Both are pretty good with Samsung having marginal upper hand. if possible, get unlocked, un-carrier version. that way you will get your updates faster and for longer. Meaning, don't buy a carrier branded version of the model.
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Phones LG G7
- Thread starter chagla
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actually, the unlocked (USA) variants of samsungs phones actually get the updates a bit slower behind the carriers (sometimes before the carrier phones but not always). it's weird but I've heard that update has to be "blessed" by all carriers first? Either way, there's no quick way to get Samsung updates, unlocked or carrier variant.
The new LG V35 seems to be a much better phone than this, larger battery and no notch. Comes with 6GB RAM in all markets to.
perhaps. from what I've read, it's just a V30 with a SD 845 chip... and AT&T for example wants $900 for it!
https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/05/30/v35-thinq-marks-third-time-lg-tried-sell-v30-att-wants-900/
I'm very interested in the LG V35. For me, it checks several of the boxes that I currently find to be important in a smartphone. They are (in no particular order):
Availability of Whitestone Dome screen protector (the V30 screen protector in theory should fit)
Availability of Speck Presidio Grip case (again the V30 case should fit)
Water resistance
3.5 audio jack
Snapdragon 845 chip
Works with Google Project Fi
Decent battery size
I'm currently on Sprint's free for a year (actually $4 a month after fees and taxes) plan with personal Galaxy S8+. (My employer issues me a iPhone 6S+ for work use.) My year ends in July and I'm seriously thinking of moving to Google Project Fi at that point if Sprint doesn't have a compelling offer to stay.
I don't use my data as I usually have access to WiFi or a computer on a network. So Project Fi fits my usage patterns very well. Pay for data when you need it. Don't pay when you don't.
I'd rather stay with Sprint because I've gotten good service from them over the past year. But I'm not willing to pay $60 a month plus taxes and fees for it.
The two things that turn me off with the LG V35 are one the price and two the fact that they already announced a V35+ in their press release.
I don't think the phone is worth $900. It makes no sense to me that they expect to sell the G7 ThinQ for $750 but then expect to get $900 for the V35 with only 64 GB of storage.
That leads to my second turn off which is the storage. I already got burned by Samsung in the pre-order process for the S9 when they only offered 64 GB of storage. I would have opted for the higher storage tier had it been offered at pre-order.
LG announced in its press release that it was also making a V35+ which had 128 GB of storage. But they weren't releasing it in the U.S.
Apple may charge an arm and a leg for storage, but at least it is available.
Micro SD cards don't count because not every app will work off of a micro SD card.
Even without the higher storage model, if the price comes down to something reasonable I may jump on the V35 and move to Project Fi.
I just don't know what LG is thinking with this price. Samsung is already discounting the Galaxy S9 all over the place and throwing in freebies. I don't know why LG thinks they will be able to charge more than Samsung.
If it wasn't for this "BOGO," LG/T-Mobile would be cheap with the RAM here:
https://www.tmonews.com/2018/06/lg-g7-thinq-now-available-t-mobile/
4gb RAM for a $750 device trying to compete with the S9+? Yikes. LG should've given 6gb.
https://www.tmonews.com/2018/06/lg-g7-thinq-now-available-t-mobile/
4gb RAM for a $750 device trying to compete with the S9+? Yikes. LG should've given 6gb.
hating the notch (option to hide?) but thanks LG for hi-fi audio AND headphone jack. never thought there would be a day when one has to brag about headphone jack. it has come to that. #SAD.
I just picked up an LG G7 in platinum gray for Verizon yesterday. I was using a Samsung S8+ before getting this one and I still have it. My thoughts on the phone are still pretty fresh and I'll have to use it more until I can really give my thoughts, but it's not "bad" at all and is actually a really nice phone. The thing I like most so far is the size and weight. The screen is almost as big as my S8+ but it's a lot trimmer and feels quite a bit lighter. Build quality is on par with my S8+. It feels less substantial just because it's lighter. The camera, speaker, ear phone speaker, and headphone jack sound quality are all better then my S8+. I can't tell much with battery life yet. It seems about the same as the S8+ however that phone is about 15 months old so how it ages will remain to be seen. I had an LG G3 and G4 back in the day and LG has came a long way on build quality!
It's a bit strange to go back to an LCD screen after having an AMOLED, but the screen quality is excellent. I do notice the blacks aren't quite as good and the colors less vibrant, but likely more accurate. The notch doesn't bother me. It's nice to have a flat screen again after the last 3 years or so with "edge" devices.
It's a very fast phone and although the LG skin has less features and appears much lighter then the Samsung skin. One advantage is it's really fast without the occasional micro stutters I've always gotten on the S8+. Now I know the S8+ has a slower processor so it's probably not noticeable on the S9. It's likely a lighter skin taking up less system resources might age better. Who knows?
Anyhow Verizon had a deal on the phone which included a bill credit which makes it quite a bit cheaper then the S9+ right now. I already have an S8+ that's paid for so I decided I wanted to play around with something new. About the only thing I wish they had done is put a little bigger battery in it and used an AMOLED display. I think however LG does seem to do a much better job with their LCDs still. Samsung seems to be the king of AMOLED. Although I prefer AMOLED it does seem like the LCD is easier on my eyes... Maybe it's just in my mind? lol
Anyhow in summary it's a nice phone. The size and packaging is excellent. That's probably my biggest like. It's very compact for a screen that's almost as big as the S8+. The small differences in size and weight also make it easier to use one handed.
