LG G3: Price, Release Date, Specs - Everything You Need to Know

In 2013, LG was the fourth biggest smartphone maker in the world, shipping 47.7 million units, an 81% increase on 2012's figures.

In the first three months of the 2014 it has continued to boom, shipping a record 13.2 million smartphones.

The success has been built on big sales of last year's flagship model - the G2 - as well as its partnership with Google in making the Nexus 5, and more recently with the launch of the G Pro 2.

Despite these strong sales figures, the company's mobile business made a loss in the first quarter of 2014, as increased marketing budgets and stiffer competition in the market drove prices down.

Therefore there is a lot of pressure on the company's flagship model for 2014, the G3, which will be launched at 6pm next Tuesday (27 May) at an event in London.

Thanks to numerous leaks we have found out pretty much all the details of Lg's new phone, and here we round all those up, and see if it's enough to challenge the Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2.

• LG G3: Design

The big design feature on the G2 was the placement of the power button and volume keys on the rear cover of the phone. It was a pretty drastic change, which LG said was in response to how people used their smartphones.

LG is clearly happy with its choice as the G3 will keep the positioning of those buttons.

Elsewhere the phone will be slightly taller and wider (146.3 x 74.6mm versus 138.5 x 70.9mm) as a result of the larger screen, but will retain its slim 8.9mm profile. This makes it about the same size as the Sony Xperia Z2, though the fact it has a bigger screen means the bezels on the G3 will be a lot smaller.

• LG G3: Screen

As we said, the screen on the G3 has increased to 5.5in compared to the 5.2in screen on the G2.

This makes it the largest of all the high-end Android devices launched so far this year, and is actually larger than the original Galaxy Note.

LG has confirmed already the G3's screen will have a Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440 giving it an eye-wateringly sharp pixel density of 534 pixels per inch.

We expect the IPS display to be one of the best (if not the best) we've seen on any device.

• LG G3: Hardware

The G3 is set to be a match for anything on the market, featuring Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 801 chip paired with a huge 3GB of RAM.

This will be paired with 32GB of internal storage though it is unclear whether or not the phone will have a microSD card slot, as the G2 was missing one last year.

The phone will feature a 3,000mAh battery, which is the same as the G2, but considering the increased screen size and pixel-pushing grunt needed to power it, the great battery life seen on the G2 could be compromised somewhat.

The phone will also come with the usual array of wireless connectivity (Bluetooth, NFC etc) as well as support for Cat-4 4G networks.

• LG G3: Softare

Leaks suggest the G3 will ship with Android 4.4.2 (which is a pity as Android 4.5 is due to be launched in less than a month) but no matter what version of Android is on board, LG is likely to have its own software skin on top anyway.

Last year LG drew some criticism for the UI it skinned the G2 with, and reports suggest the company has redesigned the software for its latest model, which hopefully means a smoother experience.

• LG G3: Camera

LG won't be upgrading the 13 megapixel sensor used in the G2 for its latest model, but it will be adding.....LASERS.

Yes, the South Korean company has added laser technology via a sensor on the rear cover which will be used to aid low light performance.

The company is not going after the selfie market like HTC and Huawei, with the front-facing camera set to feature a typical 2.1 megapixel sensor.

• LG G3: Price

Specific pricing won't be known until the phone is released, but don't be expecting much change from £600.

On contract the phone will likely launch on contract of £35 and higher in the UK.

• LG G3: Release Date

The G2 was announced at an event in August last year and went on sale in September.

With the launch of the G3 taking place three months earlier this year, it is hard to predict when LG will put its latest phone on sale, but considering the Galaxy S5, One M8 and Xperia Z2 are all on the market already, it will be in a rush to grab as many punters as possible.

• LG G3: QuickCircle Cases

Ahead of the official launch of the phone, LG has already revealed the official case for the phone. Called the QuickCircle case, it offers a windows into your phone even when the case is closed - similar to the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note cases Samsung has been selling for a while now.

LG has said as well as offering a range of windows by default on the phone, it is opening up the feature to developers to allow them integrate it into their apps.

• LG G Watch

LG is one of the main partners Google is working with on its Android Wear smartwatches and we could get some more information about the G Watch at LG's event on Monday, including most importantly an indication of price and a release date.

Recent reports have suggested the G Watch would be launched in July with a price tag of €199 (£160).