The LG G3 has a lot to live up to. It's rivalled the HTC One (M8) in pre-launch leaks, and its predecessor the G2 raised the smartphone bar so high that it wasn't knocked off its top spot in Stuff's Top 10 Smartphones list for a solid six months.
Now it's finally revealed itself to the world in all its glory, packing in a boatload of specs for Android fans to drool over.
We were lucky to spend some time with the LG G3 ahead of its launch to record our first impressions ahead of our full in-depth review.
Please note that these observations were based on a pre-retail sample, which did not have the final software version installed, so performance may be subject to change. This will be reflected in our final review.
Right then. Let's meet the LG G3.
AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY
The LG G3 is as beautiful in the flesh as its pictures would have you believe. We only saw the Shine Gold and Metal Black versions, and both look stunning.
In the hand, the G3 is surprisingly light, weighing in at around 150g, ten grammes less than the HTC One (M8), and it feels comfortable to hold thanks to its curvier design and balanced weight.
Despite having a larger 5.5in screen, LG's use of witchcraft to somehow shrink the bezels down to almost nothing means that it's not as awkward to hold as other phones with equally gigantic screens.
In fact, LG has done such an amazing job of slimming down the bezels that the G3 is actually slightly shorter than the HTC One (M8), which itself has a smaller 5in screen. Impressive stuff.
The rear of the G3 is in fact plastic, which will disappoint fans of the HTC One (M8)'s premium metal design. Place the G3 next to its HTC rival however, and you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference in material, thanks to its lovely brushed-metal finish. It catches the light and reflects it back in a manner that's almost indistinguishable from metal.
Observant gadgeteers will notice that the speaker has been moved to the back. It's now a more powerful 1W affair, which we have yet to test in detail.
When you do pick up the G3, however, it lacks the reassuringly weighty premium metal feel of the One (M8). You can fool the eyes, but not the fingertips.
Still, that's not to say that the G3 feels cheap, and that non-metal back brings with it some definite plus points – wireless charging, microSD support, and a removable battery.
All of which means that Android fans seeking both removable batteries and storage now have an alternative to Samsung devices, where before there was little choice at the top end of the tree.
And finally, back to the front. We're not sure if we're fans of the front bottom bezel, which carries over the rear's faux-metal design; we'd always liked the minimalist all-black front of the G2, so it might take a little getting used to.
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