2017 Korean Flagship Battle: Samsung Galaxy S8 vs LG G6

Samsung has taken the wraps off its new Galaxy S8 flagship, and it’s no secret that its redesign would make you want to compare it against another Korean company’s flagship, the LG G6. Let’s take a look at how these two devices fare against each other.

READ: Samsung Galaxy S8 Review

Samsung Galaxy S8	LG G6
5.8-inch Super AMOLED Quad-HD+ Infinity display @ 2960 x 1440 resolution	5.7-inch QHD+ Full Vision display @ 2880 x 1440 resolution
568 ppi	565ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (front) / Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (back)
2.3GHz Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa-core CPU	2.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core CPU
Mali G71MP20 GPU	Adreno 530 GPU
4GB RAM	4GB LPDDR4 RAM
64GB internal storage	32GB/64GB UFS 2.0 storage
Expandable up to 256GB via microSD (uses SIM 2 slot)	Expandable up to 2TB via microSD
12MP f/1.7 Dual Pixel rear camera with dual-tone, dual LED Flash	13MP (f/1.8, OIS, 3-axis) + 13MP (f/2.4) wide-angle Laser AF rear cameras w/ dual LED Flash
8 megapixel AF front camera, f/1.7 aperture	5MP wide-angle front camera, f/2.2 aperture
Dual SIM (hybrid), dual LTE	4G LTE-A Cat.12/13
WiFi	WiFi 802.11ac, dual-band
Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 4.2
NFC	NFC
USB Type-C	USB Type-C
FIngerprint Sensor	Fingerprint Sensor
-	Hi-Fi Quad DAC
Iris Scanner	-
Heart Rate Sensor	-
IP68 Dust and Water resistance	IP68 Dust and Water resistance
Samsung Bixby	Google Assistant
3,000mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery	3300mAh Li-Ion battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Android 7 Nougat with Samsung TouchWiz UI	Android 7 Nougat with LG UX 6.0 UI
148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm	148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9mm
151 g	163g
Midnight Black Maple Gold Orchid Grey	Astro Black Mystic White Ice Platinum

Samsung Galaxy S8 advantages:

Infinity display
Newer chip
Iris Scanner
Heart rate sensor
Dual SIM connectivity
Higher megapixel count, brighter front camera
lighter build

LG G6 advantages:

Fullvision display
Dual rear cameras
Hi-Fi audio DAC
Tried and Tested Google Assistant
Bigger battery

First off, both of the devices’ displays bear something to look forward to. Samsung opted to implement its edge-to-edge display seen on previous devices such as Note 7 and S7 Edge that does have some nifty features to tow. If you’re not a fan of that, LG’s latest flagship bears a Fullvision display capable of producing HDR content and supports a wide range of gamut color.

While LG opted for an older Snapdragon 821 chip as there were reports that Samsung got the first dibs on the latest SD835 chips for its flagship, with none left for other companies to use. Too bad, the Galaxy S8 launching in the country would not be a Snapdragon variant but with a much-improved Exynos chip, and it is deemed to be as good as other CPUs in the market today based on benchmark scores.

Their camera setups are also different — Samsung still has the same 12MP DualPixel camera from last year, and LG kept the normal and wide-angle rear cameras as inherited from the G5. The front cameras also vary as Samsung sports a selfie camera with a higher resolution and wider aperture leading to better shots in low light, while LG still opted for their 5MP front camera setup.

Both phones also offer their own set of nifty features: The Galaxy S8 inherits the iris scanner from the Galaxy Note7 in addition to its long-standing heart rate monitor, while LG adapted a Hi-Fi chip that would be a sure hit with the audiophiles.

On the software side, both sports Google’s Android Nought right out of the box but with their own customizations: LG kept Google Assistant and made it a core function of their new flagship, while Samsung will go head to head and launch their native assistant called Bixby, further closing the ecosystem they had always hoped for. While the S8 still has the Assistant, its dedicated Bixby button along with a plethora of features tailored for the S8 would leave one confused on which to use.

As we now start the countdown to the local launch of these smartphones which could happen this summer, we’re expecting some hard consumer decisions considering both phones are deemed to be the best their own companies have made so far. Which smartphone are you most excited for? Leave a comment the comments section below.