LG G4 Beat is a beast and not so called just mid-tier

Just like most people, I want a good camera on my mobile phone. Whilst I do have the so-called professional DSLR equipment, the best camera is the one you happen to have with you which means that the camera attached to my mobile phone is the one I happen to have with me at all times.

For this reason, I am a fan of the LG G4. Its manual settings on the camera allow me to control the aspects I have on my DSLR camera and for my blogging/ photography work, this is just perfect.

When the LG G4 Beat arrived for me to test, I noticed that the specs were slightly different than the LG G4 as it is supposedly aimed at the mid-tier market – but I am not buying it.

LG G4 Beat is a beast

Yes the specs are lower than the LG G4, but the Beat is a beast of a phone handling everything I threw at it.

It has the same slightly curved look and certainly doesn’t feel inferior at all compared to the G4 flagship phone. In fact, over the time I had it, I often had to do a “double-take” to see which phone I was using as unless both phones were held side by side (the G4 Beats is smaller than the G4) they were almost indistinguishable from each other.

The G4 Beat is powered by octa-core, 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor and has a 1.5GB RAM and includes an internal storage of 8GB and LG’s famous UX 4.0 running on Android Lollipop 5.1.1. What this means is that you get LG’s now famous easy to use interface but due to its limited memory capability, you cant open too many high powered applications at the same time. You an certainly run your email, social media, YouTube, Waze, Subway Surfers and Crossy Road without issues or lag.

It has a 5.2 inch full HD-screen with 1920×1080 resolution, (compared to the G4’s  QHD display) but it still retains its big-brotherly clarity even in direct sunlight.  The curved body is still here on the Beat so its a comfortable hold but yet the curve doesn’t prevent the phone from slipping into the jeans pocket. There was no bending issue of any kind and realistically you quickly forget about the curve and just enjoy the ease where every button and feature is available to your fingers. I am left-handed and I had no issues.

It is worth noting that LG has included an additional “genuine leather” back cover in the box until December 2015 just to really give the Beat that premium look.

The Camera

The camera on the phone is an 8-megapixel autofocus rear shooter and a 5-megapixel front camera for those selifes. I am glad to see that the manual settings and advance features are still kept on the G4 Beat which means I could manipulate my images at will.

For those who want a simple “press and capture” the image, you can do that, but those who want to play with white balance, shutter speed and ISO that the Beat colour Spectrum Sensor and Laser Autofocus delivers, you can do so too.

The Battery

Importantly the Beat has a 2300mAh removable battery which I found lasted a respectable day on reasonable usage. On high usage including video, music, and GPS navigation, the battery drained faster.

So in Summary:

Overall the G4 Beat is impressive and delivers everything you need from a mobile phone.  I often spent hours listening to podcasts whilst stuck in Johannesburg traffic and the phone just kept going and going and going. It is equally comfortable playing games and doing major Google Spreadsheets on that nice screen.

I am glad to see that the days are gone where the mid-tier phone is obviously a “I cant afford the top end” and I was constantly asked about the device whenever I put it on the coffee-table.

The LG G4 Beat is available from August 2015 in South Africa