LG G5 review: Evening the odds

22 March, 2016
Someone at LG must have thought: “Leather is so last-year, let’s do something nobody has done – or long quit trying.” And here we have the LG G5. It has the looks of a brand new flagship, the heart of a dragon and an adventurous dual camera setup suited for every occasion. But there’s more than meets the eye, the Magic Slot. The LG G5 is a modular smartphone, which lets you plug a handful of external add-ons: a semi-pro camera grip with shutter buttons and a bigger battery, or an external sound amplifier by B&O.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • XjZ
  • 26 Mar 2016

Tom-Helge, 26 Mar 2016I see a lot of LG fans here that can't seem to realize that... moreSome people would worry a screen would get burn-in. No matter how excellent a screen is, if it would get burn-in, it is no good for some people. ( not all the people would change phones ever year )

    • d
    • dasman
    • Yc3
    • 26 Mar 2016

    Tom-Helge, 26 Mar 2016I see a lot of LG fans here that can't seem to realize that... moreBless up papa Helge.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • q5D
      • 26 Mar 2016

      Talk about a bunch of losers on here arguing about phones. They're just phones people. You really couldn't go wrong with either phone (S7 edge / G5). They both have their pros and cons. It's all in what the USER likes. Some are really big into the design of a phone. I'm not since a majority of us slap a case on them anyway.

      Some need really good battery life. Some need a removable battery. Some need micro sd support. Some need their phone to be water resistant. The list goes on. Stop trying to convince one phone is better then the other when one has different wants/needs than you do. Especially when the phones are so similar in specs. Good day

        I see a lot of LG fans here that can't seem to realize that the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge simply have alot of advantages over the LG G5.

        Let me explain.

        1. The Quantum IPS LCD display on the LG G5 is good, that's for sure. But claiming that the Quantum IPS LCD screen on the LG G5 is better than the screen on the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge is quite funny when you consider that no IPS LCD screens since the Galaxy Note 4 came out have been even close to be as good as the Super AMOLED screen.

        When it comes to color accuracy, brightness and contrast, then it's something that the Super AMOLED screens runs circles around any IPS LCD screen in. Fact.

        Just go to DisplayMate's webpage and see for yourself on the tests they have done on the smartphone displays the last 2 years.

        And lastly, the argument that Super AMOLED screens have burn-in issues is an overstatement. I have had the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy Note (the first one), Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 4 and now the Galaxy S6 edge+. I have never seen any burn-in issues on my phones EVER.

        It's a fact that Samsung might have some manufacturing issues with some screens that sadly ends up on some customers phones. But that number is extremely small. So it's not an issue. IPS LCD screens have their own screen issues to, so doesn't matter where you go. You are going to face issues no matter what kind of screens you are choosing if you are encoutering issues.

        2. When it's about design, it's quite obvious that the Galaxy S7's design is way better than the LG G5 when even the Apple friendly webpage 'The Verge' agrees to that: http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/15/11221814/samsung-galaxy-s7-design-leader

        Yes, the design on the LG G5 is still good, but not as good as the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge.

        3. Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge is both water resistant which makes it a bit more attractive to use outside in a bit more rough weather. Whether you use a smartphone outside in such weathers or not doesn't change the fact that 'water resistant' is a nice bonus to have. It will for sure attract more customers.

        4. Now, some of you here are still arguing that TouchWiz is still bad. If you had said that 2-3 years ago, i would agree on that. Today TouchWiz is a totally different UI than it was some years ago. Again, i have had alot of Samsung phones the last years, so i know this is a fact.

        TouchWiz today is actually one of the better UI's out there. It's really cleaned up and it's minimalistic. Ofc LG UI have also been improved through the years, but not as good / much as TouchWiz have been the last years.

        5. When it comes to the 16:9 vs 4:3 aspect ratio on the cameras. I do agree that the 16:9 is better. But even though alot of us thinks that 16:9 is better doesn't change the fact that a 4:3 camera can still gives us some extremely impressive images from the camera. And the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge is a prime example of that. The camera on the LG G5 is good, but not as good as the camera on the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge.

        I'm sure alot of camera comparsions will pop up on the internet soon that will show this.

        6. And ofc, the battery on the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge runs circles around the LG G5. Nothing more is needed to be said about that.

        7. Lastly. If you guys think that the Snapdragon 820 is any better than the Exynos 8890 CPU just because of the benchmark scores it gets, you are in for a suprise on how bad it's actually is in comparsion to the Exynos 8890 CPU. Have a look at this video to see how big the difference is between the Galaxy S7 with the Exynos CPU to the Snapdragon 820 version of the Galaxy S7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=233f0ewFWGk

          • I
          • ICE
          • fjU
          • 26 Mar 2016

          Lots of people moaning about a pre - production model. Read the disclaimer.

