LG G3 design story: simplicity that fits in your hand

LG‘s latest flagship is undoubtedly a thing of beauty, both in design and in hardware. If you’ve ever wondered about the kind of thinking that went into the making of the LG G3, the company is only too eager to share its inspiration in its latest video snippet that briefly narrate’s the smartphone’s Design Story.

Today’s increasing screen resolutions would normally dictate larger handsets. However, LG knew that its flagship would never sail if it launched in an uncomfortably gigantic size, even if it had a QHD screen. So instead of “bigger is better”, the manufacturer tried to drive the design towards “does it fit”. The LG G3 is arguably large, but with a 5.5-inch display, it remains quite manageable. This in part due to shrinking bezels as well as relocating buttons to the rear of the device. LG is also trying to sell its “floating arc” shape that increases the comfort of holding the smartphone in one hand, but it is hardly the only nor the first one that employs such a line of thinking. Somewhat ironically, that is also the rationale for Samsung’s curved smartphone, though taken a bit to the extreme.

When LG unveiled the G3, it projected the slogan “simple is the new smart” on stage. And it isn’t just the simplicity in the hardware design but in LG’s own custom Android skin. LG claims to have removed most of the cruft and clutter that weighs down most of its user interface and has instead adopted a lighter, flatter, and more toned down look. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it does have the effect of looking cleaner, simpler and less daunting to use. Coincidentally, this is also the direction that Google is taking Android with the revelation of Material Design in Android L. Either LG was (secretly, perhaps?) communicating with Google in anticipation of Android L, or the manufacturer really just had the luck that their design thinking jived.

The G3, however, isn’t exactly perfect. It tries to bill the brushed metal back design as something premium, but the company ironically chose to go with a non-premium plastic material instead. Looks can definitely be deceiving, and in this case, it’s probably all that matters, at least from a distance. The LG G3 is now up for pre-order on both T-Mobile and AT&T, with actual availability happening later this week. In the meantime, you can head on over to our in-depth review of the device to see just what makes LG’s latest also its greatest.