A third of the way into 2014, we already have new flagship phones from almost all the big Android handset makers: the Galaxy S5, the Xperia Z2, and the new One are all now on sale. The one company that’s kept relatively quiet throughout the period has been LG, manufacturer of the much-loved G2 and Google’s Nexus 5. Today some of the mystery about its future plans has been dispelled as The Verge has received the first image of the retail box for LG’s next big Android phone. Originally codenamed the B2, the new phone takes the predictable title of LG G3 and is set for a summer release.
The gold-colored box is not incidental. Sources tell The Verge that the Korean phone maker intends to launch its next flagship in a golden hue, matching the broader trend that’s been embraced by the gold Galaxy S5, HTC One, iPhone 5S, and LG’s own golden G2 variant. When reached for comment, LG declined to discuss its future product plans, though it did confirm an earlier report from UberGizmo that its next phone will feature a 2560 x 1440 screen resolution.
Extreme high-resolution displays of this kind were rumored for Samsung’s S5 and anticipated to arrive earlier in the year. Indeed they have made their way into the market through devices like the 5.5-inch Oppo 7, but LG’s G3 is likely to be the first 1440p phone from the major manufacturers. The advantage of adding yet more pixels into phone displays can be described as dubious at this point, as it increases power consumption without necessarily improving on the image quality of a 1080p screen. That’s likely why Samsung demurred on using the resolution, but LG has another trick up its sleeve when it comes to displays.
A recently leaked image of an LG isai FL — a new LG handset ostensibly headed for Japanese carrier KDDI — depicts a device with an especially thin bezel around the display. Labelled as the LGL24, this looks set to be the successor to the LGL22, which was a variant of the G2 modified for the Japanese market. Our sources confirm that the new phone in Japan will bear a familial resemblance to the new G3, suggesting that it too will benefit from the aggressively styled front. The date on the LGL24’s screen is May 1st, which could also give a hint to its intended announcement timing.
There’s no indication yet that the G3 will serve as the platform on which Google will build its next Nexus device. That was the relationship between the G2 and the Nexus 5, but given that the latter device is still only a few months old, it’s probably a little too early to be discussing a potential Nexus 6, anyway.