New LG G4 smartphone ‘easiest-to-use’

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics unveiled Monday new user-experience software, LG UX 4.0, which will be featured on the firm’s upcoming flagship G4 smartphone.

The Korean tech giant said the LG UX 4.0, which is “simple and smart,” would meet the needs of a wide spectrum of mobile phone users.

“The LG UX 4.0, which has become simpler and smarter than its predecessor, will allow smartphone users to make the most of their devices with ease, also catering to the tastes of tech-savvy users,” said Cho Ju-no, LG’s mobile business chief.

New features of the UX 4.0 include “Quick Shot,” which enables G4 users to initiate a built-in camera app by pressing the bottom volume button twice on the back of the handset, and “Smart Bulletin Board,” which shows a batch of often-used apps, such as those for scheduling, music, and fitness.

The Korean tech giant said it has put a lot of focus on beefing up the camera capability to appeal to consumers.

The built-in camera app will feature three different camera modes ― expert, normal and simple.

An LG official said “the expert mode will allow users to take pictures as crisp and clear as those taken by a DSLR camera.”

The new UX will be mounted on other LG smartphones down the road, according to LG. 

News reports said the G4 would not sport wireless charging technology, similar to the one that has been adopted by Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.

Some market watchers had speculated that the G4 would be equipped with the wireless charging technology developed by LG Innotek, the battery and camera module developer of LG Group.

LG Innotek has recently started mass producing receiver modules for wireless charging pads and supplying them to a U.S. buyer.

An LG Innotek official said the modules have been supplied only to the U.S. firm, and not to its sister company LG Electronics.

Other features of the G4 include a 5.5-inch quad-HD liquid crystal display developed by LG Display.

The new display boasts better touchscreen responsiveness and brighter color reproduction than the existing QHD LCD display, according to the display firm.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)