Apple iPhone 8 vs LG G6

Glass meets glass in our next comparison where it is the LG G6's turn to shine. While its 2016-grade chipset hardly compares against the blazing Bionic processor of the iPhone 8, the G6 one ups Apple's handset with a dual camera, a taller, high-res display with a 2:1 aspect ratio, and a very compact for the 5.7” screen size body, all while costing less than Apple's handset. Yet would this be enough for the LG G6 to beat the iPhone in this one-on-one clash? Read on to find out...

Design

Apple bets on a legacy iPhone 8 design and retains the familiar home button placement, while the G6 intros a forward-looking 2:1 aspect ratio.

Apple used the same “surfboard” design for the iPhone 8 that its adherents know and have been accustomed to for a few years now, but introduced a brand new glass back so that it can throw in wireless charging. It undoubtedly feels premium and solid in the hand, but will break easier than the predecessor's metal housing if you drop it. That's not a con against the G6, of course, as this one also sports an all-glass design that is not immune to shattering when it hits the pavement.

Looking around the phones, we find different fingerprint scanner solutions, as Apple traditionally places its Touch ID sensor at the front, while LG has a combined lock/fingerprint key at the back. Which approach you prefer probably depends on whether your phone spends a lot of time flat on a desk or not, but LG's placement has one other benefit that might tip the scales in its favor.

Yes, we are talking about screen-to-body ratio, as moving the home key and finger scanner duties at the back, shrinking the bezels all around, and implementing an unorthodox display proportions has allowed LG to stuff a largish 5.7” display in a body akin to a 5.2-incher, while the iPhone's top and bottom bezels encroach too much in comparison.

But needless to say, the iPhone with its 4.7” screen is still the more ergonomic and manageable to hold and operate with one hand.

Interface and functionality

The iOS 11 interface on the iPhone 8, and the LG UI over Android 7 on the G6 are rather different to merit a direct comparison, as you can imagine. Still, there is a growing trend among major Android makers to dispense with the app drawer, like their Chinese counterparts have been doing for years, and as iOS was conceived to begin with. The LG UI still allows you to have the classic app drawer as an option, unlike the iPhone 8, which offers folders to group up your apps, and homescreens upon homescreens to nestle them. Both handsets offer a widget system for your homescreens, too, though the iPhone limits it to a dedicated page.

One of its biggest new features of iOS 11 is the redesigned Control Center that not only crams more functionality, but also gives users the ability to customize what toggles they see. That's a feature that Android overlays have had for a while, though, and Android 7 Nougat on the G6 is no exception. LG's status bar looks more cluttered in comparison, and with much less visual polish than the new iOS Control Center. The other new feature that has been in Android overlays for a while, and has now landed on iOS 11 is a file browser.

Camera

The iPhone 8 camera outshines the G6 in video recording, dynamic range, and color fidelity, while LG counters with a dual camera and plenty of manual modes to tinker with.

While keeping the 12 MP resolution, Apple has upgraded the iPhone 8 camera with an improved sensor that is able to soak more photons coming in. The G6 rises up against it with a 13 MP main camera sensor that has smaller, 1.1 vs 1.2 micron pixels, but adds another 13 MP sidekick with a wide-angle lens. There is a 7 MP selfie cam on the iPhone, while the G6 has a 5 MP shooter, also with an f/2.2 aperture but a lens of much wider angle.

The camera apps throw in the kitchen sink of features and effects, although only the G6 gives you full manual controls for photos and video recording.

Apple's new dedicated image signal processor makes for a very speedy camera that always shoots in auto HDR mode, there is not even a toggle for HDR in the app, as the software goes for it on its own. The G6 is slower to take and record a shot, yet not to the extent that the average user will notice a grand difference.

Image quality

Getting down to brass tacks, the LG G6 pulled a solid performance in daylight, albeit with color presentation that is very often oversaturated compared to what's in front of the lens. The iPhone 8 produces true-to-scene colors that might seem a tad lifeless in comparison, yet it manages to capture every slight nuance, which, coupled with the excellent dynamic range and lower amounts of noise make it a formidable opponent for the G6.

The front camera of the iPhone 8 snaps selfies with warmer colors than the more credible hues from the G6, but produces a tad sharper photos with more detail. Shooting with the second wide-angle cam on the G6 intros noticeable scene distortion, though it does fit more in the frame.

Here we have to again mention that both phones shoot in auto HDR, and on the cloudy day we had the HDR shots were prevalent, which may explain the good dynamic range on all of the resulting pictures. The G6 takes way more time to save the shot when the tiny “HDR” prompt is present in the top right corner of the app interface, though.

Indoors and in lower light scenarios, the iPhone uses a step higher exposure than the G6, resulting in slightly burned highlights, but way more visible scene. When it comes to color presentation, the daylight results are reversed – here the iPhone produces warmer, more pleasant to look at color, while the G6 gamut looks colder and more bland in comparison. The amount of digital noise is kept well in check on both phones.

Video

Where the iPhone shines above the fray is video recording, as usual, since this year the new Bionic chipset and custom Apple-designed ISP allow for recording high-def 4K video with the smooth 60fps, and 1080p slow-mo with 240fps. No matter how you're shooting, the camera easily handles varying lighting conditions and seamlessly reacquires focus and adjusts exposure as needed. The mono audio recording leaves a bit to be desired compared to the stereo quality of the G6, but the iPhone 8 does offer good noise-cancellation that weeds out ambient fluff when you start to speak behind the camera. The 60fps footage is out of this world, yet a minute of it will cost you about 400MB in storage, so be advised.

Video shot with the G6 looks very good, too, albeit a bit oversaturated, and the phone did an admirable job at managing exposures, refocusing on new subjects, and capturing intelligible audio even when fighting against some serious wind. One big plus is the ability to toggle between zoom and wide cameras while you're right in the middle of filming, and while there can be a very brief period where the camera has to recompute its exposure levels, it's still impressively seamless. We also really enjoyed the video stabilization mode, helping to remove a bit of the “this was clearly shot on a handheld device” jitters.