We’ve collected all the latest rumors and details on LG’s upcoming flagship handset, the LG G5
LG has officially unleashed its 2016 flagship, the LG G5, on the cusp of MWC 2016, which kicks off tomorrow in earnest. Arguably one of the most exciting announcements of the year so far, LG’s G5 is expected to be one of the most popular Android devices of 2016.
The “other”, big Korean phone maker at the expo, a little known firm called Samsung, will also announce its Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 EDGE later on today (Feb. 21) as well. The Galaxy S7 and LG G5 are both expected to dominate proceedings this week in Barcelona, as well as the majority of sales this year in the Android space.
LG is feeling rather bullish, though, and has confirmed, officially, that it is READY to take Samsung on 2016 with its ultra-powerful, beautifully designed new flagship, the LG G5. But did LG do enough with the G5 to dominate the Android space in 2016? Let’s take a more detailed look at the phone everybody’s talking about.
LG G5 Design: Completely New Design, Fluid Metal Body
As predicted, LG has come out guns blazing. The LG G5 is a radically different beast to its predecessor, the LG G4. LG has used different build materials and production techniques and has implemented a completely new design language, complete with a modular component at the base of the handset (more on this later, though).The handset itself features beveled glass on the front and, unlike Apple’s iPhone 6s and the HTC One M9, there are absolutely no antenna lines breaking up the finish of the chassis. The only break comes at the bottom of the G5 where the modular component is situated. Save for this the handset is completely unspoiled and it looks utterly sublime as a result.
I know LG would come into 2016 with an impressive proposition and I have not been disappointed by the LG G5. It looks different from last year’s model, I love the modular component of it too, super innovative, and LG has made sure everything else is in place as well with a fingerprint scanner on the back and Type C USB for charging.
The G5’s Modular Bit...
As expected, the LG G5 is the first mainstream smartphone to incorporate and support modular components. The G5’s is situated at the bottom of the handset and can be removed to access things like the battery, which is removable, and the phone’s card slots.
That’s the normal bit.
The REALLY cool bit is that you can attach add-ons to the G5 via this modular component. LG showed on off during the launch, a camera grip called the LG Cam Plus, which adds 1100mAh battery and hardware controls (hardware key, a video button, zoom controls) to the G5’s camera.
Another, and this one is super cool, is a a Bang & Olufsen DAC for awesome music quality on the go. LG also confirmed that it will be opening up the modular component to third-party developers, meaning there will be plenty of other cool things to attach to the G5 appearing inside the next few m
Another, and this one is super cool, is a a Bang & Olufsen DAC for awesome music quality on the go. LG also confirmed that it will be opening up the modular component to third-party developers, meaning there will be plenty of other cool things to attach to the G5 appearing inside the next few months.
LG G5 ALWAYS-ON Display
The LG G5 features a 5.3in QHD display which offers up a pixel density of 554 ppi, making it slightly smaller than the G4’s 5.5in panel. Prior to launch there were rumours about the G5 landing with a 4K display; LG likes being the first to market with things. But we guess the company had second thoughts about this -- the toll on battery would be HUGE.The QHD panel has a few new tricks up its sleeve, though. The most notable of which is that it is an always-on display for access to things like notifications and the time without having to power on the display, a technology which LG says will save you battery in the long run.
“To minimise power consumption,” said LG, “we redesigned the display driver IC memory and power management function so that the display’s backlight only illuminates one small part of the overall display. Thanks to this technology, the Always-on Display requires only 0.8 percent of the battery’s full capacity per hour to operate. With consumers turning on their smartphones up to 150 times a day mostly to just check the time, the G5’s Always-on Display will make a notable difference in the life of the battery over the course of the day.”
Andy Webb, UK Buying Director – Mobile at Carphone Warehouse, said: “It’s exciting to see that LG has created an ‘Always On’ display that doesn’t drastically affect battery life, coupled with a smart removable battery that allows you to replace it when you’re running out of juice. We recently conducted research with 2,000 smartphone users, and they told us battery life is considered as a very important, if not the most important factor when choosing a new handset by three quarters of people (75%). There is also a real appetite for virtual reality functionality, so it’s really exciting to see mobile manufacturers giving smartphones users innovative news ways to view content.”
LG G5 Specs & Hardware
For the sake of brevity, here’s a breakdown of the LG G5’s specs and hardware.- Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 Processor
- Display: 5.3-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440 / 554ppi)
- Memory: 4GB LPDDR4 RAM / 32GB UFS ROM / microSD (up to 2TB)
- Camera: Rear: Standard 16MP, Wide 8MP / Front: 8MP
- Battery: 2,800mAh (removable)
- OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Size: 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm
- Weight: 159g
- Network: LTE / 3G / 2G
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / USB Type-C) / NFC / Bluetooth 4.2
- Colours: Silver / Titan / Gold / Pink
LG G5 Camera
LG has introduced a bunch of SERIOUS updates to the G5’s camera setup. For starters, it has two cameras on the back: One has 75° Field of View (FoV) and 16MP sensor; the other a much wider, 135° FoV and 8MP sensor. Captured images from the cameras can be merged together and edited with effects in real-time.LG says this is the best camera it has ever produced and one unlike anything else currently available. I cannot WAIT to have a proper go on this bad boy!
