Real life comparison between S6/edge and LG G4

[erasat]

After getting my LG G4 from T-Mobile yesterday and set everything as I wanted, I can say that after 24 hours with the phone I can have an honest opinion.

Look:

Both phones are gorgeous, the Leather on the LG G4 makes a huge difference, I thought that it s going to be bigger but it feels thin and not that big for a 5.5" screen size, last year G3 was a surprise because if the small bezels this is similar, one of the reason I decided to try it.

The unique and gorgeous design of the edge is amazing, and so far is taking me a lot of time to get used to the design on the G4.

Battery :

Sorry but for those of you that was thinking that the battery issues were Samsung's fault, it's obvious is Google's.

I charged it while setting everything and charged it again to 100% and went to sleep, and just 5.5 hours later it has drained 6%. So far I've been using it non stop as I normally do every Saturday morning and it has drained 23% on 55 minutes of SoT, I'm at 70% already, I know that it drained 6% over night but still I'd be at over 85% if I unplug my S6 Edge when I wake up or 80% if let it unplugged all night.

So if that's an indication, no, it's not better on Standby than my S6 Edge as it has been draining 5-6% over 7-8 hours of sleep constantly for the past 2 months. This with the same amount of accounts and apps syncing on both as both phones are set the same right now, hence I can tell that so far, battery life is little worst than my S6 Edge.

I'm not liking how fast it seems to be draining while in use, it goes down in a hurry,. It seems to be averaging about less than 5 hours of SoT when in same conditions and usage I've bag being 5.5-6 his of SoT in the S6 Edge.

Screen:

This one is about even, I can't see any real difference other tham the colors, and they look gorgeous on each phone, Samsung's always over saturated colors on the S6 look great and LG really did a good job this time, not like the G3 last year.

Performance:

Sorry folks but I have experienced a good amount of lag in a lot of different places across the UI. I have done the same tweaks that I always do, and it seems to help but still I'm really noticing the difference between them, those that say that S6 lags and G4 doesn't are simply hating on Samsung.

As of now, my S6 Edge is showing that Exynos CPU and Samsung's own memory are a killer combo.

Pictures and videos:

I haven't done extensive tests, but so far both are very similar, can't really pick a winner yet, too close.

Extras:

Just hate that basically can't use Nova on this phone as besides losing LG's widgets I can't (haven't found a way yet) use the double tap to sleep (I'm not going to install a third party for that) and with the power button at the back, this feature is very convenient.

Helium is not working with the LG G4 and that simply means a pain in my initial setting. Having a lot of device in the past years I'm so used to have this and do a simple restore of my apps and data that not having it was a nightmare. Took me about 3 hours to set this MF.

Summary:

The G4 is a great phone, best LG phone ever. But it's not perfect, I'm seeing some glitches and lags in 1 days where I haven't seen them on the S6 Edge in 2 months. The removable battery and the SD card are nice to have but I really haven't missed any of those on my S6.

Extra battery, charger and the 32 GB SD card promo from LG and the additional 128gb card from T-mobile plus the good price ($600) make the deal very sweet but the uniqueness and gorgeous look of the S6 Edge make it easier to pay the difference in price.

Both of this phone are the best of the bunch, you can't go wrong with any of them but if I need to choose right now (I don't) one of them, it would be the S6 Edge.

Note: I've lost 7% of battery writing this post, and my battery stat is not showing nothing unusual, just the screen and it has been in 20% and Auto because I'm in a low light room and it goes dimmer than the 20%.

 

[jcp007]

After getting my LG G4 from T-Mobile yesterday and set everything as I wanted, I can say that after 24 hours with the phone I can have an honest opinion.

Look:

Both phones are gorgeous, the Leather on the LG G4 makes a huge difference, I thought that it s going to be bigger but it feels thin and not that big for a 5.5" screen size, last year G3 was a surprise because if the small bezels this is similar, one of the reason I decided to try it.

The unique and gorgeous design of the edge is amazing, and so far is taking me a lot of time to get used to the design on the G4.

Battery :

Sorry but for those of you that was thinking that the battery issues were Samsung's fault, sorry but it's obvious is Google's.