It's a bit strange to go back to an LCD screen after having an AMOLED, but the screen quality is excellent. I do notice the blacks aren't quite as good and the colors less vibrant, but likely more accurate. The notch doesn't bother me. It's nice to have a flat screen again after the last 3 years or so with "edge" devices.
It's a very fast phone and although the LG skin has less features and appears much lighter then the Samsung skin. One advantage is it's really fast without the occasional micro stutters I've always gotten on the S8+. Now I know the S8+ has a slower processor so it's probably not noticeable on the S9. It's likely a lighter skin taking up less system resources might age better. Who knows?
Anyhow Verizon had a deal on the phone which included a bill credit which makes it quite a bit cheaper then the S9+ right now. I already have an S8+ that's paid for so I decided I wanted to play around with something new. About the only thing I wish they had done is put a little bigger battery in it and used an AMOLED display. I think however LG does seem to do a much better job with their LCDs still. Samsung seems to be the king of AMOLED. Although I prefer AMOLED it does seem like the LCD is easier on my eyes... Maybe it's just in my mind? lol
Anyhow in summary it's a nice phone. The size and packaging is excellent. That's probably my biggest like. It's very compact for a screen that's almost as big as the S8+. The small differences in size and weight also make it easier to use one handed.
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Thanks for your thoughts. I have a G7 as well and it's a very good phone IMO. I love the wide angle camera and wish more OEMs include a wide angle sensor instead of a dedicated sensor for bokeh / portrait mode. The size and weight and haptics are what make this phone phenomenal for me. IMO, it's the perfect size (and screen to body ratio) and doesn't weight a ton like the galaxies tend to do.
enjoy!
Yes I need to do a lot more testing on the camera. I'm still waiting on a case so I'm being pretty careful right now. You know how it goes with these glass phones without a case. lol One thing that's 100x better then my S8+ is the rear fingerprint scanner. I know Samsung fixed it on the S9, but the round centered scanner is much better then my S8+.
The audio quality with wired headphones is really good. I am listening to more audio on it and I think it's the best sounding phone I've ever had. Anyhow I'll come back and post more impressions after I use it more. I wouldn't say this is a better phone then an S9, however I just wanted something a little different after 3 years of the Samsung edge designs.
I agree on the size and weight. I really like my S8+, but ergonomically the LG G7 is a lot nicer when you're using it.
Well I returned the G7 and returned to my S8+ for now. Now don't take this wrong and think there's something majorly wrong with the G7. There's not. It's a well designed, beautiful phone. My biggest issue was the LCD screen just didn't look as good to me as the AMOLED on the Galaxy. I also want a little more battery life for my use. It seemed to burn the battery down faster then my S8+. Now the S8+ has always been regarded as a phone with darn good battery life so maybe it's unfair to compare it to what is a smaller lighter phone.
Everything I said about the G7 I like. One thing LG gets criticized for is their software, but I actually liked how clean it is compared to Samsung. Oh and an assistant button that opens Google Assistant from the factory without a workaround. That's awesome. Having two assistants built in on the Samasung makes no sense to me and just uses more system resources. Bixby just doesn't compete with Google Assistant. I like that LG has chosen to integrate it deeper and avoid re-inventing the wheel.
I liked enough about the G7 that I'm going to wait for the V40 that is rumored to be introduced in September. I think it might fix the few issues I had with the G7. With that said, once the price starts dropping on the G7 which will happen soon after the V40 is released I'd say pick one up if you want a phone priced more like a midlevel phone, but performs like a flagship.
Everything I said about the G7 I like. One thing LG gets criticized for is their software, but I actually liked how clean it is compared to Samsung. Oh and an assistant button that opens Google Assistant from the factory without a workaround. That's awesome. Having two assistants built in on the Samasung makes no sense to me and just uses more system resources. Bixby just doesn't compete with Google Assistant. I like that LG has chosen to integrate it deeper and avoid re-inventing the wheel.
I liked enough about the G7 that I'm going to wait for the V40 that is rumored to be introduced in September. I think it might fix the few issues I had with the G7. With that said, once the price starts dropping on the G7 which will happen soon after the V40 is released I'd say pick one up if you want a phone priced more like a midlevel phone, but performs like a flagship.
I got the July patch in mid-July but not sure if that's the norm or not. I don't think it is but at least it was up to date as of last month.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lgg7/comments/8xora6/finally_got_the_tmobile_update_july_security/
How does one get Aptx HD on the LG smartphones when playing music? I have Tidal and the B&W PX headphones which are capable. Went to Bluetooth audio codec setting in developer options and choose AptX HD. Keeps going back to AAC. WTF.
I got mine from T-Mobile. Only thing in the box is phone, charger, USB C cable, sim ejector tool, and the manuals
Found this a bit interesting:
The LG G7 One is an Android One flagship without the LG software
Stock Android but with some hardware compromises. Very curious about the price, yet to be announced.
The LG G7 One is an Android One flagship without the LG software
Stock Android but with some hardware compromises. Very curious about the price, yet to be announced.
Pricing is make or break here. I don't mind the 835 processor as long as it is priced economically. The Z3 is $500 w/ an 835 processor, but also has features at that price point too. Hopefully Android One replaces the Google Play editions other manufacturers took advantage of. Imagine a pure android edition of the Note 9, HTC U12, or Sony Xperia?
I rather have Android features, but I normally feel like iOS is the software with more longevity with better app support, longer software support, and a more consistent experience. I never took advantage of the kitchen sink entirely with the Galaxy. LG feels very combustible from what I read too.