Our LG G5 hands on review is of a pre-production phone, ahead of the official phone launch this week. It's not final software or hardware, so we are reserving our final verdict and star rating until we've received a finished unit and have had time to test it fully.
The LG G5 is a massive change of pace for the South Korean firm. It's done away with the cheap plastic and confusing leather finishes of the LG G4 in favor of a full metal body, while keeping fan-favorite features like a removable battery and microSD card.
That's a big deal, because Samsung disappointed a vocal minority when it ditched its swappable battery and expandable storage hallmarks for the Galaxy S6, although it realized the errors of its way as it reinstated microSD support in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge a year later.
The LG G5 may not be as ornate as Samsung's glass-and-metal-fused phone, or Apple's aluminum iPhone 6S, but it's a step in the right direction after the questionably styled G4.
Not only does it include perks for power users, LG's changed the way we access the battery with a cartridge-like input so you don't have to remove the back cover.
This 'magic slot' is located in the bottom frame of the phone and doubles as an accessory port. Add-ons so far include a battery grip with physical camera controls and a Hi-Fi audio module.
You don't really need either of these accessories to enjoy the camera or audio, though. LG G5 has a dual-camera setup on the back, with one lens that provides extra-wide photos.
The front is highlighted by an always-on, 5.3-inch display. It never goes to sleep, with the time, date and notification icons visible when the phone is off.
When it comes to price, you're looking at around US$650 (£500, AU$890) SIM-free for the LG G5, which puts it slightly below the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S - although they're all pretty much in the same ball park.
There are lots of parts to the LG G5 - but do they all add up to make a best phones contender? Let's explore, as I put it through the in-depth review process.
Watch our LG G5 Special preview walkthrough vide
Design
The LG G5 looks and feels completely different to the G4, and that's thanks to the all-metal body that rightfully kicks the plastic to the curb.
It feels suitably smooth, although the G5 struggles to feel as premium the likes of the iPhone 6S or Samsung Galaxy S7. There's no mistaking that it's a metal body, but the metal feels thinner than on rival handsets.
This doesn't mean the G5 feels cheap, far from it in fact, but the finish doesn't sing in your hand either.
The slender metallic rim which rounds round the edges of the handset on the rear adds an extra layer of class, but it also feels a little sharp. I'm hoping this is down to the fact I'm currently handling a pre-production model, with the final design sporting a smoother edge.
Unlike Apple's handset the LG G5 won't be notorious for antenna lines. It doesn't have any of those unsightly bands, instead relying on Micro-Dizing to cover up antenna slits.
This allows you to enjoy color of the device, and in the G5's case you get a choice of four: silver, titan (grey), pink and gold. The handset I'm using is pink, and the color is rather muted. It's not quite as dazzling as Apple's rose gold, but at the same time it seems a little apologetic.
The hue will likely appeal to some, but for me it doesn't really work.
Another big difference between the design of the LG G5 and its predecessor is the fact that the curved design has been ditched.
Gone is the bananaphone style of the LG G4 and its even curvier cousin, the LG G Flex 2, and in returns the flat frontage which is the norm in the mobile market.
I say flat - it's almost there, but LG couldn't help itself, with the G5's front sloping away from you at the top and bottom. It's a slightly odd finish which offers little in the way of aesthetic grace or practical use.
LG's reason for the switch is simple - consumers preferred the flat designs of rival handsets over its own curved offerings.
And I'd agree. The LG G5 feels more balanced in the hand and it's easier to slip into a pocket.
Downsized from a 5.5-inch screen on the G4 to 5.3 inches and roughly the same amount of bezel, the LG G5 feels light at 159g and easy to hold in one hand measuring 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm.
I can reach apps across the entire display without resorting to using two hands, which ties into LG's goal of making the phone all about ease of use and something to recommend to mom and dad. This does, of course, depend on your palm size as those with smaller hands will still find the G5 a bit of a beast.
In fact the G5 is almost identical in size to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, which despite having a larger 5.5-inch display has managed to keep excess to a minimum.
LG G5's volume rocker has shifted to the left side of the frame, ending the company's opinion-dividing practice of having the buttons flank the power button on back.
While I got used to that quirky rear-facing volume keys and clean edges on the G2, G3 and G4, LG's signature feature was a flaw for many.
I'm relatively indifferent about the new side volume rocker, however it does make changing volume much easier when it's lying on a desk. Sadly, that same ease of use can't be said for the fingerprint scanner.