            • D
            • AnonD-442781
            • pJc
            • 26 Mar 2016

            Anonymous, 26 Mar 2016LG G5 has better display, better design (including battery ... moreTheir phone looks disgusting this year. Sure, if you include the modular part of the design you may have an argument, but its laughable for you to compare the appearance.
            But it also has more bezels, and the 5.3" includes the virtual buttons, so unless you're in certain apps, your screen is less than 5.1".

            The battery life is also much worse.

            The display doesn't match the s7 in terms of accuracy, and more importantly, efficiency. Sure, they may have a better always on, but that's just a gimmick.

            The camera isn't as good as the s7 in conditions without a lot of light, and not as good when there is motion, the two areas where smartphone cameras struggle.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • 7q9
              • 26 Mar 2016

              don't bother with other phones.
              samsung has nailed it early this year.
              don't see anyone coming close

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • pqp
                • 26 Mar 2016

                Anonymous, 26 Mar 2016You said exactly what was happening but mixed us up. Good t... moreI didn't mix up anything. It's just that you have poor reading comprehension.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • pqp
                  • 26 Mar 2016

                  AnonD-442781, 26 Mar 2016The s7 also has ip68, better display, better battery life, ... moreLG G5 has better display, better design (including battery design, it's removable and expandable), and more and better features. In term of camera, both are equally good.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • krW
                    • 26 Mar 2016

                    Anonymous, 26 Mar 2016You can believe what you want. I was talking about the obje... moreYou said exactly what was happening but mixed us up. Good try though.

                      • D
                      • AnonD-442781
                      • pJc
                      • 26 Mar 2016

                      Anonymous, 26 Mar 2016The only advantages of Galaxy S7 are - heat pipe cooling... moreThe s7 also has ip68, better display, better battery life, better camera, the dual window option you think is so good, better pay system, better design, and many other things.

                      The only thing its missing is ir blaster and radio. Both would be good but I don't think either are deal breakers.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-442781
                        • pJc
                        • 26 Mar 2016

                        60 hours is poor. Minimum for me is 70 but preferably over 80.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-505505
                          • Nu7
                          • 26 Mar 2016

                          I was young now I'm old, I've never seen a perfect smartphone in my life. They'll always pros and cons, you people can say whatever comes to your mouth and mind, you all owe your own opinions. Condemn, praise and say whatever, smartphone makers are out there making their money. I need more noise here please.

                            Really preproduction unit. On their page says +60% brightness and 800nits. Seems SO different. I guess same will be for stamina, cameras,...

                              • D
                              • AnonD-234961
                              • ndn
                              • 26 Mar 2016

                              karim salah, 26 Mar 2016What is s7 edge compared to g2 specially in terms of batter... moreBattery life on my S7 Edge (I have the Exynos) is more than double compared the G2, but of course the G2 has a 2.5 years old battery so this should be factored in also. The S7 Edge lasted me 48 hours with 15% battery left, screen-on time was over 6-7 hours. The G2 could last 36 hours max but with 90% wi-fi, once you use the 3G battery life drops fast (not even mention the 4G - on the G2 I disabled it because of high battery drain).

                                AnonD-234961, 26 Mar 2016I now have an S7 Edge, after previously having an LG G2, wh... moreWhat is s7 edge compared to g2 specially in terms of battery life cauee man g2 is my favourite phone till now even after owning many phones one of them is iphone 6s !

                                  AnonD-111717, 26 Mar 2016S7 loses in AOD which it should win easily though. and i b... moreIt does but AOD isn't a vital aspect of a smartphone whereas battery life always will be.

                                  And the point is a flagship should already be battery-efficient without the use of third party accessories that for all intents and purposes likely won't even be future-proof.

                                    AnonD-519091, 26 Mar 2016All i wanted to confirm was the mediocre battery life espec... moreAgreed. The g5's "innovative" feature becomes less useful when it doesn't have the capacity to last a full day of heavy usage. Power users will shy away from this one, unless they want to bother themselves with a bulky addon that's gonna cost them extra.

                                      • I
                                      • I love LG
                                      • t7X
                                      • 26 Mar 2016

                                      bottom line is, there is no more other thing as lg, it is LG, Life is alwayds
                                      good, more years to come, keep it up, make your logo glowing in the front and back... I will buy. G5.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-519091
                                        • CAX
                                        • 26 Mar 2016

                                        All i wanted to confirm was the mediocre battery life especially for a smaller screen. battery life history of lg phones:G2 85h, G3 63H( 2k screen 5.5inch), G4 54h( 2k screen 5.5inch), G5 60H( 5.3 inch). So who really thinks the g5 is a positive evolution. It is a mediocre phone. I own a the g3 don't like samsung s but yeah samsung has got every thing right this year. Lg better replace this concept g5 phone with the real 2016 lg flagship.

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