LG G3 Beat: like a G3, but smaller and more affordable

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We love the LG G3 (read our in-depth review to see precisely why) but there’s no denying that it’s a seriously large smartphone. Its screen is 5.5in, which would nudge it squarely into phablet territory in many people’s books.

But don’t fret, you poor small-handed folk, because LG has kept you in its thoughts. The company has just announced the LG G3 Beat, a (slightly) more compact edition of the G3 – and there are a few nips and tucks that trim the price too.

Smaller, but not small

The G3 Beat has a 5in 1280 x 720 screen (a big change from the G3’s 5.5in 2560 x 1440 display), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage, 4G LTE, an 8MP camera and a 1.2GHz Snapdragon quad-core processor. While the G3 represents the pinnacle of the high-end, the Beat is very much a mid-market model.

One thing it does retain from its upper crust sibling is the camera’s laser auto focus, which means it should latch onto a subject faster than 99 percent of smartphones out there. If it works as well as it does on the G3, it’s a lovely feature to have.

The G3 Beat will launch tomorrow, 18th July, in South Korea, and will arrive in Europe in the next few weeks. Except (and this seems silly to us) it’ll be called the LG G3 s outside of Korea. Yes, with a lower-case “s”. UK pricing will be confirmed closer to launch, but expect it to be significantly cheaper than the full-fat G3.

[LG Newsroom via Engadget]

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Tech journalism's answer to The Littlest Hobo, I've written for a host of titles and lived in three different countries in my 15 years-plus as a freelancer. But I've always come back home to Stuff eventually, where I specialise in writing about cameras, streaming services and being tragically addicted to Destiny.