LG G3: Former Nexus 5 zealot's first impressions.

[LeoRex]

I chose to exercise my JUMP upgrade and traded in my Nexus 5 for a black G3. I LOVED my Nexus 5 and was an unabashed fan and tried to sell it to the world that wanted a top notch, inexpensive phone. BUT... why both having JUMP if you aren't going to use it? And it seems like it might be until sometime in 2015 before a new 'small' Nexus phone is released, and the G3 had my curiosity AND attention. So after a little bit of time, I'll say this: I think I'm going to really like this phone...... one I get done fiddling with it.

First off... phone is a looker... nice chassis, blown up screen with no bezels, plastic back with a metallic feel....

Within the first few minutes us using it, I immediately thought "Yeah, gonna have to do something about this." The stock launcher is a bit well, meh. It reminds me of a plain ol' ICS era launcher with a little bit of TW mixed in. Why anyone would keep running it rather than jumping to a custom launcher is beyond me. Smart Notice? OK... Why... WHY are OEMs coming to the contextually aware gun fight with butter knives? Google Now is a killer, beast mode function. And Smart Notice is a poor attempt at a Now replacement. LG.... don't... just don't.... you're in over your head on this one. So to address that part of the issue I hopped over to gappsearly and snitched the Google Now Launcher apk and loaded it up. Voila!!!! First problem solved.

The notification panel is also a lot like Touchwiz... that is to say that it's a hot mess. Sliders, buttons, toggles, no room for notifications... it's the phone's junk drawer. HTC did a much better job in customizing Android with the new Sense UI. Unfortunately, LG didn't leave us many customization options. So I had to root (very easy process) and load up the G3 Tweakbox Xposed module. TB is fairly similar to the Gravity Box module that is in heavy rotation with Nexus devices, and I am quite fortunate that it was available. It let me strip out a fair amount of the extraneous crap in the screen (and do a fair amount of molding across the rest of the phone).... No more volume and brightness sliders.... now it's just notifications and quick toggles.

I also swapped out some UI sounds, replacing them with the Nexus sounds..... and imported in my library o' sounds/tunes so my notifications and stuff all sound right. AcDisplay is a mess on the G3.... so I have to go with a plan B for lockscreen notifications.

Now, I know what you are saying "You Nex-ified your phone... why didn't you just keep it!?" Well, because new phone. Bigger display, potentially better camera, massive battery, SD slot, etc....the Nexus 5 was based in part off the G2, I'm just taking things to their logical end. And thankfully, T-Mobile released this thing without a locked bootloader, so I hope that I might start seeing some custom ROMs for it at some point.

 

[Distorted Loop]

I also installed Google Now launcher, it's on every phone/tablet in my stable.

 

[Kingmerciless]

This all sounds complicated to someone that hasn't switched over to Android at the moment. But it sounds like one hell of an upgrade after the adjustments.

 

[pseudoware]

That post is too long for me to read.

Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk

 

[LeoRex]

But it sounds like one hell of an upgrade after the adjustments.

That's the plan... this phone has killer hardware, so get it to look like the phone with the best software.

 

[Kingmerciless]

That's the plan... this phone has killer hardware, so get it to look like the phone with the best software.

Do you know if at least everything but the Nexus sounds are possible on a Sprint device?

 

[LeoRex]

Do you know if at least everything but the Nexus sounds are possible on a Sprint device?

I believe so... the only real modification is root... and I think IORoot works for the Sprint variant.

Google launcher doesn't require root, but Xposed does. Those were the bulk of it

 

[Kingmerciless]

I believe so... the only real modification is root... and I think IORoot works for the Sprint variant.

Google launcher doesn't require root, but Xposed does. Those were the bulk of it

Going to have to look into this on mine when I get it.

 

[xocomaox]

I basically did what you did to my G3. If you are running Android, you should be customizing it the way you want it. Isn't that the point?

Glad you're liking this coming from the Nexus 5. When I first heard about that phone it sounded like the coolest thing ever. Except the battery was small, and the bezels where a little big. I waited before upgrading from my razr maxx and i'm glad that i did. The G3 is basically the Nexus 5.5. And, yes, the Nexus 5 is built by LG so it's no surprise.

 

[Kingmerciless]

I basically did what you did to my G3. If you are running Android, you should be customizing it the way you want it. Isn't that the point?

I agree and thats why I plan on doing as much customization as I can on mine, when I recieve it. Good suggestions here for what i can do.

 

[LeoRex]

I basically did what you did to my G3. If you are running Android, you should be customizing it the way you want it. Isn't that the point?

Glad you're liking this coming from the Nexus 5. When I first heard about that phone it sounded like the coolest thing ever. Except the battery was small, and the bezels where a little big. I waited before upgrading from my razr maxx and i'm glad that i did. The G3 is basically the Nexus 5.5. And, yes, the Nexus 5 is built by LG so it's no surprise.

