5 things I would change about the LG G6
It's hard to deny LG has built one of its best smartphones to date. The display is gorgeous, build quality is top shelf, and the dual-camera setup is reliable.
ZDNet's Matthew Miller went into far more detail in his thorough review of the LG G6; read through it when you have a minute, if you're trying to decide between it and Samsung's Galaxy S8.
I received a review LG G6 last week, and have been using it as my primary device for the past five days. Below are some suggestions on how I would go about improving the overall experience of using the LG G6.
Fingerprint gestures
After using the Google Pixel XL, I've come to rely on its gesture feature to quickly pull down the notification shade by swiping across the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone.
I didn't realize just how often I used the gesture until I started using the G6 and I kept trying to swipe across the fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone.
Better camera shortcut
By default, you can trigger the camera app when the phone is locked by double-pressing the volume down button.
However, as far as I can tell, there's no method for launching the camera regardless of the app you're in, or more importantly, if the phone is locked and you're playing music. In the latter scenario, the phone adjusts the music's volume instead of launching the camera.
The way I see it, LG has a couple of things it can do to improve this experience. Either add a dedicated camera button on the LG G7 (or whatever its name ends up being) or use the power button as a shortcut.
Double-pressing the power button as you pick up the LG G6 to launch the camera app feels natural.
Move "Clear All"
When viewing the recent apps interface, you can swipe to the left across an app's preview to close out the app.
However, LG has placed a giant "Clear All" button along the bottom, where I commonly swipe across an app, leading me to close all apps accidentally.
That means if I'm listening to music, force closing all apps also stops the music app. Pinning an app so that it won't ever close is a workaround. However, there are times when I will truly want to close all running apps.
Transparent navigation bar
Instead of covering up content behind the navigation bar -- where the home, back, and recent apps buttons are -- LG should offer a clear option for the bar on all screens, not just the home screen.
Right now, you can pick between a black or white bar that's displayed when you are in an app. The downside with either one is that the bar takes up space on the screen, handicapping the 18:9 aspect ratio display.
Stereo speakers
On the bottom right side of the LG G6 is its lone speaker. It's a rather quiet speaker and is quickly covered up when holding the phone in landscape or portrait orientation.
With the iPhone 7, Apple added stereo speakers, and I simply cannot get used to a phone with a single speaker for streaming music or watching videos. Stereo speakers should be the norm.
VIDEO: LG G6: What you need to know about the new phablet