LG demos flagship G5 smartphone

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Tom Etherington shows off the handset's UI, camera and modular potential.

There's no shortage of challengers for the title of best new smartphone at MWC 2016, but LG's intriguing G5 has to be in contention. The firm's new flagship features an all-metal body that's particularly easy on the eye and a wealth of features that help the handset stand out from the crowd.

A wide angle 135ยบ camera is one of the tricks up the G5's sleeves, but there's also a 5.3in IPS Quantum display promising 800-nit brightness, an always-on mode for instant notifications, and plenty of oomph courtesy of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset.

Yet despite all that, it's the G5's modular capability that's really tickling our fancy. The bottom of the phone slides out and can be swapped with optional accessories that at launch will include a Cam Plus camera grip and a B&O Play Hi-Fi audio module. Intrigued? Check out the video at the top of the page to see the G5 in action.

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HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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Posted by j.o.s.h.1408 - Tue 23 Feb 2016 12:03
nice
Posted by bridges009 - Tue 23 Feb 2016 12:21
XDA Developers have found that the app drawer is actually still there (on these display models at least), there are two stock launchers, one with and one without.
Posted by Otherhand - Wed 24 Feb 2016 02:55
A lot of people have been calling this phone ugly, and from the renders I could see why, but it actually looks pretty nice in a real person's hand. The software's a lot better than the G4's too - good to see.
Posted by TooNice - Wed 24 Feb 2016 07:09
It would have been nice if they put a bigger battery in it. Yes, it is removable, but the main reason I like removable battery is less so that I can replace them during the day / if it eventually dies (though both reason IS a plus over non-removable batteries), but so that I can replace them with a bigger, longer lasting battery. Still, at least one of the announced module will add a bit of extra capacity.

The other thing I am a bit concerned about, is how vulnerable it is to water. I know that it is not designed to be water resistant like the S7, but my non-water resistant Galaxy S3 has held pretty well in my snowboard pants even in days where it get so wet that some water seeps in.
Posted by crossy - Wed 24 Feb 2016 13:27
Otherhand
A lot of people have been calling this phone ugly, and from the renders I could see why, but it actually looks pretty nice in a real person's hand. The software's a lot better than the G4's too - good to see.
Hmm, I'm thinking that it really depends on the colour you pick, with the lighter colours looking worse. That said, even on a good day it's still going to end up as the Galaxy S7 Edge's uglier cousin. :(
TooNice
It would have been nice if they put a bigger battery in it. Yes, it is removable, but the main reason I like removable battery is less so that I can replace them during the day / if it eventually dies (though both reason IS a plus over non-removable batteries), but so that I can replace them with a bigger, longer lasting battery. Still, at least one of the announced module will add a bit of extra capacity.
I agree with you on that. But I'm thinking that the modular design actually will make it easier to do these horrendous capacity extended batteries, a la ZeroLemon and others. I was actually thinking of something similar to the current camera module, but solely devoted to extending the battery life. And if that module also included Qi charging then that'd make it doubly attractive in my book.
TooNice
The other thing I am a bit concerned about, is how vulnerable it is to water. I know that it is not designed to be water resistant like the S7, but my non-water resistant Galaxy S3 has held pretty well in my snowboard pants even in days where it get so wet that some water seeps in.
Difficult to say - but I have seen some reports that the modules clip in quite tightly. In which case that surely bodes well for some splash resistance? With my G3 (and the S3 that preceeded it) I use one of those Proporta lanyard/bag things. Which was good enough to resist a dousing courtesy of the Jurrassic Park ride in Orlando last year.

I'm really disappointed that the looks are pretty … well … plain verging on “ugly”. I'm also less than impressed with the lack of wireless charging (which I use extensively with my G3). Smaller screen too. Final straw is the flat back, since I found the G3/G4's curved back really quite comfortable, a flat back sounds too much like aping Samsung, Apple et al (as is the step back to metal construction in my book).

It'll be interesting to see how LG sell this - I think the key thing is going to be the modules/Friends. If these are priced very aggressively and/or a wide range becomes available then that could make the ‘5 a success. I quite fancy the B&O module, but I’m confident that this'll be half the price of the phone (or more?). So if I don't go for a G5 then I'm figuring on holding on the ole G3 for a mite longer and seeing what Autumn/Fall brings - perhaps a new Nexus or perhaps a V10 successor?

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