The LG G3 vs HTC One M8 - Help me decide!

[the tall guy]

Re: Why the M8?

I am in almost the exact same predicament as the OP. I am itching to upgrade any day now and I am so torn between the One M8, the S5, and the G3. I have kind of ruled out the G3 because there have just been too many reports of the phone overheating on the forums to make me comfortable in choosing that phone. I know a lot of people bash Samsung/Touchwiz, but I honestly have no problem with them. I am coming from an S3 that I have used for the past two years and it has been the best phone I have owned in my life. The ONLY thing holding me back from the M8 is the camera. I love everything else about it. I had almost made up my mind last night and truth be told, if stores had been open at that hour I would probably have an M8 in my hands right now. But then this morning I saw some photos that my friend took with his S5, and I was like, "Dayumm!... Just.. Damn!" I am by no means a serious photographer, but I still want my pictures to look great. I know M8 photos don't hold up well to cropping or zooming, but I don't know to what extent. Like if I did the standard amount of cropping and zooming required to make a full rectangular photo into a square for Instagram, would that be enough to compromise the resolution of the pic and make it all pixellated? As you can see, I'm as torn as the OP over this phone.

Trust me - if you had bought the M8 you wouldn't have regretted it. I really like taking pics and the M8 was a gamble for me as I had read so many bad reviews about the camera - most of them are nonsense. Yes if you plan on printing your photos onto large scales then you'll notice the difference between a shot from the M8 and S5 - but not many people do this. I believe that HTC designed their camera around people who like to take quick snaps, for social networking purposes. On the phone the pics look amazing, nice natural colours, even on my Chromebook they look amazing. I had an LG G2 which has an amazing camera, I personally believe the M8 is better. The u focus software in the background is amazing. You can make any picture you take into a 3d image - which I found brilliant

 

[LauraWA]

The camera, the removable battery, and the screen size while still being small enough for my hands.

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[Mooncatt]

Re: Why the M8?

I am coming from an S3 that I have used for the past two years and it has been the best phone I have owned in my life. The ONLY thing holding me back from the M8 is the camera.

Get an M8 and S5 side by side and load up Google's home page or anything that supposed to be a true white, and you'll see a big area where the S5 fails. Once you realize how bad the green tint is on the Super AMOLED screen, that may steer you more towards the M8. Once I saw that on the white image, I noticed it on everything when I had a phone with the same type of display. Then again, I prefer color accuracy over colors that "pop." Some people said the S5's display reduces it by changing up the display properties, but at its best, it still pales in comparison to a traditional LCD. I guess you could say...it's green with envy.

You can make any picture you take into a 3d image - which I found brilliant

Actually, that's not true. It has a "3D" function you can use after the fact, but all it does is fancy image distortion. Granted, it looks almost convincing when adjusting the viewing angle, but it's not a stereoscopic image. It's imitation 3D at best, but I think even that is a stretch.

 

[the tall guy]

Re: Why the M8?

Apologies Mooncatt - "Dimension plus" giving it a 3D effect if you want to be precise about it - regardless I still find it amazing.

 

[ShAdoWSKy]

Re: Why the M8?

I know the battery is not removable but is it possible to get it replaced in the future? I know that batteries degrade over time and I'm worried about the fact that I won't be able to do anything about it. I do not usually upgrade every 2 years so this could be my next phone for a while.

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[ShAdoWSKy]

Has anyone experienced any heating problems (not just overheating, but heating from everyday activities)? And with that, how's the battery life? I'm a heavy user, constantly using youtube, Netflix, recording, taking pictures, etc. I heard people are only averaging around 5 hrs of on screen time which worries me because even my gs3 gets about 8-9 hours of solid use.

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[nestafaria]

Re: Why the M8?

I have the M8 which I traded an S5 for. I'm considering getting a G3, or waiting till the Note4, iphone6, or new nexus launches. The software is great and sense is pretty nice. It's also easy to convert to a gpe. But I HATE the camera and form factor of the phone. Boomsound is useless to me, so it's just wasted space. Almost all of my pictures are outdoors, and its just a crap camera for that.

 

[TheMarcus]

Has anyone experienced any heating problems (not just overheating, but heating from everyday activities)? And with that, how's the battery life? I'm a heavy user, constantly using youtube, Netflix, recording, taking pictures, etc. I heard people are only averaging around 5 hrs of on screen time which worries me because even my gs3 gets about 8-9 hours of solid use.