LG G5 Processor & Performance
The LG G5 runs a Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm’s latest and greatest SoC that rocks the company’s bespoke 64-bit KRYO cores. The Snapdragon is paired with 4GB of RAM and should result in very impressive performance.Users should expect 'DSLR-like' camera quality and 'console-grade' gaming, according to Qualcomm's Steve Mollenkopf. But that’s not all. The G5 does have one other USP in this department, though: it features a bespoke, custom core that takes the strain off the main processor. LG says this custom core will use very little power and assist the Snapdragon 820 greatly, resulting in better power management and, of course, better battery performance.
This feature will likely be very important too because the LG G5 has a pretty smallish 2800mAh battery cell. Granted, it is removable, which is a huge boon for a lot of users, but it is rather pokey compared to some Android handsets we’ve tested in the last few months. The Huawei Mate 8 packed in a 4000mAh cell, for instance.
For me, this is the only area where LG might have fumbled things slightly. I appreciate having a removable battery is swell and everything, but why not just make it a 3000+mAh removable battery and cover both bases!?
LG G5 Release Date
The LG G5 will be available to buy in April. LG did not confirm pricing or exact dates, annoyingly, though we expect more information regarding this will make itself known in the coming weeks.AND The LG 360 VR Headset
It's 2016 and Virtual Reality is now a thing...not just a thing, in fact, THE thing, if recent tech expos are anything to go by. Yup, EVERYONE is grabbing a slice of the VR action with virtually every major manufacturer alleged to be working on or gearing up to release some new VR tech. LG is no exception, and alongside the LG G5 the firm announced the LG 360 VR, a headset which can pair with the smartphone to deliver a VR experience direct to your eyeballs.
However, if you were thinking this device would be like Samsung's Gear VR or Google Cardboard in requiring you to slot your phone in front of your face, you'd be dead wrong, as despite needing to pair with the LG G5 there is a certain degree of autonomy for the LG 360 VR in that it doesn't require the handset's display. If you're familiar with the Oculus Rift then LG has taken a similar approach here, offering an individual display for each eye for a true stereoscopic experience. The headset features two 1.88in display panels each with a 960x720 pixel resolution at 638ppi, so what you're ogling is going to be plenty sharp enough. The headset pairs with your phone via USB and utilises the phone's processing power to work, in the case of the LG G5 that means USB 3.0 via a Type-C connector - so this is no slowpoke.
In terms of functions and compatibility, it's early days, but that's the case for pretty much every VR setup at the moment - the LG 360 VR is compatible with YouTube 360 and any app that works with Google Cardboard, which is a pretty good start. For input and navigation you have a select button and a back button. The select button will select whatever is in the middle of your field of view, so you need to move your head around to navigate menus and the like.
LG's also managed the trick of making this the smallest, lightest and most discreet VR headset to date - although with that said it's only discreet relatively speaking; it still stands out as a VR headset so all but the most confident might want to avoid wearing it on the tube!
=> Source: www.knowyourmobile.com
However, if you were thinking this device would be like Samsung's Gear VR or Google Cardboard in requiring you to slot your phone in front of your face, you'd be dead wrong, as despite needing to pair with the LG G5 there is a certain degree of autonomy for the LG 360 VR in that it doesn't require the handset's display. If you're familiar with the Oculus Rift then LG has taken a similar approach here, offering an individual display for each eye for a true stereoscopic experience. The headset features two 1.88in display panels each with a 960x720 pixel resolution at 638ppi, so what you're ogling is going to be plenty sharp enough. The headset pairs with your phone via USB and utilises the phone's processing power to work, in the case of the LG G5 that means USB 3.0 via a Type-C connector - so this is no slowpoke.
In terms of functions and compatibility, it's early days, but that's the case for pretty much every VR setup at the moment - the LG 360 VR is compatible with YouTube 360 and any app that works with Google Cardboard, which is a pretty good start. For input and navigation you have a select button and a back button. The select button will select whatever is in the middle of your field of view, so you need to move your head around to navigate menus and the like.
LG's also managed the trick of making this the smallest, lightest and most discreet VR headset to date - although with that said it's only discreet relatively speaking; it still stands out as a VR headset so all but the most confident might want to avoid wearing it on the tube!
=> Source: www.knowyourmobile.com
