LG G4: Style, presence, and sharp shooting

The LG G4 improves on the three best features of the preceding phone: design, screen, the camera - and does so decisively. It adopts a G Flex curve, and has what may as well be the most advanced camera module on a phone yet.

The camera really is the new phone's key feature. LG picked a new 16MP sensor, improved the optical stabilization, gave it a wider aperture lens, added a handful of new software features (including manual mode) and placed a top-notch selfie camera on the front. A complete overhaul of the imaging department that does proper justice to this phone.

The LG designers obviously worked really hard on the G4 too. They gave the LG G4 a subtle arc that complements the spacious screen and sourced high-quality materials for the back covers. The premium option is made of genuine full grain leather with threads imported from Germany used on the decorative stitching. Even the basic backs are far from plain - the white one has ceramic coating. All in all, the LG G4 strikes a great balance between tangible quality and intangible class.

The screen is LG's own creation as none of the top display manufacturers had what the G4 needed. The company calls it a "Quantum Display," not be confused with Sony's quantum dot screens. LG says it's actually better. The new components reduce power usage, while improving brightness and contrast. Better color accuracy is promised as well.

The LG G4 comes with a 3,000mAh battery - the same capacity as the G3 and the G2 before it. The G2 was a battery life king, but the G3 was quite average.

The endurance rating worked out to 54 hours, 9 hours less than the G3. The issue was with the high standby power draw, which puts a strain on the battery even when you're not using the phone. The other disappointment was the talk time, which couldn't reach 17 hours - an 8 hour drop from the G3.

Verdict: The LG G4 is a great phone. The styling is practical and emotive, the camera is probably the best one on the market right now, the screen is superb, and the phone works so well withot showing any glitches or 'hanging'.

The only major disappointment with this phone is the battery. It just doesn't help the phone generally, but asides from that, and the fact that it is a bit bulky, the LG G4 is an amazing phone. If you can afford one, by all means, please get it.

Key features.

- Subtly curved design with optional leather backs

- 5.5" QHD (1440 x 2560px) Quantum Display IPS LCD, 534ppi, Gorilla Glass 3

- Android 5.1 Lollipop with the latest LG UX v4.0

- Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset with hex-core processor (dual Cortex-A57 @ 1.82GHz, quad A53 @ 1.44GHz), Adreno 418 GPU and 3GB of RAM

- 16MP camera, phase detection/laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, OIS, 2160p video recording

- 8MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording

- 32GB of built-in storage, expandable via a microSD card slot

- Active noise cancellation with a secondary microphone

- Dolby mobile sound enhancement

- 3,000mAh user-replaceable battery

- microUSB 2.0 with SlimPort 4K