Posted via the Android Central App

The only heating I've noticed is what I already mentioned above. Basically, I don't notice anything while in use, but there have been occasions where, after putting my phone away, I do notice the heat when it's in my pocket.

And as for battery, it seems hit or miss for me depending on the day and usage. Some, I can get up to 5 ½ hours screen on time, while others I have gotten as low as 2 ½ to 3. No clue why because I don't really think my average usage varies that much. Still, though, I'll say that it's definitely consistently better than my Nexus 5 so I can safely consider this an upgrade.

And are you saying you'd get 8 to 9 hours of screen on time?

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk

 

[Mooncatt]

Re: Why the M8?

I know the battery is not removable but is it possible to get it replaced in the future? I know that batteries degrade over time and I'm worried about the fact that I won't be able to do anything about it. I do not usually upgrade every 2 years so this could be my next phone for a while.

Posted via the Android Central App

That was a concern for me, but I've read up a lot on lithium charging and use to help limit the degradation. Limiting how long it's kept at full charge and avoiding excessive heat are the best things to do. That means not leaving it plugged in once the battery is full, and looks like the M8 has a decent thermal protection to limit the overheating.

I'm guessing there will be a way to replace the battery, either via sending in to HTC, using an independent repair shop, or do it yourself you're that adventurous. Someone else on here also posted a phone case he got with a built in external battery. I think this is the one he got:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00K8...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU3815360

I personally can't vouch for it, but I believe he said he liked it. It does look to have a substantial battery without adding much bulk, and would work more or less in place of the phone's battery if it looses too much capacity.

 

[xocomaox]

Ultimately I chose the G3 because it had a large screen in a small package. I wanted something to read Japanese manga's on and my 4.3" RAZR Maxx screen wasn't cutting it. This thing feels great in the hand and has the big screen.

The other reasons for choosing it are more minor. Removable battery, super crisp screen resolution, and great battery life.

I like the camera but it is very secondary to me. I'm no photographer, and my RAZR camera was good enough.

Has anyone experienced any heating problems (not just overheating, but heating from everyday activities)?

Never.

And with that, how's the battery life? I'm a heavy user, constantly using youtube, Netflix, recording, taking pictures, etc. I heard people are only averaging around 5 hrs of on screen time which worries me because even my gs3 gets about 8-9 hours of solid use.

I cannot imagine 8-9 hours of screen on time on a phone. That would be over half my waking hours looking at the screen?

 

[bembol]

I love my S5 still have it. There's nothing wrong but I'm just bored. The G3 is my 30th upgrade (Smart/Super Phones) since 2009.

Pro S5

 

[ShAdoWSKy]

Sorry I should've clarified, but I meant total usage time, not only on screen.

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[tech_head]

I chose the G3 over the M8 for purely aesthetic reasons.
I didn't like the aluminum on the face of the M8. I like glass screen protectors and there would be an edge.
No other reason. I like them both.

 

[billbrobaggins]

Hey guys, I've been trying to decide between the M8 and the G3 as my next phone for the past month now and this is slowly, but surely becoming one of the hardest decisions I ever had to made (a little exaggerated, but not at the same time). I absolutely love the experience of the M8 with its long battery life, seamless unibody design, and unobtrusive, fast Sense 6 skin. I equally absolutely hate the camera because, even though I know megapixels aren't everything, I use my phone camera every single day and can't stand sub-par photo quality. Yes I mainly use it for social media, but these pictures are also my memories and experiences so I want them to be top quality when I view them on any device (computer, phone, tablet, etc.). As for the G3, I love the camera, how it fits in the hand, and screen size/thin bezels (don't really care about QHD, just the 5.5"). But I also equally hate the UI mainly because it seems pretty far away from a stock Google experience and it just feels sluggish which reminds me a lot of TouchWiz in certain aspects (I hate TW, with a passion). I also heard about an overheating problem with the G3 which worries me because I watch a lot of videos and run some big applications on my phone more often than not.

