LG G2 Smartphone Review - The New Speed King

Unique Features

This section was formerly known as "Features," but what constitutes a feature on a device that is bursting with great features, like the G2? Well, now we're going to continue our smart device reviews with "Unique Features," which feels more appropriate.

There's a one-handed option included within the LG UI, which is a nice touch considering the G2 could be a bit on the large size to some people. The company has provided one-touch use, which makes the keypad easier to use during phone calls.

The stand-out unique feature that comes included with the LG G2 is definitely the volume button and power button being on the rear of the device. Here's where it gets tricky: I loved it for some things, and absolutely, utterly despised it for others.

When I was on a phone call, I loved it - because my fingers naturally found themselves near the buttons. My index finger would be right on the button volume button, so at the press of a finger, I could have the volume lowered. Knowing that my finger was there, I could slide up to the top of the volume button, and increase the volume.

This was great, and I thought all was well, but then I started using the phone for a few days, pushing myself to remember that the volume buttons were on the back of the phone, and not on the sides. This caused some confusion, ending in me being two minds about LG's placement of the volume buttons.

If I was watching a YouTube video for example, naturally I'm holding the device in landscape, meaning my fingers are close to where the volume rocker would usually be placed. This isn't so on the G2. I had to stumble around on the back of the G2 to reach the buttons, trying to remember which way I'm holding it - whether I'm holding it with the LG logo to the right, meaning the buttons are on the G2's upper left, or if the LG logo was on the left, the buttons were on the G2's upper right.

I can see what LG is trying to do here, if you were to use the G2 for a few months, you would find it completely natural, because you would simply get used to it. When on a phone call, nothing feels more natural than pressing the G2's volume buttons - it's as simple as that.

The G2 also has no physical buttons, at all, which means you're left with a pure touchscreen. But, with no power button on the side, you'd have to reach around to the back of the G2 to get the device to turn on, right? Nope.

LG did a wonderful thing, by enabling a double-tap feature into the center of the touchscreen. All you have to do is double-tap the center of the screen, and the G2 will wake up. I forgot to do this sometimes, and found myself reaching for the back - wondering 'I wish LG didn't force me to do this,' to only remember to double-tap the G2's display.

LG's Quick Window case, to me, is a must-have accessory. It was another stand out feature of the G2, that's for sure. The Quick Window case lets you have a peek into the G2, something that I wouldn't normally use. There are three things you can do with the Quick Window, the first of which is the most obvious: time. There's a clock, with multiple clock faces to choose from, which is a handy feature.

Next is LG's built-in music player, something I didn't use, because I'm a Spotify user. Finally, there's the built-in Weather app, which I found to be the most useful. I could quickly pull the G2 out and check the weather, without having to unlock the G2 - nice work, LG!

Other than that, we have the usual user interface sprinkled on top from LG, which I actually found quite useful half the time. I do prefer the pure Android experience of the Nexus devices - with our next review being the Nexus 5 - but LG's UI feels less clunky, and more responsive than Samsung's. We'll show you a few pictures, below.