LG officially announces the G4

Didn't think LG was going to let the competition have all the fun with their flagship launches did you? Today they unveiled their 2015 flagship phone the LG G4. Visually with this flagship LG is taking its well known and well received G3 design and give it subtle tweaks, including design cues from its experimental G Flex Line, to make its own.

As it is a flagship device, it's sporting some pretty impressive specs including an Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 808 Processor, a 5.5-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display at 1440p and 538ppi, 32GB of internal storage expandable via microSD slot, 3GB RAM, a 16MP F1.8 Aperture camera with Optical image stabilization + a front facing 8MP camera, a 3000mAh removable battery, LTE connectivity and Android 5.1 Lollipop. Colours offered in Canada include Ceramic Metallic Gray and Genuine Leather Black.

Canadian availability is expected in June from Bell, Rogers, TELUS, Videotron and WIND Mobile.

Check out the official press release after the break.

LG G4: THE MOST AMBITOUS SMARTPHONE YET

LG set to bring industry leading imaging and unique leather design to the Canadian smartphone market in June

TORONTO, April 28, 2015 — Beginning this June, Canadians can get their hands on the eagerly anticipated LG G4, LG’s latest smartphone and the successor to the award-winning LG G3. Globally announced today, the LG G4 will be available this summer through Bell, Rogers, TELUS, Videotron and WIND Mobile.

With the G4, LG focused on delivering comfortable elegance, a great visual experience and a human-centric user experience. The LG G4 camera features a rare-in-smartphones F1.8 aperture lens which allows 80 per cent more light to hit the image sensor than in the LG G3. The innovative camera module is paired with the new IPS Quantum Display that is better in every way than the innovative Quad HD display introduced to the world in the LG G3. The LG G4 embodies human sensibility that is clearly visible in its Slim Arc exterior design and graphical user interface.

“We are living up to our promise of Innovation for a Better Life with a fashionable, premium smartphone that is more focused on delivering a balanced user experience that can compete with the best of the best,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “We wanted to give consumers a truly human-centric device that combined the analog sensibilities with technologies that delivered real world performance. From the design to the camera to the display to the UX, this is the most ambitious phone we’ve ever created.”

Comfortable & Elegant Design

LG paid special attention to the materials utilized in its newest flagship. The LG G4 is available in handcrafted, genuine full grain leather. The vegetable tanning process employed is an age old tradition that requires skilled craftsmen to produce and dye the leather. The colours of the leather on the G4 are rich with warm tones that look authentic and change over time. Most importantly, vegetable tanned leather is environmentally friendly and can be recycled easily, since no harsh chemicals are used. Other material options for the G4 rear cover include an artisan-forged Metallic Gray.

The fashionable elegance of the LG G4 is a refreshing change from the uniformly flat, full metal designs that have been become standard across the industry. The LG G4’s design is defined by the Slim Arc, which runs along its entire body, highlighted by a display with a subtle curvature. More than just a design accent, Slim Arc offers 20 per cent better durability than a flat smartphone in face-down drops and gives the smartphone a more comfortable and secure feel in the hand.

The exterior design is also reflected in the smartphone’s user interface, which includes simple, naturally intuitive graphics. In the LG G4, the icon colours are more vibrant with icons that have rounded corners, consistent with the Slim Arc design. What’s more, the Smart Notice widget automatically changes its background and text colour based on the home screen image selected by the user.

Great Visual Experience

LG designed the 16MP camera in the LG G4 to capture beautiful images, even under less than ideal lighting conditions. The camera module features a wide F1.8 aperture lens that allows 80 per cent more light to reach the sensor. LG improved low-light performance even further with OIS 2.0, which doubles the performance of the improved OIS+ by expanding the range of image stabilization from one degree to two degrees on the X- and Y-axis and adding a third axis for the first time.

New for G4, Manual Mode allows experienced photographers the ability to exercise more artistic expression by letting them directly control the focus, shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance for every shot. Advanced photographers can also save their photos in RAW format, in addition to JPEG, for more precise editing with no loss of details.

The advanced camera in the LG G4 is complemented by Color Spectrum Sensor (CSS), the first feature of its kind to find its way into a smartphone. CSS improves colour accuracy by precisely reading the RGB values of the ambient light in a scene, as well as the infrared light reflected from objects. CSS uses this information to adjust the camera’s white balance and flash colour to create images that are as close to what one would see with the naked eye. With Color Spectrum Sensor, no longer will reds appear as bright orange or whites as dull yellow.

For selfies good enough to frame, LG included an industry-leading 8MP front-facing camera for sharp, detailed portraits and group shots. Gesture Interval Shot improves on the original Gesture Shot feature by taking four shots spaced two seconds apart, increasing the chance of getting that perfect shot under the most difficult conditions. Triggering the shutter is as simple as opening and closing one’s hand twice in front of the camera.

