We tech fans can be insufferable sometimes.
Everyone’s favorite whipping boy, LG has released a new phone, so all the armchair tech “experts” are skulking out of the woodwork to proclaim it a failure. Dazzling us with witless observations about how it’s just not “worth it” enough, and how the only way to combat Samsung is price.
Comic-Book Guy Voice: “If the LG G8 were exactly the same as my S10 Plus and were half the price, and came with a lifetime of free sandwiches, THEN I would buy it.”
It’s a useless observation. The person who makes that kind of statement is usually the same person who’s tied to a brand. They say things like this to seem like they’re open minded. THEY make LEARNED rational purchasing decisions, based on merit. Their decision COULD be swayed IF ONLY the other gadget we’re just WORTH IT!
It’s a dead giveaway that they’re defending a gadget they like, instead of really weighing the pros and cons of various devices. LG could offer that, but then they’d just be accused of “copying Samsung”, and the person who offered that astute observation would still buy the Samsung.
Comic-Book Guy Voice: “Why buy the copycat? Even with all the free sandwiches. I make the WORTH IT gadget purchases!”
The LG G8 commentary has gotten even more ridiculous in light of the three four Galaxy S phones Samsung birthed this year. The brand fandom for Samsung is now pushing a new narrative. LG’s new flagship CAN’T EVEN COMPETE AGAINST THE CHEAP S10e!
It makes for great clickbait videos. Get those YouTube metrics cooking. Make Samsung owners feel good about their purchase! There are way more Samsung owners than LG, so it’s an easily tapped tech echo chamber.
Punching down on LG has always been a “fun” spectator sport. We’re at a point now though, where if you’re earnestly parroting that “witty” observation about phones and value, then you’re probably not very good at rationally assessing technology products. Let’s break this down real quick…
FIGHT!
LG G8 to Galaxy S10, starting with the full MSRP, the G8 enjoys a $50 price advantage. The Galaxy S10 retails for $899.99. The LG G8 retails for $849.99.
For $50 less, the LG G8 has the best headphone experience on any mobile. Bar none. It still continues to lap “AKG” Samsung. Sammy is “good”, LG is “The Best”.
The two phones are comparable for speaker output. In the hand I’d give Samsung a slight edge for speaker quality, though LG’s in display speaker is a little louder for phone calls, and LG’s Boombox can be a fun replacement for a BT speaker when you put the phone down.
The LG G8 has the more complete camera app, full manual controls, and one of the best night modes short of a Huawei P30 Pro. Samsung recently dumped manual modes for videos (also removing that mode from the Galaxy Note 9), and there is no Pixel style night mode.
The Galaxy S10 includes an additional camera lens for a zoom, a handy benefit if you need the reach in bright daylight shooting. LG is still the champ for ultra-wide, including the wide angle in ALL camera modes including full manual control.
People have been making fun of the G8’s Air Gestures, but ignoring the fact that the gesture hardware on the selfie camera makes face unlock nearly as secure as an iPhone. Samsung’s face unlock can be fooled by a photo of yourself, and has been tricked by siblings. The Galaxy is significantly less secure if you wanted to use face unlock. LG air gestures are kind of gimmicky. LG Face Unlock is not.
In terms of front camera quality, the Samsung selfie shooter scores an easy win. The G8 is a little dull, and Samsung is now up with Nokia for providing 4K video on the front camera.
The in-display fingerprint sensor on the S10 is at best “OK”, where the G8’s rear fingerprint has been very well received for being more practical in the hand.
The Samsung “hole punch” is less disruptive than LG’s notch, but by that same token, LG certainly deserves some credit for how sleek the rear flush camera sensors are. From a design standpoint, the G8 is sleeker than the “bar-o-cameras” bulge on the back of the Galaxy.
The LG G8 has a tiny battery capacity advantage. 100mAh separates the two phones. Not huge, but every little bit of battery helps.
We also shouldn’t ignore that LG has certified the G8 for MIL-STD-810G drop and shock resistance. The S10 MIGHT be as solid in a drop? We don’t know. Samsung won’t tell us. Samsung has never certified a standard Galaxy like they used to certify the Galaxy Actives. Both phones are water resistant.
I personally feel the UI is a wash between the two phones as I really don’t like either LG nor Samsung skins. Samsung’s approach probably deserves the nod for the cleaner non-stock look, but I wish both manufacturers would just give me a dark theme version of stock Android.
History shows Samsung should be more regular with security patches. I have more faith that LG won’t remove features with updates like Samsung did gimping the Note camera.
