LG's G3 was one of the big sellers for 2014, and the G4 may be on track to enjoy the same success in 2015, but many want to know how well the G3 has been supported by Google with Lollipop updates before committing to the G4.
The good news is that the LG G3 is now rolling out the Android 5.0.1 Lollipop update to all Verizon customers, while 5.0 Lollipop is set for all other U.S. carriers and editions of the G3. This means that Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile users are all seeing 5.0 Lollipop on their G3 phones now or coming soon. Android update releases typically happen in stages, so you might want to check under your G3's settings to see if the update is available for you if the notification never popped up.
While many other manufacturers have yet to make the jump to Android's 5.0 Lollipop operating system update, LG is on the ball and right on track with its promise to deliver Lollipop 90 days after it first launched back in November.
As for the G4 and when we can expect that, the latest rumors have it pegged for Q2 2015. In fact, last year's G3 announcement happened on May 27, and the handset was released the next day. So if that trend continues, as it often does with smartphone manufacturers, we may see the G4 right around that same time this year.
But a report from PhoneArena quotes LG Electronics CEO Cho Jun-ho as saying that we may have to wait until Q3 2015 to see the new G phone. That would put its release after July 1, but before September 30.
While the LG G4 has not been detailed yet by the Korean company, expectations see a 5.8-inch display with a fingerprint scanner built in for added security. That's only slightly larger than the G3's 5.5-inch display, but enough to keep up with the trend of larger screens on what has often been called the "phablet" market. The Qualcomm eight-core Snapdragon 810 CPU that is in most high-end devices this year is also expected, as is 3 GB of RAM and a 20-megapixel rear camera that is quite a step up from the G3's 13-megapixel camera.
And with the G4, you won't need to wait for an Android 5.0 Lollipop update as it's expected to be included. The question is, however, if we'll see the very latest iteration of that mobile operating system -- expected to be right around 5.1 by May -- or if 5.0 will be all we get.
And the LG G3 Stylus' pen is expected to be included as standard in with the G4 without any additional model name needed, as seen in leaked reports attributing the new G4 to an internal model number of LS770.
The LG G4 is also expected to be priced to sell as a high-end phone on a mid-range budget, which should give it an advantage over the competition like Samsung's Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9. But with the G3 going for a cool $600, we're not sure if LG is looking at a lower price for what is said to be a much better phone. It doesn't seem likely, so we'll say that the G4 will probably stick around that $600 mark.
