Seems too good to be true, what am I missing?

[anon(5691716)]

I have an iPhone 6 plus. It is undoubtably a great phone, I am mentioning this as background as to where I am coming from. It frustrates me though, paying so much each year to get the latest shiniest Apple phone and the lack of RAM is painful. Constantly reloading all the apps is a pain, especially with browser tabs.

So in order to get off the Apple choo choo train I started to look at the cheap Android chinese phones like telephone, yuk z1, lenovo K3 note etc. They all seem like really good value for money but always lacking in some area, whether it be no NFC or poor camera or whatever.

Now in the UK I can start seeing the LG G4 with red leather back (which I like the look of) for about £300 from eBay sellers (new) which seems like a very low price for LG's current flagship phone.

It is about to get cyanogen 12.1 AFAIK and has an amazing camera to rival or even best the 6 plus by all accounts. Seems like a no brainer to me....

(I am assuming here that it will get an Android M update and the fingerprint scanner will work with it so I can use the likes of 1Password with my finger)

Is there anything I am missing? any obvious flaws or deficiencies that should make me think twice. I can sell my 6 plus, get a new G4 and still have some spare cash in my pocket for a spare battery or memory card...

 

[gone down south]

No fingerprint scanner....

 

[anon(5691716)]

It hasn't?! I've got myself mixed up there then! Okay taking that out of the equation, anything else I should know about?

 

[gone down south]

300 pounds seems low, this phone is retailing starting at $550 in the US. If that's a real price, then I'd jump on it. The G4 is a fantastic phone, and the international version seems to run pretty smoothly, unlike the American carrier branded models.

 

[RedOctobyr]

People who also have the 6 Plus have said that the 6 Plus battery lasts much longer. So if battery is a consideration for you, that's something to be aware of.

If you buy an international G4 that can be unlocked, then you're in a better position to get CM. But most G4s have locked bootloaders, which is inhibiting getting custom ROMs.

 

[Funky Diver]

Carphone warehouse is doing it for £400. It's the H815, unlocked.

I just upgraded from iPhone 5S 2 weeks ago and loving it plus got £50 cash back and a £50 PC world gift card.

Apart from the obvious differences in OS I'm much preferring android over iOS so far. Things I'm missing? Fingerprint unlock was handy, but knock unlock is just as easy. Better photos on the G4 than on my wife's iphone 6, we took photos of the same thing side by side and her pictures now look washed out compared to the LG.

I personally went with the Black back version and bought a tan back just because I didn't want the gold trimmings with it. That isn't my kinda thing tbf.

 

[GibMcFragger]

Carphone warehouse is doing it for £400. It's the H815, unlocked.

I just upgraded from iPhone 5S 2 weeks ago and loving it plus got £50 cash back and a £50 PC world gift card.

Apart from the obvious differences in OS I'm much preferring android over iOS so far. Things I'm missing? Fingerprint unlock was handy, but knock unlock is just as easy. Better photos on the G4 than on my wife's iphone 6, we took photos of the same thing side by side and her pictures now look washed out compared to the LG.

I personally went with the Black back version and bought a tan back just because I didn't want the gold trimmings with it. That isn't my kinda thing tbf.

I have always changed phones about every six months. I have flip flopped back and forth between iPhone and Android. I keep going back to iPhone for iMessage, and because the apps are generally coded better on iOS.

Then I get bored of the iPhone and swap back to Android, and then wonder why I left Android in the first place because it does so many little things you can't do on iOS.

Then repeat.... Lol

I had the G3, and now the G4.

I love this G4. Now that I have the update, the touchscreen if perfect and the lag is non existent.
I have also rooted it and killed the carrier bloat. I upped the JPEG quality to 100% and added 1080p/60 to the camera(required root), so the camera image quality is near perfect.

This phone is amazing.

My wife has an iPhone 6s coming in a few weeks though, I know myself well enough to know that once I play with it, I'll want one...... Lol.

 

[anon(5691716)]

How have you found the battery life?

 

[RavenSword]

I have always changed phones about every six months. I have flip flopped back and forth between iPhone and Android. I keep going back to iPhone for iMessage, and because the apps are generally coded better on iOS.

Then I get bored of the iPhone and swap back to Android, and then wonder why I left Android in the first place because it does so many little things you can't do on iOS.

Then repeat.... Lol

I had the G3, and now the G4.

I love this G4. Now that I have the update, the touchscreen if perfect and the lag is non existent.
I have also rooted it and killed the carrier bloat. I upped the JPEG quality to 100% and added 1080p/60 to the camera(required root), so the camera image quality is near perfect.

This phone is amazing.

My wife has an iPhone 6s coming in a few weeks though, I know myself well enough to know that once I play with it, I'll want one...... Lol.

What update are you talking about? Personally I'm going back to iPhone in a couple months.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[GibMcFragger]

What update are you talking about? Personally I'm going back to iPhone in a couple months.

Posted via the Android Central App

I have the Canadian H812, so the update is 10f.
Mine was pretty good from the start though. I swear half the issues with the US models is caused by the carrier crap they install, along with weak cell signal (affects battery life).

 

[GibMcFragger]

How have you found the battery life?

Me? I get a full day with around 40-50% battery left. I surf, take pics, etc, but don't game.