I charged it while setting everything and charged it again to 100% and went to sleep, and just 5.5 hours later it has drained 6%. So if been using it non stop as I normally do everything Saturday morning and it has drained 23% on 55 minutes of SoT, I'm at 70% already, I know that it drained 6% over night but still I'd be at over 85% if I unplug my S6 Edge when I wake up or 80% if let it unplugged all night.

So if that's an indication, no, it's not better on Standby than my S6 Edge as it has been draining 5-6% over 7-8 hours of sleep constantly for the past 2 months. This with the same amount of accounts and apps syncing on both as both phones are set the same right now, hence I can tell that so far, battery life is little worst than my S6 Edge.

I'm not liking how fast it seems to be draining while in use, it goes down in a hurry,. It seems to be averaging about less than 5 hours of SoT when in same conditions and usage I've bag being 5.5-6 his of SoT in the S6 Edge.

Screen:

This one is about even, I can't see any real difference other tham the colors, and they look gorgeous on each phone, Samsung's always over saturated colors on the S6 look great and LG really did a good job this time, not like the G3 last year.

Performance:

Sorry LG folks and fans but I have experienced a good amount of lag in a lot of different places across the UI. I have done the same tweaks that I always do, and it seems to help but still I'm really noticing the difference between them, those that say that S6 lags and G4 doesn't they are simply hating on Samsung.

As of now, my S6 Edge is showing that Exynos CPU and Samsung's own memory are a killer combo.

Pictures and videos:

I haven't done extensive tests, but so far both are very similar, can't really pick a winner yet, too close.

Extras:

Just hate that basically can't use Nova on this phone as besides losing LG's widgets I can't (haven't found a way yet) use the double tap to sleep (I'm not going to install a third party for that) and with thethe power button at the back, this feature is very convenient.

Helium is not working with the LG G4 and that simply means a pain in my initial setting. Having a lot of device in the past years I'm so used to have this and do a simple restore of my apps and data that not having it was a nightmare. Took me about 3 hours to set this MF.

Summary:

The G4 is a great phone, best LG phone ever. But it's not perfect, I'm seeing some glitches and lags in 1 days where I haven't seen them on the S6 Edge in 2 months. The removable battery and the SD card are nice to have but I really haven't missed any of those on my S6.

Extra battery, charger and the 32 GB SD card promo from LG and the additional 128gb card from T-mobile plus the good price ($600) make the deal very sweet but the uniqueness and gorgeous look of the S6 Edge make it easier to pay the difference in price.

Both of this phone are the best of the bunch, you can't go wrong with any of them but if I need to choose right now (I don't) one of them, it would be the S6 Edge.

Note: I've lost 7% of battery writing this post, and my battery stat is not showing nothing unusual, just the screen and it has been in 20% and Auto because I'm in a low light room and it goes dimmer than the 20%.

As always, great review comparison. Your objectivity is refreshing and informative. Both devices present a difficult decision.

The LG UI from what I have seen is also slimmed down but is still as klunky and laggy as older versions of Touchwiz trying to cram as many bells and whistles without making adjustment for performance.

Initial boot up and opening apps appear faster on the GS6 with the DDR4 RAM and Exynos 7420 than the G4 with the DDR3 and Snappy 808. That said, it seems that the G4 RAM management is a bit better when a ton of apps are open on both and speed test are conducted.

http://youtu.be/62uub0cHGEM

The firmware in the comparison video above showed the same result between the battery performance. It seems that the retail firmware still needs to be tweeked. Bigger battery doesn't always lead to better performance especially considering Google issues and larger screen. On the plus side, for those who miss the card slot and replaceable battery, the G4 has them plus LG throws in a free card and battery. All I got for free was a wireless charging pad.

 

[aggie]

Word for word almost exactly my experience with both. I ported over my AT&T number to T-mobile after pre-ordering the G4 and previously having the S6 on AT&T. After 3 days of having the G4 I went last night and picked up a T-mobile S6 after selling my AT&T one. I did notice a lot of the cell standby battery drain others have experienced on TMO that I did not experience on my AT&T S6. That said, I'm seeing almost the exact same SOT between the S6 and G4 so far but I get a little longer overall out of the G4 due to better standby time.

