LG G3
Price: $334.90 (At the time of writing)
Released in July 2014, the LG G3 in an aesthetic sense is a great looking phone. The metallic body, a direct response to the criticism surrounding the G2’s plastic body, adds that touch of class and high-end feel that so many smartphone users now require; not just desire.
Still, there is one design flaw. The 5.5” screen, whilst technically quite brilliant, gives the device an identity crisis of sorts. Is it a phone or a ‘phablet’? For me, venturing anywhere over the 5” category and you are in danger of venturing into ‘phablet’ territory.
The phone runs off the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system which will allow you to personalize a whole lot of the interface.
As aforementioned, the Quad HD screen is technically astute however. With a pixel density of 534 ppi packed in, it delivers a sharp image that looks undeniably stunning on the larger screen.
Running of a 2.5GHz Snapdragon Qualcomm 801 processor, the 16GB version has 2GB of ram compared with 3GB for the 32GB LG G3. This ensures the phone is commendably speedy, but is not setting the world alight.
What the 801 does have is an improved Image Signal Processor (ISP) which might seem to contrast the LG G3’s rather simplistic camera offering but then this phone doesn’t focus on the camera.
Moto X 2nd Gen
Price: $299 (At the time of writing)
Released in September 2014, The Moto X Gen and LG G3 are pretty much head to head when it comes to style. The curved body of the Moto, now supports a robust aluminium frame and it looks brilliant.
What might set the Moto apart is its smaller screen size. At 5.2” the Moto’s screen allows it to remain a ‘one handed’ device and so any foray into phablet territory can be dismissed.
The Moto’s screen may only have a pixel density of 423ppi compared to LG’s 534ppi but that’s pretty inconsequential when you see the sharpness the Moto is capable of delivering anyway.
An identical Snapdragon Qualcomm 801 2.5 GHz processor can be found within the Moto, so there’s nothing to set the phones apart there and nor will you in regard to the operating system as the Moto runs Android Lollipop 5.0.
I do feel that the Moto makes more of Google’s operating system than the LG however.
That said, the Moto’s camera offering is quite inconsistent and maybe Motorola should take a leaf from LG’s book in this department; after all, simple is sometimes better.
Whilst it is the cheaper phone by around $35, this shouldn’t be a basis for purchase alone. One thing to consider, is that the Moto X Gen doesn’t have a Micro SD slot so if you’re looking to ramp up the internal memory and store large files on your phone the LG is the better bet of the two.
