Last year LG created one of the best flagship with the lG G4.
But with lower-than-competitors specs, LG G4 did not gained much attention in term of design & power. This year LG seeks to be able to hold themselves against competitors such as HTC & Samsung. The difference is this time round, G5 added a little trick to its phone – the Modular design. Without further ado, let us find out what has LG done this year.
There have been concerns over the years that despite its premium positioning, LG G series has never truly felt like a flagship for the first few generations (we are looking at you too, Samsung). It was only until last year where leather back cover was introduced for G4 to showcase the premium look. This year, LG raised their own game by giving G5 a full metal cover, putting them on par with the rest of the flagship phone in this year market.
It’s understandable why LG G5 move the volume buttons to the side, with so much features squeezed (We will touch on that in the latter part of the review) at the back of the phone, it may look overwhelming to keep a clean design.
Rejoice! LG has finally added a fingerprint sensor on the power button, which is a slight disappointment on last year LG G4 when competitors ha been utilizing it 2 years ago. The fingerprint sensor is able to read & unlock phone almost instantly. To avoid accidental unlocking when you are trying to check notification or read the time, .do stick to the double tap feature since LG G2.
You would be happy to know that Fast-charger is bundled with the retail unit this time round. LG G5 support up to QC 3.0 so you can quickly top up some battery juice before heading out.
An interesting thing to note is that rather than staying on the same 5.5″ 2K display, LG has reduced G5 screen size to 5.3″- a minor change but still the largest in current market (for comparison Samsung S7 is 5.1″, HTC 10 is 5.2″, Sony Xperia X is 5″ respectively). The resolution is still being kept at a high 1440 x 2560 pixels, so you enjoy even a sharper image on the phone
LG Friends – Modular design
What is better than changing entire phone for just one component upgrade? LG has the answer for you which is the LG Friends. Basically utilized the bottom part of the phone as different modules to upgrade/add certain features. Now you do not have to look for another phone just for an upgrade on audio/camera experience anymore.
LG Cam Plus
LG Cam Plus is a camera add-on which provide physical button such as zoom & shutter button to give you a real camera experience. Interesting to note that despite the additional thickness for a better grip, LG Cam Plus has a 1,200mAh embedded battery to ensure that you don’t run out of juice during entire day of photography.
LG 360 Cam LG 360 Cam is a dual lens handheld camera capable of taking 360 full view to produce a full surrounding photo similar to Google Map Street-view, best thing of all that it is not limited to LG G5. Anyone using Android (or even iOS) can easily download the 360 CAM companion app from their respective app store and start shooting right away.
LG 360 VR
LG also joined the VR game with their LG 360 VR, unlike competitor like Samsung which required you to use the screen of the phone directly, LG 360 VR has its own screen so it won’t be as heavy as Samsung VR. Do note that it still required you to connect to your phone using USB cable for it to work.
LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play
Additionally, there’s a interesting collaboration with Bang & Olufsen called LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play. It’s a 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC and Amp to enhance your music experience. Personally I do not own a high quality headset or speaker thus it is tough for me to comment on it. You may wish to know that Hi-Fi Plus can be use as standalone device (connect the USB C cable to any other phone/computer) and you can enjoy high quality audio as a portable DAC.
Camera
Fast laser focus? Check!
Fast lens (F1.8)? Check!
Manual mode? Check!
RAW file? Check!
Sounds familiar? Because G5 has basically kept the same camera set up from G4, like what we usually said “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. What else can G5 do to standout without touching the outstanding camera from G4? Adding another camera!
Additional wide-angle (135 degrees wide) is added at the rear together making it a dual rear camera setup. Just a warning, you can easily get your finger caught in the camera shot despite just holding the G5 like you always do. Just how wide the camera is? The answer – really wide!
16 megapixels camera with normal view8 Megapixel Wide-Angle camera
Despite having a larger aperture (F/2.4 vs F/1.8) and lower megapixels count (8 Megapixels vs 16 Megapixels), you still can make use of the manual control to take stunning photo like the one below. There is almost no need to take a panorama picture as the wide-angle camera is capable to capture more at once.
Taken with wide-angle camera
G5 also kept its 8 megapixels front camera from G4. The results? Colours are accurate from bright outdoors lighting to dim areas. You can rest assured that your selfies (and wefies) are going to turn out well.
Conclusion
Overall, LG G5 has been the most interesting phone that I’ve used in a long time. While the competitors are promoting the internal capabilities of the phone (better processors, larger RAM, bigger pixels count). LG G5 changeable modular design adds a refreshing touch to the flagship market by providing something different physically.
You would be happy to know that Fast-charger is bundled with the retail unit this time round. LG G5 support up to QC 3.0 so you can quickly top up some battery juice before heading out.
LG 360 Cam is a dual lens handheld camera capable of taking 360 full view to produce a full surrounding photo similar to Google Map Street-view, best thing of all that it is not limited to LG G5. Anyone using Android (or even iOS) can easily download the 360 CAM companion app from their respective app store and start shooting right away.
