounds because it has a higher-resolution screen, is capable of snapping higher-quality phones, has more storage, looks better, and because it brings more software features.

We believe that the LG G3 is the better smartphone and that this is the smartphone you should buy if you haven’t already. On the other hand the LG G2 would be a better option if you are on a budget. Thoughts?