Speculation is growing about LG’s smartphone releases in the coming months, after the company made a reference to the anticipated G3 flagship in its latest results release.
The firmest rumours concern G3. This device is expected to be unveiled late in May at a number of confirmed events worldwide (Istanbul, London, New York, San Francisco, Seoul and Singapore). The South Korean vendor has sent ‘save the date’ invites to media around the world (below).
The G3 is expected to include a Quad HD (2560×1440 pixel) 5.5-inch display, straddling the smartphone/phablet boundary. It is said to feature an especially thin bezel, reducing the amount of plastic around the edge of the screen.
It will also feature the rear-mounted buttons of the G2 (pictured, top), although the design has been modified. GSM Arena also noted that there appears to be an additional sensor next to the camera on the rear of the device, although it is not clear what this is for – a fingerprint scanner has been mooted, due to the proximity to the rear keys.
Other mooted specifications include a quadcore Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and either 2GB or 3GB of RAM. There was some suggestion it would feature an octacore chipset using ARM’s big.LITTLE configuration, meaning not all cores will run at the same speed, or be active at the same time.
It is also reported to have a 16 megapixel rear camera and 2.4 megapixel front camera. It is also likely to feature optical imaging stabilisation (OIS) and support 4K video capture.
The device is tipped to see the introduction of the latest version of LG’s user interface customisation, which will feature a new, simplified design and a Google Now-rivalling personalised content service.
Against a backdrop of speculation about Google’s “Silver” plans, it has also been reported that LG’s G3 will provide the basis of the next Nexus device, Nexus 6.
However, there are a number of notable differences, not least the screen size, which is suggested to be a more pocketable 5.2 inches (but with Quad HD resolution).
It will also include a fingerprint scanner below the screen (similar to the iPhone 5s), and feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor.
Google generally releases new Nexus devices in line with Android platform updates, and a launch is unlikely to take place in the first half of 2014. There has been little suggestion as to the features this may introduce.
And it has also been suggested that a “mini” version of the device will be available, featuring a smaller HD (1280×720) pixel screen and 8 megapixel main camera.
However, LG only announced its G2 Mini in February 2014. The device was notable for featuring a much stripped-down specification compared to the standard G2, making it more akin to Samsung’s “Mini”-branded products than Sony’s Xperia Z1 Compact, which retains its larger sibling’s high-end feature set.
Comments