For both LG and Samsung, 2017 needs to be a comeback year. Both companies faced criticism and fallout based on its two 2016 phones: the LG G5 and the Galaxy Note 7. For very different reasons, these two smartphones needed a serious comeback to reaffirm customers that its products were still worth buying.
The LG G6 has a worldwide release set for tomorrow and the Galaxy S8 doesn’t hit store shelves until April 21. However, there’s plenty to compare based on what we’ve seen thus far to make your decisions about which one is worth picking up:
Display
So far, 2017 has been all about big, bezel-less displays. The Galaxy S8 and the G6 have very comparable screens and are without a doubt the two most impressive displays you can find on a smartphone right now.
The Galaxy S8 has a 5.8-inch display, which is comparable to the 5.7-inch LG G6. On the other hand, the larger Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2-inch display. The real thing that matters about the size of the display is screen-to-body ratio, which the Galaxy S8 dominates in. It has an amazing 83 percent ratio, which means that although the display is an inch larger, it fits into a footprint that is actually smaller than the G6. The curved edge of the S8 only enhances the feeling of holding a bezel-less display in your hand.
As for the display itself, these two screens are in a very tight race. The G6 uses a IPS LCD display, while the Galaxy S8 has that Super AMOLED display that Samsung is known for. Both are bright and vivid displays, though the Galaxy S8 has a slightly higher pixel density at around 529 ppi. As a means of comparison, the iPhone 8 Plus’ display has only 360 pixels per inch.
The G6 has a fantastic display, but the Galaxy S8 really does improve upon it in just about every possible way.
Performance
While we haven’t gotten to use the G6 and Galaxy S8 side-by-side quite yet, looking at the specifications can give us a hint at how they measure up. In the US, both models use Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets: the G6’s 821 and the Galaxy S8’s 835.
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 835 is quite a large upgrade in terms of performance. The switch to a 10nm node is supposed to result in a 27 percent increase in speed and a 40 percent increase in efficiency. As for GPUs, the G6 uses the Adreno 530, while the Galaxy S8 uses the Adreno 540. The S8 and G6 both have 4GB of RAM, which is pretty standard at this point.
In addition, the Galaxy S8 performed extremely well on the AnTuTu benchmark test, where it scored even higher than the record-breaking iPhone 7 Plus. Performance certainly isn’t only about specifications and benchmarks, but the Galaxy S8 does have the upper hand in most areas that are measurable.
Camera
Cameras are obviously a huge selling point of smartphones these days—and they’ve only gotten better on the Android side of things over the past few years. This is another section that we’ll have to wait to do an in-depth side-by-side comparison, but here is the rundown on what you’re getting:
The LG G6 has a dual-lens 13-megapixel camera, while the Galaxy S8 has a 12-megapixel camera. The camera was the one part of the Galaxy S8 that wasn’t improved over last year’s model. The G6, on the other hand, has implemented a second 13-megapixel camera, which lets you shoot with a wide-angle lens. So if you’re a YouTube vlogger, that might be a big selling point.
However, the Galaxy S7 was widely seen as the best Android camera available, especially in low light situations. Despite what the G6 brings to the table, it’s ultimately going to be hard to topple Samsung’s proven track record when it comes to smartphone cameras. You know exactly what you’ll get with the Galaxy S8, while the G6 is a bit more of a gamble on the camera side of things.
Verdict
The LG G6 and the Galaxy S8 are both great smartphones. While in most cases I’d still prefer the clean software experience of the Google Pixel, the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 will no doubt be the two most talked-about smartphones of 2017. Other factors to consider include that both smartphones have expandable storage, come with Android 7.0 loaded (which includes the Google Assistant), do not have removable batteries, fast charging, wireless charging and are both waterproof. What’s more, both devices are made almost entirely of glass and metal. All in all, there are a lot of similarities here.
There are a few other features that distinguish the two phones that are worth mentioning on the Samsung side of things. The Galaxy S8 comes with Samsung Pay, which is a fantastic mobile payment system that even works with old POS systems. It also comes with really fast face scanning for added security and accessibility.
The G6 does come at a slightly cheap price point overall. At all four carriers, you’ll be offered a free Google Home device bundled in, which is pretty great. The retail price is $672, though you’ll be able to get a variety of deals depending on what carrier you are with. The Galaxy S8, on the other hand, is coming in around $720 (again, depending on carrier).
Stay tuned for more in-depth reviews and comparisons of these two smartphones as they become available, but we’ve definitely got our eye on the Galaxy S8 as the most sought-after smartphone of the first half of 2017.