Instant Review of LG G2 Vs. Samsung Galaxy S4

With cell phone technology changing all the time, it hasn’t been easy for smaller phone manufacturers to keep up with the innovations of the big names. Thus far, LG has rolled out several very solid smartphones, but it hasn’t yet managed to make a device that stands up to comparison against Apple or Samsung. The LG G2, however, is the company’s newest release and could manage to make quite a splash in the mobile world. Let’s compare it against the Samsung Galaxy S4 to see how it measures up.

Size

The G2 weighs 5.04 oz, making it slightly heavier than the GS4. The G2 is also slightly larger and thicker at 5.45″ x 2.79″ x 0.35″, but it uses its space better, with a larger edge-to-edge 5.2″ screen that takes up more of its surface than the GS4′s 5″ display. While the larger screen is nice, the point here goes to Samsung for keeping their devices small and slim.

Design

The phones have a fairly similar design, with a plastic coating for both. What might be a game changer, though, is that the buttons for the G2 are on the back of the phone. We haven’t handled it yet to know whether this will be an impressive breakthrough or a clumsy attempt at innovation, but LG gets the point for not being afraid to shake things up.

Processor Power

The G2 features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 as its processor, one of the newest and best processors available. The GS4′s Exynos quad-core processor may not be quite as up-to-date, but unless you’re playing a lot of graphics-intensive games, you most likely won’t even notice the difference between the two. The G2 wins here, but not by much.

Storage

There’s some conflicting information about how much storage will be available on the G2, as the press release indicates both a 16 GB and a 32 GB model, while the official LG website only mentions the 32. Either way, there isn’t a microSD slot, so what you see is what you get. The GS4 gets the point here for allowing expandable storage.

Battery Life

While we haven’t tested the G2′s battery yet, the specs are certainly in its favor. Their high-capacity 3,000 mAh battery should easily keep the phone going all day. The Galaxy S4 battery is 2,600 mAh, so the G2 definitely wins this category.

Camera

The L2 and the Galaxy S4 both offer an impressive 13-megapixel camera, but as of right now, little is known about what else the L2 offers. We do know it has optical image stabilization, but the GS4 had image stabilization features of its own, along with several other camera apps. This one can’t be decided on specs alone. We’ll have to wait until the L2 is released to try it out, but it would have to have some pretty new and exciting features to triumph over the Samsung camera.

Price and Conclusion

The G2 is going to cost slightly more than the Galaxy S4 but you should be able to save $36 with Sprint free activation here. While, really, it’s too early to say for certain whether the LG G2 is going to last, we like what we’ve heard. It’s pushing a boundary with its new buttons-on-the-back design, it’s using one of the most powerful processors on the market, and the G2 even has Hi-Fi audio playback. The smartphones that keep up technologically are the ones that get noticed, and the LG G2 is well on its way there.

Andy Jones loves to blog about mobile phones and money saving tips. He recommends using activation fee waiver from Sprint to save on your next smartphone purchase.