Display
Both IPS displays are extremely crisp, and show HD content
very well. The extra 0.3” on the OnePlus One over the 5.2” LG G2 adds
significant real-estate for viewing. While both had almost similar very wide
viewing angles I noticed that the OnePlus One display is more to the warmer
side. This has been a common observation, and I also know that CM calibrates it
a little warmer – probably to get deeper blacks. Also with the color tuning
options provided by CM, you get push this to the whiter side a bit more.
However, I think the LG G2 display is better in terms of colors and sharpness
and probably the additional PPI (424 PPI vs 401 PPI) and a more mature panel is
making that happen. Icon borders etc were very crisp on the LG G2
display and the OnePlus One display seemed a tad bit less crisp. Not a deal
breaker, but comparatively it was an observation when you try them side-by-side.
However when in direct sunlight, the LG G2 panel tends to
reflect and show its construction a bit. I can see the some arrays, probably
from the polarizer (I am not sure). The OnePlus One’s panel showed nothing else
than the actual intended content. Just a minor observation.
Both panels have linear polarization, and if you view it
through polarized sunglasses you’ll have a problem viewing it in landscape mode
when it is exactly horizontal. All other angles work, while portrait view
giving the best intensity.
Based on the perceived level of quality, the LG G2 wins this
round.
Performance
Despite having to draw more on the screen, the extra
processing power and additional 1 GB of RAM seemed to work quite well to the
OnePlus One. All interactions were very smooth, and during the time I used this,
I did not notice a single stutter or issue. All bugs seemed to be fixed in this
production version, and when I fired up the phone for the first time, there was
an update which I believe included more fixes and enhancements. Switching
between apps was very fast, and transitions within applications (eg: landscape
portrait toggle on YouTube) was noticeably faster on the OnePlus One. The LG G2
wasn’t far behind at all, and in terms of application load time, it in fact
beat the OnePlus One in some cases. During a mixed mode of work with stuff
running in the background, I felt the OnePlus One was faster; owing to the
extra working memory. But the G2 was surprisingly really, REALLY close.
Below is a side-by-side performance test between the two.
They both are finely tuned phones, but on the long run, I feel the OnePlus One will hold up better. Winner – OnePlus One.
They both are finely tuned phones, but on the long run, I feel the OnePlus One will hold up better. Winner – OnePlus One.
Operating System
The LG G2 received the Android KitKat update few months ago,
and the performance has been great so far. Both phones have Android KtKat as
the platform, and specifically the CyanogenMod 11 on the OnePlus One takes it a
bit further to add its own layers of added flexibility and improvements. I have
been a big fan of CM for a long time, and it is at its best on the OnePlus
One. I didn’t see a lot of special
attention being put by the system to help one handed operation by default,
although you could do that after spending some time with some apps. The
additional support for gestures on the locked screen were good, and the double
tap worked pretty well. However, other gestures were a little over sensitive,
and there were more than few times that I pulled the phone out with either the
torch turned on (V gesture) or camera on (O gesture). The Trebuchet launcher CM has is a nice flat
look, but the default setting seemed to waste a lot of useful space, and I
opted to go back to Nova Launcher. The basic platform provided with multiple
flexibilities like screencasting, equalizer, screenshot, etc are very good.
I found the changes LG G2 had done on top of Android were a
little cluttered and I got rid of most of the bloat like the QSlide, LG
Launcher, LG Keyboard etc and kept it simple with the basic pull down layout, Nova
Launcher and Google Keyboard (The LG G3
seems to have learnt the lesson) . But the one handed operation options, the
knock-knock feature, face tracking for videos and screen timeout etc are real
winners on the LG G2.
Based on the available level of flexibility and overall
customizability I give this round to the OnePlus One.
Camera
Both cameras have 13MP shooters. Apart from that similarity,
key difference exist in the physical camera design as well as the camera
app. The LG G2 did well with
incorporating Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) which helps a lot reduce camera
shake and get good low light photos. The OnePlus One camera does not have OIS.
I found the LG G2 to focus a lot faster and better compared to the OnePlus One.
In well-lit situations, both took great pictures.
The camera apps are worlds apart, and both are good in their
own ways. The OnePlus One’s custom camera app specific to this phone has the
most intuitive mode selector I’ve ever seen. It is just a vertical swipe on the
screen, and you scroll between Auto, HDR, Aqua, Mono etc modes. The panorama
modes stitched images well. One let down for me was that in the 13MP mode, I
can only take a 4:3 scaled photo and not a wide photo. I had to come down to
9.7MP for that ratio. For quick pictures, I sometimes found dealing with the
Google Camera more convenient, although the image quality wasn’t much
different. The other options on the app
were pretty good which spanned interesting settings like slow shutter speed
(got to try this with a tripod), exposure mode, antibanding, slow-mo video,
time-lapse etc. Slow motion videos looked great, and while HD videos were
pretty impressive, I could not try the 4k capabilities.
LG camera app was more refined, but this too had the
limitation of not taking 13MP wide shots. I didn’t like having to change picture
modes through the menu which I have to set each time I get to the camera app.
The reason is, on the G2, getting normal photos on HDR or Intelligent Auto
modes used to give me nicer pictures. But each time the camera closes and opens
it resets to the auto mode. The OnePlus One camera’s HDR pictures are insanely
processed and they give out a very punchy image. I kind of like it in a way,
but I am sure it is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Below are some comparison shots.
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G2
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G2
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G2 (HDR)
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G2
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G2
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G2
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G2
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G2
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G2 (HDR)
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G2
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G2 (No Flash)
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G2 (w/ Flash)
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1+1 (w/Flash)
OIS is hard to beat in low light, and generally G2 pictures seem to come
out slightly sharper for me in some cases. I do like the color reproduction on the OnePlus One, and the camera has so many options to tweak your shots and make them better.
