The Android smartphone battle is heating up in 2014 here in the United States, with both Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 fighting for opening sales this first week of April. However, one device that is now on many consumers minds is the upcoming LG G3.
With the competition out of the way, rumors and leaks have turned to what’s next from LG to replace the impressive LG G2 from 2013. We’ve been following various leaks and rumors of the LG G3 for a few months, but today more details have surfaced confirming the specs, and giving us a hint at how LG will design this sleek and nearly bezel-free smartphone.
All rumors are pointing to an impressive “Quad HD” display on the LG G3, essentially being four times the pixels of 720p HD smartphones. This week LG reportedly confirmed the successor for the G2 will have a QHD display, according to Engadget, and now some hard evidence is backing that up with some leaked photos revealed by AndroidPit.
The original Optimus G arrived in November of 2013, which was followed by the impressive LG G2 last year in September. The phone offered stunning specs, a sleek design with slim bezels, and buttons on the back. Something that was new to Android smartphones, or smartphones in general. The LG G2 was quite popular, gave Samsung a good fight, but the LG G3 should be even better.
As far back as December last year, just a few months after the LG G2 made its debut, we started hearing rumors of an impressive Galaxy S5 caliber smartphone with a “2K” resolution. Earlier this month a huge trio of leaks confirmed the 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution for the LG G3, a new user interface, and possibly an improved camera.
- 5.5-inch 2560 x 1440 Quad HD display
- 2.5 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 805 with 3GB of RAM
- 32GB internal storage (with micro-SD slot expansion)
- 16 or 20 Megapixel Camera with OIS, 2MP front camera
- Android 4.4.2 KitKat with a refined user interface
- Rumored Aluminum design with front facing speakers
- IR Blaster for remote
- IP67 dust and water resistant
- 3,300-3,500 mAh battery
The specs sure sound impressive, and something that would likely blow away any and all competition in 2014. However, the image above shows what’s being reported as a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, the same chipset used in the LG G2 last year. While we expect LG to have something new and improved powering the LG G3, we can’t confirm what that’ll be. LG has launched with the latest Qualcomm chipset for the past few years, and we’re expecting the same from the LG G3.
One area of concern for many consumers is the large 5.5-inch display that we’re hearing will accompany the new LG G3, but today some new leaks appeared from @evleaks that could potentially be giving us our first glance at the LG G3. What is being shown below is the LG Isai for the Japan carrier KDDI. As you can see this device has extremely slim bezels around the entire display, which could make the display be 5.5-inches without the physical size of the phone being any bigger. We also see the same buttons on the back, although refined and different from years past.
Of course this isn’t the LG G3, this is a smartphone for another market and region entirely, and will never be sold in the United States. However, a similar product launched last year which closely resembled what we now call the LG G2. Meaning this could be our first hint of how the LG G3 will look, but can’t say for sure. Above is the LG Isai for 2014, and below is the model from 2013 next to the LG G2 provided by DroidSans.
For now the LG G3 is still only a rumor, but given past product releases and the company’s launch cycle, we’ll likely be seeing it sometime later this year. The specs, details, and pictures above are only leaks, but more concrete details should be arriving sooner rather than later.
For consumers that are looking forward to the LG G3, we’ve been hearing a late May announcement will be followed with a release in June. It’s worth mentioning that both previous LG flagship phones arrived in September and November, so a July or August release date could still be in the cards. Sources claim LG is speeding up the release to compete with Apple and Samsung, but we’ll have to wait and see.