The still-back-facing power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor on the G5, and while it's better than the questionable experimentation on the LG V10, it's still too small.
Like the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, it can light up the phone and unlock the screen quickly without you having to press the button. There's no two-step process, as it was on the press-in-and-hold-hold-hold LG V10.
The gentle volcanic protrusion it rests on also makes it relatively easy to find, but a slightly larger landing pad would have been nice. The real Achilles heal is realized when you place the G5 on a surface.
I tend to have my phone sitting on my desk at work, and if I want to unlock the phone to read a message I'm forced to either tap in my code - ugh, slow - or pick it up and place my finger on the reader.
With the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S, their front mounted finger scanners allow me to unlock far more easily. Even the Sony Xperia Z5's side mounted effort is better in this respect.
Sticking with the rear of the G5 and it's the area where most are likely to decide whether they love or hate the look of the phone. The protruding power key sits below a far larger raised area which house the G5's dual camera lenses as well as the LED flash and laser auto focus.
It's a sizable presence, and to some it may look like the phone has sprung a couple of nasty growths. On the other hand the protrusions are minimal and if you opt for the darker titan (grey) model they seem less obvious.
Something I'm not really a fan of is the headphone jack and speaker placement. Headphones plug into the top, unless you have the 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC module that is, as that adds a second headphone jack to the bottom. Odd.
Worse, the speaker is on the bottom. I was really hoping that the LG G5 would upgrade to a pair of front-facing speakers for stereo sound without resorting to headphones. Not this time around.
LG has redesigned its bottom port, however. It uses a USB-C connection, which means all of your micro USB cables are useless. The advantage? It's reversible, unlike all other USB forms.
That's a huge win for anyone taking advantage of that always-on display and plugging in their phone in the dark. Just be prepared to carry around both cables, as micro USB is probably going to be used by every other gadget and accessory you own for the next few years.
Display
The LG G5 doesn't try to squeeze more pixels into its 5.3-inch display, and that's something I'm actually happy to see. QHD resolutions (1440 x 2560) on phones are the ceiling that no one needs to break.
Lighting up the phone screen reveals there's little difference here. The smaller size increases the pixels per inch on the LG G5 to about 554ppi, but everything else looks similar, including the brightness.
It's not as vibrant as Samsung's Super AMOLED technology, but colors are still strong and the brightness is pleasing, allowing for an excellent viewing experience.
LG has instead, upgraded its IPS LCD to include always-on display functionality, something you won't see until the phone is asleep.
It keeps most of the screen dark, but leaves minimal information there, like the time, date and notification icons.
The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge tout a similar feature using Super AMOLED displays, but Samsung's always-on information bigger, brighter and can include the battery life and a faded color background.
Having used the new Samsung handsets extensively, I found the lack of a battery icon on the G5 frustrating, and at times I struggled to read the screen because the always-on display is just that dim.
However the G5 does have one major advantage over Samsung - notifications. While the S7 duo can only show icons for missed calls and text messages, the LG G5's always-on display will show you ALL your notification icons.
That instantly makes it much more useful, allowing you to decide whether it's worth firing up the power hungry full display, or to leave that WhatsApp chat for later.
All of this is useful because, when not wearing a smartwatch, I check my phone at least 100 times a day for the time and various notifications. LG says people do this closer to 150 times a day.
Whatever your number is, an always-on display puts the essentials at your fingerprints without you having to wake the phone and its power-hungry processor.
The Moto X Style display does something similar, but the LG G5 pulls it off without the need for hand-waving gestures to trigger a bunch of IR sensors. It's the true meaning of always-on.
LG says the battery only drains an extra 0.8% an hour with its new second screen, and that seems like a great trade off at first blush.
But that adds up to be 19.2% over a full 24 hours. It may not be worth keeping this feature if you don't have a smartphone-glancing obsession.
LG Friends
The LG G5 is not alone. In fact it launched with an entire posse, dubbed 'LG Friends'.
These 'Friends' are a range of accessories that are tasked with taking the phone to the next level. I like the ideas of each, but at this early stage I'm still unconvinced. I'm yet to get any of the G5's buddies in for review, but once they arrive this review will be updated with all the latest on them.
The LG Cam Plus replaces the phone's metal chin with a rubberized camera grip that juts out the back. It has physical shutter button, an instant record key, a scroll wheel to zoom in and out with and a 1,200mAh battery.
It's a bit more satisfying to have the autofocus by half shutter key, but it's not really enough to make me want run out and upgrade my LG G5 with a strange camera grip bump.
