Samsung went radical with the hardware on the Galaxy S4 and dazzled everyone putting two quad core processors in a mobile device. It held the spot of most powerful smartphone for a while but it was inevitable that the competition will rise. It had rivals in the market but they were focused on other aspects of mobile device rather than raw performance. The launch of Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 has taken the smartphone game to another level. Some new devices came out that are fighting the leader to claim the position. This time, we are stacking the S4 up against a rival from the makers of current and upcoming Google Nexus device. Yes we are talking about LG here.
There have been a lot of speculations about the LG G2 as it would form the base for the upcoming nexus device. LG might not feel like a big name to some as it has been out of light for a while but it doesn’t stop them from making great devices. A while back Samsung came up with the S3 and a few months later, LG came up with the Optimus G which was way better than the S3. An almost similar story is cooking up again. The S4 is a capable device but as LG decided to wait for the Snapdragon 800, they have got a much powerful device in the form of G2.
Design
The Galaxy S4 has got family resemblance and people have started to hate it now. Not that it is badly built or anything but it doesn’t feel premium. You pay close to 40K for a device that is made of the exact same glossy plastic as a device that costs a third. And material is not the only issue. Most of the Samsung devices are the scaled up or scaled down version of their flagship device which doesn’t work well for high end devices. A high end device is supposed to look premium and well worth the price. But if we ignore the looks, the design is quite practical and the dimensions are well under control for a 5 inch device. It has got a physical home key up front which is quite good as you won’t have to reach for the power key every time you want to turn on the display.
The G2 however looks much better and premium as compared to the S4. It has got a slightly bigger display (5.2 against 5 inch) but the size remains the same as S4. It is slightly fatter as compared to the S4 but 8.9 mm isn’t uncomfortable to hold. It is also a bit heavier as compared to the S4 but packs in a bigger battery.
Display
Most of the high end devices these days run full HD displays. The S4 has got a 5 inch full HD display while the G2 has got a 5.2 inch display. The Galaxy S4 has an excellent AMOLED display. It has an amazing contrast ratio, saturated colours, and good viewing angles. The G2 on the other hand has got True HD IPS+ LCD display like on the Optimus G. The display is excellent though the contrast ratio is not as good as the AMOLED on S4. The colour replication is good and very true to the original colour. The display of S4 feels a bit oversaturated at times. It is hard to choose one among the two as both devices have got superb displays with no flaws to talk about. Both the devices have got Gorilla Glass 3 protection to keep scratches away.
Hardware
The S4 has a very powerful processor and the device won’t fail to impress you with its performance. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is equipped with the Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 processors&Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 with Exynos 5 Octa chipset. In some markets, they put a Qualcomm snapdragon 600 chipset with a 1.9 GHz quad core processor with Adreno 320 GPU. Now that is a pretty good hardware and it would sound like a lot until you know what the LG G2 runs.
The G2 has got the latest Qualcomm chipset, the Snapdragon 800 and runs a quad core processor at a clock speed of 2.3 GHz. It has got the latest Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. This phone hits the S4 hard, right in the face. To cope up with the powerful hardware, it has got a relatively bigger battery to provide power. Though you would have limited storage with the option to choose from only 16 or 32 GB of storage. The S4 gives you an option to add a micro SD card which counts as a plus.
Interface/ Software
While both the devices run the same version of Android, there are quite a number of differences. Samsung has worked really hard on the software of this device and there are a lot of features which they have added to the device. It has got features like smart scroll and smart stay. Also it offers better multitasking options as compared to the G2. The G2 has got good interface and you won’t have anything to complain about, but it can’t better the work that Samsung has put in the operating system running on S4.
Camera
Both the devices have got 13 megapixel cameras and that isn’t really a big deal now. Devices priced half as much sport similar camera resolutions now. The camera on Galaxy S4 is a good one but there is nothing very special about it. The camera on G2 has got optical image stabilization for both image and videos which would considerably improve the results. While the camera on S4 can record videos in full HD, the camera on G2 can record full HD videos in 60 fps. This would give you very smooth videos and you can also play them at reduced speeds.
Verdict
The Galaxy S4 is a great device for sure but we would suggest the LG G2 for its better camera, processor and looks. And they are priced pretty close so it makes the LG G2 a better buy.
Guest article written by: Julia. She wrote several tech posts for [tp lang=”en” only=”y”]91mobiles.com[/tp][tp not_in=”en”]91mobiles.com[/tp]. Her passion for upgrading her knowledge puts her to research on topics relevant to her industry. Besides, she also likes to share her findings by writing about them in her free time.