By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
The LG G5 was the biggest surprise unleashed at Mobile World Congress. A departure from the impressive LG G4 of last year, the new flagship didn’t just ramp up all the hardware specs it also ushered in an entirely new form factor with curved glass, unibody aluminum and a sleek re-imagining of core design principles.
The LG G5 is more than a flagship smartphone, it is an entire platform for creating, sharing and enjoying digital content. LG really dug in deep to create not just a powerful, attractive and multifunctional smartphone that most users would love to use and own, It devised various use cases with plug-and-play accessories that improve activities like taking pictures and listening to music.
I had the opportunity to test a pre-production Korean model LG G5 and while none of the ‘Friend’ accessories were available at the time, I got the chance to get a good feel for the device.
Look and Feel
LG has gone premium with an aluminum unibody enclosure which offers a supple satin feel while being less slippery than devices like the iPhone 6S or Samsung’s shiny glass Galaxies. I liked the removable leather backplates of the LG G4 as well as the customization that design offered, but LG has gone a different and less traditional route with the LG G5, which is something you can’t help but appreciate.
There are various small touches worth noticing like the 3D Arc Glass used in the smartphone’s 5.3-inch display that creates a gentle curve and a smooth colourful metal surface.
The rear of the LG G5 features a slight bump with the dual cameras as well as the protruding power button which cleverly doubles as a fingerprint sensor. The volume rocker has been moved back to the side and sits nearly flush with the body.
Dual lens rear camera lets you choose between a standard or a 135-degree wide angle lens to capture more information. The rear fingerprint sensor is fast to set up and deploy, I actually think its placement is ideal for implementation of fingerprint security in a smartphone today.
A single bottom-firing speaker is loud enough for handsfree calls, playing back music and watching videos.
LG has managed to hide the antenna enclosures and the result is an elegant and lasting design that is well balanced and tasteful and feels quite durable. LG has smartly retained the IR blaster, which allows the LG G5 to be a smart remote for your TV and home theater equipment.
This is a small, almost insignificant feature that makes a lot of sense to have, and while Samsung ditched their IR blasters on their new models, it’s good to see that LG, who makes various devices their phones can control, is looking out for the user’s needs and not in the business of removing features they’ve already introduced.
On the flipside, I'm not sure I agree with LG's strategy of offering accessories to round out the device. Do they really expect customers to have to spend more money over an already costly flagship smartphone? I\ve not had the chance to play with any of the 'Friends' and see how they interact with the handset so I can't say how much value these add to the phone.
The display on the LG G5 looks really black, mostly because of the surrounding aluminum case. The new always-on feature, which shows the time as well as any recent notifications, calendar events and app updates makes complete sense and should be in any new smartphone (and smart watch) to be considered this year.
The LG G5 also has a Daylight Mode which makes it highly visible and readable even in bright sunny conditions. Again, this is LG capitalizing on their industry-leading display technology.
The bottom of the LG G5 shows another feature that no new flagship smartphone should omit, which is the USB Type-C adapter. We first saw this on the 12-inch MacBook, then the Pixel C and the two latest Nexus smartphones. LG’s implementation supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 although the included adaptor is only good for 2.0 version of the standard.
Removing the bottom section, to connect a new battery or one of the add-on accessories, can be done by clicking a small button and pulling the bottom half out. It seems straightforward although I wonder how much wear and tear this part can take if you're regularly replacing components.
Quick Charge functionality on smartphones is the single biggest feature advancement in the past few years that really makes a great difference for all types of users.
Being able to charge your device to capacity in under an hour ensures that you can always have a working smartphone. It also ensures that you can top up your charge in between flights, while catching lunch or in between meetings.
The LG G5 lasted all day under heavy use and even edged out the Samsung Galaxy S7 in similar heavy use examples. This includes watching two hours of Netflix streaming video, playing back streaming music and podcasts for two hours, some light gaming, photography and social media usage throughout the day.
Camera functionality on the LG G5 has improved what was an already impressive feature set in the LG G4, which is still the camera phone I go to for manual controls and RAW output. The addition of a wide angle camera makes this smartphone an even more complete package for phone photographers.
The wide angle lens isn't for everything or everyone and it does cast a weird fisheye effect in certain conditions, but having the ability to fit everything into one shot when you need it the most is priceless. Oh, and being able to take photos while shooting HD video is a great feature for anyone who has to document events or manage photo and video duty during birthdays.
Video is equally impressive with the LG G5, I was able to shoot a short video with one candle as my light source and while grainy, I did get the essence of that video.
The LG G5 brings all the great features of the LG G4 but has a whole new form factor, premium materials and some impressive feature updates. The idea of 'Friends' accessories is interesting but a good smartphone should be able to stand on its own merits. Only time will tell if the LG G5 can do that.