I couldn't pick one. So, this camera round is a tie!
I couldn't pick one. So, this camera round is a tie!
Design & Build
OnePlus One - Pluses
first. On the face it is a clean slab of awesomeness with no logos and stuff on
the front. I like that clean look and kept glancing many times a day when it
was on my desk. I find the design very
appealing with the raised glass, metal outer rim and the removable back plate.
I am sure the metal rim take care of vertical drops although the glass might
not stand a chance in an on-the-face drop. After all, what does? Also, the
metal portion gives the phone a real sturdy premium feel when you hold it. They
hit the bullseye with coming up with a
replaceable back plate design which can take up every day abuse. I am sure this
sandstone surface will hold up very well every day and it adds good grip to the
phone too. I am looking forward to the other backplates they’ve planned like
Kevlar, denim, wood etc. The device feels very slim considering its surface
area, and it felt great in the pocket. I do like the fact that they used
capacitive keys hidden away on the bottom bezel, which allows the entire screen
area to be used for other stuff. Some had chosen to turn on the on-screen keys,
but I personally think it is a waste on a device which has dedicated physical
keys. The side keys were appropriately placed on the middle of the sides, but I
think they could have been a bit thicker. Not a big deal though. Overall –
great sleek design!
Now for the LG. The thin bezels on the LG G2 help it be a
smaller phone than it should be. I really like the layout of the components and
the signature back buttons. I have grown in to the back volume buttons of the
LG G2 so much, now I am finding all other designs so inconvenient. It was such
a smart design decision LG made right there! What I didn’t like it the shiny
plastic finish on the back which I had to protect using a cover that adds a bit
more bulk to the phone. I found the G2 with the cover more bulky in my pocket
than the OnePlus One. Overall – solid, intuitive, safe design.
I pick the OnePlus One as the winner for design & build.
Audio
I am looking at the external speaker quality, output via the
aux jack and call quality under this category.
In terms of audio playback, I found the OnePLus One to be a
little louder while the G2 sounded a little bit more refined. But the quality
of the OnePlus One – specially with the real stereo speakers were quite
impressive. Both these phones might not stack up against the iPhone 5S in terms
of external speaker quality as it provides a warmer tone to the sound. But,
between these two, they are almost in par. I could tweak things around with the
equalizer built in to CM, and that made some good improvements to fit my taste.
Both phones give out a balanced audio output through the external speakers even
at high volume with no distortion. All this translated directly to the aux
output playback through the 3.5mm jack, and I felt the OnePlus One was pushing
out more power to the earphones compared to the G2.
Call quality in noisy environments seemed to be better with the OnePlus One with the 3
microphone design for extreme active noise cancellation. The receiver of the
call perceived a better experience when I called from the OnePlus One.
It is fair to say the
OnePlus One wins in the sound department.
Battery
LG G2 – OnePlus One – 3000mAh vs 3100mAh. Two of the largest
batteries in their class. I generally didn’t have much of a problem running an
entire day with the LG G2’s battery with above average use. But, during my
testing, the OnePlus One held up a lot longer. I did not really do a video loop
test or anything of the sort as I did not have time. But I tried it out with my
regular use cases for few days, and the OnePlus One gave me better mileage
easily by at least 5-6 more hours. Also you could remove the backplate and
replace the OnePlus One battery if needed – although it is not specifically
designed to do that.
With the power optimizations on CM I am sure the battery
usage on the OnePlus One can only get better.
For the extra juice and the replaceable nature, the battery round goes to the OnePlus One.
For the extra juice and the replaceable nature, the battery round goes to the OnePlus One.
Other
Apart from the main criteria highlighted above, the following extra features might be noteworthy for each phone.
LG G2 - The LG G2 has an IR blaster to use it as a universal remote with devices. I found this convenient, but I am not dazed by too many remotes. So, I was ok to use the remotes I have. The LG G2 internally has an FM Radio as well. If you are an on-the-go radio persone, this may be useful. I haven't used this even once. LG has been creating some solid devices in all fronts, and the brand value and track record will be something to consider as well.
LG G2 - The LG G2 has an IR blaster to use it as a universal remote with devices. I found this convenient, but I am not dazed by too many remotes. So, I was ok to use the remotes I have. The LG G2 internally has an FM Radio as well. If you are an on-the-go radio persone, this may be useful. I haven't used this even once. LG has been creating some solid devices in all fronts, and the brand value and track record will be something to consider as well.
OnePlus One - OnePlus One screen has a Gorilla Glass 3 panel in contrast to the G2 having Gorilla Glass 2. GG3 is a bit more scratch resistant that GG2. The amount of additional features given through CyanogenMod is nothing to hark at. All those are really useful and much integrated to the OS than running few apps with the same functionality. If you liked the design choices of the Moto-X, you will appreciate the backplate replacement options too.
Verdict
For the package you get for the price, hands down the one
plus one is a clear winner! All minor glitches and personal gripes which are
mostly fixable by software upgrades can be forgiven for the price this all
comes at. For someone starting up or has a phone older than say – 1-2
years - it’s a no brainer. The OnePlus
One is an amazing device, and I’d say go for it!
In my mind, ignoring all external reasons, given the choice
to buy G2 and the OnePlus One, I’d grab and embrace
the OnePlus One in a heartbeat! Put it against the LG G3 – and then we’ll have
a bit more to think there to see if the price difference justifies what more we
get with the G3.
Whether I am going to continue using my G2 or OnePlus One or
if I am attempting to get a G3 - all
depends on some external factors like carrier upgrade eligibility, contracts,
resale value of phones, discounts etc. So, I personally have some decisions to
make there in the coming few days.
Viva La OnePlus One!
