LG G6. Galaxy S8. These phones have more in common than you think. But which one takes the cake? For this comparison, we will use the same format that is used in Battle of the Assistants. This means we will have several topics (however, this time condensed into one article), and the winner of the most topics is crowned the best. Note: We used the Galaxy S8 and not the S8+ for this comparison. CameraThe Galaxy S8 has a 12-megapixel rear shooter that remains mostly unchanged from the previous S7, while the selfie camera has upgraded to an 8-megapixel sensor with an f/1.7 aperture. While the S7's camera was great last year, it doesn't hold up well in 2017. Similarly, the LG G6's camera keeps the same dual-camera setup from 2016's G5. The main shooter is 13 megapixels, and so is the wide-angle lens, which is an upgrade from last year. The 5-megapixel selfie camera lags behind Samsung's, however. However, I believe that the rear camera is often the more important of the two, so the LG G6 takes this round. Winner: LG G6 Display/DesignBoth phones have nearly bezel-less displays that are absolutely gorgeous. The S8 has a 1440p, 5.8-inch Super AMOLED "Infinity Display" which shaves off more bezel from the device than the G6. It also is an entirely metal & glass build that comes in several great colors. That G6 has a Quad HD Plus 5.7-inch 1440p "FullVision Display" that is great, but cannot match Samsung's truly amazing screen design. On the design spectrum, the edges on the phone don't seem to melt on to the device's side the same way it does on the S8, and for some reason LG opted to have colored bezels on the front instead of entirely black. Winner: Galaxy S8 PerformanceThe Galaxy S8 rocks the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip in the US (Exynos 9 internationally), while the LG G6 is using the same Snapdragon 821 chip from the Pixel. In a speed test by EverythingApplePro, the Galaxy S8 outperformed the LG G6, even though both phones share 4 gigabytes of RAM. Winner: Galaxy S8 SoftwareIs this even a question? In recent years, Samsung has cleaned up their TouchWiz Android Skin (now called Grace UX), and while it's still not as pleasant as stock Android, it's taken strides and is now a respectable skin. It has even taken some cues from the Pixel Launcher, like the swipe to app drawer gesture. Unfortunately, LG's UX 6.0 is actually worse than previous versions of the skin, with no app drawer at all by default and some questionable design choices. Winner: Galaxy S8 ConclusionWhile the LG G6 manages to trump the Galaxy S8 in the camera department, the greatness ends there. The S8 swept the comparisons in the software, performance, display, and design categories in one foul swoop. To conclude, unless your goal is to buy an LG G6 for it's great camera, you would be better off putting your dollars behind Samsung's newest flagship. ∎ Roan Thibault is the editor-in-chief of Mirror Journal.
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