Samsung Galaxy S6 edge vs LG G3

Introduction

Just a year ago, the LG G3 was a new smartphone that seemed mighty impressive with its hardware parameters and attractive design. And while the G3 is still a great phone, the new Samsung Galaxy S6 edge is far ahead of what LG could come up with in 2014. Samsung's dual curved screen smartphone catches the eye with a unique look, and attracts with powerful performance. If you are interested in upgrading your LG G3 to the Galaxy S6 edge, or have to choose between an expensive new GS6 edge and a discounted LG G3, look no further than this review, where we'll compare the two in the important departments of design, display, user experience, hardware, connectivity, camera, call quality, and battery life. With this knowledge, you'll be able to make the right decision for you.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge is an innovative device which disrupts the traditional Galaxy smartphone look with its curved screen and premium build. The LG G3 has just a simple plastic build that's of admirable quality, but certainly doesn't look and feel as impressive. The Galaxy S6 edge is a design showcase with its side-sloping screen and aluminum frame, both being hard to miss. It's a reasonably sturdy smartphone, too, thanks to those Gorilla Glass 4 layers covering its front and back. Save for its semi-faux metallic sheen, the LG G3 doesn't have anything to show in the way of luxury, but its strong card is ergonomics. The big phone is easy to hold, thanks to its carefully chiseled back and sides.

Talking about ergonomics and sizes, the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge measures 5.59 x 2.76 x 0.28 inches (142.1 x 70.1 x 7 mm) at a weight of 4.66 oz (132 g), while the LG G3 is a bulkier 5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 inches (146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm) and a heftier 5.26 oz (149 g). The Galaxy S6 edge is more compact because its display has a lesser diagonal - 5.1 inches versus the LG G3's 5.5 inches, and it is lighter, although made of stronger materials. And for those of you wondering - the curved display is not a boon for comfortable one-handed usage.

Among the S6 and G3's most notable differences are the power and volume key placements. The GS6 edge's hardware buttons are conventionally placed on the sides, while the latter's occupy its back panel. While there's nothing overly curious about the GS6 edge's button placement - you most likely know it from other smartphones, getting used to the one on the LG G3 takes a while. And although it's comfortable for the most part, it's not always practical. Other important differences are the missing microSD slot and interchangeable battery on the Galaxy GS6 edge.

To sum up, the Galaxy S6 edge is more compact, lighter, and of somewhat better design and build quality than the LG G3, but the latter has a larger 5.5-inch display, a microSD slot, and removable battery.

Display

If Quad-HD resolution and gazing at over three million pixels simultaneously tickle your fancy, you are correct for looking up the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and LG G3, as they both have these great, extra high-resolution panels. The Galaxy GS6 edge has a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED 1440x2560 screen with an extremely high pixel density of 577, making individual pixels nearly impossible to discern. The LG G3 has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with the same resolution, but a lesser pixel density of 538ppi due to the increased diagonal.

With a color temperature of 6800 Kelvins, the Galaxy S6 edge's display is rather close to the most neutral color temperature of 6500 K, which is an achievement. It's also not over or under-saturated, which is particularly pleasing... that is, as long as you have it set to the Basic screen profile.. Meanwhile, the LG G3's color temperature of 7099 Kelvins is not too far off the reference value either, but this color temperature makes its LCD display look colder than the GS6 edge's, and the colors are more saturated – LG didn't go overboard or anything, but it's obvious that perfect color accuracy wasn't the prime objective.

In terms of brightness, the GS6 edge's display can hit well above 500nits (about 553, to be more specific), which is an excellent achievement for an AMOLED display. It means you can reliably use this screen outdoors or in bright light. On the other side of the scale, the GS6 edge accomplishes an excellent minimum brightness value of 1 nit, which makes for easy bedtime reading. How does the LG G3 fare here? Well, it has a tolerable maximum brightness level of about 455 nits, which means you can use it under direct sunlight or bright lighting conditions with a little effort. And, its acceptable minimum brightness level of 9 nits means you can use it in dark rooms without retina-searing experiences, although admittedly, the screen should have been a bit darker.

Next, we'll talk gamma values. At a value of 2.2, the Galaxy S6 edge's gamma response hits the reference value, which means we have adequate brightness response across the spectrum. We can say the same for the LG G3's display, which reports a gamma value of 2.26 and is, therefore, very close to the reference value.

Overall, the Galaxy S6 edge clearly has a superior display, thanks to its better color reproduction, brightness levels, and more efficient power consumption.