How Bad Has LG Gotten Since the G3?

xxMAULLYxx · May 6, 2018

Hey everyone,

I am looking for my next phone (currently using my G3 since my 6P just crashed), and have seen a lot of people saying LG is crap.

My G3 got 3 years of updates, has some cool features like the knick on screen, and the skin isn't that horrible to me. Did they make phones increasingly worse since the G3, or are their phones still as good as the G3 is, regarding updates? I'm one of those people that wants a headphone jack and dual cameras with expandable storage, and LG fits that. I'm just wanting some advice on if i upgrade to the G7, or wait for the Essential 2 or Pixel 3. Thanks in advance!

kblanco · May 7, 2018

I used to have an old LG Stylo before moving to the Moto G series... I think the phone itself is fine, rather I had problems with LG's software. I use Cricket so I'm not worried about the installation of bloatware from my provider. Rather I got stuck with bloatware from LG. One of the benefits of being an Android user is that you can craft how you want your device to look and/or function by using third party apps - like a preferred dialer app or a preferred texting app or a preferred note taking app - which you then can take from device to device. I've had a few Android devices before my LG and over time you pick up some apps making your device your own. When I got my LG not only did I have my preferred dialer app but also LG's. I also had my preferred texting app and also LG's. I also had my preferred note taking app and LG's. I had my preferred gallery app and LG's. See a pattern? Not only did I have all of LG's stuff but I couldn't remove it and some I had to leave running in the background as LG's texting app (which was horrible by the way) when I disabled it began interfering with my preferred texting app. When I had the opportunity to return to Moto, the introduction of the Moto G4, I jumped at it and Moto doesn't put anything on their phone short of the stock OS and a stock dialer. My devices run cleaning on top and nothing interferes with them.

Hadron · May 7, 2018

Well we don't know what the Essential 2 will have, but the first one had neither a headphone jack nor expandable storage. And even if Google row back on the headphone jack (no reason to believe they will) it will snow in hell before they include an SD slot. So if those things are that important to you then those phones probably aren't the ideal alternatives.

I'll let LG owners comment on the updates. As an outsider I'd say they are similar to Samsung in speed of updates, i.e. the G6 is getting Oreo about now, the S8 got it a few weeks earlier. To put that into perspective, that makes them slower than HTC (remember them?) and significantly slower than Sony (who released Oreo for the XZ1 in September) or Nokia (who released 8.1 for many devices a couple of months ago), but comparable to Motorola from what I can see.

How long they will continue to issue updates is harder to say. I believe that the G5 is scheduled to get Oreo soon, so that's 2 years support. From what I can read it sounds like the G4 is due to get Nougat at some point, but doesn't seem to be a priority (I think they got it in Korea last year, but everyone else is still waiting). Assuming that happens that will technically be be 3 years of updates, but it would be 3 years to do what you'd hope they'd have done in 2.

El Presidente · May 7, 2018

I had the G4, it wasn't bad per sé, but it was very unreliable I had it replaced 3 times under warranty during the duration of my 2 year contract, gave it to my son when I upgraded, and now he's had to have the mainboard replaced too. I gather the G5 had similar problems (although not the same extent).

I'm not sure about their V line, the V10 had issues, but I don't recall hearing similar complaints about the V20 & the V30.

They did have a class action lawsuit filed against them for certain handsets, so they'll almost certainly have to pull their finger out and make their handsets more reliable.

@lunatic59 has the G6 and I think he's been relatively impressed with it so things may have improved.

zuben el genub · May 7, 2018

I'd say pay attention to all LG reviews for all products. The idea surfaced that LG wanted a monitor in TVs that would use a web cam and recorder to see who was watching TV. LG also produces refrigerators, washers and dryers which all will want to be smart connected.

Sony tried to make you buy additional CDs for every CD player you owned at one time. If you played a new CD in the car, you couldn't bring it in the house and play it with a computer or dedicated CD player. Sony got disabused of that notion pretty quickly. The news and outcry about the practice of one CD per device didn't help Sony's marketing. The complaints about LG and snooping will resurface so it's up to you to be informed enough to make a decision.

If you like the convenience, have at it and enjoy it. If you don't, then you need to read reviews.

I had the LG Nexus. I wasn't impressed.

Another bit of info on snooping:
http://www.osnews.com/story/30323/A...estrict_apps_from_monitoring_network_activity

In the US a carrier branded phone will have all the tracking apps installed and most LGs are branded and sold by carriers.

Jfalls63 · May 7, 2018

I have been using the G6 US997 unlocked for a few months now without any issues other than slow system updates. 8.0 is beginning to roll out now with Korean versions first.
This is my first LG phone so I was a little surprised that it doesn't have a traditional recovery. I've always liked to do a cache wipe every couple of months but haven't figured out a way to do it unless I unlock the bootloader and install TWRP.
I thought Motorola was slow on updates but my X4 recieved 8.0 in January and 8.1 rolling out now. Heard Samsung S8 just now getting 8.0.
Have been looking at the Moto G6 and will probably pick one up when it's released.

lunatic59 · May 7, 2018

You are correct @El Presidente on both counts. I do indeed have the G6 and have been quite happy with it. @xxMAULLYxx , I was in a similar baot with wanting specific features in the hardware and not seeing too many options. My list wasn't the same as yours but the G6 fit my bill.

So far it's been a very reliable and feature-rich device. The camera is outstanding and I've never had a problem with power or performance. If you want specific insights, just ask.

That said, I am still waiting for Oreo, which is supposedly coming to the U.S. next month??? but it's anybody's guess. And, G6 owners only ever had 7.01 ... never updated to 7.1+. Of course, I don't know what the upgrades would bring to the table so I don't know if I could have an even better experience with it, but it's been just fine so far.

@Jfalls63 I did find the lack of traditional recovery a bit odd but frankly I've never had an issue where I needed to use it.

How Bad Has LG Gotten Since the G3?

xxMAULLYxx

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kblanco

Well-Known Member

Hadron

Spacecorp test pilot

El Presidente

Beware The Milky Pirate!

zuben el genub

Extreme Android User

Jfalls63

Android Expert

lunatic59

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