Despite a series of product leaks online ahead of its official debut, LG Electronics’ new marquee handset G4 featuring advanced cameras and a classy leather back wowed the audience at its launch in Seoul on Wednesday, sending an alert to its rivals ― Samsung Electronics and California-based Apple.

LG Electronics chief executive Koo Bon-joon expressed his satisfaction with the latest LG phone, saying he was “confident” that LG would do well against the competitors.

As announced earlier, the G4 sports a range of the industry’s most advanced technologies including an in-plane switching quantum display and a DSLR-class rear-facing camera, which will be the main appealing factors to those whom LG called the “visual generation,” or selfie lovers.

Placing emphasis on the top-tier camera and display technologies and superior design with the arced back of the G4, top executives of the Korean smartphone-maker said it would be one-of-a-kind handset catering to a wide range of consumer needs.

“The G4 is a masterpiece product that has been created with a better understanding of consumers,” Cho Sung-ha, executive vice president of the tech giant’s mobile communications business unit, said at the launching event.

LG also launched the latest smartphone in five other global markets including the U.S. and Britain.

The G4’s cameras have achieved great upgrades to surpass the ones featured on Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The 16-megapixel rear-facing camera boasts an aperture setting at F1.8, beating F1.9 on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and F2.2 on the iPhone 6.

The F1.8 aperture camera lens allows 49 percent more light to reach the camera sensor than on the iPhone 6, and 11 percent more light than the Galaxy S6 camera lens, according to LG. The front-facing camera was improved from 2.1 MP on the G3 to 8 MP for the first time in the domestic market.

Coupled with a 5.5-inch quad-HD display with the IPS quantum panel, the G4 cameras will present the best visual experience for users, an LG official explained.

A new camera function ― Expert Mode ― allows users to adjust various settings available on DSLR cameras such as shutter speed, white balance and focus. 

Throughout the unveiling event, LG continued to stress comparisons with the products of its competitors, especially domestic rival Samsung.

G4’s Snapdragon 808 processor with X10 LTE was a case in point. Dispelling concerns over substandard performance of the hexa-core chip, an older version of the octa-core Snapdragon 810, LG said the mobile chip showed higher performance in running multimedia apps than Samsung’s latest Exynos chip mounted on the Galaxy S6. The 14-nanometer Exynos is often regarded the most advanced mobile chip.

“The most important thing is how to optimize a mobile processor for a handset, not benchmark figures that are out of touch with reality,” an LG official said.

Jim Doh, vice chairman of Qualcomm Asia, also praised the LG G4 at the event.

“The G4 will be a new starting point for collaboration between the two firms, and we will further work together to provide the best value for consumers,” the Qualcomm official said.

Engineers of both companies have collaborated on optimization of the cameras and chips.

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)