Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs LG G3: first look

Another year, another new Samsung Galaxy Note phablet to appease fans of large-screen smartphones! The new Note is a worthy successor of the Galaxy Note 3, one of last year's most impressive smartphones. Coming with a QHD display, slim bezels, and powerful internals, it practically begs to be compared to the LG G3. Although it launched three months ago, LG's flagship can be considered a competitor to the Note 4 in the large screen device segment, especially since it's a powerful QHD device as well! So let's see how the two phablet monsters size up to each other.

Design

Two of the best-looking large smartphones on the mainstream market.

Both the Galaxy Note 4 and the LG G3 are large and impressive phones that might not have the appeal of an all metal and glass construction, but compensate with clever, efficient design. The Galaxy Note 4 follows after the Galaxy Alpha's interesting character, enriching the mostly plastic exterior with a precisely crafted solid metal frame. The LG G3 is an all-plastic smartphone, but it still manages a premium look thanks to a metallic finish that holds almost zero fingerprints. Some could say that "plastic is always plastic", no matter how great it looks and feels. But with the G3, LG proved that the cheap and easy to use material can feel just fine if enough attention is poured into it. Still, we have to give it where it's due - with the presence of actual metal and a tastefully designed back panel, the Galaxy Note 4's design comes from a higher standard.

The skinny bezels that frame the two smartphones's large QHD displays are impossible to miss. What LG started with the LG G2 back in 2013 is now becoming the mark of a flagship device, and that's a very welcome trend which has already progressed to stunning, "frame-less" devices like the Sharp AQUOS Crystal.

Skinny their bezels can be, but there's no hiding the fact that both the Note 4 and the LG G3 are large smartphones. In exact numbers, Samsung's new phablet measures a respectable 6 x 3 x 0.33 inches, 6.2oz (153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm, 176g), while the LG G3 is a little easier to handle at 5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 inches (146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm) and 5.26 oz (149 g). But when you take into account the Note 4's slightly bigger screen (5.7 inches by diagonal versus the LG G3's 5.3 inches), it makes for a compact device in its own class. Samsung went the extra length to produce the most comfortable Note 4 possible, shaving extra weight off its sides and screen bezels. LG's sculpting efforts too paid off, resulting in the most comfortable 5.5-incher on the Western market.

The devices are available in Black, White, Gold, and Pink for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, while the LG G3 comes in Black, White, and Gold. In terms of sensors, the Galaxy Note features enough data collectors to be usable as a portable weather station, while the LG G3 doesn't have anything you don't know how to use... and therefore won't use.

As an object of differentiation, the Galaxy Note 4 sports its unique S-Pen stylus that fits snugly into its own slot within the device's body. It also has a fingerprint sensor for secure unlocking and payments. Meanwhile, the LG G3 is different for its signature back-panel placement of its power and volume buttons.