With all of our audience being avid Android gamers, we decided to take a quick look at the new LG G6 and how good a fit it is for gamers. We’ll take a look at the speed, build, and the all round fit for DroidGamer readers and their gaming needs.
First up speed. While the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 isn’t the top of the line anymore, it is still a damn good and proven chipset.
Geekbench reports that the LG G6 gets 1761 single core and 4151 multi-core scores which puts it currently in position two for single and in the top 10 for multi-core according to the [Geekbench Browser]. Plenty fast enough for any game out there and with speed to spare for the next generation or two.
Plus with Android 7.0 coming pre-installed, it’s one of the only phones to be up to date.
While the G6 doesn’t have the “infinity display” of the Samsung S8, the screen here is nearly as good without the wasted space under the curved edges. Plus having a bezel gives something to hold onto when using the phone in portrait mode.
The Gorilla Glass back is similar to G8 (strange how design decisions come back after a while, huh?).
Overall the build quality is great, the phone feels solid in the hand and looks good too. Important things to note, 4GB RAM, USB-C quick charge (a huge plus), headphone jack is there, MicroSD card slot, and dual cameras in the back (normal and wide).
Now, how about for games. There are a couple concerns here, but nothing to be too concerned over. Overall it’s a great daily device and a great game device. First small issue is the placement of the power / fingerprint reader. It’s placed in the position that most new phone put it, about 1/4 to 1/3 down from the top on the back.
The issue with this is that if you are playing a game in landscape mode that’s right where either an index finger or middle finger will rest. If gripping too hard it will shut off the device. I’ve had this happen a couple times and it will be something that needs to be used for a while and gotten used to.
The other concern is the display. With it being a non-standard aspect ratio of 18:9, some games are going to either look stretched or have some of their long edges cut off when played in full screen mode.
Luckily LG has included an app scaling setting to set this, per app. So if the game isn’t smart enough to adapt to the screen dimensions it can be set to standard 16:9 dimensions to fix the display issues. The downside to this is that there will be black bars at the top and bottom when this is set.
I must say that I’ve always been a fan of LG phones. They aren’t the most advanced at anything, or the top sellers, but they are always really good and solid devices. The G6 is no exception to those rules. But with up to date hardware and software, and great looking phone, the LG G6 is a fantastic device for gamers. I highly recommend it.
A handset suitable for your gaming needs
While the LG G6 is an expensive handset, it will deal with anything thrown at it and is relatively future proof. It's one of the nicest Android handsets out there and can compete with the Samsung S8.
