LG G3 (Sprint) In Stores One Week Before Originally Expected; Gold Flavor, Too

Sprint announced it is offering the LG G3 in stores and online starting today, a full week ahead of the July 18 release date the carrier originally announced, CNET reports. The early launch has helped Sprint eliminate the head start competitor AT&T, which also began offering the device in stores today, would have had.

The carrier's Metallic Black option is also joined by the Shine Gold model, which is a Sprint exclusive in the U.S.

The G3 comes with a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (with microSD card slot) and a 13MP rear-facing camera with OIS+ and Laser AutoFocus. It also features a 2.1MP front-facing camera, a removable 3000mAh battery and Android 4.4.

Consumers searching for the best battery life out of the flagship smartphones on the market should look to the LG G3, BGR reports.

The new LG flagship smartphone easily beat out its competition in a new battery comparison test, which is a truly amazing feat considering the device features some major specs, including a 5.5-inch QHD display.

PhoneArena's test, which previously indicated that the Galaxy S5 had "tablet-grade" battery life, showed that even the new Samsung flagship could not keep up with G3, which turned in an amazing 8 hours and 50 minutes. The GS5, meanwhile, finished in 8 hours and 20 minutes.

The rest of the Android and Apple flagship competitors fell even farther behind the leader, with the Sony Xperia Z2 placing third in 8 hours and 10 minutes, the HTC One M8 fourth in 7 hours and 12 minutes and the Apple iPhone 5S finishing with just 5 hours and 2 minutes. The 5S was actually sixth, as the G3's predecessor, the G2, came in fifth with a time of 6 hours and 48 minutes.

The G3 will also be available next week on U.S. carriers T-Mobile and Verizon.