Despite rumours of a metal build, LG has gone for genuine leather instead which is unusual as a main option (you can choose it for the Moto X but it's a premium extra). The leather feels nice with the stitching so it's preferable to faux leather as found on some Samsung devices but some colours aren't great such as yellow and sky blue. Although the leather is vegetable tanned and LG says the colour will change over time.

If the idea of leather puts you off the LG G4 straight away then don't worry because there is a ceramic option too which has a smooth diamond texture and comes in three colours: Metallic Gray, Ceramic White and Shiny Gold. However, this feels pretty plasticky especially the white model with LG confirming the polycarbonate is only 5 percent ceramic. You'll need to pay around £25 extra for the leather.

That cover is still removable giving you access to the battery and microSD card slot which is good to see. What we don't know is how the leather will wear over time so we hope we can have a sample long enough to see what happens.

The LG G4 looks pretty similar to the G3 apart from the switch to leather and ceramic. However, it's a shame that like the HTC One M9, the firm hasn't managed to slim it down. It's heavier at 155g and thicker at 9.8mm which isn't ideal. We were also hoping for the phone to be thinner on the width as the G3 is a tad difficult to use in this sense but the G4 is actually taller and wider at 76 x 149.9mm.

LG uses a Slim Arc curved shape which makes it comfortable to hold and supposedly makes it 20 percent more durable than a flat smartphone in face-down drops.

We knew a lot about the LG G4 prior to the launch, partly thanks to LG and partly the usual leaks online.

The firm has stuck with a 5.5in screen size and a Quad HD resolution (1440 x 2560) so it's the same as the LG G3 and offers a high pixel density of 538ppi. It's not the same panel though as LG has fitted its new IPS Quantum Display which is says has 20 percent greater colour reproduction, 25 percent improvement in brightness and 50 percent greater contrast.

It's not a huge leap from the G3 but that display is hard to follow and was the first Quad HD phone to market. Once again, we think the LG G4's screen is top quality so it's really the size which is more of an issue here as 5.5in will be too large for some users.

Which processor LG would opt for was something we had to wait to find out and it's not the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (as used in the LG G Flex 2) or the firm's own Nuclun processor. Instead the LG G4 has a Snapdragon 808 making it the first device we've seen with the chip. The reason is unknown but suspected to be behind the overheating issues of the 810.

The Snapdragon 808 is a six-core processor rather than octa-core offering dual-core ARM Cortex A57 and quad-core A53 with 64-bit support. It also has an Adreno 418 GPU which supports 3D gaming on 4K displays and X10 LTE which has integrated LTE Advanced for download speeds of up to 450Mbps.

LG says it has worked with Qualcomm on the 808 touting is as 'snappy yet energy-thrifty'. It claims the change means an extra 20 percent battery life compared to the G3 despite having the same battery capacity.

The LG G4 seems nippy after some hands-on time but as usual we'll have to spend a lot longer with it and get it into the lab before we can give you a final verdict on performance.

LG has simplified things when it comes to memory and storage with a flat 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage matching rivals. There is, however, that microSD card slot which many were annoyed to see dropped on the Galaxy S6 so you can bump things up if you need to.

A major feature which LG has been pushing since before the launch event is the camera which is confirmed would have an aperture of f/1.9 – narrowly beating the Galaxy S6 by 0.1. We now know the main camera is 16Mp, up from 13Mp, and has OIS 2.0 (optical image stabilisation).

It is, as usual, very difficult to test the camera out properly at the launch event but it looks promising. We will, of course, put it through its paces when we get a review sample.

What we like already is the addition of the Manual Mode which lets you start controlling the settings yourself –fun to try even if you're not into photography. You can tweak the shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation, white balance and use manual focus. You can even shoot in RAW if you like and selfie fans can use the new Gesture Interval Shot feature to take a series of four selfies.

The G4 has the kind of wireless you'd expect from a top-end phone with 11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 LE and NFC. This does mean that LG hasn't added features you can find elsewhere such as a fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor. The IR blaster remains from the G3 but you'll need to buy the Quick Circle case to use wireless charging which is a shame as it was a standard feature of the G3.

The LG G4 comes pre-loaded with the latest version of Android, 5.1 Lollipop and the firm's new UX 4.0 interface which it teased before the launch. It looks similar to the G3's user interface as you'd expect and still has existing features such as Smart Bulletin and Smart Notice but there are some new features.

We've already mentioned the new Manual Mode and Gesture Interval Shot above while talking about the camera but there's another which is related called Quick Shot. It simply means you can double tap the Rear Key to take photos, even with the screen off – you might need to do some cropping but it should mean you don't miss moments.

There's also an improved Gallery app and a new feature called Event Pocket allows you to create a unified calendar by dragging and dropping appointments and activities from multiple calendars and social media sites.

It's also worth noting that the LG G4 comes pre-installed with Google Office and G4 owners will receive an additional 100GB of Google Drive storage free for two years which is a lot of extra space. LG also said VW owners will be able to "view a car-friendly version of the G4 interface on the in-dash display for full integration with contacts, navigation and music on the smartphone."