The new LG G3 dubbed as the 'Samsung Galaxy S5 Killer' was released on May 27, 2014 to positive reviews so far. The predecessor LG G2, on the other hand, was released in the month of August last year. This post covers the differences and the underlying similarities between the two powerhouses from LG.

For readers who are interested in purchasing one of the aforementioned devices, here is a specification and price comparison pertaining to Australia.

Display, Design, Exterior and Size

The LG G3 has a 5.5 inches IPS LCD display, with an impressive resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 pixels. Whereas the LG G2 comes with a relatively smaller screen size of 5.2 inches, with 1,080 x 1,920 pixels resolution. The LG G2 is capable of supporting up to 423 ppi of pixel density, which is much lower than the 538 ppi of the latest LG G3.

The thickness and the weight of LG G3 are 0.35 inches and 149 g respectively, while the thickness dimension stays the same for LG G2, it weighs 143 g.

It is worth noting that, the LG G2 has a plastic body while the LG G3 gives the look of a metal body. As Tech Radar puts it, the new LG G3 is very much made of plastic but the metal effect on the plastic body seems convincing enough. In addition, the back panel of the new LG G3 is removable, while the G2's is non-removable.

The buttons on the G3 are comparatively smaller than the G2 and they are located at the back of the phone.

Hardware and Software

The LG G3 is powered by a quad-core Krait (Qualcomm Snapdragon 801) processor, clocked at 2.5 GHz and it comes with a 2 GB of RAM (if opted for 16 GB of storage) and a 3 GB of RAM (If opted for 32 GB of storage). On the other hand, the LG G2 is powered by a quad-core Krait 400 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 800) processor, clocked at 2.2 GHz, which features a 2 GB of RAM.

The LG G3 runs on Android v4.4.2 KitKat OS, while the LG G2 runs on Android v4.2.2 Jelly Bean (upgradable to v4.4.2 KitKat). Both the phones use LG's Optimus UI on top of Android OS. The only difference is that the LG G3 runs the latest version of Optimus UI.

Camera

The LG G3 sports a 13 MP rear-facing camera with dual-LED (dual tone) flash and a 2.1 MP front-facing camera. On the other hand, the LG G2 features the same 13 MP rear-facing camera but with regular LED Flash and the same 2.1 MP front-facing camera.

The difference comes in the form of the functionality of the camera and this is where LG G3 wins hands down. The LG G3 can shoot 4K (3,840 x 2,160) videos. The other salient camera features include 'Laser Autofocus Sensor' and 'Selfie' Mode. The company claims that the laser autofocus sensor mechanism is very quick as it takes only 0.276 seconds to focus. In addition, the camera also features simultaneous video and image recording, optical image stabilization, geo tagging, face detection, and HDR.

Interested users can check out the extensive review on the new LG G3's camera unit from IBTimes.

Memory

Both the LG G3 and G2 come with 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage. In addition, the LG G3 supports microSD slot for expansion up to 128 GB, while the LG G2 doesn't.

Battery

Even though both the phones house the same 3000mAh battery; the LG G3 has a user-replaceable battery unit while the LG G2 doesn't. In addition, the G3 offers built-in wireless charging facility.

SIM

Both the phones support micro-sim.

Color

The LG G3 comes in five shades gold, blue, red, black and white, whereas the LG G2 comes in 4 shades black, white, gold and red.

Price

The LG G2 16 GB with 4G LTE is priced at AU$449.95, while the LG G3 is priced at AU$799 in Australia. It is worth noting that, so far there has been no confirmation on the official release date in Australia. However, Australia will be getting the LG-D855 model of LG G3 that comes with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage.

Conclusion

The LG G3 is a clear winner. The design, look, replaceable battery unit, 3 GB of RAM choice, microSD card support and an incredible camera unit are the stand-out features when compared to its predecessor. The only flip-side is the price range.

What do you think of the LG G3? Will you buy one? Feel free to leave a comment.