So I wanted to ask you guys: Why did you choose the G3? Was it a clear decision for you? And if any of you have switched over from the M8, why?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this! I just need some peace of mind and decide already because it's driving me a little crazy.
(I posted a similar post on the M8 forums so I can get some "equal" insight)

I actually posted a very similar thread during the initial release of the G3. I had the gunmetal gray M8, and I loved it. The G3's camera is better, clearly. However as much as G3 owners don't want to admit the difference in UI fluidity, the M8 is a bit quicker transitioning through applications and drawers. I agree that the aluminum uni-body of the M8 is awe inspiring, but its form factor is sub-par. The G3 however IMO has the best form factor of any phone, ever (so far.) The screen is visibly larger when holding the device ( the same size as the note 2, 5.5") yet it feels almost identical in the hand to the M8. For me form factor, camera, and an "A-" UI won out. The M8 might have a little bit of an edge when it comes to UI snapiness, but that does not mean that the G3 doesn't perform extremely zippy itself. In fact, I don't notice speed difference is 95% of the time. But if your OCD like me.. it may bother you. I do like the features of the G3 UI better than the offerings of the M8. You can customize the home icon buttons, if you flip your phone horizontal with the email app you get an outlook like view of your emails, knock-off (fantastic), buttons on the back (tremendous, for me this was unexpected love), theres a few more but to each their own i suppose. I also like the removable battery aspect. Also, as a side note.. (I have a VZW G3) I have found the battery to be excellent, oddly enough it seems to keep getting better longer battery life. I use it as my daily driver for personal and business use and i have on average 20% before I plug it back in at night for the next day, much better than the M8 I once had. The M8 IR blaster and remote control app is way better (unfortunately)

I ended up with a G3 because of the excellent form factor, I use my phone for media consumption 90% of the time so the larger screen played a HUGE role in my decision. The UI is great, much better than TW, just not better than sense(keep in mind it was just released, firmware may increase the fluidity of the UI, not to mention the impending Android L). You seem like you already know the differences, its really up to whats more important to you.

I also want to say that I have not experienced any over-heating issues, major lag issues, headphone jack issues, random shut off issues, issues.. I have not had any issues, I believe my phone is functioning flawlessly.

 

[mfreeland]

Re: Why the M8?

Almost all of my pictures are outdoors, and its just a crap camera for that.

I get great outdoor pictures with this camera. Sometimes it takes a tap or two on the screen to find the right exposure, but minimal effort to get a good shot. The only thing I can't do with this camera is to zoom or crop. The low light ability is really good, and it's something that all my other cameras struggled with.

 

[nestafaria]

Re: Why the M8?

I get great outdoor pictures with this camera. Sometimes it takes a tap or two on the screen to find the right exposure, but minimal effort to get a good shot. The only thing I can't do with this camera is to zoom or crop. The low light ability is really good, and it's something that all my other cameras struggled with.

Everything is always blown out for me. Indoors too, trying to take a picture of a TV that's on? Not happening(blown out and streaky). A lamp in the room that's on? Blown out.

 

[jd914]

Re: Why the M8?

I take great pictures with my M8

 

[salmanahmad]

Re: Why the M8?

I can seriously understand why this is a tough decision for you but it all boils down to a few things.

If you prefer a clean UI and an amazing design with better performance in apps and games go for the HTC One M8.

The LG G3 is nothing less than stellar however people have been reporting a lot of issues with the device and despite LG highlighting the 1440p display people have said that to increase the resolution they had to sacrifice better contrasts and colors.

Heating up is a pretty common thing and occurs on most phones however what worries me is that the LG G3 takes it a bit too the extreme and if the phone heats up too much it doesn't allow you to change brightness at all. In addition to this when 2K content becomes more mainstream the heat up and battery issues will become even more prominent on the LG G3.

The HTC One M8 is called the best device of 2014, while it's older brother the M7 was called the best device of 2013 but the only flaw with this phone is the camera...somewhat.

While 4 Megapixel shots may not allow for a whole lot of zooming but they do force a photographer to get closer to the subject, which is ideal. I've seen people take pretty amazing photos with the HTC One M8(and HTC One) so I believe the camera should be pretty good for everyday tasks.

Plus don't take what the reviewers say too seriously. I myself own a Nexus 5 and reviewers said that it had a lackluster camera, after improvements introduced in Android 4.4.1 this sensor is nothing short of amazing.

In short you can't go wrong with either device.



Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[roflwaffleton]

Re: Why the M8?

Why not?

 

[Mooncatt]

Re: Why the M8?

Why not?

That settles it. Thread over.