LG has announced its much anticipated LG G4, confirming many of the pre-leaked specs, as well as introduce a few surprises. The new flagship packs in a 5.5-inch QHD display, 16-megaixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front snapper and a 3000mAh battery capacity. 

The question on everybody's lips however, is how LG's latest display-dominating device will fare against Samsung's beautiful Galaxy S6 smartphone and which South Korean manufacturer will take the crown?

We have crunched the specs and put the two sexy smartphones up against each other to see which device wins the numbers game and whether it's worth holding off on buying an S6 until you can see it side-by-side against the LG G4. Read on to find out the winner of the spec sheet comparison.

The LG G4 is bigger, heavier and plastic

The LG G4 measures 148.9 x 76.1 x 9.8mm compared to the Samsung Galaxy S6's measurements that come in at 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8mm. There is quite a big difference in the two handsets, with the Galaxy S6 offering a significantly smaller and slimmer frame overall.

The LG G4 is also 17g heavier than the Galaxy S6 hitting the scales at 155g compared to Samsung's 138g weight. This is quite surprising given that LG opts for a metallic-look which is actually plastic, while Samsung went for a metal and glass unibody this time round.

The Galaxy S6 also adds a fingerprint sensor to its body, while LG steers clear of these kinds of technologies yet again and continues to keep things simple, with the large display and rear controls as the main design attributes.

In terms of colour options, the LG G4 comes in six genuine leather variants including red, brown and black, as well as three ceramic options, while the Galaxy S6 is available in black, white, gold and blue.

The LG G4 has a bigger display, but the Galaxy S6 will be sharper

The LG G4 wins a few points back over the Galaxy S6 when it comes to display size, but not sharpness. LG continues down its predefined path of a large screen in a relatively compact body and while we saw above that the G4 was a lot larger than the S6, LG offers a 5.5-inch screen over Samsung's 5.1-inch so the size disparity is almost justified.

Both the G4 and the S6 sport a 2560 x 1440 resolution however, which means the G4 has a pixel density of 534ppi compared to the S6's 576ppi, meaning the S6 should theoretically have a sharper and crisper display.

LG has made a lot of noise surrounding its new display for the G4 however, claiming it will offer a quantum jump in colour gamut and brightness, improved sensitivity and richer, more accurate colours. The G4 has some stiff competition though as the S6's Super AMOLED display is lovely with plenty of brightness, great contrast and good viewing angles so we are looking forward to seeing how the new LG display compares in the real world.

The LG G4 has a larger aperture and more front-facing megapixels

The two devices go head-to-head when it comes to the rear cameras, with both the LG G4 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 opting for a 16-megapixel sensor. The G4 offers a larger aperture however at f/1.8, compared to the S6's f/1.9 and LG claims even the slightest increase makes a difference. LG has also introduced a 40 per cent larger sensor and a colour spectrum sensor that it claims will deliver more natural photos.

The Galaxy S6 camera delivers great point-and-shoot results, consistently and reliably though so the LG G4 needs to perform in this area to compete. Both have various software features to help, with the LG G4 offering a Quick Shot mode that allows you to double press the rear volume button for an instant shot, while Samsung's Galaxy S6 allows you to launch the camera from sleep with a double-tap on the home button.

LG has also introduced three modes to its camera in the new device to appeal to all levels of photographers. The modes consist of a simple, auto and manual mode with Simple Mode doing all the hard work for you, while Manual Mode has a range of options to play with. Users will be able to adjust the shutter speed and save in RAW for editing on a desktop computer afterwards.

In terms of the front-facing camera, LG takes the crown here with an 8-megapixel selfie snapper compared to the Galaxy S6's 5-megapixel front-facing offering. We weren't overly impressed with the front-facing shooter on the S6 when we reviewed it, managing to achieve only reasonable selfies and not great low-light performance so are hoping for better on the G4.

The Galaxy S6 will be faster, but the LG G4 has microSD storage expansion

The LG G4 features a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor under its hood, supported by 3GB of RAM, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 opts for an in-house octa-core Exynos chip with 3GB of RAM. In theory, this will mean that the Galaxy S6 will be faster as it has a couple more cores to help power it, but the Snapdragon 808 should be more than capable.

We thought the Galaxy S6 was very slick and fast in all things when we reviewed it and we would expect similar results from the G4, despite LG not opting for Qualcomm's latest 810 chip.

The LG G4 will come with 32GB of internal memory, along with a microSD slot for storage expansion up to 128GB. The Galaxy S6 on the other hand, has 32GB, 64GB and 128GB internal storage options, but the metal body has meant the microSD support no longer exists.

The metal body also means Samsung no longer offers a removable battery in its Galaxy S6, which comes with a 2550mAh capacity, while LG does offer an user-interchageable battery along with a larger capacity at 3000mAh. The battery life of the Galaxy S6 was a little on the low side when we reviewed it so we'd hope the larger capacity on the LG G4 will mean a few more hours, although with a larger display to power, this may not be the case.

Both Android Lollipop, both different interfaces

The LG G4 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 both come with Android 5 Lollipop from the box, but they both offer individual user interfaces over the top.

The G4 comes with LG's UX 4.0 interface, while the Galaxy S6 features Samsung's TouchWiz interface but Samsung has improved on the previous slightly cartoony experience we felt previous TouchWiz interfaces offered.

LG is bringing in a host of new features with the new UI, including an improved calendar, camera modes mentioned previously and an improved Smart Notice feature for more personalised notifications. LG has also promised greater customisation in terms of the gallery.

Ultimately, both manufacturers have their own take on what they believe is a good user experience, but it will be down to personal taste as to which you prefer. We found Samsung's latest UI to be flatter, cleaner, fast and stable and we will be interested to see how LG's UI performs when we come to review it.

Conclusion

The LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy S6 sit pretty much neck-in-neck. One device is better at some things, while the other is better at others.

The LG G4 has a larger display, a larger aperture for better low-light shots (in theory), a better front-facing camera and a larger capacity battery. It also offers storage expansion via microD and the battery is removable, which some may consider a deal-maker.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 on the other hand, is smaller, slimmer and lighter in build, offers a more premium design thanks to the metal and glass materials, has a sharper display and presents a faster processor under the hood.

For some, the LG G4 will be too large, while for others the Samsung Galaxy S6 might not be large enough. The Galaxy S6 is a truly fantastic phone, but the G4 shows huge potential and we suspect it won't matter which you choose as both are likely to meet expectations, and perhaps even succeed them.