Both are exceptional devices. I much prefer the screen of the S6. The colors just seem more vibrant to me and the G4 with auto brightness on just seems way too dim. You need to crank the brightness up to 90 just to get what you see on the S6 at 40.

Camera appears about the same except there seems to be a little of a white tone on pics with the G4. Almost like it's slightly washed out and not near as crisp. Still takes exceptional pics and I think it's better than the S6 in low light scenes.

Biggest pluses for the G4 to me are better standby, removable battery, microSD, screen size, on screen buttons (I always find myself accidentally hitting the back button on S6), and volume / power button on back which I really like.

Other than display the one thing that really stands out is the build. Samsung nailed it with this device. With all due respect to HTC with the M7-M9 this is the most beautiful, premium feeling Android device ever made (just my opinion of course). I'll give it a coin flip with the iPhone 6 plus.

Have not decided which I will keep yet. It is an incredibly difficult choice. I may in fact keep both if I can sell my iPhone 6 plus for a decent return.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[warpdrive]

Personally I like both phones but for different reasons, especially since they are aimed at different audiences. One is aimed at the enthusiasts, while the other is manly for the people looking for an easier to use phablet.

But I'm not surprised by your results or findings. LG still has a long way to go when it comes to its UI, regardless that it has gotten allot better.

As for the battery draining, I've said that such issues were going to be on all phones of this year that release with lollipop. I don't know why people believe otherwise, but in most cases, Samsung has nothing to do with such issues and definitely can't help with software that carriers insist on being installed for their network.

The simple fact that screen brightness can be a huge factor in battery life when used in real life, along with the huge difference in brightness between phones can and will effect both usability and battery life. Example: with the zenfone 2, the max brightness is 420 nits. In ultra bright sunlight is almost unusable and drains the battery fast. That max brightness is like the S6 at 55%, and thus regardless that the zf 2 has a larger battery, it will not last as long as the S6 if brightness is set at the same level of nits.

Also, as I've said in the past. There is no battery life issue with the S6 and/or S6 edge. There is no real controversy with having a smaller battery. You will see the same or similar results amongst all phones this year like on the G4, S6, and m9.

I do hope that both of you guys are enjoying your new phones. The G4 is a great device that should not be overlooked if you're in the market to get a new one this year. Again, I personally like it but I'm not in the market for a new device since I just got two new phones in the past 2 months or so.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[erasat]

Personally I like both phones but for different reasons, especially since they are aimed at different audiences. One is aimed at the enthusiasts, while the other is manly for the people looking for an easier to use phablet.

But I'm not surprised by your results or findings. LG still has a long way to go when it comes to its UI, regardless that it has gotten allot better.

As for the battery draining, I've said that such issues were going to be on all phones of this year that release with lollipop. I don't know why people believe otherwise, but in most cases, Samsung has nothing to do with such issues and definitely can't help with software that carriers insist on being installed for their network.

The simple fact that screen brightness can be a huge factor in battery life when used in real life, along with the huge difference in brightness between phones can and will effect both usability and battery life. Example: with the zenfone 2, the max brightness is 420 nits. In ultra bright sunlight is almost unusable and drains the battery fast. That max brightness is like the S6 at 55%, and thus regardless that the zf 2 has a larger battery, it will not last as long as the S6 if brightness is set at the same level of nits.

Also, as I've said in the past. There is no battery life issue with the S6 and/or S6 edge. There is no real controversy with having a smaller battery. You will see the same or similar results amongst all phones this year like on the G4, S6, and m9.

I do hope that both of you guys are enjoying your new phones. The G4 is a great device that should not be overlooked if you're in the market to get a new one this year. Again, I personally like it but I'm not in the market for a new device since I just got two new phones in the past 2 months or so.

Posted via the Android Central App

Well, to make things even more interesting, today I'm receiving my new Alcatel Idol 3 (direct competition to the ZF2 that I was also considering), so this will be my 3rd phone in 2 months, a little addict I know, but if I like all of them I'm considering 1 for my daughter (should be the Idol 3 for the price unless I like it a lot) to replace her 6 months old Moto G 2014 that is showing a lot of issues and only thing I haven't tried lately is another factory reset, and if my wife wants to change her Galaxy Avant that was totally abandoned by Samsung and T-Mobile she may get the other one and I keep the third.

