The G2, LG’s decided to make a major change to the phone’s physical layout - in a bullet-point summary, it has buttons on the back.
Three, in fact. LG reckons that as the size of smartphones has increased, at this point, the viability of buttons around the edges is now questionable.
The new G model lands between last year’s Optimus G and the Pro size-wise, breaking through the 5-inch screen barrier with a bright 5.2-inch, 1080p IPS screen. The rest of the feature set will seem familiar to anyone who’s read a flagship Android phone review in the last 12 months. Optical image stabilization, remote control blaster, a mixed bag of proprietary software features and Android 4.2.2.
There’s also some new stuff, including 24-bit / 192kHz audio recording and playback, and it could well be the first Snapdragon 800-powered smartphone to reach US stores - that’s Qualcomm’s most potent mobile processor yet. But with IFA just finished and the Galaxy Note 3 now official, is a button transplant going to be enough? In fact, that’s a red herring, because there’s actually a far better reason to buy the G2 - and it’s none of the above.
The volume buttons on either side of the primary power nub are covered in a matte, almost gritty finish, which means they stand out from the phone’s glossy background and also offer a little bit more grip. The power button is surrounded by an LED outline, but it’s not capable of the same fancy light show seen on the Optimus G Pro’s power switch. Nope, those tricks are found in the front-facing LED notification light, and you can choose whether that front-facing one will inform you of calendar events, alarms, missed emails, calls or just tell you when the phone’s charging. The rear LED will flash for incoming calls and alarms only.
There are no other buttons on the device, which is a little daunting at first. If you’ve ever moved from a Google device to an iPhone, or simply switched to a different brand within Android, you’ll know it takes a while for you to get used to the new button arrangement. With the G2, double that. Then add a day. I had to recalibrate how I held the phone, to ensure my index finger was in the right place - meaning a few inches higher than I normally do. A big deal? No, but it certainly felt slightly more precarious in the hand than usual. LG has made some efforts to reduce the issue: two taps to the screen will wake the G2 up, lessening your need to reach for the power button on the back.
As I continued to use the G2, however, I became more at ease with the button placement. The raised portion that houses the power button was the most prone to bumps, but it didn’t result in any long-term scratches. In fact, I preferred to leave the phone facedown on surfaces and let the Gorilla Glass 2 do its job protecting the G2’s beautiful display.