Product review: LG G5 deserves flagship phone status

(Courtesy of LG)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Phones made by Apple and Samsung sell themselves, at this point, and far too many consumers have tuned out great devices made by their competitors. LG has consistently built high quality and high-performing phones and the new G5 is no exception.

Fans of the prior G3 and G4 who have become used to the out-of-place yet intuitive volume buttons on the rear of their phone will be disappointed to see that volume control has returned to the side. Outside of that, there is little that disappoints.

Overall rating: B+

Fit and finish

LG describes the body of the G5 as a “metal alloy." Unlike recent devices made by HTC and Apple, the body of the G5 feels less distinctly like aluminum. LG combined metallic paint and primer in order to incorporate the phone’s radio antennas into the housing to help make the phone thinner.

The build quality is vastly better than the plastic-backed G4, but did not live up to expectations for an aluminum-framed device. One interesting aspect of the screen is that it seems to fade away from you slightly at the top of the phone. The curvature of the phone is much more subdued than the G4, but the screen fade is a nice touch.

LG has maintained the removable battery found on prior generations, but in an entirely different way. The bottom fourth or so of the phone slides down to reveal the battery and to allow for attachments, called LG Friends, that can alter the way you use the phone — more on that later. There is a noticeable gap than runs across the back of the phone where the battery compartment meets the phone body.

That, combined with a slit running down the side of the phone, allows for good grip on the device but will leave some with the impression of poor build quality. As mentioned, the power button, which includes a fingerprint scanner, remains on the backside of the phone but the camera lens housing protrudes slightly and LG thought it best to move the volume buttons back to the side of the device.

I found it awkward to have the power and volume buttons in different places. Whether on the back or the sides, they should be together.

The G5 is available in grey, silver, gold and pink.

Screen

The G5 has a 5.3-inch Quad HD display. While brightness and resolution have been improved compared to the G4, it still feels less bright and vibrant than the SuperAMOLED screens used by Samsung.

According to LG, maximum screen brightness has been increased by 70 percent compared to the G4 and there is no question the screen resolution is better outdoors than its predecessor. This is a very good display and unless you’re comparing it side by side with a rival device, it will be satisfying.

Some may ask, why not a 4K display? Quad HD is all that is needed and provides for more favorable battery consumption. Battery usage is also favorable compared to an AMOLED screen.

LG has employed an “always on” feature, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S7, that allows for notifications and time to be displayed when the phone is in sleep mode. The LG display seems brighter in this mode compared to the GS7, which may be distracting if the phone is next to you on the nightstand overnight.

Camera

LG has led the way in providing for manual mode settings on its cameras. That tradition carries on with the G5. Those who wish to get creative and take professional quality pictures can do so. The auto settings work well, also. In auto mode, pictures were of great quality but seemed inferior to those taken with a Galaxy S7, particularly in low light. Auto mode pictures taken with the G5 seemed less vibrant in comparison and had less contrast than those taken with the GS7.

The G5 has dual rear cameras, one for standard and one for wide-angle pictures. Landscapes and panorama pictures are impressive. The front camera provides for gesture control and a feature called Auto Shot — your selfie is taken automatically when a face is detected in frame.

While the dual lenses in back are a great feature, some will be put off by the bulge on the backside of the phone.

Performance and intangibles

LG’s Android UI seems outdated in appearance compared to that of Samsung and HTC. It appears flat. LG has opted to remove the app drawer in Android 6.0.1, which will annoy some as more cluttered screens will result.

Performance was smooth and quick and no discernable lag was experienced. Occasionally the transition to the camera was slower than expected, which would make getting an impromptu shot difficult.

Photos: Mike Stapley
Photos: Mike Stapley

Call quality was impressive but the single speaker is less impressive than those found on Samsung devices and far below the dual speakers found on HTC devices. The G5 does support 24-bit audio, though, so music played through headphones or external speakers sounds very good.

The phone comes standard with 32GB of storage and has expandable memory.

The latest buzz word with Android devices is "modular." Google has been teasing the idea of completely customizable, modular phones. A consumer can choose from various display, processor, RAM and camera modules so that one’s phone can fit the desired specs and price point.

As mentioned above, LG Friends allows for accessories to be added to the phone via the drawer where the battery is contained. The most promising is called LG 360 Cam. It allows for full circular photos and videos to be taken without having to rotate the phone.

Another, LG Cam Plus, is a camera attachment that provides an extended grip with shutter and zoom functions built in. It turns the phone into a camera where screen controls do not have to be seen by the photographer. It is very handy for those who like to shoot in manual mode.

Whether consumers will want to spend extra for these Friends remains to be seen. LG is favorable to allowing third party companies to develop Friends, so this feature has promise.

LG has accomplished something in that they improved on an already great G4 and have provided groundbreaking technology with Friends. The G5 is priced favorably on all four major U.S. carriers compared to rivals' flagship devices. LG deserves a larger audience. Will consumers put down their Samsung and Apple devices long enough to notice?

Specs

Display: 5.3-inch Quad HD, 2560X1440 pixels, 554 PPI

Camera: Back 16MP and 8MP wide angle; Front 8MP

Battery: 2800 mAh (removable)

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820; 4GB RAM

Storage: 32GB on board, expandable to 2TB

Price: Varies by carrier


![Mike Stapley](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2583/258384/25838475\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Mike Stapley ------------------------------

Mike Stapley is a father of two, a business sales manager for a telecom company and an aspiring novelist living in Salt Lake City. Contact him at mstapley4@gmail.com.

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