After countless leaks, the G3 is officially announced

After so many leaks about the device, we can officially declare the LG G3 as the worst kept secret in tech for 2014. Not that it matters of course, since the G3 boasts some incredibly solid specifications that make us forgive LG for deciding to reveal it at the middle of the year, a few months after its competitors did. Anyway, most of the leaks were spot on – the G3 is a 5.5-inch smartphone that boasts a resolution of QHD or Quad HD, which comes out at 2,560 x 1,440. The entire thing is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor chugging along at 2.5GHz paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. There will also be a higher version of the G3 available with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

LG G3 specs

• 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 2GB/3GB of RAM
• 5.5-inch QHD IPS display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 1440 x 2560 resolution
• 16GB/32GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 128GB
• 13-megapixel camera with phase detection/laser AF, OIS, dual-LED flash
• 2.1-megapixel secondary camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, USB OTG, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• 3G, LTE
• 3000mAh battery (removable)
• Android 4.4.2 KitKat

Unlike the G2, the G3 uses a new kind of finish, which LG simply calls a metallic skin, though it’s not actually metal. The finish has anti-scratch properties but isn’t completely self healing like the LG Flex. It also prevents the G3 from being a smudge magnet like the G2. Overall the new design of the G3 looks fantastic, as its gentle curves and lines still retain some of the design language that was used in the G2.

The 13-megapixel camera of the G3 may not impress with its raw megapixel count, but LG has an ace up it sleeves as far as the camera technology goes – laser assist autofocus. The G3 has a phase detection infrared laser autofocus which should make focusing on subjects lightning quick. The front camera has been re-worked as well, with LG now branding it as a selfie-camera, and has optimized to gather more light (higher F stop at f/2.0).

LG has also said that they are simplifying the UX to get you to what you need to do quicker. Of course, LG’s Knock Code is still present in the G3, as well as Content Lock, which hides sensitive files from prying eyes, and the Kill Switch, which does exactly what it sounds like – it disables your smartphone remotely when it’s taken or lost.

Unfortunately, LG has not detailed how much the G3 will be when it finally hits retail, although we’ll probably get a good indication when it launches in their home turf of Korea sometime soon.