 

[aggie]

Personally I like both phones but for different reasons, especially since they are aimed at different audiences. One is aimed at the enthusiasts, while the other is manly for the people looking for an easier to use phablet.

But I'm not surprised by your results or findings. LG still has a long way to go when it comes to its UI, regardless that it has gotten allot better.

As for the battery draining, I've said that such issues were going to be on all phones of this year that release with lollipop. I don't know why people believe otherwise, but in most cases, Samsung has nothing to do with such issues and definitely can't help with software that carriers insist on being installed for their network.

The simple fact that screen brightness can be a huge factor in battery life when used in real life, along with the huge difference in brightness between phones can and will effect both usability and battery life. Example: with the zenfone 2, the max brightness is 420 nits. In ultra bright sunlight is almost unusable and drains the battery fast. That max brightness is like the S6 at 55%, and thus regardless that the zf 2 has a larger battery, it will not last as long as the S6 if brightness is set at the same level of nits.

Also, as I've said in the past. There is no battery life issue with the S6 and/or S6 edge. There is no real controversy with having a smaller battery. You will see the same or similar results amongst all phones this year like on the G4, S6, and m9.

I do hope that both of you guys are enjoying your new phones. The G4 is a great device that should not be overlooked if you're in the market to get a new one this year. Again, I personally like it but I'm not in the market for a new device since I just got two new phones in the past 2 months or so.

Posted via the Android Central App

Agree on the battery life issues being lollipop. Even my nexus 6 struggles so it's obvious it's something with Google and not the OEM. I do have my suspicions about the Tmo firmware and the high percentage of cell standby that is chewing up battery.

I didn't even touch on UI in the previous post. But yes, LG has a long way to go. It's not as bad as the old touchwiz but it still is way too busy for me. The notification drawer is hideous. The settings menu just looks atrocious. Samsung has done a fantastic job trimming the fat from touchwiz with the note 4 and s6. If I didn't have the option of using Nova I'd be happy with the default launcher. As it is, Nova is the first thing I download on any phone even the Nexus devices. Love those home screen shortcuts and customization options.

Battery on 1st full charge reflected below. No settings have been disabled other than smart network switch and allow WiFi to always scan. Not bad at all other than the cell standby. About to pop my sim in the G4 and see what I get.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[jcp007]

http://youtu.be/62uub0cHGEM

 

[aggie]

http://youtu.be/62uub0cHGEM

16 min video? Is there a Cliffs Note version?

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[warpdrive]

16 min video? Is there a Cliffs Note version?

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

To long didn't watch: both are great phones but she says that the S6 is slightly better in battery life. Both are T-Mobile units.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Techno-guy]

Well, to make things even more interesting, today I'm receiving my new Alcatel Idol 3 (direct competition to the ZF2 that I was also considering), so this will be my 3rd phone in 2 months, a little addict I know, but if I like all of them I'm considering 1 for my daughter (should be the Idol 3 for the price unless I like it a lot) to replace her 6 months old Moto G 2014 that is showing a lot of issues and only thing I haven't tried lately is another factory reset, and if my wife wants to change her Galaxy Avant that was totally abandoned by Samsung and T-Mobile she may get the other one and I keep the third.

I like your style...you may be even worse than me! I am really wanting the new Huawei P8 Max (6.8 inch screen!) to take a spin with next!

 

[Techno-guy]

Agree on the battery life issues being lollipop. Even my nexus 6 struggles so it's obvious it's something with Google and not the OEM. I do have my suspicions about the Tmo firmware and the high percentage of cell standby that is chewing up battery.

I didn't even touch on UI in the previous post. But yes, LG has a long way to go. It's not as bad as the old touchwiz but it still is way too busy for me. The notification drawer is hideous. The settings menu just looks atrocious. Samsung has done a fantastic job trimming the fat from touchwiz with the note 4 and s6. If I didn't have the option of using Nova I'd be happy with the default launcher. As it is, Nova is the first thing I download on any phone even the Nexus devices. Love those home screen shortcuts and customization options.

