Pure but Simple

For a premium phone with all the trimmings, the G6 is quite unassuming. It could be a Pixel X or other black rectangle handset sitting on the table with its screen turned off. Even on closer inspection, nothing about it is particularly unique. It’s a rounded rectangle with beveled edges, no more, no less.

Like the past few releases, there’s a logo where the home button would go. And there’s no 2.5 glass or curved edges. But even without any design innovations or frills, the G6 looks like a premium product. It’s simple for sure, but its design manages to feel modern and classic all at once. Like a vintage camera with a touch screen.

Then you turn it on. The 5.7-inch 1440 x 2880 QHD+ display takes up nearly the entire front face. 80 percent of it, to be exact. It makes recent bezel-heavy phones like the HTC U Ultra or the Pixel seem outdated by comparison. It’s not an edge-to-edge screen like the S8, quite frankly. While thin, the side bezels could stand to shed a millimeter or two. But have packed a ton of screen into minimal space without resorting to marketing buzzwords or visual flair.

Style and Comfort

The G6 might not look like a 5.7-inch phone. You don’t realize how compact it is until you pick it up. It’s not just that you can use it with one hand. Typing and swiping feel as natural as the smaller screened Pixel.

The G6’s back is made of glass, but it’s not as slippery as other phones I’ve used; cough, HTC U Ultra, cough. The dual camera system lies flush against the back. Which tapers ever so slightly to nestle in the curve of your palm. Something I wish the edges did, especially after holding the Galaxy S8. The case is made of Gorilla Glass 5, but the camera is covered in Gorilla Glass 3. It picked up its share of scratches after just a week of use. I picked up quite a few dings on my G6, so you might want to invest in a case.

But while it has kicked the G5’s gimmicky mods to the curb, some other quirks are still on display. The power button is baked into the fingerprint sensor on the back, which is a terrible place. Newbies will have to fumble a bit to turn it on. When you have to take a screenshot, you’ll need to do some severe finger contorting.

While I appreciate the decision to keep the headphone jack. It has stubbornly kept it at the top of the device. It might have made sense last year due to the G5’s removable chin. There’s no reason it needs to be up there on its lonesome on the G6. LG could have brought it to the bottom across from the speaker, where there’s a perfect bit of empty space. Plus, the jack makes more sense on the bottom.

Perfectly Imperfect

There’s no denying the G6’s industrial beauty. From the metal frame to its buttons and even the antenna lines. LG has gone to considerable lengths to make the G6 as pleasing to look at as it is to hold.

So, I may be picking nits here, but the G6’s rounded screen corners don’t really do it for me. I know they’re supposed to hold up better when the phone drops on pavement. But if there was a right-angle option, I’d prefer it. For one, they don’t quite mimic the corners of the frame, so it creates an asymmetrical feel. For another, they’re not entirely smooth. You can see the picture above to see what I’m talking about. Still, the flat edges don’t seamlessly blend into the curves, a flaw that’s not as noticeable on the S8. Which also has rounded corners due to its curved display.
And one more quibble on the design. The areas above and below the display aren’t equal. Initially, I thought it was an optical illusion. Still, I measured the bottom 2 millimeters longer than the top (9mm vs. 7mm). Once you see it, you can’t unsee it, or at least I couldn’t. I can’t think of a technical reason. LG couldn’t nudge the display down a millimeter to make the top and bottom equal. But they didn’t; it detracts from an otherwise perfectly symmetrical design.

Buzz Worthy

The G6’s display is a winner, even with a slightly off-center design. Crisp, bold displays are customed for a smartphone in this range. But the Full Vision screen is a cut above other LEDs, with crisp, bold colors and rich blacks. As you might have heard, the 18:9 aspect ratio means the screen can be divided into two equal squares. Which helps set the experience apart from the other 5.7 inches. Plus, it supports HDR 10 Dolby Vision. When Netflix or Amazon start ramping up mobile HDR content. It’ll be one of the few phones that can take advantage of it.

The lack of a power button on the side. Could take some getting used to if you haven’t used a phone before. Also, the double tap to wake from sleep will be your best friend. However, when I reached for the fingerprint sensor. It was speedy and accurate; the swift animations made it seem a touch quicker than on other phones. Registering on the screen as soon as I felt the confirmation vibration.

I only know that because LG’s haptic system made me aware of it. Vibrations aren’t something I generally pay much attention to. Even though I keep all of my phones on silent. On the G6, my fingers never quite got used to them. On most Android phones I’ve used, the feedback is generally sharp pinpointed. But on the G6, it’s more of a dull rumble, even with the intensity turned all the way up. I had the opposite problem with alerts. These five options are for buzzes, but they all are relatively intense, to the point where regular notifications startled me. I’m not a fan, so this could be a usual behavior for its phones. But I wouldn’t mind a way to tone it down in a future update. That being said, I never missed a text.

On Par Performance

Like every premium phone released before the Galaxy S8. The G6 is powered by the Snapdragon 821, a very capable chip that’s a little boring. And since the G6 is in direct competition with the Galaxy S8. I can’t help but wish they would have waited a month or two for the 835.

