By 
LG has never been shy about teasing their phones ahead of launch. That big leak from over the weekend was probably a bit much for their liking, but that won’t stop them from doing what they seem to love the most: giving us a fairly decent look at the phone ahead of its formal launch.
The latest teaser hit the company’s Facebook page with a smooth-skinned woman holding the LG G4 sideways. As we’d seen in other leaks, some variants might launch with a stitched-leather look. What we didn’t know is whether it was real leather or that faux stuff we’ve seen Samsung use before.
It appears to be real, judging by the image’s caption:
Always have authentic luxury in hand.
The brand new LG G4 with vegetable-tanned leather cover.
See the great, feel the great.
Either that, or LG is just great at twisting words. Other details are scarce — will there be premium options available over standard back covers? Will users be able to purchase these premium back covers separately? All of that is set to be answered April 28th in New York, and we’ll be there to get those answers for ourselves.
[via LG]
Wait what? Did people actually think it was not real leather? I never read a single reference to people thinking, based on the leaks, they thought it was pleather. Not much of a “story”.
ps – my screenshots of the microsite clearly say up front “genuine leather”. So this seems like a non story as it was always claimed to be real leather.
genuine leather
Unfortunately people don’t read or actually comprehend when reading. They just pick out what stands out to them and make assumptions. Confusion between facts and opinions nowadays.
Nice.but,I’d hafta ditch that stitching.
Whether leather or pleather,looks goofy as a Disney character,just as on the Note 3.
I have seen reference, oddly or not, that it is suppose to resemble a zipper. That is, the camera and finger toggle are a zipper pull and the leather stitching are the zipper teeth.
BTW, they are offering 3 plastic backs as well. Leather is not mandatory. So I would bet, you could, for example, buy a leather back up front and then source out a plastic back later if desired (or vice versa).
Yeah,I’d seen the other options.
Perhaps LG picked up on the sentiment w/the NOTE3 that enough people weren’t exactly fans of the stitch look & thought it’d be wise to have a choice.
I’m actually more concerned about what’s on the inside.
If LG continues the unholy alliance w/Cheetah Mobile & the “Smart Clean” B.S.,count me out.
What’s cheetah mobile? And the smart clean is just a moderately useful reminder to clear your temp cache and little used apps why is that vs?
Give this a read,all of it:
http://androidforums.com/threads/putting-to-rest-the-myths-about-task-killers-ram-optimizers-and-the-like.896663/
Maybe I’m still not getting it? I read that thread (I’d actually read parts of it before), and it only mentions cheetah mobile a few times, I searched Google and didn’t even find anything directly stating LG even uses cheetah mobile (I did find some articles about HTC and Samsung, so I’ll assume maybe they all use it), but also the only parts on my g3 I could see using it is smart cleaning, which I find useful, I’d never remember on my own to go delete random files I downloaded while browsing and such. Clearing caches is obviously something you shouldn’t be doing every day, but purging it ever month or couple of months isn’t the worst idea. My phone doesn’t do any of the bs task killing or ram clearing stuff.
OK,let me ask you this:
Why now introduce a 3rd party to do something that Android already does a pretty good job of managing?
Cheetah Mobile is the company behind CleanMaster,known for being a crapware app at best:
http://forums.everythingandroid.org/threads/truth-behind-clean-master%E2%80%99s-shady-business-practices.9055/
Here’s a list of all the permissions CleanMaster gets when you install it:
Device & app history
read sensitive log data
read your Web bookmarks and history
retrieve running apps
Identity:
find accounts on the device
Photos/Media/Files
read the contents of your USB storage
modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
access USB storage filesystem
Camera
take pictures and videos
Wi-Fi connection information
view Wi-Fi connections
Device ID & call information
read phone status and identity
Other:
write Home settings and shortcuts
receive data from Internet
write Home settings and shortcuts
read Home settings and shortcuts
update component usage statistics
read Home settings and shortcuts
close other apps/view network connections
read battery statistics
connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
full network access
write web bookmarks and history
uninstall shortcuts
modify system settings
change network connectivity
control vibration
delete all app cache data
install shortcuts
expand/collapse status bar
send sticky broadcast
prevent device from sleeping
measure app storage space
draw over other apps
set an alarm
If you’re comfortable w/a 3rd party having access to all of this on your phone,then by all means,buy a phone w/it pre-loaded or d/l their s***ware from the GooglePlayStore.
