LG G2

The LG G2 is an Android smartphone developed by LG Electronics. Serving as a successor to 2012's Optimus G and the 2013 Optimus G Pro phablet, the G2 was unveiled at a press event in New York City on 7 August 2013, and first released in September 2013. The G2 is primarily distinguished by software features that LG billed would "learn" from users, a high fidelity sound system designed to produce higher quality audio, a 1080p IPS LCD screen with technology that the company claimed would improve energy efficiency and reduce the size of the bezel around it, along with the unique placement of its power and volume keys—eschewing their typical location on the edge of a smartphone by placing them on the rear below the camera lens.
The device was released to mostly positive reception; the G2 was universally praised for LG's efforts to produce a more seamless and compact design that nonetheless maximized screen size, its high performance, the quality of its display and primary camera, along with its long-lasting battery. Critics were divided on certain aspects of its design, such as its rear button layout, and its plastic chassis. Which was panned for closely resembling recent Samsung Galaxy products and being a regression from the glass-based chassis of the Optimus G. Similarly, its software and user interface were praised for their usability and large number of customization options, some reviewers felt that the software suffered from feature creep and contained notable usability regressions in comparison to "stock" Android.
Sales of the G2 exceeded LG's estimates; in late December 2013, a Korean news agency reported that at least 3 million units of the G2 had been sold worldwide.

Release

The G2 was first unveiled during a press event at New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center on 7 August 2013. LG announced that it would begin to release the G2 globally on over 130 carriers within the next two months, in markets such as South Korea and the United States.
To promote the G2, LG attempted to hold a city-wide scavenger hunt in Seoul, South Korea; during a press event at a local park on 9 August 2013, helium balloons were released that contained 100 vouchers. After the vouchers were scattered through the city by the deflating balloons, LG planned to give away G2s to those who found the vouchers. While only members of the media were formally invited, the event was disrupted by members of the public who learned about the promotion on the internet. As the balloons were released, attendees attempted to use BB guns and other makeshift tools to retrieve them. The resulting quarrel which broke out over the balloons resulted in 20 injuries; following the incident, LG apologized and stated that it would pay for the medical treatment of those injured in the event. LG also called off plans to hold similar events in other South Korean cities.
The G2 was first released in the United States by Verizon on 12 September 2013, and released by AT&T the following day. T-Mobile released the G2 on 25 September, while Sprint released theirs on 8 November 2013. The G2 was released in Canada on 27 September 2013, across six national and regional carriers, including Bell, Rogers, SaskTel, Telus, Vidéotron, and Wind Mobile.

Specifications

Hardware

The G2's exterior consists of a polycarbonate shell—unlike its predecessor, which used a glass-based construction. The rear cover is adorned with a subtle pattern resembling carbon fiber. The G2's volume and power keys are now located directly below the camera on the rear of the device, whereas before they were located on the sides of the device. The power button contains an LED lamp, which can be used as a notification light. The positioning of the buttons on the rear deviates from the majority of smartphones, where they are located on the bezel of the phone. LG argued that buttons located on the bezel were harder to reach on larger smartphones, and made it more likely for users to drop their phone when adjusting the volume during a call. As such, the G2's buttons are instead located where the index finger would normally lie when the phone is held. Alongside the power button, the G2 is also powered on by double-tapping on the screen, and turned off by double-tapping on the status bar or a blank area on the home screen, a feature branded as "KnockOn". When the phone is off, the volume keys can also be used to launch directly into the camera or QuickMemo applications by holding them down.
The G2 is powered by a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM and support for LTE or LTE Advanced networks where available. The G2 is equipped with a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display; to reduce the size of its screen bezel, wiring for touchscreen components is routed both above and below the screen itself. To help conserve battery life, the G2 also implements a panel self-refresh system; if the display is showing static content, it is refreshed solely from framebuffer memory, allowing other display components to become idle. LG claimed that this system would allow the screen to use 26% less power than comparable displays on other smartphones.
The G2's audio hardware and software is optimized to support 24-bit/192 kHz audio; during LG's press event, ringtones recorded by the Vienna Boys' Choir were used to demonstrate the high quality audio from its internal speaker. The G2 also includes a 13-megapixel primary rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization, and an infrared emitter which allows it to serve as a universal remote with the accompanying QuickRemote app.
The G2 comes with either 16 or 32GB of non-expandable storage, and includes a non-removable 3000 mAh battery. The Verizon Wireless model of the G2 offers support for Qi wireless charging. Unlike the models released in other countries, South Korean models of the G2 have a removable back cover, a MicroSD card slot for expanded storage, and a removable 2610 mAh battery.

