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
  • gKb
  • 28 Mar 2016

AnonD-92238, 28 Mar 2016display on Samsung's flagships are better than any phonesThat's subjective. I'd probably consider a Samsung if it wasn't for Amoled. I just don't like them so have to stick to LCD.

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    • AnonD-310525
    • vxu
    • 28 Mar 2016

    with the design they have they could have end up with a waterproof certification

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      • AnonD-519716
      • 7Xg
      • 28 Mar 2016

      Miserable battery!, 28 Mar 2016Checking pathetic web browsing and video playback times of ... moreI completely agree with you! S7 Edge will be my next phone! I'm currently using a Samsung A7 2016 with 3,300 battery. The battery life is way better compared to my LG G3! I only need to charge once a day, with my G3 it needs to be charged three times a day.

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        • AnonD-377325
        • 39x
        • 28 Mar 2016

        Lg g2, 2013, 3000 mah battery
        Lg g5, 2016, 2800 mah battery
        Lg you're doing well keep going

          • M
          • Miserable battery!
          • Sf{
          • 28 Mar 2016

          Checking pathetic web browsing and video playback times of G4, V10, G5, you see similar results. Those figures are roughly 50% of S7 Edge. I really wanted to buy this G5 and move away from Samsung but LG R&D team doesn't help at all. Do they check these test figures or NOT AT ALL!? IMHO, we are a bunch of guys who talk ourselves. Nobody listens.
          OK, battery is reachable but why do we need to change battery at least once a day (G5 will be used with a cover as well; take out cover, change battery, put the cover back and repeat this cycle EVERY DAY!)?
          I am totally disappointed!

            AnonD-519716, 28 Mar 2016Pathetic battery life!There is still chance that not-pre-production unit will be better. Well, in LG shoud be aware of how it perform. Its not just camera/innovation awards that move customers.

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              • AnonD-519716
              • 2Ap
              • 28 Mar 2016

              Pathetic battery life!

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 6ch
                • 28 Mar 2016

                ithehappy, 28 Mar 2016Hmm, class leading design, in a bad way, seriously, that ba... morelol. most stu**d troll in gsmarena. why bother come here?, are you afraid your's sammy phone share taken by LG?

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • mIe
                  • 28 Mar 2016

                  lg you should work in your battery life in g series

                    Anonymous, 27 Mar 2016It's a reply also for Grey1213. There are too many Samsu... more
                    1. You are either a troll, or got trolled to believe that IPS are better than Amoled, hundreds of thousands have amoled acreens with burn in issues, this is an exception, not the rule and it is covered by the guarantee, the colors are now more accurate than ever, gsmarena also mention that on the review. You need to update yr views on that. What still stands, is the great help in contrast and battery endurance, wich is a major advantage!

                    2. On this case glass will be more durable than metal, G5 will be having more chances to bend and whats worse to get scratched, it will be a scratch nightmare for sure, much worse than being fingerprint magnet. As for the design, G5 could be prettier than S7, but the edge 7 is much more prettier than G5, the criticism on G5, is that the back makes it look like a cheap chinese mobile, not like ugly, only haters say its ugly. And one more thing, its the bezels, LG used to be the bezel master and many of us choose her for that, but the G5 is taller than G4, with smaller screen and smaller battery, whilst the edge have a 76% screen to body ratio despite waterproofness!

                    3. Anyone should, except from the accident proofness, the really important thing is protection from dust really helps from the very common issue of digitizer malfunctions and more importantly, the phone is more protected from air humidity which can be exploited by servicing stores to void yr guarantee, it can happen to anyone, all is vulnerable to air humidity, HTC tried to pull this on me once and ever since i appreciate waterproofness.

                    5. True the camera difference in day light is unsignificant and both are excellent, they were excellent since last year, the only place they all need to improve is low light photos and Samsung got there first! I ve been saying that for 2 years now, glad that someone heard!