Battery on 1st full charge reflected below. No settings have been disabled other than smart network switch and allow WiFi to always scan. Not bad at all other than the cell standby. About to pop my sim in the G4 and see what I get.

//images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/06/29e772606f5904c66aeae47a32940a67.jpg//images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/06/f55150c6d1a9a1dd9098b23051f33dfc.jpg

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

Wow...not great at all in the battery life department! Thanks for posting the screenshots. I'd call that barely acceptable...hopefully it improves as the G4 settles in but clearly Lollipop is affecting devices across the board.

 

[jcp007]

To long didn't watch: both are great phones but she says that the S6 is slightly better in battery life. Both are T-Mobile units.

Posted via the Android Central App

The firmware version was also much earlier as the video was released on May 5th. The battery portion is toward the end. It would appear that whatever tweaking to the firmware didn't improve battery life. Hopefully, the Lollipop fix will help both devices for those wrestling with battery performance. The G4 is a great alternative to the GS6 for a card slot and replaceable battery attached to large screen as well as an overall top performer. IMO, LG is a younger brother waiting to dethrone older brother, Samsung.

 

[erasat]

I posted this on other thread but I think is important I do it here also because of the relation with the topic.

When people question our intentions when we do comparisons, they forget that we can do it because people like me (tons here) and others that have multiple devices will basically set almost the same way all our devices with same apps and basically same apps running, so it's the best way to really compare devices, just like I did yesterday on this thread and LG G4 forums. But when we do it, there are always a bunch of people accusing us of fanboys and liars if they don't like or agree with what we say.

Since April 2014 I've had the following phones as my daily drivers:

1-) Galaxy S5 - paid by my company, just used the Jump on it to get the S6 edge on April 10th.
2-) HTC M8 - late April 2014 - Used it for one week and return it to T-Mobile, didn't like the camera and was too big for me for the screen size.
3-) LG G3 - End of July - Great phone that I liked it but was having issues with the Bluetooth connection and was very active on my workouts and daily 5K running and I decided to keep the S5 because of the Waterproof certification, but I did like it more than the S5.
4-) Sony Xperia Z3 Dual - October 2014- Best phone I've ever had until recently, Insane battery life, almost 8-9 hours of SoT constantly. used it for 3 weeks until I got the regular Z3.
5-) Sony Xperia Z3 - End of October - Beg. December 2014 Same as above, used it for about 2 months until decided to try the Note 4 and sold it for a profit.
6-) Galaxy Note 4 - Beg. December 2014 - Great battery life but couldn't get used to the size, never used the S Pen and too similar to the S5 that I didn't like too much. Sold it in a week
7-) Moto X 2014 - Late December 2014 - Worst battery life on any phone that I've had (And still managed to get 4 SoT very often. liked the look with the bamboo battery cover but within a week the charger port got damaged and then the nightmare began trying to get service from Motorola, just decided to send it back for a refund, the one that took more than 2 months to finally get.
OnePlus One - January 15 - April 10 2015 - One of the best all around phone I've had, great battery life, between 6-7 SoT and for the price it's a killer. Sold it and got even on the sale.
9-) Galaxy S6 edge - April 10 2015 - Best all around phone I've ever had, replacing the Xperia Z3, constantly 5-5.5 SoT on weekdays with Bluetooth and Android Wear all day and 6-6.5 SoT on weekend when I barely use the Bluetooth.
10-) LG G4 - June 5th 2015 - Still testing, great phone but so far battery is not what I expected.
11-) Alcatel Idol 3 - June 6th 2015- Just got it yesterday, probably will keep it for my daughter, great great phone, so far very impressed with it, battery is superior to G4 and a little over the S6 but it has a bigger battery and a 1080p display, that by the way, great display and very bright, right now it's replacing the Oneplus One as the best budget oriented phone with great specs.

Well, I know that the list is long and boring, but what I wanted to show you is that when I talk about battery life is because I've had the experience with all of the above plus the ones on my family, BUT all of the above have been set the same, same apps and services syncing, basically same usage all the time, Bluetooth to my car and my watch all the same, so with that in mind and clear, no, G4 battery is not better than the S6 or a couple of other phones I've had (so far), it's almost on par with S6 and like I've mentioned before, for the past 2 days it has been worst, I hope it gets better, but so far I was expecting a lot more from it.

