LG G4 Beat arrival plays up cameras on a mid-range smartphone

LG's much leaked mid-ranger has been announced, but rather than being called the LG G4S its official title is the LG G4 Beat. Many of the specs are as we'd heard though, including a 5.2-inch 1080 x 1920 screen, 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor and 1.5GB of RAM.

LG is seemingly going big on the camera in the G4 Beat, as while the rear snapper is just 8MP it uses LG's Colour Spectrum Sensor for more natural colours and it has a laser autofocus and manual mode.

The front-facing camera doesn't sound too shabby either. It's got a 5MP sensor and inherits LG's Gesture Interval Shot mode, allowing you to take four consecutive shots with a single hand gesture.

Other specs include 8GB of storage, a 2300mAh battery, Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and 4G support, while the body of the phone, which is available in metallic silver, ceramic white or shiny gold, looks a lot like the plastic version of the LG G4.

G4 overload

It sounds like a solid mid-ranger, though LG's repeated recycling of the G4 name could just lead to confusion. Make no mistake, this ranks far below LG's flagship phone. As do the LG G4 Stylus and LG G4c. So LG, if you're listening, try a new name next time.

Pricing for the LG G4 Beat is yet to be confirmed, but we should have more idea of that soon, as the G4 Beat is expected to launch in key markets in Europe and Latin America this month, followed by a more global roll out.

• LG's got it eyes on your wrist too.