LG G3 smartphone, G Arch smartwatch, and G Health fitness band rumored for MWC 2014

By Andy Boxall December 27, 2013

LG G2 Phone back camera angle

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An anonymous source speaking to the Korea Herald has revealed a little about LG’s wearable technology plans, along with some news on the LG G3 smartphone. Apparently, the LG G3 – an unofficial name for the G2’s successor – will feature a fingerprint scanner, and the firm will introduce both a smartwatch and a fitness tracker alongside it.

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The fingerprint scanner won’t be the only headline feature on the G3 either, if the report is accurate. The new phone could be the firm’s first to use its Quad HD resolution screen, which provides a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, and run Android 4.4 KitKat as standard. This all sounds reasonable, but it’s also said the G3 will be powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core processor.

This isn’t quite so likely. At the moment, there are only two octa-core processors worth mentioning, Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa, and MediaTek’s MT6592 true octa core chip. We can’t see LG deciding to put arch-rival Samsung’s processor in its flagship phone, or the budget MediaTek option either. The LG G2 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800, making the Snapdragon 805 a more logical choice for the sequel.

Moving on to LG’s wearable tech plans, the source of the rumor talks about a smartwatch called the G Arch, and a fitness tracking wristband named the G Health. Earlier this year an LG executive said the firm was working on a smartwatch, so this doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but we weren’t expecting a FuelBand-challenging fitness tracker too. We’ve recently heard Samsung could be working on something similar, tentatively known as the Galaxy Band.

We may see the LG G3 and its wearable companions introduced during Mobile World Congress in 2014, according to the Herald’s source. This would make the LG G2 little more than seven months old, and hardly in desperate need of replacing. While LG’s wearable tech may come at MWC, a late summer launch for the G3 seems more likely.

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Even though LG's G3 is a year old now, and the company has launched its successor the G4, it's still one of the very best phones that money can buy. The G3's Quad HD screen and powerful camera with laser autofocus put it ahead of its competitors last year, and really the only spec that's slightly outdated is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. Regardless, the G3 is fast and responsive, and our positive feelings for the phone still stand. We gave it our highest Editor's Choice award when it came out, so the G3 comes highly recommended.

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Updated on 4-20-2015 by Simon Hill: Added cases from Incipio, Encase, Caseology, Tech21, and Fosmon.
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