LG G5 Specs

SD 820, 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB onboard storage with microSd slot, 5.3" QHD LCD display, dual camera setup with 16 MP main shooter and f1.8 aperture with 8 MP f2.4 wide-angle camera with OIS and laser autofocus. Front camera 8 MP f2.0, 1080P video. 2800 mAh battery, removable, with modular portion for expansion. USB Type-C with QC3.0, no wireless charging. Dimensions 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm (5.88 x 2.91 x 0.30 in),Weight 159 g (5.61 oz).

Build

The G5 definitely doesn't feel like the premium handset you expect from an "all metal" design. While the phone is not plastic as I first thought, there is a thick layer of primer and paint on top of the metal. Emulsion paint and primer are made of complex polymers at the molecular level-just as plastics are. This thick layer makes the phone feel quite a bit less premium than phones like the HTC One M9 or iPhone 6S.

I have also seen some peeling of the paint around the bottom of the modular portion after switching out the battery 5 or so times. The gap at the bottom of the phone is not too bad if you throw on a case, but you will get some dust trapped in this area. If you have OCD or do not like to use a case, it might annoy you. Overall the phone just doesn't do it for me in the build area, the functionality of the modular design may be worth some of these sacrifices for many people, but these issues are worth noting when deciding on a purchase.

Display

The colors are very accurate on the G5, yet not as saturated as the AMOLED panel on the S7 and S7 Edge. Viewing angles are decent indoors, but not as good as S7 or S7 Edge. The QHD screen gives great detail overall and media is enjoyable to watch indoors. The biggest problem with the display is the brightness.

Indoors the auto-brightness on the G5 is lacking and seems to overly dim the screen in areas where I would like a bit more brightness. I've often found myself turning the auto-brightness off to get more control, but this of course degrades the battery life over time. Outdoors the brightness is an even bigger issue. In the bright Arizona sun I have a hard time seeing the G5 display during the middle of the day. Coming from the Galaxy S7 Edge, I found myself wanting to return to the AMOLED panel when outside. If you don't spend much time outside this might not be a huge deal, but this will undoubtedly be an issue for many people. The G5's display is actually not as bright as the G4 from last year.

Fingerprint scanner

The rear fingerprint scanner on the G5 is one of the best I've used, a bit faster than Nexus 6P and super reliable. Having the scanner on the back is certainly a preference thing, but I really like it. Overall LG did a great job improving the quality of the scanner over the V10, which I had many issues with. For more on the fingerprint scanner speed, check out my speed test against the Nexus 6P:

Battery Life and Charging

Battery life was just average or below average for me. I got 3-3.5 SOT on most days with 10% or so remaining after an 18 hour day of Youtube, social media, watching Netflix, a few calls, Hangouts messages, and a lot of time responding to comments in Youtube Creator Studio App.

The removable battery does somewhat makeup for the average battery life in my opinion. You can easily swap in a new battery, once you get the hang of removing the modular portion and yanking the battery out. Considering that LG threw in a free battery and cradle for most G5 purchases at launch, this is an excellent option to have.

The USB C port also supports QC 3.0 which is incredibly fast to charge, going from 10% to 100% in about 65-70 minutes in my testing. It is a shame to see LG once again omit wireless charging from their flagship lineup. Unlike past years there is no way to add the feature with an optional accessory. The quickcircle case was offered in Qi compatible variants the past few years, but the G5 Quick-cover case does not have this ability.

Speaker Quality

Audio quality is better than expected from a single bottom-firing speaker. Media is loud and mostly crisp with no issues that I noticed. Quality is better than S7 but not nearly as good as phones with front-facing speakers like Nexus 6P, HTC One M9, etc. I was pleasantly surprised overall, the speaker is definitely not an issue on this phone.

If you're really into audio you may way to get your hands on the B&O module to add some hi-fi audio to your setup. The B&O audio module is not available in the US at this time, but I plan to import one to try if possible.