There’s no shortage of phones running the 821. The Pixels, OnePlus 3T, HTC U Ultra, and Xiaomi Mi Note 2, to name a few; anyone who owns one of them will undoubtedly sing its praises. Looking at the benchmarks, the G6 stacks up with the best of the best; real-world experience holds up. It’s as good as any other 821 phone; it’s hard to criticize its performance. But it’s also not exciting. The 821 is what top-tier phones have been using for some time. It’s hard to get jazzed about a processor we’ve seen so many times before.

The same is valid with the battery. LG has spent the better part of the last two months assuring us. The battery in the G6 won’t explode like Samsung’s Note7 did. Still, most people will be more interested in size than safety. Especially since Samsung has been telling us the same thing. LG has put a 3,300 mAh battery into the G6. It’s bigger than some phones of this size, there are no real breakthroughs here. My real-world experience was mostly aligned with the benchmarks; I rarely had to scramble to charge the G6. When I did, a few minutes of charging was all I needed to get through the rest of my day.

Stalwarts will gripe that the battery is no longer removable, but most users won’t care. And the addition of I8 water resistance is a good tradeoff, as is support for Qi A wireless charging. As long as you buy a U.S. model, anyway. Wireless charging is limited to models sold in the States, while quad-DAC is only on the Korea model. The 64GB variant is exclusive to a handful of Asian countries.

Picture Frame

LG has always packed its phones with serious camera capabilities. Still, unlike the G5, which brought dual cameras to a phone for the first time. The G6 doesn’t offer any must-try features. Instead, it refines an already great system. It provides some neat improvements in the app to take advantage of the screen’s unique proportions.

You’ll find the same dual camera setup on the back, but the wide-angle lens no longer gets short shrift. Both rear cameras are now 13M and use the same sensor. You no longer have to sacrifice image quality to get a wide-angle shot. Like the G5, switching between the two cameras is as simple as tapping one of the icons on the screen. Still, it has packed a bunch of new settings into the app. Which take advantage of the new 18:9 screen dimensions.

I’ve never enjoyed using a camera app more. The unique proportions of the screen have allowed me to explore fun new ways to enhance the shooting experience. Seeing some effort put into creating a new, improved camera app interface is refreshing. Flip the camera to square, and you’ll get a new set of modes. There’s Snap Shot, which shows you your last picture. Guide Shot lets you superimpose an image onto your viewfinder for creative compositions. My favorite Match Shot takes a simultaneous picture with the front and rear camera, just like Frontback.

And no matter the mode you choose, the photos you take are equally impressive. Whether shooting with the wide angle lens or the regular one. Pictures were incredibly true to life, with crisp details and excellent color reproduction. Wide-angle shots had little barrel distortion at the edges, much less than the V20. Even in low light conditions, the camera performed admirably, though I did miss having a wide aperture and portrait mode.

Around the front, LG has decreased the pixels from 8M to 5M. It made up for it by adding a 100-degree wide-angle lens for more inclusive selfies. It’s a curious decision when most of its competitors are upping the specs on the front camera. The G6 still takes decent selfies. As expected, low light conditions can cause issues, but nothing like I haven’t seen on other phones. And the front screen flash, which adds a bright white border to your viewing window, definitely helps.

Square Deal

The screen is, by large the G6’s best quality, but it’s not just because of its size. As you can see in the camera app, the proportions make it a bit taller than other 5.7-inch phones. The ability to divide it into two perfect squares makes for some exciting interface possibilities. And took full advantage of it.

In addition to the camera app upgrades, the G6 utilizes its unique screen in fun ways in LG’s UX 6.0. For one, the multi-window is just better. I didn’t expect a few millimeters to make that much difference, but they really do. The even proportions give both apps the room they need to breathe. Jumping between them is somehow more intuitive than it is on other phones. It’s hard to adequately describe, but I truly enjoyed using multi-window apps on the G6.
Elsewhere, LG has done a fine job with its Nougat tweaks. The usual customizations include lock screen app icons, extra navigation buttons, and shortcut keys. Still, surprisingly the best part of LG’s UX skin is its own apps. Like you, I generally ditch the manufacturer’s bundled apps in favor of the ones from Android. But it makes a compelling case to at least try out the ones it has made.

Take the calendar. Looking at it in portrait mode, you’ll see a bit more of your appointments. Still, in the landscape, you can see a full calendar on one side. A list of your upcoming appointments on the other. Or, in the music app, the artwork will be displayed on one side and tracks on the other. It’s a great use of space that I’d love to see Android adopt for its apps. As 18:9 screens become more popular.

Should You Buy It?

LG has built a great phone with the G6. It might not have the sex appeal of the Galaxy S8 or the novelty of the G5. But it’s one of the best phones I’ve ever used, even if it isn’t all that exciting. If there’s a criticism of the G6, it’s too safe. I started this review by comparing it to a high-end BMW. That’s precisely what you get with a Beemer; a solid, dependable ride with conservative good looks. It might look bland next to the newest Ferrari, but it can still hold its own in a street race.
LG made a conscious decision with the G6 to build a phone that doesn’t compromise for the sake of gimmicks. It’s probably the best phone it has ever made, but it will inevitably lose sales to the Galaxy S8. At $650, give or take carrier padding, it’s cheaper than the S8. But not much, it’s hard to see the S8’s design expanded feature set not winning over most high-end phone buyers. But if the Galaxy S8 is too flashy for you, or you can’t stand Samsung. The G6 will be a perfect fit.