LG's New G3 With Laser Auto Focus Won't Hit U.S. Until At Least July

LG’s new full-featured flagship G3 smartphone goes on sale Wednesday - in Korea. For consumers in the U.S., availability is slightly less well defined. In a press release, the company said U.S. buyers could expect the phone “later this summer.”

The G3 will feature a Snapdragon 801 processor and an incredibly fast laser auto focus. The device will launch in both 16GB and 32GB versions. Both versions have a microSD slot that will take cards as large as 128GB.

All major U.S. carriers said they would sell the G3. This includes Verizon VZ, which said its version of the G3 would be XLTE ready and T-Mobile TMUS, which is having a special pre-release G3 giveaway contest through June 29.

Other major carriers were AT&T T, which released G3 information on its website, and Sprint S, which is also having a drawing for free phones. Sprint is advertising that the G3 will be available in July.

The new smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch Quad HD display – the ‘quad’ refers to the fact the resolution is four times that of regular HD and twice the resolution of a Full HD display.

The 13MP Optical Image Stabilizer Plus camera function and its ground-breaking auto focus has the ability to fine tune the image in a fraction of the time that most conventional phone cameras need to focus, according to LG.

Related: Samsung, LG Now Reportedly Considering Sapphire Crystal Displays -Phone Arena

LG touted its “Simple is the New Smart” slogan, LG promoted the many ways it said its new smartphone would simplify the whole cell phone experience. Chief among them were the lightning quick auto focus on the camera and the ability to tap the subject on the screen to simultaneously trigger both focus and the shutter.

A unique “gesture control” feature of the front-facing camera allows the user to clench their fist, which the G3 recognizes and begins an automatic three-second countdown to take a picture.

The Rear Key, originally found on the G2, adds to simplification by providing a way for users to both power on/off the device and control volume.

Other features include a Smart Keyboard said to learn as the user types so it reduces mistakes by up to 75 percent. In addition, the height of the keyboard is adjustable.

Smart Notice, LG’s version of a personal assistant, will provide suggestions and recommendations based on past user behavior.

Smart Security features include a new Knock Code capability that would allow users to unlock their device with a pattern of taps.

At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco had no position in any mentioned securities.