While Samsung continues to make their phones harder to repair, LG’s devices remain relatively easy to fix. Modular internal components play a large part in iFixit giving the LG G5 the same repairability score as the G4 before it.
The LG G5 just launched and has already been hit with despite its fair share of controversy. Is the controversy warranted? I’ll have more on that in the full review. In the meantime, we’ve unboxed the retail version of the G5 on video. The flagship smartphone, which boasts a new modular “friends” feature, is the follow up to LG’s generally well received LG G4.
This time around, LG has hit us with several new features, headlined by a detachable bottom lip that lets you add peripherals like a camera grip, additional batteries, and more. The modular design is unique, and serves as the major differentiator between the G5 and the competition. Have a look at our unboxing for a quick first glance at the retail G5.
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As many of you will undoubtedly know, Apple recently unveiled and launched the iPhone SE. Essentially, it’s an iPhone 6s inside the iPhone 5’s body with a few exceptions. But it turns out an Android OEM may be planning an ‘SE’ version of its own phones. Trademarks filed by LG suggest the company has been planning a G5 SE since as long ago as December.
Following a teardown video which seemed to show a generous layer of gray plastic on the LG G5‘s supposed all-metal uni-body build, the Korean manufacturer has hit back, stating that it’s not plastic at all. According to LG, the gray substance is just ‘primer’ used to insulate the metal and act as a base for applying the final finish.
While I don’t necessarily commend the liberal use of plastic on the supposed ‘all metal’ LG G5, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed its launch and marketing strategy. This year, the Korean tech giant decided to have fun at the product unveiling, and now with one of the wackiest all-action product ads we’ve ever seen.
LG G5 proudly unveiled its newest flagship at an event in Barcelona last month and didn’t hold back lauding its ‘metal build’. We didn’t see anything at the time to question those claims. It seems, however, that those early claims of a metal build are — at best — a twist on the truth and — at worst — deliberately misleading…
When LG launched the G5 at its event in Barcelona last month, it took us a little by surprise that the company was following the trend of Chinese OEMs and ditching the Android app drawer. With the device’s official retail launch just a few days away, it seems the manufacturer has changed its mind.
Before MWC, some sketchy benchmarks purportedly belonging to an LG G5 ‘Lite” surfaced. While a lesser variant of LG’s flagship has yet to be announced, such a device seems to have passed through China’s TENAA regulatory agency…
LG announced its new G5 flagship late last month, and now a couple of the “friends” that the Korean company announced alongside the device are now available for pre-order. Specifically, you can now slap down a full $200 for either the LG 360 CAM spherical camera or the LG 360 VR headset…
We know that T-Mobile likes to distinguish itself from other US carriers, and that usually results in some bizarre stunts. Last month, to emphasize the return of water resistance in the Galaxy S7, the company set up a completely underwater-shot video unboxing of the device, and now that the LG G5 is about to reach stores across the country, T-Mobile is back at it again…
The LG G5 is a weird phone, but that’s not a bad thing. If you only look at the spec sheet, there’s not much about LG’s latest G series handset that sets it apart from the other Snapdragon 820-powered competition. On paper, it might as well just be another option available for those perusing the shelves at their local carrier store. It has USB Type-C, a fingerprint sensor on the back, a nice camera set up, and a decent build. All of these things are expected of a 2016 flagship.
But the weirdness of the LG G5 is what makes it intriguing to me. Samsung ditched its plastic in favor of a premium metal and glass build with last year’s handset, and this year LG is following in step with an obvious evolution in the design of the phone. The all-metal beast now just has a single lock button around the back, the volume rockers have been moved to the sides, there’s a dual-camera set up, and most of all, this phone is modular…
Earlier this morning, various US carriers announced pre-orders for next month’s launch of the LG G5. The success of the device’s marquee modular feature, however, may end up being heavily dependent on third-parties releasing useful modules. To spur development and announce details, LG hosted a developer conference yesterday according to Korean news site Etnews.
Update: T-Mobile has just announced that customers will be able to order the LG G5 from its online store from March 29th. Anyone who orders before April 5th will be able to claim a free LG 360 CAM, and those who buy before April 17th can get a the free battery bundle mentioned below.
Following the recent announcement that the LG G5 would be available from major US retailers in early April, Best Buy has launched pre-orders through its online store for the all-metal modular flagship.
