LG G6 hands-on, first impressions

LG is doing another pivot and this time, it looks like they focus on the more important aspects of the phone. The approach on modularity is no longer on the tablet. What we are getting instead is a total revamped of the LG G-series.

From the usual display sizes 5.5 to 5.2 inches, the LG G6 pushed ahead and went for 5.7-inches. This puts the G6 in the same category as the LG V20 but despite that bump in the display size, the LG G6 is still manageable with one hands.

This was made possible by increasing the screen-to-body ratio and removing un-used space on the phone. This means the G6 has much narrower bezels especially on the top and bottom sections.

From the modular LG G5, the LG G6 went back to basics and crafted an all-metal unibody design. There’s still some semblance of the G5 and the V20 here but it’s safe to say this new design is pointing at a different direction.

The main benefit of this new direction is that the device is now IP68 dust and water resistant, a feature we’ve all seen from Sony and Samsung for many years now.

What LG kept is the dual camera setup at the back — a 13-megapixel camera with f1.8 aperture and another 13MP wide-angle camera — which you can manually switch to give you the best field of view of your subject. The camera modules are flushed and no longer protrude like in the G5.

The back panel is metal but covered with Gorilla Glass, which makes it look glossy and a smudged-magnet. The fingerprint sensor is still at the back just below the cameras.

LG’s differentiation is its 5.7-inch QHD+ FullVision display which has an unusual aspect ratio of 18:9 and a slightly higher resolution of 2880×1440 pixels (565ppi). The G6 also gets full Dolby Vision certification (for watching High Dynamic Range content from sources like Amazon and Netflix).

The use of the Snapdragon 821 instead of the newer Snapdragon 835 is not a surprise as it was known beforehand. Other smartphones announced here at MWC 2017 (like the Xperia XZ Premium) are using the Snapdragon 835 so that’s going to be a contention for LG on this decision.

Over-all, the LG G6 is a good move for LG — premium unibody design, gorgeous super-sized display, unique dual-camera setup and a solid hardware configuration with water-resistance to boot.

We still don’t know when LG will be releasing the G6 in the Philippines and for how much but our guess is that it would be towards the end of April or early May.

LG G6 specs:
5.7-inch QHD+ FullVisison display @ 2880 x 1440, 565ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 2.4GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 530 graphics
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB UFS 2.0 storage
expandable via microSD up to 2TB
LTE-A 3 Band CA up to 600 Mbps
13MP f/1.8 and 13MP f/2.2 Wide-angle Rear cameras with Dual LED Flash
5MP f/2.2 Wide-angle front camera
WiFi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.2 BLE
GPS with aGPS support
NFC
IP68 Dust and Water resistance
Dolby Vision
HDR 10
Fingerprint Sensor
32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC Chip
USB Type-C 2.0
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Android 7 Nougat with LGUX 6.0
3,300mAh battery (non-removable)
148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9mm (dimensions)
163 gram (weight)