The same can be said about the Hi-Fi Plus. It's a portable Hi-Fi digital-to-audio converter that's small, but still extends the size of the phone by replacing the metal chin.
Tuned by Bang & Olufsen, LG has cornered the market on 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC in the mobile world. It did a nice job of this on the LG V10, but its bigger phablet had the perk built-in, not as an accessory.
Then there are the accessories which aren't a modular bolt-on for the G5. The LG 360 VR headset and 360 Camera allow you to record and then watch 360 videos, while LG's cuteRolling Bot is a fun toy-come-home security camera.
All of these 'Friends' can be controlled via the LG Friends app which comes preinstalled on the LG G5.
The LG G5 specs keep pace with the Samsung Galaxy S7 thanks to the fact it uses Qualcomm's latest processor and 4GB RAM, a must-have for an Android flagship handset in 2016.
There's a Snapdragon 820 chip pumping at the heart of this new LG phone, and that really contrasts with the LG G4 when it comes to raw horsepower.
A year ago, the company purposely held back on the troubled Snapdragon 810 processor by using the steadier Snapdragon 808 chip. Samsung ate its lunch (and everyone else's, too).
It's now a more level playing field between the two South Korean phone giants, at least in the US where Samsung uses the same Qualcomm chip. The advantage for LG is that it includes a microSD card slot - with adoptable storage.
That expands its standard 32GB configuration, the same as the G4, to a theoretical 2TB, though someone has to actually make a microSD card in that XXL size first.
LG's user interface gets a splash of paint, but it's not a total overhaul. Icons appear to be a little more rounded and the quick settings menu isn't so drab.
It's all combined with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which should prove useful for its battery-saving tricks more than anything else.
Currently we're using a pre-production G5 which isn't running final software. Interface performance and style could change on the final units, and we'll explore these in the full review.
Scrolling through menus on the LG G5 felt smooth and incredibly snappy, even with all of my apps loaded onto the device.
I was wary of the fact that LG got rid of the app drawer, as my entire home screen exploded with apps when I loaded everything on there. Like an iPhone, all apps were on the main home screen, with folders being my only relief to the clutter.
It was simpler, but not at the same time. Hearing this complaint, LG reversed its decision days before the release date and now the app drawer has been resorted via a simple switch in the settings menu. The option isn't showing just yet on my pre-production handset, but LG's promised it'll be there in the final build of the software.
Drag down the notification bar and you'll be greeted with a row of quick settings. Unlike on stock Android and Samsung's latest TouchWiz iteration, you can't swipe down again to expand this area. Instead you have to scroll sideways over the icons to view more settings.
Tapping the pencil icon allows you to reorder and drop/add settings to the bar - but it's just slightly less intuitive than rival platforms.
I also found the keyboard on the G5 hit and miss. While it is responsive, I found the accuracy was sometimes a little off and the next word prediction engine isn't as fluid as third party offerings such as SwiftKey.
Hopefully it'll be tweaked in the final software, but for now it makes me want to download an alternative.
We don't have LG G5 benchmarks just yet since this is a prototype, but when we test out the phone for its final review, we'll be sure to add them and compare them to the competition.
The thing I like about LG and its smartphones is that it always seems to take chances with new technology, and that inventiveness is fully realized in LG G5 dual rear camera.
Unlike previous handsets such as the HTC One M8 and Honor 6 Plus which combined both lenses to create one image with added depth, the LG G5 wants you to use each of its cameras independently.
Round the back you'll find both a 16MP and a wide-angle 8MP camera. It's super easy to switch between the two from the camera app. Just hit the rectangle with a tree in to use the 16MP snapper, or the rectangle with three trees in to switch to the wide-angle option.
While the second camera automatically feels inferior thanks to its lower megapixel rating, it's my actually favorite due to its use of a wide-angle lens.
At a dramatic 135 degrees, the camera actually sees more than the human eye (about 120 to 124 degrees). It's field of view is able to capture everything you see and more.
That means the iconic tall building, wide beach or long spaceship behind you in vacation photos can be captured without your stranger-photographer having to back up to a seemingly infinite degree.
I was able to capture the entire Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is normally an impossible task in a tight hanger at the California Science Center. Panoramas don't work with the other people milling about.
The LG G5 camera in wide mode got everything I wanted in the shot, but I did notice a drop in quality between the 16MP normal and 8MP wide photos when blowing them up on a computer.
