Reader Ratings And Advice: Flagship Smartphones

Round-ups
By The Readers of Tom's Hardware, Lucian Armasu
published

After reviewing several of the hottest smartphones on the market, we became curious to find out what our readers thought about them. How do these devices fit into daily life? And what are their long-term pros and cons?

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LG G3

Although the LG G3 didn't receive the highest ratings from our readers, it remains one of this year's best flagship smartphones, with an average rating of 4.3. Of the 92 readers who rated the LG G3, most gave it a score of 4, but there are also many 5's and a few 3's. The phone seems to be generally appreciated, although it also comes with some significant flaws, which kept most owners from giving it a rating of 5.

The LG G3's biggest attraction is its 1440p screen, which looks very sharp. Owners are also generally happy with the phone's specs and performance. Many like that the phone is compact because of the thin bezels. The camera is also quite good in most situations, although not without issues.

By far, the biggest complaint about the LG G3 is its poor battery life. The high 1440p resolution, combined with a GPU that may not be able to handle it in the most efficient manner, gives it a shorter-than-expected battery life. This high resolution is likely what causes many to complain that the phone gets too hot when they're playing games or watching videos.

The camera's main drawbacks seem to be that it doesn't take great shots in low-light environments and that it's slow to respond. Some users like LG's software features, but others consider them to be unpolished and too heavy.

If you're an LG G3 owner and you haven't given us your feedback yet, the form is still available.

Below, you can see some of our readers' most representative comments for this device.

Top Ten Comments:

Comments: "Great phone in all respects except for issues below.Battery life hampered by high res screen, cpu throttled by default due to thermal issues."

Comments: "Great display, plenty of power under the hood, and a battery that will get you through the day.Camera could be better on low light shots."

Comments: "Excellent aesthetic design and build quality, fabulous screen, buttons on the back are superb leaving bezel free from buttons. Many customization options, good battery life, regular updates from LG.Screen could be a bit brighter with higher saturated colours. occasional micro lag when quickly flipping through screens/apps, especially when just woken up from sleep - possibly due to CPU being throttled."

Comments: "Fine screen, but too much pixels for its own good, and not as impressive as Amoled displays.Lacks microsd."

Comments: "The design , making a 5,5" with so thin bezels, is just awsome work .The most of the LG specific software, is quite usefull .The camera is okay, but in low light , there is room for improvement."

Comments: "Good spec ruined by lg softwareThe phone hardware is quite good but because of the software problems it feels like the phones performance is not on par with other flagship phones from other vendors. other than performance problems the screen is briliant. and specs are good. with an unlocked bootlader and custom firmware i think i can get the most out of this phone."

Comments: "Thin, fast, and an amazing screen. Incredible phone. Everything is well thought out from the rear wake and volume buttons to being able to add extra home icons to the bottom dock. Text message notifications are wonderfully done with a small window that drops down from the top and your keyboard from the bottom. This allows you to respond to your text messages without having to switch between apps. Don't like pattern or pin numbers to unlock? Not a problem. You can create a knock pattern of taps on your lock screen to unlock the phone, this also works while the phone is sleeping allowing you to wake the phone even in standby.The only real downfall can be the battery life. Even on a full charge battery doctor does not report a full 24 hours, even on a 3000 mAh battery. The phone is also not water proof, but does seem fairly water resistant.All of the current flagship phones are great in their own right, but it's the little things that make the LG G3 standout from the crowd in a world of crowded Android hand sets."

Comments: "The screen being a marvel of smartphone displays is downplayed by the inconsistent lg software, that although having been seen on previous lg phones still lacks maturity and refinement which is often leading to software glitches and noticeable lag. - Great quality display- Large screen doesn't feel overhwleming- lg software is lacking Polish- Bloatware with useless software- plastic build feeling slippery and cheap"

Comments:"Dislikes- It's not waterproof- The quadHD is fairly useless, and uses more battery than needed- The camera can be a little slow to respond- The T-Mobile version doesn't have wireless charging- Screen could be brighterLikes- Very comfortable, with the rear button and rocker button being super useful- Video and camera takes great pictures- Battery last a full day"

Comments: "It's fast; great screen, overall size, and easy to use.Gets quite warm with gameplay or video watching"

"Pros:Camera, Speed, Screen, micro sd, removable battery.

The Readers of Tom's Hardware
40 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Janithdalw
    In my opinion best phones are,

    The best Hardware => iPhone 6 Plus

    The best Phablet => Note 4

    The overall the best phone => Note 4

    Better value for money => OnePlus One

    I don't know why Tom'shardware added the G3 into the list. It has a poor battery life and the display also not so good despite the 2K resolution. I would rather replace it with the Z3.
    Reply
  • Vorador2
    I'd say:

    If you have deep pockets and want a phone that provides a great (if constricted) experience, get the iPhone 6

    If you want a design that can turn heads and feel rock solid at the same time, get the One M8. Or better, wait for the upcoming refresh.

    If you can get an invite, get the OnePlus One. It's hard to get ahold of an unit, but it's probably the best device in relation to cost, and best device all around. If you can't, get the Moto G.

    And if you want the best big phone/phablet of the market, get the Note 4.
    Reply
  • Tomtompiper
    If you want a good phone around the size of an iPhone 6 go with the Sony Z3 Compact, it beats the iPhone hands down. I like big screens so my choice was the Note 4, and I'm very happy with my decision. The S pen is fantastic and the video quality is outstanding. If I was being ultra critical I would ask that the plastic inserts in the metal frame were better colour coordinated. http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6538&idPhone2=6378
    Reply
  • AndrewJacksonZA
    Tom's, where is the Sony Xperia Z3 (and the smaller Z3 Compact?) I feel that you're missing out on what I feel is the best phone, with the best camera and, in my opinion, the least amount of customization to Android and what customization there is, is extremely intuitive useful.

    Or is this a primarily a US-based line-up, where you'll have to list the Xperia Z3v, the Verison version, which I don't think is on par with the international Z3?

    @Tomtompiper: I miss my stylus from the P990i days... :-)

    Thank you.
    Andrew
    South Africa
    Reply
  • Matous Mojzis
    Where is Sony Z3 or Z3 Compact ?
    Reply
  • wtfxxxgp
    I think that you should have done a very brief survey for all respondents to first complete before commenting on the handsets. That could have provided better context for the results. Not sure if this was done or not to be honest, but if not, then it would surely add value. Just as an example, 2 users have completely opposite opinions about battery life - yet the one uses the phone more for work-related activities, sees the occasional small video and chats - no gaming or movies or tinkering with apps and does not have LTE connectivity so doesn't use it. The other person that hates the battery is a heavy gamer when they're bored, or watches a full episode or 2 of a series on the daily commute and tinkers a lot with new apps etc. Suddenly very obvious why one person says that the battery life is great compared to the other one that thinks it sucks.
    Reply
  • firefoxx04
    Weird. My S5 has no lag even with "restrict cpu performance" enabled to increase battery life.

    The bloatware isnt even active.. its just installed and hangs out.
    Reply
  • randomstar
    I am a bit biased towards windows phones, and would love to see at least one of the top models here. I have not found anything that I feel compares well against my older 928 Nokia on the new iPhone.
    Reply
  • beetlejuicegr
    Where is the Nexus line?
    Reply
  • Lkaos
    Funny people saying an iPhone has the best sound when the phone's speakers are MONO and not STEREO....

    Reply