I'm the typical (older)nerd who is never quite happy with current tech and addicted to new stuff as well, which is not a good mix but I'm happy to share my experience with my new daily driver, the G8. I'm moving away from a pretty new S10+, it just wasn't for me. This review will be a bit of a comparo between the 2 and why I moved away from the S10+.
We all have things that are important in a smart phone and how we rank those things are important as well. I find smartphones have gotten so good that we take for granted some of the basics of how we interact with them...more on that later.
So in prefacing my review, these are the things that are important to me:
1. Ease of use - human interaction(this is covered in hardware and software)
2. Camera
3. Battery life - both SoT and standby time.
4. Good Cell antenna signal capability.
I've had multiple LG's, Samsung, Pixel(I still have a 2XL), Huawei(I still have a Mate 20), Oneplus, so I feel I have a good basis of comparison..for my uses.
I got my Lg G8 off swappa in mint condition for $475 - insane price in my opinion and you can find these all day long now.
Hardware: Score 9
The screen is wonderful and most of all its FLAT(well 2D at least). I detest and hate curved screens. I forgot how much until I started using the S10. I dont ever get false edge touches on the LG. It was still a thing on the samsung(yes I had goodlock with edge to help that)
I know the samsung screen is rated the best, but I liked both the V40 and G8 color and contrast more. I didn't like how warm samsung was, even tuned. Yes, the G8 notch is too big. I think aesthetically the tear drop is the best, but thats me.
I love the FPS in the back. I hated the onscreen FPS, it was not reliable(yes I watched youtube vids on how to make it better). It's slow and no one will ever convince me its better than the one on the LG...and that LG has a better, more secure face unlock.
I will say the speakers are better on the S10, but the overall I'm happy with phone calls, both using the phone normally and as a speaker phone.
Software: Score 7.5
Comes with Pie/March security, already updated to April since I got it. Seems LG is better in 2019 with security updates based on what I saw on the V40 this year, so I'm hopeful it will continue.
I never use the default skin and prefer Nova on all my phones, I will say that OneUI is def better than LG's skin, especially if you want to add better themes. With that said LG is nowhere as bad as Huawei.
I do love that LG embraced Google with the smart assistant, Lens, etc. I tried Bixby, found it redundant, useless and ultimately disabled it.(I've given it multiple chances, starting back on the Note 9).
Camera - Score 8.5
I really like this camera. I have to say I loved the V40 camera too. I did not like the camera on the Samsung S10 in comparison. Subjective - of course. Some key things I like:
Battery - Score 8.0
I got spoiled by my time with the battery king for me, the Mate 20(not pro!). I would easily get 8 hours of SoT, consistently. Nothing has ever come close...and I have battery anxiety so with my work where I'm on the road meeting clients its important to make sure I can last a full day.
So far I am happy with the battery life. I tend to keep the same apps and usage for all my phones
Cell Signal - 9
Overall, I've done some testing using LTE discovery for both the S10+ and G8 both on ATT's network and generally speaking they are about same, which is to say very good. Putting the phones next to each other they are always within a few db of each other, sometimes the G8 is better, sometimes the S10.
Overall, I will say I enjoy using the G8 more than the S10+ in getting things done, where the s10 would annoy me at times. One of the biggest issues on the S10 is how AOD will NOT turn off in your pocket. LG does. Makes no sense to me, and have had numerous pocket dials with the S10, and not one with the LG.
So for $475, its a huge win in my opinion for a great phone. Is it(or any) phone worth $900-1000? I don't think the G8 is, but it's definitely worth $500 or under.
We all have things that are important in a smart phone and how we rank those things are important as well. I find smartphones have gotten so good that we take for granted some of the basics of how we interact with them...more on that later.
So in prefacing my review, these are the things that are important to me:
1. Ease of use - human interaction(this is covered in hardware and software)
2. Camera
3. Battery life - both SoT and standby time.
4. Good Cell antenna signal capability.
I've had multiple LG's, Samsung, Pixel(I still have a 2XL), Huawei(I still have a Mate 20), Oneplus, so I feel I have a good basis of comparison..for my uses.
I got my Lg G8 off swappa in mint condition for $475 - insane price in my opinion and you can find these all day long now.
Hardware: Score 9
The screen is wonderful and most of all its FLAT(well 2D at least). I detest and hate curved screens. I forgot how much until I started using the S10. I dont ever get false edge touches on the LG. It was still a thing on the samsung(yes I had goodlock with edge to help that)
I know the samsung screen is rated the best, but I liked both the V40 and G8 color and contrast more. I didn't like how warm samsung was, even tuned. Yes, the G8 notch is too big. I think aesthetically the tear drop is the best, but thats me.
I love the FPS in the back. I hated the onscreen FPS, it was not reliable(yes I watched youtube vids on how to make it better). It's slow and no one will ever convince me its better than the one on the LG...and that LG has a better, more secure face unlock.
I will say the speakers are better on the S10, but the overall I'm happy with phone calls, both using the phone normally and as a speaker phone.
Software: Score 7.5
Comes with Pie/March security, already updated to April since I got it. Seems LG is better in 2019 with security updates based on what I saw on the V40 this year, so I'm hopeful it will continue.
I never use the default skin and prefer Nova on all my phones, I will say that OneUI is def better than LG's skin, especially if you want to add better themes. With that said LG is nowhere as bad as Huawei.
I do love that LG embraced Google with the smart assistant, Lens, etc. I tried Bixby, found it redundant, useless and ultimately disabled it.(I've given it multiple chances, starting back on the Note 9).
Camera - Score 8.5
I really like this camera. I have to say I loved the V40 camera too. I did not like the camera on the Samsung S10 in comparison. Subjective - of course. Some key things I like:
- I prefer the wide angle with less distortion on the LG. (yes even with distortion correction turned on the S10+)
- Both selfie and back camera portraits are more detailed. Samsung doesn't entirely turn off beauty mode no matter what you do.
- I prefer the white balance/cooler look that LG has in their processing.
- I will say that the S10 is generally brighter, which is good in darker shots(especially in shadows) but LG as a better on demand night mode.
Battery - Score 8.0
I got spoiled by my time with the battery king for me, the Mate 20(not pro!). I would easily get 8 hours of SoT, consistently. Nothing has ever come close...and I have battery anxiety so with my work where I'm on the road meeting clients its important to make sure I can last a full day.
So far I am happy with the battery life. I tend to keep the same apps and usage for all my phones
- I get an average of 5.5 to 6 hours of SoT over 14-16 hour day so far with the G8.
- For MY use and same apps, I was getting an inconsistent up to 6 hours to as low as(and more typical) 4.5 hours of SoT with the S10+.
- It seems that the LG has better standby time, but I have't really done a test for this.
Cell Signal - 9
Overall, I've done some testing using LTE discovery for both the S10+ and G8 both on ATT's network and generally speaking they are about same, which is to say very good. Putting the phones next to each other they are always within a few db of each other, sometimes the G8 is better, sometimes the S10.
Overall, I will say I enjoy using the G8 more than the S10+ in getting things done, where the s10 would annoy me at times. One of the biggest issues on the S10 is how AOD will NOT turn off in your pocket. LG does. Makes no sense to me, and have had numerous pocket dials with the S10, and not one with the LG.
So for $475, its a huge win in my opinion for a great phone. Is it(or any) phone worth $900-1000? I don't think the G8 is, but it's definitely worth $500 or under.
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