If the G3 had the same clean Android load-out that the Nexus 5 had, it would be absolutely perfect. Good news is that LG has, indeed, released the sources for the OS and kernel. And my T-Mobile variant comes with an unlocked bootloader, so there's light at the end of the tunnel. Oh man... if I can get AOSP to run on this thing.... Myposian Dance of Joy time.

 

[xocomaox]

If the G3 had the same clean Android load-out that the Nexus 5 had, it would be absolutely perfect. Good news is that LG has, indeed, released the sources for the OS and kernel. And my T-Mobile variant comes with an unlocked bootloader, so there's light at the end of the tunnel. Oh man... if I can get AOSP to run on this thing.... Myposian Dance of Joy time.

Yeah, the stock OS is the stock OS. Nothing terrific, but nothing that can't be modified to do what we want.

 

[LeoRex]

OK.... update. Ok... maybe this isn't of interest to some, but whatever.. Nexus owners tend to be the agoraphobics of the smartphone world and look at OEM software as the work of Beelzebub. I figure that my experience might help alleviate some of the fears of a curious Nexite....

(part 1)

I miss the soft touch plastic on my Nexus 5 a little. Much as the G3 definitely feels like a more premium phone, it's a bit on the slippery side. I'm find it slipping sometimes when I'm holding it. The Nexus felt a lot more secure in my hand. Sure, a case would solve the issue, but I'm not sure I want to add more to an already sizable phone. I am going to get a case for times like when I go to the beach, but I won't run it the entire time. And while the G3's screen has a good half inch on the 5, it doesn't really feel any bigger in my (admittedly large) hands.

The keyboard... You know, this is a pretty nice keyboard... The dark theme has a very Google Keyboard-ish look, which I like. And the configuration options are pretty nice, especially the ability to configure the bottom row.... something missing from Google or Swype, my usual daily driver. Gesture typing is good, though it seems to get tripped up a bit more if i fat-finger the first letter. But all in all, it doesn't suck! Having a dedicated number row is pretty awesome.. I guess having a 5.5' screen gives you a little extra real estate.

 

[LeoRex]

(part 2)

Wi-Fi calling (T-Mobile)... THIS is pretty awesome actually. The Nexus lacked the ability to do Wi-Fi calling (it would require modifications to the system software, which is verbotten on a Nexus device). I didn't know what I was missing. Call quality was good, but what really comes into play is power. It disables the phone radio when active. One less transceiver running, one less bit of hardware draining the battery, especially if you had a weaker signal. I had a T-Mobile booster at my house, this kind of renders it useless.

GPS. I can say without a doubt that the G3's GPS rig is a notch above the N5's. I use Waze to help me avoid traffic snafus, and the N5 would occasionally drop its lock and be a little stubborn to regain it. The G3 locks in quick and didn't drop once on my commutes. BUT.... Waze appears to be buggy on my G3... the road maps are not drawing correctly and at one point I was driving across a sea of white. It's a known bug in Waze from the looks of it and I'm guessing that they never coded in the need to render the images on that large a display yet.

Lag... there's a lot of discussion and hand-wringing over the concept of lag. And if this thing lags, I have to say it isn't registering all that much. I switched launchers to the Google Now Launcher, and it runs without a hitch. While it isn't as buttery smooth as my wife's stock Nexus 5 (not much is), it's not that far off from my modified unit... I dropped the DPI settings on that one from 480 to 420, which introduced a smidge of jitter, and that's what I would say I see at times with the G3... a smidge of occasional jitter in spots. But the apps that were smooth on MY Nexus 5 are smooth here... and the jittery apps are still jittery on Big G. Something to complain about... hell no.. phone's still zippy

 

[Kingmerciless]

Does the google launcher change kinda the way the OS works?

 

[BitStern]

Thanks for sharing your impressions!

 

[Premium1]

I also installed Google Now launcher, it's on every phone/tablet in my stable.

I just installed it on my tab s and love it. Was glad when all devices running 4.1+ got support for it.

 

[LeoRex]

Does the google launcher change kinda the way the OS works?

Not really, it is a really simple launcher... But it is built around Google Now, and the leftmost screen on the desktop is Google Now. Other than that, it is a simple and efficient launcher... doesn't have any confusio configuration options other than widgets and wallpapers... But it runs great and stays out of the way.

 

[thegrants82]

Not really, it is a really simple launcher... But it is built around Google Now, and the leftmost screen on the desktop is Google Now. Other than that, it is a simple and efficient launcher... doesn't have any confusio configuration options other than widgets and wallpapers... But it runs great and stays out of the way.

Agreed, Google launcher is what a launcher is supposed to be. Simple, not a resource hog and best if all it's made by Google for android.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Kingmerciless]

Unfortunately I am going to be coming from an iPhone and its been a while since I have been on android. Recommend using it stock at first?