Right, but does my g3 have it installed? Did I give away those permissions? I know with other pre-installed. apps like voice mate you have to sign a terms and conditions before it’ll turn them on.
Ask around in the LG G3 forums,here @ A/F & XDA-DEVELOPERS:
http://androidforums.com/forums/lg-g3.2595/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3
I’m almost positive it’s pre-installed,known as SmartClean,but,you’d be better served to ask around in the forums linked above.
5.5 inches and i’ll buy =) 5.1 (or 5.2) and no sale =(
Screenshots show: 5.5″ QHD at 75.3×149.1×8.9mm
friggin PERFECT. This will be my next baby! no case needed from the look of it!
LG G3:
146.3 mm H; 74.6 mm W; 8.9 mm D.
So same size screen.. Yet the G4 is bigger? What gives?
It could be a number of reasons. The new camera could be bigger, the new panel could have a larger footprint, the battery may be bigger (despite the renders), or maybe they had to shift around the internals to reduce throttling issues related to heat that plagued some of the heavy G3 users. Either way, its negligibly larger and I am sure it will be a big upgrade for those using older devices.
Hoping its the bigger battery..
Doesn’t really matter what the reason is/was… it’s a done deal. Not like you can change the battery and suddenly change the dimensions.
There you go again sour puss..chill bro..
You’re so thinned skinned. Sorry I hurt your feelings – again I guess – with some honesty to a comment that is not really logical. You “hope” the dimensional change was due to the battery? Ok? And? So if it was, it does not change the new dimensions but makes it ok. If it was not, it still does not change the new dimensions and makes the change poor as no other reason but larger battery is acceptable. Yeah, ok. I just pointed out the silliness of your comment. Sorry.
This is a more real life picture and it actually looks a lot better than a render where everything looks like one texture. I can see it growing on most people. Something new and slightly different and people complain. People are comparing it to the Note 3 and need to realize that the Note 3 was not real leather. It makes a huge difference in detail. I’m sure in hand too. Good thing it comes in numerous color options for leather. I wonder if U.S. carriers will ruin that though. Like with the S6/Edge.
The only thing that annoys me with it’s design is the front to be honest. It looks like a carbon fiber kind of pattern.
Only a Plastic back might be standard thus you will have to pay extra for the “Premium” leather. LG is fooling everybody buy advertising a Premium looking phone but will sell an all plastic phone!
Veg tanned leather is better at aging gracefully (and looking cool) than chrome dyed. Kudos to LG, this is shaping up pretty nicely.
Yeah, and leather often looks better and better with age, I’d love that in a phone
I agree, even a hard back is fine, anything but glass. Its amazing how everyone hated glass backs (for obvious reasons, like grip and breakage) then they go away for a brief stint and when they’re returned they are regarded as “premium”, ie S6. Yes – premium as in the amount it will cost to fix that s.o.b. when you crack it.
I love how some folks think Micro SD and a user-replaceable battery is only important to a “niche” group. LG doesn’t seem to agree. Good job LG. Keep providing those two immensely important features and you’ll stand out further.
It is just important to a niche group. There is a lot of proof of that.
While I’d say the % of the people that still has reasons to use a micro sd has dropped dramatically, the % of people who can benefit from user-SWAPPABLE batteries is much higher.
TL:DR Buy a 2nd battery as soon as you buy a new phone and you’ll never regret it.
In the two phones I’ve owned that were swappable, I never bothered to buy one for my OG Droid 1 because I thought of it as replaceable and by the time the first one was wearing out I just saved the money and suffered for a few months until I bought my Droid 4 with it’s welded in battery. That phone’s battery life was so much worse that after just a few months I needed an external battery. Got “used to” carrying those around. So when I saw the g3 I’d been eyeing was running a deal with a free replaceable internal battery I dived on it and learned the glory of the swap. The thing that made the external batteries horrible wasn’t carrying them around(they are fairly lightweight), it was attempting to walk around while charging them shoved into a pocket together constantly breaking the port while burning 30%+ of the energy to the gods of heat and inefficiency. Had it not been free I probably wouldn’t own a 2nd battery, because me being cheap, its a luxury, but boy is it a nice luxury. If people are willing to spend $50-200 on extra internal memory, I bet a lot of them are damn well willing to spend the $25-150 on a 2nd INTERNAL battery.
As evident by LG continuing to offer both valuable features on their forthcoming flagship. Niche group indeed.
And that will not result in LG and Samsung swapping market share spots.