Software

The G2 ships with Android 4.2.2 "Jelly Bean" with a custom interface and software. It contains a number of features that are designed to "learn" from users by predicting future actions, and allow for flexibility and customization. The G2 retains features from previous LG models such as the Optimus G and G Pro, including QuickMemo, QuickRemote, QSlide pop-up apps, and Voice Mate. New features introduced by the G2 include TextLink, which analyzes text messages to detect content such as addresses and times that can be passed to other apps, a pop-up menu of relevant apps triggered when plugging in headphones or a USB cable, the ability to answer a phone call by holding the phone to the user's head, Slide Aside, a multitasking feature which allows users to "slide" away apps onto cards with a three-finger gesture, the Clip Tray, and Guest Mode. The G2 uses on-screen buttons; users can change their background color, customize the order of the buttons, or add additional buttons for opening QuickMemo or the notification shade. The G2's default music player supports the playback of WAV and FLAC files with 24-bit/192kHz audio.
The time catch shot camera feature prevents missing out on moments by capturing photos while idle and keeping up to five in memory.
An update to Android 4.4.2 "KitKat" was released in South Korea in November 2013, and for international models in March 2014. LG touted a "noticeable speed boost" over Jelly Bean, along with battery life improvements, user interface tweaks, and other improvements brought by KitKat. A further update added a new security feature known as "Knock Code", which allows users to unlock their device by tapping quadrants of the screen in a sequence.
An update to Android 5.0.1 "Lollipop" was first released in South Korea in January 2015. Alongside other internal improvements, it introduces the refreshed "G UI" first introduced by the LG G3, which itself received improvements to match the new visual style and features of Lollipop, The update was also released for the international model and the U.S. carrier versions, but was not released in Canada.

Model variants

Several different model variants of the G2 are sold, with most variants differing only in support for regional network types and bands. However, the South Korean version features a removable battery and a MicroSD slot, while the U.S. Verizon Wireless version includes Qi wireless charging, but has a noticeably different rear cover design with different designs for the buttons and camera, and replaces the solid black option for the button background with a pink pattern option. In January 2014, in honor of the Chinese New Year, LG released two "limited edition" models of the G2 in selected Asian markets; available in red or gold colors, the limited edition models featured textured casings instead of the glossier plastic used normally by the G2.

Model number	Carrier/Region	2G and 3G band support	LTE band support	Notes
LG-D802	Global	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100	800/900/1800/2100/2600
LG-D803	Canada	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/1900/2100	700, AWS, 2600	White model was exclusive to Rogers and only sold at Target Mobile, TBooth, Wireless Wave, and Wireless etc. stores. Does not upgrade to Android 5.0 "Lollipop".
LG-D805	Latin America	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100	700/1700/2600
LG-D800	AT&T Mobility	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/1900/2100	1900/1700/850/700
LS980	Sprint	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, CDMA 800/850/1900	800 /1900 /2500	Sprint's G2 was the carrier's first device approved by the Federal Communications Commission for use on its tri-band "Spark" LTE service.
LG-D801	T-Mobile US	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/1700/1900/2100	1900/1700/700
VS980	Verizon Wireless	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/900/1900/2100, CDMA 850/1900	1700/700	Supports Qi wireless charging, has a different rear design.
L-01F	NTT DoCoMo	GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 800/2100	2100/800/1500	Does not upgrade to Android 4.4 "KitKat".