G3 After 1 Month

[Google_Superuser]

So I've had my G3 a month now and thought I'd post my opinion.

I have always had Nexus devices and I was sure they were superior in every way....but I got a Nexus 5 and while I love the software the battery life was poor and camera was just ok. I hadn't had a carrier/mainstream phone in a few years so I thought I'd give it a try. The camera/picture quality is important to me so the G3 was appealing....so on my last day working for T-Mobile I plunked down the money for a G3 and even went with Jump (I guess I sold myself).

One month later:

1. I love the camera it focuses unbelievably fast and I have left my DSLR at home on occasions and have not been disappointed.
2. The screen while not extremely bright is very clear as you'd expect of QHD.
3. Its slow....the slowest phone I've had in quite some time. Keyboard has a very slight but irritating lag. Rooting, freezing apps and changing launchers helps some but its still slow. No way around it. I'm sure its that QHD screen. As I said the screen looks great but I'm not sure its if its worth the performance hit.
4. I don't really like LG's apps I find the interface a little messy compared to those of stock android.
5. I go back and forth on the love it or hate it rear buttons.
6. Build quality is really good!
7. Reception is way better than any other phone I'v used on T-Mobile

Overall I feel like its a phone that shines on paper but in practice with the exception of the camera its just ok. I don't regret buying it but if I had to do it again I think I'd probably hold off (or use the One Plue One invite I just gave away).

Next phone will probably be the next Nexus phone, here's hoping Shamu is in fact a little larger....and is sold by T-Mobile...because I have JUMP!. I might take a look at the Note 4 too but I do miss stock android.



I've had a lot of android phones and here is where I'd rank the G3 in my experience and opinion.


1. Z Ultra Google Play Edition / Neuxs 5 (Tie)
2. S4 Google Play Edition
3. LG G3
4. Nexus 4
5. Galaxy S2 Skyrocket

 

[Riley Ancona]

Hey nice post thanks for the feedback! Its nice to see that someone has some actual input not ranting. Cheers

Posted via Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

Very good info, thanks!

 

[jammytech]

Yeah my g3 was slow until I manually installed the latest firmware, now its really smooth and fast. Look out for firmware v10H on XDA if you want it speedy

 

[o4liberty]

I am seeing a lot of different opinions on the G3 in this forum which is not unusual. Personally I am enjoying my G3 with very few issues if any, as far as how it ranks it's the best Android I've owned to date.
It may not be the fastest device but all around its a solid performer! Coming from the Note 3 the G3 is light years ahead in many ways.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[seangprice]

Great feedback! This is my second go with the G3 on T-Mobile and so far I think I'm sold. Adjusting some of the options in the Developers section has made this phone even better stock. I'm using a combination of Apps, to include Textra and TouchPal to make the SMS experience better. The camera is incredible and overall I'm very impressed. The only downside to the US variant is the lack of built in Qi, waiting on my Qi enabled circle case. The screen I'm sure hits the G3 on performance, but with the right apps, rooting and patience this phone is incredible.

Again, thanks for the input, I'm on the original Jump plan and I'm going to give this phone the 6 months and see what comes next.

 

[sbeil]

I have used this phone since the day it came out and I don't have any lag. A small hiccup here and there but that is in all technology. The only thing I had to get used to coming from a galaxy s5 was the colors are not overstated on this device. And that's a good thing.

 

[planoman]

So I've had my G3 a month now and thought I'd post my opinion.

I have always had Nexus devices and I was sure they were superior in every way....but I got a Nexus 5 and while I love the software the battery life was poor and camera was just ok. I hadn't had a carrier/mainstream phone in a few years so I thought I'd give it a try. The camera/picture quality is important to me so the G3 was appealing....so on my last day working for T-Mobile I plunked down the money for a G3 and even went with Jump (I guess I sold myself).

One month later:

1. I love the camera it focuses unbelievably fast and I have left my DSLR at home on occasions and have not been disappointed.
2. The screen while not extremely bright is very clear as you'd expect of QHD.
3. Its slow....the slowest phone I've had in quite some time. Keyboard has a very slight but irritating lag. Rooting, freezing apps and changing launchers helps some but its still slow. No way around it. I'm sure its that QHD screen. As I said the screen looks great but I'm not sure its if its worth the performance hit.
4. I don't really like LG's apps I find the interface a little messy compared to those of stock android.
5. I go back and forth on the love it or hate it rear buttons.
6. Build quality is really good!
7. Reception is way better than any other phone I'v used on T-Mobile

Overall I feel like its a phone that shines on paper but in practice with the exception of the camera its just ok. I don't regret buying it but if I had to do it again I think I'd probably hold off (or use the One Plue One invite I just gave away).

Next phone will probably be the next Nexus phone, here's hoping Shamu is in fact a little larger....and is sold by T-Mobile...because I have JUMP!. I might take a look at the Note 4 too but I do miss stock android.



I've had a lot of android phones and here is where I'd rank the G3 in my experience and opinion.


1. Z Ultra Google Play Edition / Neuxs 5 (Tie)
2. S4 Google Play Edition
3. LG G3
4. Nexus 4
5. Galaxy S2 Skyrocket

I have had all the phones listed and except the Z Ultra but did have the Z2. I think I have just become a non carrier phone guy because the G3 was just not for me.

I am using the Oneplus One right now and while not perfect, it is possibly the smoothest, fastest device I have used. Once I set it to ART it is even faster and smoother. It pretty much blows the Nexus 5 and pretty much all other devices out of the water in terms of speed and smoothness. No carrier bloat, carrier IQ or slow updates. If you can handle the size it is a great device regardless of the $364 I paid for it.

Posted via my OnePlus One!