Nobody, including myself, is under any illusion that alone will help LG overtake Sammy in this market. It’s just admirable of them to keep the features. Bravo.
By the way, meaning to ask. Human rights campaign right? Your avatar? If so good on ya. Respect.
SD cards are nice, but certainly not a requirement. Replaceable batteries is something that I was always glad to have, but haven’t needed to utilize it since the GNex. Ugggh, I was changing it 3-4 times per day. I think quick charge is great, and don’t even think about battery swapping. It is good that the choice is there, but definitely not necessary for most people.
Yep, HRC : )
I get you on that. I just like having the option but in a pinch it can really save your day or your trip if you’re traveling. Having something valuable like that and not necessarily needing it right way is great because when you do need it it’s there.
I’d like to see a wacom-like stylus from LG. I think their “note” version was only in other markets right? Never really looked too closely at that version of the G3 from last year.
Agree that for some people it is important, but for me it is not! Had the S2, S5 and now the A5…I bought a SD card for the A5 because it has 16GB, but if it came with 32Gb I wouldn’t have! I always have a charger at my work, home and car….if I go somewhere were I dont have a charger or a charging point, I am usually in an area (Hiking or trail running) where there is no signal, so flight mode works wonders. I just cant part with my money to buy an extra battery I might never use.
Plus it helps that I get 1.5 to 2 days of usage out of my A5 with about 3 Hours screen on time!
Right on brother.
Yep, I’ve been a Samsung user since the original Galaxy S, sticking with the Note line since the Note 2. If the Note 5 goes the way of the S6(No microsd, no removable battery) then I’m afraid my allegiance will no longer be with Samsung. I don’t want a glass back, especially at the sacrifice of the above. I will never use a phone without a protective case.
I can’t wait to see what someone’s leather phone looks like after it’s been dropped and scuffed on concrete/asphalt…
Truly a premium phone, and with the potential for a 9,000 mAh battery case! Great job LG!
Wait, what? That’s like a week long battery. ?
ZeroLemon offers a 9,000 mAh battery case for the LG G3. I’d assume that they will make one for the G4 as well. As for lasting a week? Well perhaps if you install Qualcomm’s Battery Guru app, which optimizes your phones’s SOC based on how you actually use your phone day to day. The app boosts battery life by 25-50%. Take the LG G4 probably 1-1.5 day battery life*3= 3-4.5 days *1.5 is maybe close to a full week.
Next year batteries are supposed to be available that double the energy density within the same space. Potentially 2 weeks of battery life if the LG G5 comes with a 7,000 mAh and then ZeroLemon triples that.
In my opinion there is no thing as too big a battery, especially since by that time Qualcomm will have QuickCharge 4.0 out and you’ll be able to recharge a 15,000 mAh battery overnight.
That leather stitched back has got to be one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen on a phone, but I’d still take it over the glass back of the S6 :P
I love the glass back of my S6 : )
Edge?
I went with the regular S6. I wasn’t blown away by that design, like others are. I had to buy full retail, so I figured my extra 100 would be better spent on the 64 GB.
-> http://www.Posting4Pay.com/usa/position/home-tab=!b5tg7j..<-
Leather is disgusting.
I’m hoping a third party company makes a leather backing for the G3 with the same design.
I agree. Although even better would be if LG sold them for a reasonable price $25 or under with nfc chip themselves, possibly even wireless charging enabled as well.
$25? For real leather…. please.
What? It ain’t happinin’?
Why not? the leatherback options on moto x are only $25, seems reasonable….plus think how much leather you get in a belt, for easily under $25.
If they do, then the G3 will look better than the G4!
I wonder how the Snapdragon 808 chip will perform since rumors state that they will not use the 810 chip.
I bet even if they use the 808 the differences will be negligible.. I would in fact prefer the 808 if the 810 really is a cause for problem.
mmmm…the tan leather back looks real but the black and colored variants look fake!
I hope LG makes the G4 standard with the leather, because they are advertising this “Premium” leather back but might sell it with a cheap plastic back!
So LG is sitting with the same problem Samsung did with the S5…
Still using plastic and gives us a back cover that some find ugly and some find attractive!
a Lot of people says that LG stayed plastic because of the consumers that want plastic, buy may it is because LG does not have the ability to make a phone out of metal or something els…
I think I’d opt for a plastic backing since I imagine leather getting a bit gross over time and harder to clean but I don’t mind the looks of leather.