Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the new LG G6 takes on the new Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. Both LG and Samsung did away with the old and jumped into the new in both design and innovative technology. The old LG G5 was a painted, all-metal modular design – an innovative and daring move on LG’s part, but buyers were not ready for this type of design and sales did not come close to their predictions. The new LG G6 is an all-glass design that has narrower bezels, an increased display size, an 18:9 screen aspect ratio, and they did away with their last real staple; the long-prized removable battery. Samsung abandoned the idea of a flat display for their flagship, increased the display size, used an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, and crowned it their Infinity Display. This gives the new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus a totally redesigned look and feel. The LG G6 and Galaxy S8 Plus are looking to capture your attention and hoping you choose one for your next smartphone. Let’s take a look to see what these two devices have in common before we look at each on an individual basis.
With the display sizes one-half inch apart, the larger Galaxy S8 Plus is also slightly larger in physical dimensions and weighs in 10 grams heavier than the LG G6. Both devices use Gorilla Glass 5 for their back, while the LG G6 uses Gorilla Glass 3 for the front and the Galaxy S8 Plus uses Gorilla Glass 5 all around. Both devices are IP68 certified for water and dust resistance and both have non-removable batteries with rapid and wireless charging available. The displays use a different technology, but the same resolution and both utilize the ‘always-on’ display technology. They both use a Snapdragon processor and Adreno GPUs, but are different generations. Both devices come with 4GB of DDR4 RAM and expandable internal memory with a base 32GB on the G6 and 64GB on the S8 Plus. The camera areas are very different, but both take great photographs. They both have Hi-Res audio circuitry and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for unlocking the device as well as Android Pay or other mobile purchases. Both of these devices do have a 3.5mm headphone jack. The LG G6 and the Galaxy S8 Plus have the usual suspects – WiFi, Bluetooth (v4.2 in the G6 and v5.0 in the S8 Plus), GPS, NFC, and the newer reversible Type-C port for charging and data transfer.
Please take a thoughtful 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 device in greater depth 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 G6
LG really changed up the new LG G6 by sweeping away the old LG G5 that it replaces. The LG G6 uses a new sleek, all glass design and did away with the LG G5’s metal and modular body. This new design allowed the LG G6 to include an IP68 certification, but took away the removable battery. To help compensate for this they did increase the battery size from 2800mAh to 3300mAh and added wireless charging. LG generously increased the display size from 5.3-inches to 5.7-inches and gave it an 18:9 screen ratio. LG also worked on the camera area and kept the fingerprint sensor on the back of the device. Let’s see if LG did enough to their LG G6 to see how it stands up to the new Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.
The LG G6 sports a new 5.7-inch IPS LCD QHD+ display and includes the ‘always on’ feature and a resolution of 2880 x 1440 pixels with 564 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) This 18:9 screen ratio gives the LG G6 a slightly taller and narrower display that is Dolby Vision/HDR10 compliant giving you a more realistic view when watching movies. It also allows two perfect squares for multi-window tasking. LG did not want to wait for the new Snapdragon 835 processor to become available so they stuck with the 2016 Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor with dual cores clocked at 1.6GHz and another dual-core clocked at 2.35GHz. They paired that processor up with the impressive Adreno 530 GPU for graphics. The G6 packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal memory that is expandable to 2TB via a microUSB card.
The LG G6 continues LG’s love affair with dual cameras that operate independently from one another with a primary 13MP sensor with an added extra 13MP ultra wide-angle 125-degree sensor. For normal picture taking, the LG G6 will use the primary 13MP shooter with an f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, OIS, and dual-tone LED flash. However, if the user needs to capture a wider group shot in the photo or landscape, they will use the 13MP ultra wide-angle lens that has a fixed focus and an f/2.4 aperture. LG used a 5MP FFC with an f/2.4 aperture for selfies and video chatting. LG increased the battery size from 2800mAh to a 3300mAh with Quick Charge 3.0 and now offers wireless charging as standard.
Even though LG did away with the modular design, in order to keep the bezels small, they kept the fingerprint sensor on the back of the device and it still acts as an on/off switch as it did on the LG G5. The LG G6 did away with its IR Blaster, but the FM radio is still around for certain market areas. The LG G6 is the first non-Google smartphone to include Google Assistant built into the device. The LG G6 measures 148.9 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm, weighs in at 163 grams and comes in Mystic White, Astro Black, or Ice Platinum. The device is available on all the leading carriers for about $700 for 32GB.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
Much has happened at Samsung this past year and in an effort to reinvent themselves the design of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are history. The new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are taking over with their new Infinity Display – a dual curved display with no left or right bezels and edges that look like they seamlessly melt into the sides of the device. Even the top and bottom bezels are beginning to disappear. Gone is the physical ‘Home’ button, as well as the capacitive ‘Back’ and ‘App’ keys, as they are all located on the lower part of the display that has 3D Touch capabilities. Samsung moved the fingerprint sensor to the back near the camera lens, but Samsung added a couple of easier ways to unlock the device by way of facial recognition or an iris scan. The sexy physical appearance of the Galaxy S8 Plus may be enough to win you over, but did Samsung do enough to win over the hearts of an LG G6 buyer?