 

[xamadeix]

K. Touchwiz is more ugly and bloated than LG 's any day. I don't get where people are complaining about lag.. I've yet to experience it. Sure every phone other than the Nexus brand is going to have bloatware on it. You disable it.

I've had so many handsets, Nexus S, HTC sensation, HTC Thunderbolt, Galaxy S, S2, S3, S4, iPhone 4s and the LG g3 blows all of those including the nexus 4, 5.

The US variants haven't even had a software update. I'm expecting any kind of lag people are experiencing can be fixed by disabling the bloatware or it's clearly software related, including I think a radio update may even help people with weak signal issues. The device is new. Give it time.

Posted via LG G3.

 

[BBSeattle]

Appreciate the objective post.
I am also about a month in and for the most part pleased with the G3.
I am considering myself very lucky not having some of the issues that some of the other members are dealing with.
I agree that it is not the fastest phone in the world (I blame the "ahead of it's time QHD" for that). But for me speed is relative, I thought my Droid Bionic was plenty fast....LOL.
I agree the camera phone is fast, pic quality is good.
Screen is fine, not able to distinguish between 1080 and QHD. Brightness not issue, rarely use the phone outside for anything other than a phone.
Use Nova, didn't even give the LG launcher a try.
And I would agree on the reception, outstanding.
I am a Tasker fan and feel that this App alone can improve your day to day use of the phone.
Since some of the good folks here mentioned Xposed Framework, G3 Tweaks I have given it a try and found a new fondness for the phone.
There are so many things one can "Tweak", I can't even begin to have a short conversation about this.
Anything I didn't care for can now more or less be changed to my liking.....

 

[bam654]

I have had the lg g3 for over a month and lately have had to restart it every morning when i wake up or it will lag and the lock screen won't unlock. then randomly through out the day it will take like 30 sec just to wake up when i press the lock butting and also will freeze in apps. I love android and lg but this is really frustrating me and disappointing me. Also I can't even flash any rome because there are no stock android ones out

 

[xocomaox]

I would recommend trying a different keyboard to fix your lag issues. You shouldn't put up with that!

 

[darlene24]

wow. good info thanks

 

[bembol]

>> I'm not into taking pics that much but I agree the Laser Focus is fast!

>> QHD

As much as I love the G3, I believe this whole 2K display did more harm than good. The display is very sharp but was it necessary, IMO (as well as my family & friends too say), no. There's NOTHING WRONG with 1080P, which is why I criticized LG for before it even came out up here. When I first got it, I posted that I did noticed lag but it disappeared after Nova Prime and even better after switching to ART. YMMV.

LG did an amazing job improving both UI & Build Quality, it feels amazing in the hands and doesn't feel so fragile/slippery like hTc's M8 or Sony's Z2. One of the reasons why I kept the G3 and sold my S5 was the 5.5" squeezed in this body and if placing the buttons at the back of the phone is the reason for it than I'll take it!

Reception? Isn't this a carrier because I never noticed any problem with the G3, S5 or any of my previous flagships.

Up here we don't get Google Editions, so I can't comment of it but right now LG G3 is on top for me, followed very closely by Samsung's S5.

 

[Almeuit]

Thanks for the update. My girlfriend is still debating on getting this phone due to the camera .

 

[xamadeix]

The camera is excellent.

 

[LeoRex]

As much as I love the G3, I believe this whole 2K display did more harm than good. The display is very sharp but was it necessary, IMO (as well as my family & friends too say), no. There's NOTHING WRONG with 1080P, which is why I criticized LG for before it even came out up here.

I've mentioned this in other threads, but while I agree 100% that QHD is overkill, I'm of the opinion that LG had to do something to make a splash and this was their best option to do so. LG is the world's largest manufacturer of LCD panels, so they had the tech there waiting and the huervos to pull it off. The top end of the market is so tight, and everyone is pretty much using the same hardware now, so differentiating yourself is extremely hard. If LG released the G3 with everything it current has, but stuck to a 1080p panel like the G2's, everything would have shrugged and said "Next!". Even though the phone has several updates that are pretty significant in their own right, especially when taken as a whole (Optimus UI update, laser focus, removable battery, SD card, etc)..... everyone kind of still fixates on those screens and would have thought that it wasn't that big an upgrade.

I mean, both HTC and Samsung took a fair bit of unfair criticism when they released the M8 and S5.... Review after review said that while good phones, they weren't huge bumps over the M7/S4. Even though they WERE pretty beefy hardware upgrades, they just didn't LOOK like big hardware upgrades. So LG needed something to make a splash... and nothing says LOOK AT ME! more than dropping a huge display with a crazy resolution (pack it in a tini-tiny living space) and market the H-E double hockey sticks out of it and say "Quad HD bitches!!!!" Yes, the performance of the phone would have been better had they waited a bit longer and released it with a SD805 SoC, but then they might have been competing for attention a mile long list of big name phones set to release... not the most ideal of situations.

And I think the plan worked. Everyone went batcrap crazy when it dropped and while it has its quirks, it's been received with quite a lot of praise and glowing reviews. And the interesting part is that while the QHD screen got the buzz, people got the phone and realized that there's actually quite a lot of other good stuff that they included.... so all those other worthwhile upgrades aren't getting brushed aside. A 1080p G3 might very well have been an also-ran, unfortunately.

 

[doggy2965]

Thanks for the update. My girlfriend is still debating on getting this phone due to the camera .

Camera is top notch. Not sure if it's the best but it's close enough. Should be way better then anything she's using now. Just went to Disney took a lot of pics did slide show on my 50 plasma tv pics were incredible

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[Google_Superuser]

I just don't think I'll do a carrier phone again. Here's to shamu!

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