• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Tech

Review: LG’s New G6 Android Phone Is a Big Step Up From Last Year

By
Lisa Eadicicco
Lisa Eadicicco
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Lisa Eadicicco
Lisa Eadicicco
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 12, 2017, 3:08 PM ET
The LG G6 device is displayed at the LG stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
The LG G6 device is displayed at the LG stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna - RTS10YCFPaul Hanna — Reuters
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The good: Sharp screen; Compact design; Wide front facing camera; Good battery life
The bad: Easily picks up fingerprint smudges, Power button and fingerprint sensor placement can feel awkward; Lacks other new features that differentiate it from other new smartphones
Who should buy: Android loyalists who want more screen space in a smaller device will be happy with the G6. But it may be worth waiting to check out the Samsung Galaxy S8.

With Samsung on the proverbial ropes following its Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, rival Android smartphone makers like HTC and LG had a rare opportunity to leapfrog the perennial market leader. The former’s effort, the HTC U Ultra, largely failed in that regard. Now it’s LG’s turn to try.

LG’s new G6 Android phone is radically different from last year’s G5, which was designed around a customizable “modular” concept that never caught on with consumers. This time, LG is pinning its hopes on a design that dramatically reduces the “bezels” alongside the edge of the display, allowing for a bigger screen without increasing the size of the phone itself.

But is the G6 enough to go toe-to-toe with Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8, which features a similar design? Here’s what it’s like to use the LG G6, which costs between $650 and $720 depending on your wireless carrier and plan.

By far the standout feature on the LG G6 is the sharp and all-consuming screen. Colors and text looked crisp whether I was scrolling through Facebook, watching Netflix, or reading news articles. The quality looked similar to that of Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus and Google’s Pixel XL. But thanks to its nearly bezel-free design — the latest trend among handset makers — the G6 has a slightly taller screen in a similarly-sized body. (LG put a 5.7-inch screen on a 5.86 by 2.83-inch phone, while the Google Pixel XL measures 6.09 by 2.98 inches and has a 5.5-inch screen. The iPhone 7 Plus similarly has a 5.5-inch display with dimensions of 6.23 by 3.07 inches). That means users get the benefit of a bigger display while the phone stays pocketable and one-handable.

LG has designed some of its apps to take advantage of the G6’s extra screen space. Square Camera, for instance, uses half the display to show you a preview of an image after it’s captured. And like older LG phones, the G6 can run multiple apps on screen simultaneously. Unfortunately, there’s little else that makes the longer screen more useful beyond watching video and the like.

Smartphone shutterbugs won’t find much to fawn over with the G6. The phone’s 13-megapixel cameras (one wide angle, one standard) will get the job done, but the results aren’t breathtakingly impressive. During a side-by-side test with the iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel XL, the G6 produced colors that were just as vibrant as its competitors, but the autofocus wasn’t as capable. But frequent selfie-takers might be happy to know that the G6’s front-facing camera captured more background than the other devices.

Some reviewers have knocked LG for putting an older Qualcomm processor in the G6, which could be a handicap against rival devices with the latest-and-greatest hardware. But in practice, the G6 felt plenty fast when opening apps, launching the camera, processing photo edits and so on.

Although the G6 is different from last year’s LG G5 in nearly every way, there’s at least one characteristic they share: a rear-mounted power button and fingerprint sensor. LG has been placing the power button on the back of its phones for years, but it still feels awkward if you’re not used to it. The back of the G6 is also covered in glass rather than metal this time, giving it a classier look but making it prone to fingerprint smudges.

For more about smartphones, watch:

Like Google’s Pixel phones and HTC’s U Ultra, the G6 also ships with Google Assistant, the search giant’s new digital aide. The Assistant is designed to get to know your habits and behaviors over time, but I found it to be more capable than Apple’s Siri software right out of the box. When I asked the Assistant how to make red sangria, then followed up with “how about white?,” it pulled up the right recipes. After asking Siri the same question, it thought I wanted info about a friend with the last name White.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter.

Bigger phones typically mean better battery life, and indeed, I was able to get through a full day with the G6 without having to plug it in — but barely. Rival phones, like the Pixel XL and iPhone 7 Plus, can comfortably last for nearly a day and a half. That said, the G6 has fast-charging tech that lets the battery jump from 10% to 50% in about a half-hour, making overall battery life less of an issue.

All told, LG’s G6 is an improvement over the G5 and a solid choice for Android fans who want a bigger screen without a phone that’s physically larger. But display aside, there’s little that differentiates it from rival Android flagships out there. Android users in need of an upgrade, then, may want to wait just a little bit longer until Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is available before pulling the trigger.

3.5 out of 5 stars

This article was originally published at Time.com

We’ve included affiliate links in this article. Click here to learn what those are.

About the Authors
By Lisa Eadicicco
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By TIME
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Dell’s AI boom is real, but so is the profit margin hit nobody is pricing in
AIDell Technologies
Dell’s AI boom is real, but so is the profit margin hit nobody is pricing in
By Mia OsmonbekovJune 30, 2026
11 hours ago
Image of colored bar charts with one being pushed up.
NewslettersEye on AI
AI is minting billion-dollar companies faster than before
By Beatrice NolanJune 30, 2026
13 hours ago
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei pointing to his head.
AIAnthropic
At the heart of Anthropic’s clashes with the U.S. government, a decision not to play by the new rules of Trump’s Washington
By Jeremy KahnJune 30, 2026
16 hours ago
wb
CommentaryLeadership
I grew BDO from $600 million to $3.4 billion. Here’s the 3-part formula that made it possible
By Wayne BersonJune 30, 2026
17 hours ago
vinod
CommentaryData centers
Vinod Khosla: AI’s energy crisis has a fix — and it doesn’t need the grid
By Vinod KhoslaJune 30, 2026
17 hours ago
Jamie Dimon isn’t giving up the top job. That’s turned JPMorgan into a poaching ground for CEO talent
C-SuiteNext to Lead
Jamie Dimon isn’t giving up the top job. That’s turned JPMorgan into a poaching ground for CEO talent
By Ruth UmohJune 30, 2026
17 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
6 days ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
4 days ago
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
AI
'Humanity has chosen to become idiots': This Brown professor switched to take-home exams after a mass shooting and discovered mass cheating
By Catherina GioinoJune 29, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
3 days ago
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
Commentary
The U.S. Army is opening military bases to private billions — here's why that changes everything for the next 250 years
By Marc AndersenJune 30, 2026
18 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.