 

[jcp007]

I posted this on other thread but I think is important I do it here also because of the relation with the topic.

When people question our intentions when we do comparisons, they forget that we can do it because people like me (tons here) and others that have multiple devices will basically set almost the same way all our devices with same apps and basically same apps running, so it's the best way to really compare devices, just like I did yesterday on this thread and LG G4 forums. But when we do it, there are always a bunch of people accusing us of fanboys and liars if they don't like or agree with what we say.

Since April 2014 I've had the following phones as my daily drivers:

1-) Galaxy S5 - paid by my company, just used the Jump on it to get the S6 edge on April 10th.
2-) HTC M8 - late April 2014 - Used it for one week and return it to T-Mobile, didn't like the camera and was too big for me for the screen size.
3-) LG G3 - End of July - Great phone that I liked it but was having issues with the Bluetooth connection and was very active on my workouts and daily 5K running and I decided to keep the S5 because of the Waterproof certification, but I did like it more than the S5.
4-) Sony Xperia Z3 Dual - October 2014- Best phone I've ever had until recently, Insane battery life, almost 8-9 hours of SoT constantly. used it for 3 weeks until I got the regular Z3.
5-) Sony Xperia Z3 - End of October - Beg. December 2014 Same as above, used it for about 2 months until decided to try the Note 4 and sold it for a profit.
6-) Galaxy Note 4 - Beg. December 2014 - Great battery life but couldn't get used to the size, never used the S Pen and too similar to the S5 that I didn't like too much. Sold it in a week
7-) Moto X 2014 - Late December 2014 - Worst battery life on any phone that I've had (And still managed to get 4 SoT very often. liked the look with the bamboo battery cover but within a week the charger port got damaged and then the nightmare began trying to get service from Motorola, just decided to send it back for a refund, the one that took more than 2 months to finally get.
OnePlus One - January 15 - April 10 2015 - One of the best all around phone I've had, great battery life, between 6-7 SoT and for the price it's a killer. Sold it and got even on the sale.
9-) Galaxy S6 edge - April 10 2015 - Best all around phone I've ever had, replacing the Xperia Z3, constantly 5-5.5 SoT on weekdays with Bluetooth and Android Wear all day and 6-6.5 SoT on weekend when I barely use the Bluetooth.
10-) LG G4 - June 5th 2015 - Still testing, great phone but so far battery is not what I expected.
11-) Alcatel Idol 3 - June 6th 2015- Just got it yesterday, probably will keep it for my daughter, great great phone, so far very impressed with it, battery is superior to G4 and a little over the S6 but it has a bigger battery and a 1080p display, that by the way, great display and very bright, right now it's replacing the Oneplus One as the best budget oriented phone with great specs.

Well, I know that the list is long and boring, but what I wanted to show you is that when I talk about battery life is because I've had the experience with all of the above plus the ones on my family, BUT all of the above have been set the same, same apps and services syncing, basically same usage all the time, Bluetooth to my car and my watch all the same, so with that in mind and clear, no, G4 battery is not better than the S6 or a couple of other phones I've had (so far), it's almost on par with S6 and like I've mentioned before, for the past 2 days it has been worst, I hope it gets better, but so far I was expecting a lot more from it.

Thanks for posting. I would be the first to vouch for your tremendous and highly valuable contributions to this forum. Sometimes passions, preconceived notions, past experiences and loyalties to a brand or carrier can cloud the discussion, it's easy to vent frustrations at the Samsung for the GS6 especially with the high expectations that came with it.

Posted via My Samsung Galaxy S6 Handheld Device

 

[tippmann15]

I've been using both the last few days, I prefer the g4. I also carry two ones and I'm loving them both.

 

[mariusfilip]

Hello, i'm a G4 owner and i'm tempted to sell it and get an S6, i'm most worried about the RAM management, did it improve with the last update? saw a couple of horrific YouTube video's about that, how's the scrolling with the S6 compared to the G4 for ex. in Tapatalk, Google +? i've had the M8 before and it was smooth,but on the G4 it's choppy, i'm very curious how the S6 handles that, thanks.

Also i'm interested in signal strength,thank you.