Meet the G3's little brother
We imagine LG is feeling pretty good about themselves as of late. Their last few Android phones and tablets have received critical acclaim, and even if they aren't topping the sales charts just yet the name is out there and people are starting to equate it with "really good Android phones". We're not going to argue, as pretty much all of us here at AC think the Nexus 5, the LG G2 and the LG G3 were fantastic phones.
The hardware
Here's where things differ between the G3 proper and the G3 Vigor. Besides the obvious difference in size, you also have "lesser" internals and lower specifications all around.
Under the hood you've got a Snapdragon 400 paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage — with half used by the operating system. This means that for most regular readers of AC, the phone is likely a non-starter. And that's OK — LG has built the original G3 for you. The Vigor isn't marketed as the end-all be-all of modern smartphones.
Software
As far as I can tell, the G3 Vigor runs the exact same version of LG software as the G3 proper. Built atop and into Android 4.4.2, the experience matches what you would find on the larger and more expensive AT&T version of the G3.
Performance
Battery life was adequate, meaning I could easily get through a full 16 hour work day without power-saving mode enabled. If you live in an area with a spotty signal, or spend a lot of time gaming or watching video, you might need to enable power-saving mode.
Cell service and performance was excellent on AT&T in my area, and LTE speeds match what I see from other 2014 AT&T phones. No complaints here
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Camera
The G3 Vigor doesn't have the worst camera out there, but it doesn't come close to the original G3 in terms of image quality. Your pictures will be fine for sharing on Facebook, but things are far from print-quality.