The Galaxy S8 Plus jumps the display from a 5.5-inches to a much larger 6.2-inch Infinity Display. It comes with the Super AMOLED technology but Samsung gives it a new 18.5:9 aspect ratio that makes it taller and slightly narrower, just as it does with the LG G6. It has a QHD+ display resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels with 570 PPI. This new display takes up 84-percent of the front of the phone with very small bezels on the top and bottom. Samsung continues with the ‘always-on’ display to help save battery life but also to make it easier and quicker to check notifications. Samsung uses the newest Corning Gorilla Glass 5 to protect the front and back of the device. The Galaxy S8 Plus uses the newest 10nm technology found in both the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor and Samsung’s excellent Exynos 8895 octa-core. The model coming to the US uses the Snapdragon 835 clocked at 2.35GHz with an Adreno 540 GPU. The other countries will use the Exynos 8895 with four cores clocked at 1.7GHz and four cores clocked at 2.3GHz and a Mali-G71 MP20 for graphics. The Galaxy S8 Plus packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and has 64GB of the faster UFS 2.1 expandable memory via a microSD card.
Samsung made a decision to the camera setup from the Galaxy S7 series and concentrate on making advancements to their imaging software – a rather bold move on their part considering all of the camera wars going on. The Galaxy S8 Plus uses with a Dual Pixel 12MP sensor with a large aperture of f/1.7, a 26mm lens, PDAF, LED flash, auto HDR and OIS. Samsung did make some changes to the FFC by increasing it from a 5MP to an 8MP sensor and then gave it its own autofocus. It still uses a wide-angle lens, the same f/1.7 aperture, and Live HDR. Samsung decreased the battery size from 3600mAh in the Galaxy S7 Edge to a non-removable 3500mAh battery that features Quick Charge and still offers Quick Wireless Charging.
Samsung always packs their Galaxy S series devices with as many features as it can – some are very useful and others are more like a good party trick. It continues to be IP68 certified against dust and water resistance, keeps its heart rate monitor, oxygen saturation sensor, and for those that exercise, the new Samsung Health replaces Samsung’s S-Health. If you own a Samsung appliance, you will be happy to know that the Galaxy S8 Plus comes with a new Samsung Connect feature that will hook up with Samsung’s products so you have complete control of appliances, thermostats, and more. Samsung introduces its own personal assistant called Bixby. You can ask Bixby either simple questions use the camera to get information by pointing it at a historical building or if you aim the camera at a sign written in a foreign language, Bixby will translate it for you. Samsung brought out a DeX Station that will interface the Galaxy S8 Plus with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to give you a near desktop experience. You can use Samsung Pay, which allows Galaxy S8 Plus users more freedom to make mobile purchases. The Galaxy S8 Plus will arrive with Android Nougat 7.0, followed by a quick upgrade to 7.1. It measures 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, weighs in at 173 grams, is available in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, and Maple Gold depending where you are located. The Galaxy S8 Plus will cost about $840 outright and is now available for purchase at major retailers and carriers.
…And The Winner Is…
The Final Word
Okay, before I hear from all of the LG G6 fans, I have to admit that the LG G6 seems like more of a bargain than the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. However, this is a comparison on specifications and there the Galaxy S8 Plus is the clear winner. It has a larger screen, a Super AMOLED display with that gorgeous Infinity Display, it has the latest Snapdragon 835 processor and an Adreno 540 GPU graphics chip, a great camera, a heart rate monitor, facial recognition, iris scanner, and the latest Bluetooth 5.0. It also has Samsung Health, Samsung Connect, and Samsung DeX capability.
The LG G6 uses the LCD technology on a smaller display, last year’s Snapdragon 821 and Adreno 530 GPU. It does have small bezels and a great dual camera setup. You can see how much smaller the list of features are for the LG G6, but many of the Samsung features are never used, but the higher price tag is paid by all buyers.
If you want the best looking and most powerful smartphone on the market, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is just what you are looking for – but if you want a great device with an advanced camera, that still runs fast and smooth, and would like to save $140, then the LG G6 should satisfy your needs. If you really want the Galaxy S8 series, you may look to the smaller Galaxy S8, which only costs $20 more than the LG G6 and still has all the great features of the S8 Plus.