Software

UX 5.0 is still not as close to stock Android as I would like but LG's software has come a long way since the days of the G3. The overall RAM management appears to be a bit better to me than on the S7 and I find that apps that I've had open for long periods of time tend to open faster on the G5. Overall UX 5.0 has a few nice features that I use often, like Shortcut keys, smart settings, and of course the LG remote to use with the built-in IR Blaster. I am not a huge fan of the no app drawer movement, but you easily install a 3rd party Launcher to get around this. You can also use EasyHome or UX4.0, but it would nice to see LG release the promised UX5.0 version with a Home and App Drawer shown off in their overview video.

Performance and Gaming

Everyday performance overall has been fantastic. The G5 is a very snappy phone, and I find it is faster than the S7 Edge in day to to day fluidity. I did a quick speed test and the two phones were very similar in speed with apps I use on a daily basis, but I also find the G5 performs better in RAM management (as mentioned above) which adds to the fluidity of day to day app opening and home screen redrawing. Gaming is also a pleasure on the G5 as you would expect from the 820, and I have not noticed any dropped frames in Atomas, Temple Run, One More Line, One More Dash, or Smash Hit.

The only minor issue I ran into with gaming came when playing multiple large games at once-something most people aren't likely to do. If you open up several graphics intensive games on the G5 and switch between them, you will notice significant time reloading games as you switch, at least significant when compared to the Galaxy S7. This is mostly expected as the G5 scores a bit lower than the S7 in multi-core benchmarks. In any event, this won't be a problem for most users.

Camera

The camera is a tough area of competition this year with the S7 Edge featuring such an excellent low-light sensor. The overall performance in low-light on the G5 isn't quite as good as the S7 Edge in my opinion. You can see a noticeable difference in brightness when comparing the two cameras.

On the other hand, detail and color accuracy is better on the G5. The S7 Edge offers a more saturated color palette with a better dynamic range-especially in low light, but if you enjoy true to life colors at the sacrifice of low light performance, the G5 is a good choice. In addition to the main camera, the wide angle camera is one of my favorite features on the G5. The wide angle camera lets you capture difficult landscape shots with ease. The detail and performance is not quite as good on the wide angle camera, but the cool shots you can get with it are worth the overall sacrifice.

The front camera is another strong point for the G5. You can get excellent video quality and picture clarity overall out of the 8 MP shooter. During my review period I made a few car VLOGs using the front-facing camera and I was impressed with the overall clarity, stability, and audio-quality. While I still believe most smartphone users are better suited with the Galaxy S7 camera, due to low light performance, true photographers will prefer the LG G5. Check out the gallery below to see what the G5 is capable of in various situations!

Price and Value

Prices range from $600-$680 in the US, depending where you purchase. The downside is that if you truly want to take advantage of the modular design you will be spending another $70-200 to add on the Cam Plus and/or B&O Module. Overall the value for the phone is pretty good if you like the modular concept, but I am concerned that LG will completely abandon the design next year and all modules will be rendered useless.

Accessories

Aside from the LG Friends (that terrible name), there are quite a few third-party cases available for the G5. LG also offers their own Quick Cover case, a revamp of the popular quick circle from years past. The Quick Cover case does offer some new functionality, including the ability to see all notifications on the always on display through the case This is a nice touch and I will have a full review of this case soon.

If you love third party accessories you won't find as many as for Samsung and Apple phones, but probably plenty of case options to suit the average user. If you need a G5 case, check out my review of LG G5 cases from UAG. VRS Design, and Otterbox (coming soon) .

Conclusion

Overall the LG G5 is a good phone, but it just doesn't have enough for me to call it great. The software is still heavier than I'd like (though I do find it a bit better than Touchwiz). The build is definitely not the best in class and not what I would prefer from an all-metal phone. Camera quality is solid, but I prefer the improved low light performance of the S7 and the saturated color profile with excellent dynamic range. This is certainly a preference thing and not definitively bad as many users will prefer the G5's color accuracy.

The display is horrendously dim indoors with poor auto brightness switching and even worse outdoors where the screen can be impossible to see at times. If you dig the modular design, the G5 can be a great phone for you, but I am concerned about LG's commitment to this overall strategy as they have shown the ability to blow up designs year over year in the past. In the end, if you must-have an innovative phone, this may be the one for you, but it does come with a price.