By contrast the LG G3 Stylus will go on sale from September, starting in Brazil. We don’t yet know a UK release date, although we expect it will make it this far at some stage. So far LG has said only that it will be released in other regions such as Asia, Middle East and Africa. We’ll update this story as more is revealed.
LG G3 vs LG G3 Stylus comparison: Price in UK
The LG G3 Stylus is specified like a mid-range smartphone, but is expected to be a “fairly priced” phablet. That’s what LG says, anyway. LG makes repeated reference to its value, but an exact price is not yet known – we will update this story when more information is available. The UK SIM-free price for the LG G3 has been confirmed at £479 which is not as low a price as was the G2 at a similar stage. However, it’s around £70 less than the starting price of its rivals and although those devices are now available for less, the G3 enters the market with unique never seen before features including a Quad HD screen. (See also: LG G3 vs G3 S comparison review: Mini version of G3 is cheaper but downgraded.)
LG G3 vs LG G3 Stylus comparison: Build and design
We haven’t yet laid our hands on the LG G3 Stylus, of course, so we can say only a little about its build and design. We know that it is a big phone, as you might expect from a 5.5in phablet. The LG G3 Stylus measures 149.3 x 75.9 x 10.2 mm. That’s pretty thin for a large-screen smartphone/tablet, and with a weight of 163 g it’s pretty lightweight too. The LG G3 is just 8.9mm thick – impressively thin considering the sheer volume of tech that is squeezed in. At 75 x 146mm the LG G3 is surprisingly small for a large display phone, but the Stylus is only slightly bigger. With a weight of 149g the LG G3 is only marginally lighter than the Stylus. A major design change of the LG G3 was the introduction of metal. There’s a brushed metal frame running around the edge which separates the front from the back. The rear cover is removable and made of plastic but has a ‘metallic skin’ which has a brushed finish and is scratch-resistance. Expect something similar from the LG G3 Stylus.
LG G3 vs LG G3 Stylus comparison: Display
Here is where the magic happens. The LG G3 was the first mainstream phone with a Quad HD display, with a whopping 1440 x 2560 resolution. It’s named Quad HD because it’s four times the resolution of 720p. The LG G3 has a 5.5in display and so the handset has a massively high pixel density of 534ppi (538ppi according to LG). The LG G3’s screen looks absolutely stunning. Everything on the screen is super crisp; no matter how hard you try, you just cannot see an individual pixel. Viewing angles are great. LG has struck a great balance with the colour too; it’s not in your face like Samsung’s displays tend to be but not overly soft either. The LG G3 Stylus also comes with a 5.5in IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen. But it’s resolution is significantly lower, at 540 x 960 pixels: a pixel density of 200 ppi. Like the LG G3 it is a multitouch screen, but it also comes with a stylus. (See also: 40 best smartphones of 2014 UK.)
LG G3 vs LG G3 Stylus comparison: Specifications and performance
LG tells us that the G3 Stylus has the following specification: a quad-core processor running at 1.3GHz and paired with 1GB RAM. The LG G3 Stylus will run Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with just 8GB internal storage – there is a microSD slot, however. A removable 3,000mAh battery will look after the battery life. By contrast the LG G3 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz. The LG G3 has 3GB of RAM but only if you buy the 32GB, the 16GB model has 2GB. The software is designed for 2GB so the extra on the 32GB device simply gives headroom, LG says. The G3 is available with 16- or 32GB of internal storage. And like the Stylus the LG G3 has a microSDXC card slot and a 11.1Wh (3000mAh) battery.
LG G3 vs LG G3 Stylus comparison: Cameras
The LG G3 Stylus will come with 13Mp rear- and 1.3Mp front-facing cameras. This is marginally less impressive than the LG G3’s 13Mp and 2Mp cameras. (See also: The UK’s 37 best Android smartphones of 2014.)
LG G3 vs LG G3 Stylus comparison: verdict
It’s way to early to draw any conclusions about how good is the LG G3 Stylus. But we can safely say a few things: for one thing the G3 Stylus is likely to be a reasonably priced smartphone. We can expect it to have decent performance, although we need to see the display before we can make any firm judgments. Ultimately, we’re excited to see what LG can do with a mid-priced phablet phone. (See also: What’s the fastest smartphone 2014?) Matt Egan is Global Editorial Director of IDG, publisher of Tech Advisor, and a passionate technology fan who writes on subjects as diverse as smartphones, internet security, social media and Windows.
