What's good
- Good battery life
- Display has good viewing angles and color reproduction
- Great build quality
What's bad
- Slippery and prone to drops
- Lag and stutters during basic games and multi-tasking
In order to corner the different smartphone markets, LG has stripped down their flagship phone, the G3, to offer a more affordable phone- the G3 Beat. The Beat takes a lot of design cues from the G3 with its thin-bezel, curved back and buttons on the rear. It even simulates a brushed metal appearance on the back cover though it is made entirely of plastic. While it isn't made of premium materials, experts were impressed with the overall build quality. They add the curved back made the phone easy to hold, but the plastic material and location of the buttons made it fairly slippery and prone to drops.
As a mid-tier device, the G3 Beat sports a 5-inch, 720p IPS display. For the most part, reviewers had no issues with the phone commending its color reproduction, viewing angles and bright light legibility. While overall it offered them a decent experience, they note phones like the Micromax Canvas or Huawei Honor 6 have better displays and fall within the same price range.
Armed with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, the G3 Beat didn't top any of the standard benchmark tests. Real-life testing echoed these results with the device generally running smoothly for reviewers when handling a couple basic tasks. They started experiencing lag once they had more than three tasks running in the background and even when playing basic games. The G3 Beat's one strong point is its battery life. The 2,540mAh battery lasted experts a day of moderate gaming, internet and LTE usage.
Experts were able to produce fairly detailed pictures in daylight with the G3 Beat's 8MP rear camera but the quality dipped once indoors or in lowlight situations. In addition, critics noticed that color balance and reproduction was not always consistent with NDTV stating, "…a clear blue sky…came out looking grainy and artificial." Besides taking pictures, the camera can also take 1080p videos.
While not a horrible phone, reviewers have a difficult time recommending it. Digit states, "The LG G3 Beat is a decent phone...BUT it is priced above phones with similar features, specs and performance…you should consider the alternatives." Indian Express adds, "…the G3 Beat total fails to justify its price."
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Sofian Nouira, Digital VersusWhile the LG G2 Mini was clearly a rival to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and HTC One Mini, the G3 S is coming at things a little differently. It's avoiding direct competition with these phones' successors, the Galaxy S5 Mini and One Mini 2, by being a little larger, and therefore not appealing as much...
- Debashis Sarkar, The Indian ExpressWhile the device was launched in September, it was among the early handsets to offer 4G connectivity. The 4G modem seemed to be the only USP of the phone as rest of the spec sheet is average and I felt it to be overpriced. I feel the G3 Beat totally fails to justify its price. It’s a good...
- Debashis Sarkar, The Indian ExpressWhile the device was launched in September, it was among the early handsets to offer 4G connectivity. The 4G modem seemed to be the only USP of the phone as rest of the spec sheet is average and I felt it to be overpriced. I feel the G3 Beat totally fails to justify its price. It’s a good look...
- Sunil Jamboor Nagesh, Fone ArenaLG G3 Beat is already available in the market and is officially priced at INR 25,000. However, the device is up for grabs for about INR 17,000 in the market. Considering what the smartphone has got in store, the pricing is so last year.The good thing about the device is the design and the overall bu...
- Luke Johnson, TrustedReviewsAn underwhelming downgrade to the LG G3. It's competent in most ways, but the camera isn't good enough for a phone at this price.
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the LG G3 Beat user manual here.
LG backs up the G3 Beat with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your G3 Beat has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact LG support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find LG's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- LG G3 Beat Quick Start Guide (PDF)
- LG G3 Beat Manual (PDF)
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