The G4 is unequivocally the best smartphone that LG has ever created. In our review, we said it had everything. With so much going for the G4, it's no surprise that LG is milking its success with smaller, more affordable models, such as the newly announced G4 Beat.
Announced on Thursday, the G4 Beat is a downsized version of LG's flagship G4. The phone will cost €400 (about $440), so it won't burn a hole in your wallet
As far as design goes, the G4 Beat closely resembles the G4, rear-facing buttons and all. But whereas the G4 has leather options, the G4 Beat will only come in the ceramic plastic finish.
In addition, it has a 5.2-inch IPS display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution (full HD). The glass is also ever-so-slightly curved, just like on the G4. The G4 Beat runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The specs alone tell you what kind of phone this is: a midrange device. The specs alone tell you what kind of phone this is: a midrange device.
There's an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 5MP selfie cam on the front. These also aren't as good as the G4's 16-megapixel rear-facing and 8-megapixel front-facing cameras, but the G4 Beat will come with LG's laser autofocus sensor and color spectrum sensor, which helps snap photos with accurate, lifelike colors. It will also have the manual camera mode that made the G4 camera so great to shoot with.
Two key G4 features that didn't make the cut on the G4 Beat: a removable battery and microSD card slot for storage expansion. However, the G4 Beat comes with a 2,300 milliamp-hour (mAh) battery, compared to the G4's 3,000 mAh battery.
As a midrange device, the G4 Beat isn't nearly as versatile as the G4, but if its camera is as good as LG claims (if the software as bloat-free and responsiveness as buttery smooth), the company could have another hit on its hands.
The G4 Beat will come in three colors — metallic silver, ceramic white and shiny gold — when it goes on sale this month in select markets, including Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Brazil, India, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey. LG has not yet announced availability for the U.S.
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