Stuff UK — June 2017

● LG G6 £650 +++++

SUPERTEST SUPERPHONES

LG ditches its moddin’ family

and bids for the crown in style

The 18:9 aspect ratio

might be unique, but all

your apps should play

nicely with it. You can

upscale videos in the

settings menus to avoid

any ugly letterboxing.

Last year’s modular G5 had niche
appeal, but the G6 is more of a
mass-market crowd pleaser. It
ditches the upgradeable antics,
and instead doubles down on
everything you could want from
a flagship phone. That includes
a bezel-busting 18:9 aspect ratio
on a QHD-resolution screen that
fills the entire front of the phone.
No, it doesn’t curve around at the

sides, but LG has still squeezed

a sizeable display into a phone

that’s barely larger than a 4.7in

iPhone 7. It’s perfectly easy to

use one-handed.

The Snapdragon 821 inside isn’t

exactly cutting-edge any more,

but it’s still a mighty fast chip, and

the G6 is able to keep pace with its

main competition in both apps and

games. Android 7 runs perfectly

smoothly, and while 32GB of

onboard storage is stingy, at least

you can add more with a microSD

card. Battery life could be better,

though – you’ll get a working day

between top-ups, but only just.

We don’t get wireless charging

here in the UK either.

That stretchy 18:9 aspect ratio

doesn’t look quite so remarkable

now the Galaxy S8 has arrived

with something similar, especially

as the Samsung adds a curved

screen into the mix.

Even against such strong

competition, though, the G6

is still one of the most visually

arresting flagship phones out

there, barely putting a foot wrong

across the board. It’s a fantastic

all-rounder, and you can’t ask for

much more than that.

DESIGN

Minimal monolith

OK, so you can’t remove the

battery any more, but the

G6’s stellar looks and premium

unibody build quality should

make up for it. You get a tough

metal frame, sandwiched

between two slabs of Gorilla

Glass, and the whole thing is

IP68 water-resistant – handy

if you’ve ever killed a phone

by dropping it in the sink. The

fingerprint sensor still sits

at the back, perfectly placed

where your finger rests while

you’re holding the phone, so

you don’t need to fish around

for it blindly every time you

unlock it.

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CAMERA

Get the whole picture

The twin-camera setup

returns from the G5, but the

second, wide-angle snapper

now matches the 13MP main

sensor for pixel count so you

aren’t sacrificing quality to

squeeze more into each shot.

Switching between sensors

is much quicker now, and you

can use them both at the

same time for some Instagram-

worthy special effects. There’s

also a comprehensive manual

mode. It’s a shame that quality

is only average – colours and

exposure are usually on point,

but detail is lacking compared

to its rivals.

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OS AND APPS

UX marks the spot

That elongated screen shape

squeezes more out of every

app – more lines of text,

more room for photos, more

space on the homescreen. LG’s

version of Android Nougat isn’t

as restrained as Samsung’s,

but is still flexible for purists.

●●●●●●●●●●

SCREEN

HDR hero

The G6 has such a wide colour

gamut that video expert Dolby

has certified it for Dolby Vision

HDR video. You really can see

an improvement: bright whites

can be on screen at the same

time as deep blacks, with all the

subtle variations in between.

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