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Everyone is doing a cut-down flagship these days and the LG G3 S joins the HTC One Mini 2, Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact in an increasingly competitive mid-range.
As is often the case with these "mini" flagships though the G3 S misses the mark, with the likes of Motorola and Google's Nexus range offering more enticing propositions.
We liked
The LG G3 S offers a few features not seen too often in mid-range phones, such as an IR transmitter for universal remote chops.
Battery life is good too. Despite not having a truly massive battery unit, you should get a comfortable day and a half off a charge.
It looks just like the LG G3. The metal-effect plastic still feels like plastic, but it has a pretty snazzy look.
We disliked
After the top-value LG G3 and LG G2, the LG G3 S does not seem like that great a deal. It's outclassed by cheaper rivals like the Moto G and you can get better phones like the G2 and Nexus 5 for the same price or a little extra.
The 720p resolution screen is fairly decent, but at the price I'd hope to see a 1080p one. You can notice the difference, easily, at five inches and others have managed to at the price.
Internal storage is very limited. 8GB is very stingy at £200-plus.
Final verdict
The LG G3 S may look like the LG G3, but it offers much poorer value than LG's flagship. Relatively low screen resolution, limited storage, a low-end processor and at-best mid-range camera just don't stack up to the £240 price.
At this point there are just too many great phones in the £200-300 price band for the LG G3 S to be able to compete. As such, the phone feels overpriced.
However, if you fall in love with the LG G3 design, this 'S' version does look and feel fairly similar.
First reviewed: October 2014
