Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the solid and well-liked LG G4 goes up against the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. LG was the first to jump to the Quad HD (QHD) display with their LG G3 over a year ago and the first to place their on/off and volume controls on the back. Samsung finally switched to a metal and glass construction, but did away with the removable battery and expandable storage. Which one of these premium devices will win the battle of specifications and usability? First, we will discuss a few specs the LG G4 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ share and then go a little more in detail.
Both devices are almost the same physical size, and weigh within 2 grams of eachother, with the LG G4 being the heavier one. Both have small bezels and their displays, though different technology, are very close in size – 5.5-inches on the LG G4 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+ at 5.7-inches – and both come with the QHD resolution. The LG G4 and S6 Edge+ both have a 32GB model, the same size main 16MP camera sensor and the usual suspects – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.1 on the LG G4 and 4.2 on the S6 Edge+), GPS, NFC capability and microUSB 2.0 port for charging and data transfer.
Both devices use a 3000mAh battery, however, the LG G4 has a removal battery and the Galaxy S6 Edge+ has a non-removable battery. Both offer quick charge for their batteries, the LG G4 offers an optional wireless charging, and the S6 Edge+ offers quick charge wireless as standard.
Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Specifications
LG G4
The LG G3 was well received and was the first major smartphone with a Quad HD (QHD) display – however, it was not without its faults. LG took the G3 and made improvements in all the right places when they brought out the LG G4. The device is slightly larger, but included a slight curve to the entire device…just enough to make it a pleasure to hold in your hand. They improved the ceramic-coated metallic plastic backing, making it easier to grip and added an optional genuine leather back in one of several colors…complete with stitching.
The QHD display on the G3 was statistically impressive, but in reality, it was rather dull looking. LG concentrated on improving the display on the LG G4 by switching to a new IPS Quantum display technology. LG claims this improvement creates a 25-percent brighter display with a 50-percent increase in the contrast and 56-percent improvement to the color accuracy. The new LG G4 sports a 5.5-inch QHD LCD Quantum display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 538 pixels-per-inch (PPI)…this compares to the QHD Super AMOLED display and 518 PPI found on the S6 Edge+ that has a dual curved on the left and right sides.
LG naturally chose the Snapdragon 810 in their LG G Flex 2, but then decided to pass on it for the LG G4. They stayed with Qualcomm, but chose their 64-bit Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor in the G4, with a quad-core clocked at 1.44GHz and a dual-core clocked at 1.82GHz. LG and Qualcomm worked together to optimize the 808 for the LG G4 and it should offer a dependable experience and be easier on its battery than the Snapdragon 810. Samsung decided to use their homegrown 64-bit Exynos octa-core processor in the S6 Edge+. The LG G4 is packing 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and the S6 Edge+ uses 4GB of RAM and 32GB as well as a 64GB option. The LG G4 has room for expansion via a microUSB card and the S6 Edge+ does not.
The LG G4 has a top-rate camera area with a 16MP sensor, laser autofocus, dual-tone LED Flash, a wide f/1.8 aperture and OIS for their main camera. LG also included a huge 8MP FFC with the f/1.8 aperture that should take excellent selfies and provide great video chatting. The S6 Edge+ also has a top-rated camera with a 16MP main camera with all of the amenities and a 5MP FFC. The G4 uses a 3000mAh removable battery, compared to the non-removable 3000mAh on the S6 Edge+ and both batteries should get you through a day. They both offer a quick charge feature, the LG G4 offers an optional wireless charger, and the S6 Edge+ has a quick charge wireless charger built-in.
The LG G4 does offer a couple of things the S6 Edge+ does not have – an FM Stereo radio, a built-in IR Blaster (which comes on the S6 Edge, but not the S6 Edge+), and comes with controls that are easily accessible on the back of the device. It also incorporates some great software features in the camera app and on the device itself. The LG G4 is available in a variety of colors in either the standard ceramic-coated plastic back or genuine leather backing. It is running the latest Lollipop, will cost you about $600+ off contract, and is available on all major US carriers.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
The S6 Edge+ is simply an extended variant of the S6 Edge and now uses a solid aluminum unibody with Gorilla Glass 2.5D on the front and Gorilla Glass 4 on the back. It comes in two colors, a Black Sapphire and a Gold Platinum. The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a real beauty with its dual curved display and has a real premium feel, solid build and a real ‘wow’ factor.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ sports a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 518 PPI with a dual-curved display. This goes up against the 5.5-inch QHD LCD display and 538 PPI on the LG G4. The Galaxy S6 Edge+ uses the same processor as the S6/S6 Edge – Samsung’s own 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core processor, the first processor to use 14nm technology. It has four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four cores clocked at 2.1GHz. A lot more ‘horsepower’ than the 64-bit Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor found in the LG G4. The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is packing 4GB of the much faster DDR4 RAM – the LG G4 uses 3GB of DDR3 RAM. The S6 Edge+ comes with Samsung’s new, faster, UFS 2.0 flash memory offering options of 32GB or 64GB with no room for expansion. The LG G4 has a 32GB variant with expandable memory.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+’s camera uses a 16MP ISOCELL sensor with autofocus, LED Flash, a large f/1.9 aperture, Live HDR and OIS and is without a doubt, the best camera Samsung has ever put in a smartphone. Samsung increased the FFC to 5MP and they wisely added the f/1.9 aperture, Live HDR and a 120-degree wide-angle lens for excellent low-light group selfies and video chatting. The LG G4 also has one of the best cameras on a smartphone with a 16MP sensor for the main camera and a huge 8MP for the FFC. The S6 Edge+’s and LG G4 both use a 3000mAh battery and they should easily get these devices through an entire day with moderate usage. However, if you run into trouble, the new Samsung non-removable battery can charge up to 4 hours of usage in only 10 minutes or use the built-in wireless quick charger for either PMA or Qi formats. The LG G4 uses a removable battery with optional Qi wireless charging.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ has a few features not found on the LG G4 – it has a fingerprint sensor that is PayPal certified, it is Samsung Pay ready, and can make payments at any retailer that can swipe a credit card. It includes a heart rate and oxygen saturation sensors and built-in wireless quick charging for both Qi and PMA standards. The dual-curved display offers several features of its own and really adds that cool factor that is certainly not present on the LG G4. It is running Android 5.1 Lollipop and will cost you about $768 off-contract for the 32GB model and $864 for the 64GB model.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
This was really a tough one to pick and I went with the LG G4 at first only because of the price difference of about $150 or so, but after I started to write that summary, I realized that the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is worth that extra money. It has a better display, a better processor, more RAM, faster UFS 2.0 memory, takes just as good pictures, has a quick wireless charging, heart rate and oxygen sensors, a fingerprint sensor that is PayPal certified, Samsung Pay approved and Android Pay (with Android M) ready. The technology is there with the 14nm processor, faster RAM and memory, and the dual-curved display offers a definite ‘cool’ factor, just not found on the LG G4. As far as I am concerned, all of the above is worth $150 extra.
The LG G4 is an excellent smartphone – QHD display, fantastic camera, removable battery and expandable memory may be enough for you to pick the LG G4. However, the technology in the S6 Edge+ will give it a longer ‘shelf-life’ than the LG G4 and worth the extra money in my opinion and that is why I picked the S6 Edge+ as the winner of this comparison.
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