South Korean maker LG has announced that its latest flagship smartphone will roll out globally starting this week. Unveiled in late-April during a special event, G4 is positioned as a rival to the likes of HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6.
LG says that G4 will be available through around 180 carriers and retailers across the globe, and will continue its roll-out throughout June. It will not be immediately available in key markets across Europe and North America.
G4 will start to reach store shelves in Hong Kong, which will be followed by Turkey, Russia and Singapore. It will "eventually [be offered in] most of Europe, North America, CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States], Southeast Asia, Middle East/Africa and South/Central America".
LG's flagship smartphone will be available through all major US carriers. While pricing has yet to be revealed, it will likely be offered at prices similar to Galaxy S6 and One M9 -- $199.99 on a two-year contract, that is.
"The LG G4 is our most ambitious smartphone yet because it is unlike any other flagship mobile phone on the market today", says LG Mobile Communications Company CEO Juno Cho. "Our vision is to create our own set of standards without worrying about what trend other smartphones are following. We think we have a winning formula because the initial reaction to the G4 has been tremendously positive".
While Galaxy S6 has ditched both the microSD card slot and removable battery, G4 retains both hardware features. This is seen as an advantage over the Samsung-branded rival, which is designed more similar to Apple's iPhone 6 than its predecessors. (Speaking of Samsung, it just introduced Galaxy S6 in Blue Topaz and Galaxy S6 edge in Green Emerald.)
To accommodate the removable battery, LG has decided to stick with a plastic back cover. However, there is also a version of G4 which ships with a leather back cover, which adds to the premium feel of the device.
The highlights of G4 include: 5.5-inch Quad HD (resolution of 1,440 by 2,560) IPS display; octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor; 3 GB of RAM; 3,000 mAh battery; 16 MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization; 8 MP secondary camera; microSD card slot; Android 5.1 Lollipop. It comes in at 148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3 - 9.8 mm and 155 grams.
Available color options are Ceramic White, Metallic Gray and Shiny Gold for the plastic back, and beige, black, brown, red, Sky Blue and yellow for the leather back. The version with a leather back will be more expensive.