LG G3 Beat is smaller, midrange take on flagship G3

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Following in the footsteps of the flagship G3 smartphone, LG has officially confirmed details of the G3 Beat, which aims to be a compact, midrange variant, while still offering many of the same new features.

The LG G3 Beat is set for release on July 18th in the company's native South Korea, with a global rollout promised in the following weeks. Prices and release dates for the UK have yet to be confirmed.

The G3 Beat still has a fairly sizeable 5in HD IPS screen, albeit smaller than the 5.5in display on the LG G3, with a 1.2 GHz Quad-Core processor and 1GB RAM; specs that certainly place the phone in midrange territory. There's also 8GB of internal storage plus a microSD card slot for memory expansion.

The same Floating Arc Design - as first seen on the G3 - is carried across to the Beat, while there's also the Laser Auto Focus camera, complete with many of the new camera features debuted on LG's flagship phone. It has an 8MP rather than 13MP front camera lens, however.

LG claims it is now "more possible than ever" to offer a high-spec smartphone at a low price, with a growing trend for consumers to want a more affordable phone that still offers some of the top-end functionality seen on the best smartphones.

Last year saw HTC, LG and Samsung all release 'mini' versions of their top mobiles but now it seems LG will be using the Beat moniker for its midrange variants.

Key specifications

LG G3 Beat vs. LG G3

LG G3 Beat vs. LG G3
  • Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 400 processor 1.2 GHz Quad-Core
  • Display: 5.0-inch HD IPS (1280 x 720, 294ppi)
  • Memory: 8GB / 1GB RAM / MicroSD slot
  • Camera: Rear 8MP with Laser Auto Focus / Front 1.3MP
  • Battery: 2,540mAh (removable)
  • Operating System: Android 4.4.2 KitKat
  • Size: 137.7 x 69.6 x 10.3mm
  • Weight: 134 g
  • Network: 4G LTE / HSPA+ 21Mbps (3G)
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS/Glonass, NFC, USB 2.0
  • Colors: Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold
  • Other: Touch & Shoot, Smart Keyboard, QuickMemo+, Gesture Shot
Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).