LG to make most of its phones' interfaces look like the G3

LG’s G3 smartphone is this year’s surprise hit: It’s the first phone from the Korean electronics giant that can go toe-to-toe with the best of Apple and Samsung. Now the company is looking to sprinkle some of the G3’s pixie dust on its cheaper devices.

One of the reasons behind the G3’s success appears to be the user interface enhancements that LG included. VentureBeat’s Devindra Hardawar called it a “dramatically simplified” interface compared with the earlier LG G2.

It must have worked: Now, the company says in a press release that it will be making that interface standard across many of its smartphones and tablets.

Specifically, LG will bring a few enhancements to its mid- and entry-level devices. For example, it will be including a simplified camera interface that displays only the most common menus.

Its phones’ cameras will also include the G3’s “Touch and Shoot” feature, which lets people focus and shoot a picture with a single tap anywhere on the display — instead of first tapping on the screen to focus on a point and then pressing another onscreen button to snap the photo.

LG will also be adding its “Smart Keyboard” to many of its devices. Like other, aftermarket apps — such as Swype and Swiftkey — LG’s Smart Keyboard anticipates what words you’re likely to type next, suggesting them as you go. LG claims that this feature reduces input error “up to 75 percent.”

“Standardizing these features across our entry- and mid-tier mobile products is just a natural extension of our desire to make every LG device feel premium and unique,” Jong-seok Park, president and CEO, “said” in a canned statement.