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The LG G6's screen has a 5.7-inch diagonal, but that doesn't necessarily make it a large display

by Preslav Kateliev / Mar 14, 2017, 8:44 AM

The LG G6's screen has a 5.7-inch diagonal, but that doesn't necessarily make it a large display

So, LG announced the G6 just a couple of weeks ago and shocked the world with a large screen in a small body, which wraps around it neatly, leaving very small bezels. The company went on and on about how much it studied consumer usage and looked for the most comfortable shape for a handset that doesn't sacrifice screen size.

The result was the LG G6's large 5.7-inch display with a 2:1 ratio. The latter part is important — phone displays nowadays have a 16:9 screen ratio, and that's pretty much a standard for media across the board — YouTube videos, most of the on Netflix ( a couple of shows are actually shot in 2:1), or even gaming platforms like Twitch. LG's unique (at least for now) take is a display, taller than usual, which can still show more content than your average, say, 5-inch screen. The company has made a lot of tweaks to the user interface of the new phone, making use of the new real estate, and there's a lot to be experienced on that 5.7-inch display.

But it's a good idea to keep in mind that if you are going to be watching a lot of videos on that screen, it will not be a big, 5.7-inch, phablet-like picture. No, no — since the aforementioned 16:9 ratio is a standard for most creators, and LG's 2:1 screen stretches a bit further than that, you will get two big, black stripes covering the left and right portion of your display (when watching in horizontal).

So, in actuality, when consuming most video media, you use less of that screen real estate. How much exactly? Well, we went and checked it in two ways — with a math equation and by just measuring the glowing screen area when viewing a YouTube video. Both theory and practice gave us very similar results. Ready for the drum roll?

When consuming 16:9 media, the LG G6's active screen area effectively shrinks down to 5.2 inches — slightly smaller than the LG G5's 5.3-inch screen, even. Here's the math:

Calculating the diagonal of a 16 by 9 image on the LG G6

Now, that's not to say that LG is trying to trick us, or that the 5.7-inch size is complete mumbo-jumbo. As previously mentioned, the phone's user interface does stretch to make use of it; websites and books will show a bit more text on the longer screen; most apps scale

Aspect ratio standards. Image sourced from Wikipedia

automatically to fit the weird ratio, and the ones that don't will probably get updated to do so soon (with Samsung's own Galaxy S8 coming with a weird resolution as well). But if you think you will be getting a movie screen that fits in the palm of your hand — that's not exactly true.

The conclusion? While the G6 does have a 5.7-inch display, this doesn't necessarily mean you will be getting a bigger picture all of the time. This is a good thing to keep in mind for non-16:9 displays, as it seems we will be seeing more of them pop up in the near future. Even if the new aspect ratio becomes a mainstay in the smartphone industry, we are still having a hard time seeing creators switch to it — especially since PC monitors, TVs, and even tablets don't look like they may be getting the elongated treatment. And 2:1 is not exactly an industry standard to shoot in, as seen on the right.

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PhoneArena Rating:

8.7

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User Rating:

8.5

Based on 18 Reviews

Display 5.7" 1440 x 2880 pixels

Camera 13 MP / 5 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, Quad-core, 2350 MHz

Storage 32 GB + microSDXC

Battery 3300 mAh(20.5h talk time)

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32 Comments

1. XperiaFanZone

Posts: 2277; Member since: Sep 21, 2012

According to the ratio aspect experts here, 18:9 shouldn't be called 2:1 because it's an easy reference due to 16:9 existence. So, shouldn't 4:3 be called 12:9 instead?

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 8:50 AM 2

3. willzzz

Posts: 36; Member since: May 27, 2015

Not really because 4:3 predated 16:9.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:29 AM 1

5. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

4:3 is way... older than 16:9, so you can't simply rename it... 4:3 is almost extinct anyway

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:35 AM 2

28. jrgilbert79

Posts: 1; Member since: Mar 17, 2017

Aspect Ratio is basically a reverse Fraction... no one says 50/100 they say one half. Its how math works.

posted on Mar 17, 2017, 11:17 AM 0

2. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

so, you can do slightly complex math for a screen display article... but cant do simple math to remove VAT tax from articles about pricing when you need to convert back to USD? lol

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:09 AM 3

10. paul.k

Posts: 293; Member since: Jul 17, 2014

What are you on about?

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:44 AM 0

16. gustavoace

Posts: 187; Member since: Nov 13, 2012

He meant you put the price in USD which does not include tax, but in GBP you put the price with VAT. They are different in the essence, but the final price of a product is the sum of product price + tax. Take the iphone in NY and London: NY 649 USD + 57USD of tax = 706 USD London 499 GBP + 100 GBP VAT (as in Apple's website) = 599 GBP

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 11:06 AM 0

17. trojan_horse

Posts: 5868; Member since: May 06, 2016

@paul.k remixfa is talking about subtracting the 20% VAT tax when converting prices of handsets (like in the Galaxy S8 leak) into US dollars. Most of the time, you guys just convert the european price of handsets directly into USD without removing the 20% VAT tax of the EU, which obviously does not concern the United States and therefore should be substracted from the Euro before converting into USD. That's remixfa's point.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 11:07 AM 2

18. Hyperreal

Posts: 361; Member since: Oct 08, 2013

Exactly. European prices already include tax but US prices dont. Whenever you compare them you should add tax to US price or extract it from european price. That would be fair. US prices always looked too good to me until i realized they are pre tax. Simple but you never do it.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 12:36 PM 0

