LG G3 rumour roundup: Chipset, retail packaging, and release date

Lately we have been hearing a stream of rumours and leaks regarding the LG G2's successor, the still-officially-unnamed LG G3. Adding to the list, an alleged image showing the alleged gold-coloured retail box, speculated details about its chipset and release date, and a mock-up image of the phone of the handset have surfaced online.

The golden retail box shown by The Verge, indicates the handset to arrive in a Gold variant following the colour's popularity - evinced by the demand for respective colour variants of smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S5, Apple iPhone 5s, and the HTC One. The LG G2 was also released in Red and Gold variants. Unfortunately, no details of specifications or pricing were derived from the alleged gold retail box.

However, a report coming from KoreaHerald cites a LG spokesperson stating that the firm will start mass-producing homebrewed application processors within the second quarter of this year. The processors are said to power the upcoming LG G3 and other LG and third-party mid-to-low-cost smartphones, indicating the G3 will launch soon.

The LG G3, expected to arrive in late June or early July, is said to resemble the recently seen 'LG isai FL' smartphone's design that was leaked in an image. LG's alleged 'isai FL' smartphone, which is headed to Japan's KDDI carrier, was leaked by @evleaks couple of days ago.

If the LG G3 does indeed sport a similar design as the LG isai FL, it would sport very thin bezels around the screen, something previously rumoured.

A mock-up of the LG G3 was developed by a Bulgarian blog (via Phonearena), citing an inside source who claims to have seen the device. The mock-up shows a buttons-on-the-back design that is slightly different from the G2, as well as a matte plastic finish with an underlying pattern. The G3 is also claimed to feature a removable back cover, and a microSD card slot.

No capacitive buttons are visible on the front, indicating the use of onscreen keys. The Bulgarian blog's source also indicates the presence of an LED light in the lock key, and claims the back panel will feature a dual-LED flash and infrared transmitter.

Notably, LG recently confirmed the inclusion of a Quad-HD (1440x2560 resolution) pixels display in the LG G2's successor.

The recently leaked Sprint user agent profile and the AnTuTu benchmark test results also corroborated the LG G3 will sport Quad-HD resolution. The Sprint user agent profile additionally shows the handset to run on Android 4.4.2 KitKat along with a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB built-in storage that can be expanded up to 64GB. The AnTuTu benchmark points out some more specifications such as Adreno 330 GPU, OpenGL ES 3.0, a rather inaccurate 640 dpi, and multi-touch support.

Reports from last month suggest the LG G3 handset will also be water-resistant like several of the new flagships (Sony Xperia Z2 and Samsung Galaxy S5) seen these days. It was also mentioned that while Samsung had teamed up with a Korean firm using the Liquid Silicon Moulding method to make its Samsung Galaxy S5 water-resistant, LG might go ahead with its own native technologies in the LG G3