LG G4: 5 things we already know

What do we already know about the LG G4? It seems like quite a lot…

LG will officially unveil its new flagship smartphone, the LG G4, on April 28. We already know quite a lot about it, however.

The South Korean manufacturer has never exactly been shy about tipping us off with early snippets of information on its forthcoming devices. Why, the company name-dropped the LG G4 way back at the beginning of January, around the time of the LG G Flex 2 unveiling.

LG also has the curious habit of launching individual components as if they were products, with the LG G4’s bright display and camera module the two most notable recent examples.

Here’s what we know about the LG G4 already.

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Real leather back

The LG G4 will sport a truly unique design, with the rear cover set to be covered in leather.

This was confirmed in the LG G4 event invites themselves, which shows a close-up of the new handset’s camera module, surrounded by a seamed leather material.

But we’ve also seen the entire LG G4 back already, courtesy of some leaked press shots. As well as offering a full look at the tan leather model (which looks set to be the default), we’ve also seen that the LG G4 will come in a range of coloured cow hides, including black, red, blue, grey and yellow leather.

QHD IPS Quantum Display

As we mentioned in the intro, LG Display announced the LG G4’s display as if it were a stand-alone product back at the beginning of April.

At the time, we learned that it would be a similar 5.5-inch QHD IPS LCD display to the LG G3‘s, but with a higher (120 percent versus 100 percent) colour gamut. This has been achieved thanks to the combination of a blue LED chip with red and green phosphors.

The contrast ratio is also 50 percent higher than other QHD LCD panels, and brightness has apparently increase 30 percent without any negative impact on battery life.

Then, just last week, LG released a video that spilled some more facts and figures on the LG G4’s “IPS Quantum Display.” It’ll be 25 percent brighter than the LG G3’s, as well as outputting a 20 percent wider colour range.

Camera to be much improved

LG has also told us that the LG G4’s camera will be a vast improvement over the LG G3’s – and has even explained how.

It’s going to have a 16-megapixel image sensor with a wide-open f/1.8 aperture, which should aid with low light shots. In fact, it will let in 80 percent more light than the LG G3 camera.

LG has also revealed that the LG G4’s camera optics will feature a six-layer lens set-up, and each of those lenses will be double the size of the LG G3 equivalents.

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Improved selfie camera

While the LG G4’s main camera is understandably getting all the attention, its front-facing camera will also be improved.

It’ll be an 8-megapixel module (up from 2.1-megapixel in the LG G3) with a 0.11mm ultra-thin glass blue filter that “ensures natural and accurate expression of color by keeping infrared rays from entering the camera lens and increasing the penetration of visible rays.”

LG might have recently launched a teaser video pushing the professional credentials of the LG G4’s main camera, then, but it hasn’t missed the fact that most people will be more interested in taking selfies than fiddling with ISO and shutter speed settings.

Snapdragon 810 – or maybe 808 – CPU

Surprisingly, the LG G4’s processor is one component we’re not 100 percent sure on just yet. This is usually the most predictable of components in a new flagship smartphone, but that’s not the case here.

That there’s any doubt this time around is down to Qualcomm’s much publicised issues with its latest top-end chip.

We’re expecting the LG G4 to be powered by the Snapdragon 810, which is what drives the LG G Flex 2 as well as the HTC One M9 and the Sony Xperia Z4.

However, there have been persistent complaints concerning the 810 and its tendency to overheat. This has led to the suggestion that the LG G4 might actually run on the slightly slower Snapdragon 808 chip – a view that’s been strengthened in recent days by an alleged spec list leak.

The 808 is essentially a similar 64-bit chip to the 810, but with a six-core setup in place of the 810’s octa-core configuration, a slower GPU, and slower RAM.

What are you hoping to see in the LG G4? Let us know in the comments sections below