I average around 4.5hrs SoT on a full charge.

 

[anon(5691716)]

Well that sounds pretty good then

 

[Shermdiggity]

I purchased mine, H815, unlocked for $450.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[greydarrah]

I wouldn't recommend buying this from ebay. Coming from an iPhone, it's very likely you're not going to like the Android platform...many don't. The G4 is an awesome device (as good as it gets in my opinion), but if you're buying one from ebay, as new as the phone is, it's likely (at least reasonably possible) that it's a lemon...one that somebody had consistently terrible battery life from, screen response issues, who knows... I'd get one from a carrier or store that gives you a 14 day trial. Then, if you don't like it, you can easily return it. For me, it's worth paying a bit more to be able to return the device if you don't like Android. Many iPhone users don't find pleasure in how customizable an Android is. Personally, I'd never touch an iPhone. I don't like a company telling me how I can use a device, dictating what apps can be put on it, or having to deal with everything being in the iStore/iCloud/iMusic and what ever else i they make you use, but once you get used to all that, an Android can seem a bit complicated, which it's not.

 

[RavenSword]

I wouldn't recommend buying this from ebay. Coming from an iPhone, it's very likely you're not going to like the Android platform...many don't. The G4 is an awesome device (as good as it gets in my opinion), but if you're buying one from ebay, as new as the phone is, it's likely (at least reasonably possible) that it's a lemon...one that somebody had consistently terrible battery life from, screen response issues, who knows... I'd get one from a carrier or store that gives you a 14 day trial. Then, if you don't like it, you can easily return it. For me, it's worth paying a bit more to be able to return the device if you don't like Android. Many iPhone users don't find pleasure in how customizable an Android is. Personally, I'd never touch an iPhone. I don't like a company telling me how I can use a device, dictating what apps can be put on it, or having to deal with everything being in the iStore/iCloud/iMusic and what ever else i they make you use, but once you get used to all that, an Android can seem a bit complicated, which it's not.

That's not how I see it. My issue with Android isn't it's complexity, but rather it's lack of polish. Ios apps have more polish to them most of the time, you don't need to troubleshoot as much, most everything usually just works. That's why I'm going back to his. I could care less how customizable something is if I have to disable and troubleshoot just to get it to run right.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(782252)]

That's not how I see it. My issue with Android isn't it's complexity, but rather it's lack of polish. Ios apps have more polish to them most of the time, you don't need to troubleshoot as much, most everything usually just works. That's why I'm going back to his. I could care less how customizable something is if I have to disable and troubleshoot just to get it to run right.

Posted via the Android Central App

iOS is a closed ecosystem so the OS and apps only have to work on about 15 different devices. Android and its apps have to work across hundreds or thousands of different devices at any given time.

 

[RavenSword]

iOS is a closed ecosystem so the OS and apps only have to work on about 15 different devices. Android and its apps have to work across hundreds or thousands of different devices at any given time.

But why is that a good thing? That's the reason why we can't ever get updates.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(782252)]

But why is that a good thing? That's the reason why we can't ever get updates.

Posted via the Android Central App

If you want the fastest updates, get a Nexus or Moto X Pure. Other device updates have to go thru manufacturer then the carrier. That takes time unfortunately. But at least you get to choose from hundreds of different devices.

Or you have Apple. Here you go, you can pick from 2 phones this year. Just a few years ago we only gave you 1 option, so we are really providing options this year. No thanks.

 

[anon(5691716)]

I've used Android before I had a HTC One (M7) which was pretty good but the camera was awful. I went back to a 5S which was okay but the screen was just soon small, got a iPhone 6 plus after a couple of months deliberation over cost and I have loved it but getting sick of constant app/browser reloads due to lack of RAM. The G4 seems to tick all the boxes except fingerprint scanner. I tried one in the shop at the weekend and even in those less than ideal conditions I could tell the camera was better than on my 6 plus.
The only think holding me back is the battery life, seems to be a lot of complaints but I guess that can be mitigated with a spare battery and the fingerprint reader. I love it on my iPhone as together with 1Password is makes logging into stuff a breeze, plus it will get baked into the OS with Android M. I suppose that I could replace the fingerprint with a PIN...

I might just wait and see what the new Nexuses are like and decide then.

 

[greydarrah]

That's not how I see it. My issue with Android isn't it's complexity, but rather it's lack of polish. Ios apps have more polish to them most of the time, you don't need to troubleshoot as much, most everything usually just works. That's why I'm going back to his. I could care less how customizable something is if I have to disable and troubleshoot just to get it to run right.

Posted via the Android Central App

That's exactly what I'm talking about. So I got your specific reason wrong...the general point of my post is that most (but not all) long time iPhone users that try out Android end up hating it. The actual reason is irrelevant. It's pretty much the same as PC users vs Mac users. Allowing for a few exceptions, neither one will ever like the other platform. The big picture here is that whether we're talking about computers or smart phones, most people stay dedicated to one, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's ridiculous to spend any of your time or energy hating on the other, they all work great...use whichever you like. It would be a pretty boring world if we all wanted the same thing. The biggest idea I was trying to communicate to the OP is that he should not buy this from ebay. He would be better served spending a few extra bucks and getting a phone from a carrier/store that will allow him to return it if he doesn't like it (which is very likely).