Comparing AMOLED to P-OLED, Samsung is at least a generation ahead of LG in terms of color accuracy. Display quality comparisons between a G8 and a Galaxy S8 would be fair, but we have seen regular improvement on LG’s since the V30.
Lastly, the feature Samsung absolutely walks away with a solo victory, Dex desktop mode is a wonderful addition to a phone. LG will eventually get something similar when Android Q arrives (if Google doesn’t bork that feature), but if you need to do desktop work from a phone, you can do that easier on a Samsung right now.
Weighing those pros and cons in a comparison between the S10 and G8, there is no “clear winner”. That’s what competition should look like. We get an exciting fight between two refined handsets with a $50 price difference between the two. If you’re REALLY a gadget fan (and not a manufacturer fanboy) then this is exactly what you SHOULD want.
But here’s the kicker.
For all those people whinging on about price, the LG G8 launched unlocked at $699. Not on a BOGO or a trade in. Straight up, unlocked, $700. I have a MUCH harder time recommending a less secure phone, with fewer premium camera and audio features, which costs $200 more.
So, LG did EXACTLY what all those nerds have been “expert-ing” about in YouTube video comments. The LG G8 is a solid competitor for the “medium” Galaxy S10, and at launch it’s $50 cheaper than the unlocked price for the “cheap” Galaxy S10e.
And that’s STILL not enough.
A huge swath of smartphone “enthusiasts” still siding with brand over rational thought, led by reviewers cherry-picking a handful of data points, to help the S10e win against an obviously superior phone.
Whether you only care about security patches, or you really like the Samsung UI, or you base a phone purchase on one specific option, it’s more than a bit silly to muddy the waters like this.
As tech enthusiasts, we can’t complain about smartphones starting to feel stale, but then savage any phone which isn’t the pre-ordained SEO popular option on YouTube. An insufferable attitude, informed more by video views and echo chambers than actual analysis. Just hop on the bandwagon, and your YouTube metrics will improve!
Punching down like that is lazy. It’s hacky. This should never be a popularity test. If you’re really tech savvy, this should be a conversation fitting the right gadget to the correct consumer. If you’re really into tech, you should be better than that.
Mega thanks to Booredatwork for hooking up some crispy S10 images for this editorial!
Glad you made this article about how reviewers just look down on LG’s flagships. Have been watching reviews on other outlets and I think they talk down LG just a little bit too much. Considering they claim they are tech ”experts” not having to use the professional tools LG has given enthusiasts to play with seems rather irritating. We understand that not all people will look at those features but some will and will happily use those tools for their own satisfaction. Also, why not be more neutral in discussing your biases in a more professional matter. Like, ”the LCD on the LG G7 looks great as a screen but… Personally, I like the inky blacks of an OLED display.” Why not put something like that instead of throwing off a feature because it’s not their personal preference right? It’s not hard to state what’s different and what your biases are but, just straight up discarding another brands offering because of it’s ”not worth it”? Just so disappointed. Not one phone is the best for everybody. Keep it up Juan, you’re ”the best” reviewer in my opinion.
Honestly, at this point I’d just be happy if they were honest about their bias. We’re all human. We all have likes and dislikes. It’s pretty clear when some YouTubers just don’t like a phone, but then they can’t admit that. They end up trashing it, but still pretending to act like they’re somehow objective and above having a bias. That’s clearly not the case.
It’s very interesting how they nickpick every single negative detail when talking about the G8 and make it look some dramatic but then just act like it’s not a big deal if it’s a phone they like.
From my point of view, nowadays all flagship phones are very solid. It comes down to what features you care about the most. In my case I really use camera modes and manual controls. Huawei and LG really deliver on that aspect. It really annoys me when I have to use a Samsung phone and it doesn’t have the thing I’m looking for
It becomes pretty clear that a “review” like that is just catering to YouTube metrics. It’s a shame. This kind of competition used to be a lot more fun.
I would like to highlight one more benefit of the LG G8 over the Samsung.
I was using sammy s8 then s9+ (i was pretty satisfied), then i jumped to the iPhone XS (terrible purchase btw) and then as the 2nd phone i obtained unlocked LG7 which cost me 2 months back new, in the store <400$.
In Europe we have not well optimazed, slow Exynos SOCs and when i jumped to G7 SD 845 there was SIGNIFICANT speed boost, mainly in the graphic intensive games. I have also feelings that battery last much longer when playing games than exynos S9+.
Also FLAT screen is amazing, really, no light reflections like on curved screens.
And i love quad DAC..it's completely different level of playing music on wired headphones…