During the 2016 MWC (which is on its last day today), we managed to get a quick alone time with the newly-launched LG G5 and here are our initial thoughts.
The LG G5 possesses a gorgeous 5.3-inch IPS Quantum display that leaves little space for the bezels. It has a fairly tall profile which feels almost like holding an iPhone 6.
The display is unique in a way that it has an Always-on feature first seen on the V10 as a small, secondary display. This, however, is a first for main smartphone displays. The main screen now shows the time, date and battery status continuously even when the G5 is in sleep mode. This means that you can always see the time at a glance, even during important meetings or when your hands are currently full — although it will surely leech on the G5’s battery doing so.
What’s also noticeable up front is that it utilizes a 2D curved display that gives character to the smartphone. From its 8MP front-facing camera, the glass screen curves outward and continues to stretch down to the base of the device.
There are no capacitive touch inputs present since the main buttons are on-screen. Taking cues from its metal unibody language, a panel of the same material is at the base with the company’s logo printed on it. LG G5 also hops in the USB Type-C bandwagon and uses the new connectivity port that makes for faster charging and transferring of files.
Looking at the sides of the device, the edges abruptly turn into curved corners that position the G5 comfortably on the palm of the hand when in use. The company also opted to place the speaker grille at the bottom of the device. There are no stereo front-facing speakers for the G5 but it’s likely because they already have the Hi-Fi Plus module — eliminating the need to design the phone to be used as a loudspeaker but more of a high-quality music player that you connect headphones to.
The volume rocker is on the left side which is pretty easy to reach whether you use your left or right hand. Also seen here is a chrome lining that surrounds the device, giving it an elegant and classy accent.
At the top is a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting the headphones. When the external Hi-Fi Plus module is connected, users will have two available slots for their headphones.
Turning the G5 on its back shows the company’s dual rear cameras that work together to give choices to its users as to what kind of field of view they wish to use when shooting.
One has a normal 78-degree lens with a 16MP sensor while the other has a wide-angle 135-degree lens (shoots 8MP images) and offers a viewing angle approximately 1.7 times wider than those of existing smartphone cameras. As a comparison to the human eye, it sees 5 degrees wider than we do.
The fingerprint scanner is also here, just below the rear shooters, and also flaunts a chrome lining around the sensor that acts as the power/lock button. What’s noticeable in this area is that they are softly embossed. We actually don’t know what to feel about it since it does give a different look to the back plate but not totally in an attractive way.
For me personally, it looks like some of those problems when a freshly-painted wall gets some air underneath and a bubble is left to dry.
The handset’s Modular Type design gives it the capability to become more than just a handset. By attaching different modules such as the CAM Plus and the Hi-Fi Plus, you can transform the G5 to be a digital camera with easy button navigation or a high-fidelity music player using Bang & Olufsen hardware.
You may check out how these work by watching the video below:
The supporting accessory for its camera has physical buttons for the camera shutter, video recording, and zooming in on subjects.
Additionally, when the G5 is attached to the modular camera, the battery becomes 4,000mAh from 2,800mAh — giving its users extra juice needed for shooting continuously.
At 159 grams, the LG G5 isn’t too heavy on the hands and is actually easy to operate and carry around. Although if you don’t mind the extra weight, you could have its accompanying modules with you to fully maximize the handset’s potential.
That’s it for now and stay tuned for the full review once the LG G5 hits the Philippine shores.
LG G5 specs:
5.3-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display @ 2560×1440, 554ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Processor
Adreno 530 GPU
4GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB UFS ROM
microSD up to 2Terabytes
4G/LTE Cat. 12 up to 600Mbps
WiFi 802.11b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.2
NFC
16MP rear camera (8MP wide angle)
8MP front-facing camera
2,800mAh Li-Ion battery (removable)
Android 6.0 Marshmallow
149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm (dimensions)
159g (weight)
USB Type-C
Silver, Titan, Gold, Pink
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