No Android phone is worth NZ$1000

Although LG’s G4 is one of the best Android phones you can buy It isn’t likely to sell in large numbers. At least not in New Zealand.

That’s because at NZ$1200 it is too expensive.

It doesn’t stack up well against the competition.

LG’s problem is that the G4 is squeezed between Apple at the top of the phone market — the iPhone 6 Plus is $50 more expensive — and cheaper Androids offering a similar experience.

As Andrew McPherson points out, the Moto X is a good alternative. You can buy it for NZ$600, half the price of an LG G4.

Sure the G4 has better features: a better screen, a better camera. Even so, there’s little you can do with a G4 that can’t be done as well with the Moto X.

Better Android options

If you’re adventurous there are even cheaper Android phones that deliver almost as much as the LG G4. Vodafone NZ sells the Vodafone Smart for $150. You’ll get, perhaps, three-quarters of the functionality and pay one-eighth of the price.

You don’t need to visit the bargain basement to get a sharper price. Even Samsung’s swanky Galaxy S6 costs $100 less than the G4. You can get the Samsung phone for under $1000 if you shop around.

There’s not a huge gulf between Huawei’s $800 P8 Android flagship and the G4. The LG G4 may have a better camera, but almost no-one will notice the difference in practice. You might as well pocket that $400. It’ll pay for a lot of mobile data.