LG G3 S Review

March 15 2018

LG's G3 smartphone has been a major success among its users as of late, even becoming a runner-up in a recent Phone of the Year poll. Now comes the LG G3S, which is a smaller and cheaper version of the original G3 model. In fact, the reason that the phone is cheaper is because the price of it has been cut by half of what the original G3 model cost.

DESIGN/STYLE

The LG G3S is virtually identical to the G3 and possesses the exact same features, but the overall shape is more compact in nature, which makes it extremely easy for the device to be used in a single hand. The screen of the LG G3S extend almost to the edge of the device, and the lack of physical buttons makes the device look more modern and stylish. The LG G3S contains a curved back panel with tapered edges, though the device itself is not particularly very slim.

Buttons such as volume control and device power are located on the back of the LG G3S. This is something that may likely take a bit of getting used to, but with some practice, you will eventually get the hang of it.

While the phone is compact in size, it is not as compact as devices such as the Sony Xperiz Z3 Compact or the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini. Compared to these two devices, the LG G3S is bigger in size. However, as previously mentioned, the LG G3S is much cheaper in price.

In terms of the screen size of the LG G3S, it measures at approximately five inches and contains a 1280x720 HD resolution and a 294ppi pixel density, which is slightly better than the original G3 model.

There are three separate finishes available for the LG G3S:

*Silk White

*Metallic Black

*Shine Gold

While these finishes appear to be metallic in nature, there is still a plastic body contained underneath them.

QUAD-CORE ANDROID

A quad-core Quallcomm processor powers the LG G3S; however, rather than being a Snapdragon 801 that was used in the original G3 model, this one is a Snapdragon 400. This makes the LG G3S half as fast as the original model, meaning that some applications take a little longer to load, as well as some features of the camera being slow in speed.

Application speed is also limited thanks to the RAM speed being downgraded to 1GB. In addition, the LG G3S also contains a built-in memory of 8GB, which is also on the slow side; however, this can be remedied with the insertion of a Micro SD card of up to 64GB.

Android KitKat 4.4.2 software has been installed as the software for the LG G3S, which contains a custom Smart keyboard from LG.

Another useful feature for the LG G3S is referred to as the Knock Code. This process involves coming up with a series of between two and eight taps that can be utilized to both wake up and unlock the device.

8-MEGAPIXEL CAMERA

The LG G3S contains an 8-megapixel camera, which is a downgrade from the 13-megapixel camera that was contained on the original G3 device. However, the quality of the images remains rather satisfactory, especially when they are taken in great lighting conditions. In addition, the camera of the LG G3S is capable of recording video with a full 1080p HD resolution and also contains a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video chat and selfie capabilities.

CONNECTIVITY

The LG G3S contains 4G connectivity, along with capabilities for 3G HSPA and GSM. Also included are the following:

*Bluetooth 4.0

*WiFi

*USB 2.0

*NFC

*3.5mm headphone jack

*Infrared sensor to allow the device to act as a remote for any LG television

BATTERY LIFE

The LG G3S is equipped with a 2,540mAh battery, which is larger than batteries contained in most other smartphones. This will typically enable the phone to have significant battery power for approximately two days before needing to be recharged.

CONCLUSION

As previously mentioned, the LG G3S is significantly lower in cost than the original G3 model, as well as most other smartphones. Unfortunately, this also means that specifications for this device are significantly lower as well despite its cutting-edge design.