                    6. BS, battery endurance is the most important thing on a phone, it doesnt matter what yr phone can do if you cant use it, according to gsmarena the edge has almost twice the battery wnsurance of G5! After 2-3 years of use, you can take yr s7 on a samsung store and have yr battery replaced for a 2 digit number, if you plan to keep it more than 2 years, i know i wont...
                    As for the swapable battery, it implies morecosts, more risks at destroying the swapping mechanism, as it will be used at least 2 times per day, once to slot the 2ry battery, charge it and once to remove it and replace the primary one and all the daily hassle it is required.
                    And no, you wont be able to use a hugher capacity one, as the cover is not replaceable. You must invest on modules, but i m sure that even with the camera module that rauses the total capacity to 4000mah, the G5 will have worse bat endurance to edge 7s 3600, despite its smaller display, see now why samoleds are the best?

                    7. If you bothered to see the 820 vs exynos test posted here on gsmarena, you would see that in real life, the exynos is the one that is actually faster, it is also throttle proof, so gamers should opt for that, not to mention its real advantage,the exynos chip is much more energy-efficient, a primary concern for the mobile gamer!

                    LG dropped the ball with those big bezels and terrible battery endurance, hopefully next year, they will fix them, this year the edge will be the champion!

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • U}}
                      • 28 Mar 2016

                      Anonymous, 27 Mar 2016The only two things missing now are ir blaster and removabl... moreremovable battery is crucial for me

                      and i admit that s7 better in all aspect but i we compare those two flagship performance(proc, ram, display, camera) in daily use there wouldnt be so much different

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                        • AnonD-92238
                        • KAe
                        • 28 Mar 2016

                        AnonD-416152, 28 Mar 2016Samsung fanboy trolling heredisplay on Samsung's flagships are better than any phones

                          • m
                          • mir
                          • t7E
                          • 28 Mar 2016

                          Weak battery life and ugly design. At least they tried something new. Maybe they can improve mostt of these shortcomings with the next flagship. Right now the G5 seems more like a prototype than a finished productt.

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                            • AnonD-416152
                            • JFm
                            • 28 Mar 2016

                            mortuus, 27 Mar 2016S7 has already won award for the best display in a smartpho... moreSamsung fanboy trolling here

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • f{X
                              • 28 Mar 2016

                              Anonymous, 27 Mar 2016For most people, the LG G5 would be the better choice. The ... moreI wil agree to this any day and age. While Samsung will always have its fan base, so will other OEMS. we're not just talking about phone manufactures. Talk about every consumer product that you can buy. These reviews were made so that you can get the idea of what a product will be without having to buy the product! A little open mindedness will go a long way , people of the world.

                                Anonymous, 27 Mar 2016It's a reply also for Grey1213. There are too many Samsu... moreI don't think anyone would ever take you seriously with that comment. At least you should back up your claims with evidences or sources like i did. But hey, that's to much effort, right?

                                Try better next time.

                                  Hmm, class leading design, in a bad way, seriously, that back side, well.

                                  Average battery life.

                                  Great camera? How great?

                                  Average display.

                                  LG. Please. Some fanboys will say bravo for trying something new but people with money, and it costs just as much as other significantly better flagships, well they have brain, and you might wanna keep your mobile business running!

                                  LG in a nutshell all over again :( (The sad face is because of lack of effort to compete with other phones, not that I personally care about any LG device)

                                    • d
                                    • dasman
                                    • Yc3
                                    • 28 Mar 2016

                                    FinestBezels, 28 Mar 2016LG G5 is the best smartphone now, because is innovation in ... moreDat username tho, the thing the lg doesn't have

                                      LG G5 is the best smartphone now, because is innovation in all ways, Galaxy S7, iPhone is all the same, and technology is about change the rules and bringing us a new way to see the world. Go for LG G5.

                                        • d
                                        • dasman
                                        • Yc3
                                        • 28 Mar 2016

                                        but slcd or pmoled...yaas pls