21. remixfa

Posts: 14605; Member since: Dec 19, 2008

check every pricing rumor article when converting from nearly anything european to USD. Every time, they do a straight currency conversion and freak everyone out about the pricing. Every time they forget to subtract the 20% VAT tax that is in those leaked prices BEFORE converting to USD. I have pointed this out on countless articles over many years. You can not convert rumored euro pricing to USD without subtracting the VAT before converting. Otherwise your overshooting the price by $100-200 And I even did a fun self check on that last LG price rumor article. You guys pegged it at $750 converted which is wrong. Its about $640 converted. Easy way to check was against the 900 EUR Iphone 7+ also on the listing. Take out the VAT Tax before conversion and it knocks it down to within $3 of its american pricing form Apple. Forget to take it out and its WAY off. You guys forget to take it out... EVERY time.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 2:45 PM 0

24. Ray.S

Posts: 455; Member since: Jul 19, 2011

This is actually a very good point. Thank you for bringing it up!

posted on Mar 15, 2017, 9:00 AM 1

4. Hallyu

Posts: 790; Member since: Jul 21, 2015

Fantastic screen ratio LG! This is the future and norm for the media, real practical unlike that stupid 4k resolution screen on a phone made by the failing Sony while in reality it only performs in 1080p. That small @ss company must be sued for being a con artist and cheated people for a long time.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:35 AM 1

9. zunaidahmed

Posts: 1183; Member since: Dec 24, 2011

Future my ass, 16:9 will be the mainstream for at least the next decade or so.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:43 AM 3

25. Rampage_Taco

Posts: 1036; Member since: Jan 17, 2017

4:3 used to be main stream as well. Things change over time

posted on Mar 15, 2017, 10:01 AM 0

27. AmashAziz

Posts: 2898; Member since: Jun 30, 2014

Hey Zunaid, you a Muslim or not? If yes, then why use such explicit language??

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 11:09 PM 0

20. liberalsnowflake

Posts: 273; Member since: Feb 24, 2017

Hallyu seek medical attention

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 12:56 PM 0

30. LiveFaith

Posts: 453; Member since: Jul 04, 2015

I actually like the ratio for a smartphone. Devices are just a tad too wide for my liking. Hacking top and bottom bezels and making the device a bit narrower suits me me well. All other factors here notwithstanding.

posted on Mar 20, 2017, 10:23 PM 0

6. willzzz

Posts: 36; Member since: May 27, 2015

5.7" is rounded anyway, the phonearena info page lists it as 5.74". Does this account for the rounded corners? Frankly they are better off getting a real G6 and using a ruler! Regardless it will be slightly smaller than a true 5.3" phone for 16:9 content.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:38 AM 0

8. paul.k

Posts: 293; Member since: Jul 17, 2014

We did. 5.2-ish inches confirmed

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:42 AM 0

31. LiveFaith

Posts: 453; Member since: Jul 04, 2015

TWSS?

posted on Mar 20, 2017, 10:24 PM 0

7. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

right, because I only use smartphone for video viewing 24/7 and nothing else I can do with smartphone.. /s Univisium getting more common in recent years, and that little black bar wont kill you anyway..

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:40 AM 1

13. medtxa

Posts: 1655; Member since: Jun 02, 2014

Right, I'm not sure with the new screen ratio but it sure looks cooler.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:53 AM 2

11. kevv2288

Posts: 290; Member since: Jul 30, 2015

Pretty much every blu ray I own is in 2:35.1 or 2:40.1 and there are two black bars on the top and bottom of the picture on a 16 x 9 tv. If you watch these movies on the g6 or the s8 there will not be any bars anymore. Yes this new screen ratio loses some screen area but I think it's actually better for watching movies.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:45 AM 1

14. Tyrion_Lannister unregistered

There will still be bars when watching 2:35:1 or 2.4:1 movies, just on top and bottom this time. Yes, it's better for movies than standard 16:9 screen, but I would prefer a black phone with OLED screen for movie watching, since bars as well as bezels won't distract you.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 10:00 AM 0

15. kevv2288

Posts: 290; Member since: Jul 30, 2015

You're right there would still be bars because its not the exact same aspect ratio but a 2:35.1 movie would fill more of the screen on this new 18x9 screen vs the 16x9 standard. Also the bars are always on the top and bottom when watching a 2:35.1 movie on a 16x9 tv.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 10:43 AM 0

12. RodrigoFreijanes

Posts: 58; Member since: Apr 05, 2013

And I'm dreaming about a 16:10 aspect ratio screen like Samsung Galaxy Note 1.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 9:49 AM 0

19. guidbuc

Posts: 3; Member since: Mar 12, 2017

I would like to see the same analysis when the S8 and S8+ are released with their 2:1 ratio screens. My xperia xa ultra with its 6" screen was happy when I was reading all this.

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 12:48 PM 1

22. kerginaldo17 unregistered

This is the future of the screen format of smartphones today.atus

posted on Mar 14, 2017, 3:19 PM 1

23. tokuzumi

Posts: 1865; Member since: Aug 27, 2009

It's still a large screen. It's nice that the footprint is smaller, but one handed use is not possible with this phone, unless you have monster hands.

posted on Mar 15, 2017, 8:11 AM 0

26. Rampage_Taco

Posts: 1036; Member since: Jan 17, 2017

Not sure how the aspect ratio makes the screen "smaller" all it does is make the screen appear slimmer. It's like saying a 4x4 Square is larger than a 2x8 Rectangle

posted on Mar 15, 2017, 10:03 AM 0

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