I also found that the 8MP shots could look a little washed out, with the 16MP images providing more vibrant colors and better exposure levels.
You could resort to a panoramic photo, but that's more time-consuming and I wouldn't trust anyone else but me to smoothly pan with my new phone. If I want to get myself, my loved ones and everything else in the shot, this is a cleaner way of doing it.
Snapping away on the beach, I was able to capture the entire horizon from end to end, not just a small segment of the sand. There's a little bit of fisheye, but it looked good, even if its practicality is limited to a few scenarios.
It's not without its faults though, and I found WhatsApp defaulted to the 8MP wide-angle lens when I launched the camera from within the app, and close up the fisheye effect is very noticeable. This didn't happen with other apps, with Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat all choosing the 16MP lens as default.
This could just be a software quirk, as the G5 I'm using isn't final, so fingers crossed this will be fixed in the final software. It would be nice to have the option to flick between the two lenses within the viewfinders of third party apps - but this option is unlikely to ever arrive.
What is missing is a selfie camera that also offers the same expanded field of view. I found the wide angle format even more useful in the LG V10, but its all-seeing front-facing camera hasn't managed to transition over to the G5.
My arm is only so long and no, Samsung's software-stitched wide selfie mode almost always turn out blurry. It's not a real solution.
I want the best of both worlds, and this one falls short of providing that.
Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is the best phone in the world, with its dual-curved 5.5-inch display, powerful performance, stand-out camera and sultry design forming a perfect package in your pocket.
The G5 isn't quite as beautiful, nor does its performance shine as brightly as its Samsung rivals, but there's still a lot to love. The full metal body is a strong step forward, the intriguing dual camera setup on the rear gives it something a bit different and the modular support makes the G5 stand out.
Samsung's made the better all-round handsets though, and whether you fancy the easier to handle 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 or the futuristic and world-beating S7 Edge, you'll find both are more accomplished than the slightly zany LG G5.
- Samsung Galaxy S7 review | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
iPhone 6S Plus
With its 4.7-inch display the iPhone 6S is a little on the smaller side to really compete with the 5.3-inch G5, which means it's the iPhone 6S Plus which finds itself squaring up to the latest South Korean flagship.
The G5 wins the screen battle with its QHD resolution versus Apple's full HD offering, but the iPhone's design looks and feels more premium - although it's also more cumbersome in the hand.
Both have strong snappers, a large slug of power and slick operating systems. Of course, if you want an iPhone you're unlikely to be swayed by any Android device - and vice versa.
- iPhone 6S Plus review
LG G4
The G5's predecessor is still available and can be picked up at a reduced price, so is it worth considering?
The good news from LG's perspective is that plenty has changed between the G4 and G5, including design, build, cameras and power - making the G5 a much slicker, and far more appealing smartphone.
The G4 sports the same resolution, but over a slightly larger 5.5-inch display making it a little trickier to handle one-handed.
If you can afford it, the G5 is the better phone by far, but if you're desperate to get a phone with a leather back then the G4 is really your only option.
- LG G4 review
Battery life
The LG G5 battery life is still a big question mark given its newly confirmed capacity. It's just 2,800mAh, down from the 3,000mAh battery of the LG G4 last year.
Battery size doesn't always mean anything. It has the much more energy efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip and better software. Android 6.0 Marshmallow should also help.
The biggest benefit may be the fact that the LG G5 battery pack can be swapped out for a fresh one at any time. It's easy enough to change out, but the good news is it takes some fingernail work to properly slide-out battery button that's flush with the left side of the phone. You're not going to accidentally hit this thing willy nilly, won't worry.
We'll be sure to run extensive battery tests on the final LG G5 and take note of how it performs while not using it to see if Android 6.0 Marshmallow has an impact on this handset.
- LG G5 tips and tricks
Early Verdict
The LG G5 has a plain look, side-mounted volume buttons, a fingerprint sensor and a 5.3-inch display, making it like the metal version of the Nexus 5X with an extra tenth of an inch. That's okay, because LG also built the Nexus 5X and it was a great phone for its price, and the two phones only look similar on the outside.
Inside, the LG G5 specs provide a significant upgrade, with a wide angle second camera on back, always-on display on front and the promise of modular accessories that slide up through the middle.
The microSD card slot and removable battery remain, while the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM touts significant speed boosts. The Samsung's new phones launched first, but LG has enough to give everyone some pause before using Android Pay on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
Stay tuned for the April 1 in the US and April 8 release date in the UK, and our full LG G5 review.
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