Both AT&T and Sprint versions are available in gold, silver and titanium, but if you want pink, you’ll need to go with Sprint. And while Verizon models aren’t available to pre-order yet, Best Buy will be accepting orders for those on Thursday, March 24th.
LG has announced today that its latest flagship smartphone, the G5, will go on sale at the beginning of April through major carrier and retail partners in the US. Customers looking to snag an LG G5 will be able to buy one from AT&T, Best Buy, B&H, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular or Verizon.
LG unveiled its next flagship smartphone on the same say Samsung took the wraps off its Galaxy S7 and S7. Thankfully, it did so at a different time and in a completely different manner. The theme of its launch was ‘fun’, and the device itself looks like it could be a lot of fun if the modular system pays off.
At the time of its announcement, we didn’t know exactly when LG would be making the device available to buyers. But as it turns out, UK consumers can be among the first to place their orders, with Amazon offering pre-orders from today.
Battery life is undoubtedly one of the major pain points most consumers have with their smartphones. Because of technological limitations, OEMs often have to find workarounds for squeezing out as much screen on (and off) time as possible, often working on software optimizations or simply trying to fit a larger unit inside the body of the device – at times making it removable.
Another way of circumventing such limitation took form in the way of making batteries recharge much faster, thanks to technologies such as Qualcomm‘s ‘Quick Charge’, which has now arrived at its v3.0. Expected to hit the majority of 2016 flagships, – like the LG G5, which does indeed support it – the latest iteration didn’t however make it to the Samsung Galaxy S7 (and S7 edge), which stuck with last year’s 2.0…
As conferences go, MWC felt relatively subdued this year, at least from an Android perspective. Huawei decided to sit this year out and launch a Windows tablet, Sony had a quiet event and HTC just sent out a press release for its new Desire series. While press events weren’t jam-packed in to a crazy schedule, there was still some exciting and fun stuff happening in Barcelona this week.
Android Marshmallow didn’t come with many obvious user interface changes when it launched last year, but it did come with several baked-in core features. One of them was the ability to adopt a MicroSD card as internal storage. This lets you use an external card to store apps and app data. In my opinion, it’s one of the best features of Marshmallow, especially if you have a low to mid-range phone with limited storage, like the Moto X Play.
Samsung and LG, however, have decided it’s in everyone’s best interests if it isn’t in their latest flagships, the Galaxy S7 and LG G5, which both launched this week at MWC 2016…
The LG G5 is a huge departure from the company’s usual all-plastic affairs. And it’s finally here. What I love about this phone on first impressions is the way it feels in hand. The smooth metal finish combined with the rounded corners and edges help create a phone that looks and feels fantastic.
Compare that to last year’s G-series flagship’s right-angled corners and sharp design, and you’ll notice a stark contrast in approach…
It goes without saying that the Samsung Galaxy S7 (and the S7 edge) and the LG G5 were the two big announcements today at Mobile World Congress 2016 press day, showcasing the best that these two Android OEMs have to offer. Both of these devices were horribly-kept secrets in their own ways, but now that they’re here, which one are you planning to get?
Let us know which one is your pick in the poll below, but first let’s take a look at a few of their differences…
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will be hitting US carriers much sooner than the LG G5. While AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint have all announced they will carry the LG G5 and its accompanying accessories, there is not a set availability or pre-order date among the carriers. The best hint of when LG’s latest flagship device will be available comes from Best Buy.
For most people, Google Map Street Views are their first interaction with 360 degree images. As people have begun to associate other 360 degree content as Street Views, Google will be taking advantage of the recognition. At today’s LG G5 event, Google announced that from now on shared Street Views will be stored in high quality for free.
LG has officially unveiled its latest G-series flagship device, and at long last, has taken a completely different approach to design. There’s no more plastic flimsy shell, but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost any versatility. Thanks to an unusual, detachable metal bottom edge, you can still remove and replace the battery on the LG G5.
First details about LG’s upcoming G5 smartphone first showed up 2 months ago, and the first sketchy renders followed shortly after, but it wasn’t until just recently that the phone first appeared in the flesh on the Dubai equivalent of Craigslist. Now, after seeing the phone in a dummy shell, its Quick Cover case officially unveiled by LG, and benchmarks revealing its performance, Evan Blass has come out just days before the phone’s announcement to all but confirm everything we’ve seen thus far…