Taking a quantum leap in display technology, the LG G4 is the first smartphone to use LG Display’s new 5.5-inch IPS Quantum Display, which offers 20 per cent greater colour reproduction, 25 per cent improvement in brightness and 50 per cent greater contrast. It is the first Quad HD display to employ Advanced In-Cell Touch (AIT) technology, which combines the LCD and touch sensor into a single layer to provide better colour reproduction and touch sensitivity. This new display is calibrated for DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) standards for colour expression, championed by top Hollywood studios.

Power and Performance

With G4, the higher quality display doesn’t come at the expense of battery life. The LG G4 is equipped with a high-capacity 3,000mAh removable battery, a rare feature in today’s high-end smartphones. Combined with the benefits offered by the snappy yet energy-thrifty Qualcomm^® Snapdragon™ 808 processor, the LG G4 has no trouble getting through a full day of normal use.

“LG and Qualcomm Technologies collaborated from the initial stage of the Snapdragon 808 introduction to expertly tune the technologies and make several of the LG G4’s unique features possible,” said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, executive chairman of Qualcomm Incorporated. “The resulting G4 smartphone is an ideal example of how the best optimized technologies come together to meet consumers’ needs.”

Human-Centric UX

The LG G4 is the first phone to utilize the new human-centric UX 4.0 that promises to be simpler and more intuitive to better understand and respond to the needs of each user. The improved UX eliminates unnecessary steps while providing more configuration options for advanced users.

·      Quick Shot allows customers to take pictures without opening the camera app by double tapping the phone’s Rear Key while the display is off. LG G4 also has an incredibly fast camera startup time of just six-tenths of a second.

·      The new Gallery makes it extremely fast to scroll through thousands of pictures and view them on a timeline. The Memories feature automatically organizes photos and videos into event albums based on the time and place they were taken, without having to upload to the cloud.

·      Event Pocket allows users to create one, unified calendar by dragging and dropping appointments and activities from multiple calendars and social media sites. After the initial setup, there’s no need to log into multiple calendars.

·      The improved Smart Notice provides more personalized notifications for weather, travel and more by analyzing habits, such as how a user commutes to work. This allows Smart Notice to issue personalized messages such as, “Make sure to take an umbrella on your way to the subway.”

·      Quick Help allows users to search for instant answers to any questions about operating the LG G4, right in the Smart Notice widget. Quick Help can guide users through the LG G4’s settings and even schedule a call with customer service.

LG has sought out partnerships to enhance the overall user experience of the G4. Google Office comes pre-installed on the LG G4 for easy collaboration on-the-go and G4 owners will receive an additional 100GB of Google Drive storage free for two years. With MirrorLink and LG G4, owners of Volkswagen vehicles will be able to view a car-friendly version of the G4 interface on the in-dash display for full integration with contacts, navigation and music on the smartphone.

Key Specifications:*

·      Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 808 Processor

·      Display: 5.5-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440, 538ppi)

·      Memory: 32GB eMMC ROM, 3GB LPDDR3 RAM / microSD slot

·      Camera: Rear 16MP with F1.8 Aperture / OIS 2.0 / Front 8MP with F2.0 Aperture

·      Battery: 3,000mAh (removable)

·      Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop

·      Size: 148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3 - 9.8 mm

·      Weight: 155g

·      Network: 4G / LTE / HSPA+ 42 Mbps (3G)

·      Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.1LE / NFC / USB 2.0

·      Colours: (Ceramic) Metallic Gray / (Genuine Leather) Black

·      Other: Manual Mode / Gesture Interval Shot / Quick Shot

* Specifications may vary depending on the market.

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About LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company

LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company is an innovator and trend leader in the global mobile communications industry. LG is driving the evolution of mobile forward with its highly competitive core technologies in the areas of display, battery and camera optics and strategic partnerships with noted industry leaders. LG’s consumer-centric products — including the flagship premium G Series models — incorporate unique, ergonomic designs and intuitive UX features that enhance the user experience. The company remains committed to leading consumers into the era of convergence, maximizing inter-device connectivity between smartphones, tablets and a wide range of home and portable electronics products. For more information, please visit www.LG.com

About LG Electronics Canada

The LG brand was established in 1995. The company is a global leader in electronics, information and communications products, with more than 117 operations around the world, and annual worldwide revenues of more than US $49 billion. LG Canada is comprised of five business units - Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, Home Entertainment, Business Solutions and Commercial Air Conditioning. The company has offices in Toronto and Vancouver. LG Canada is focused on delivering award-winning products known for blending style and technology. These innovative products include cell phones, flat screen TVs, laptop computers and home appliances. For more information please visit www.LG.com