LG G5 hands on

[Mexico619]

I had a hands on today with a demo unit LG G5 for work. I won't go too into specifics, but I will try to answer some questions you guys had. I'll also post my short take aways from the 4ish hours I had the device.

The device is fast and responsive, screen still looks great. It has a good feel in the hand due to its metal unibody. Camera is as good as the G4 and the wide angle really gives it that unique feature that can help the phone stand out.

It was a bit weird using the fingerprint scanner as a button and not have the volume there as well. Battery life was disappointing from my time with it. 75% left and I had about 30 min of screen on time with a bit of camera usage. At the end I had about 25% with 2 hours of SOT. 8 got to play a bit with the modular and they were interesting, but a bit tricky to use. Taking out the battery can be a pain as well as finding out that you can't use different colors of bottoms with different phones, so if friends have different colors of G5 it'll be a no go. Sorry for kinda writing random, I'm a bit short on time and I'm trying to not forget everything.

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[nokia4life]

1. Camera is as good as G4 - Can you elaborate more as I have never used the G4 but I thought the V10 had the best camera if this is on the G4 scale with twice as many cams that can't be good. I would assume then that the new G5 can't even compete with the GS7 based on the cam being just as good as the older model.

2. You said yours was a demo unit? can you really evaluate Battery life on one of those I thought they were not optimized like a actual retail unit.

3. Who will want to put different color bottoms on this thing they only come in Titanium, Pink, Gold, or Silver switching any of those doesn't seem like something someone would want to do as these are metal not plastic bright colors. Just my thought on that. Thanks again Mexico619.....

 

[Joe the Insider]

I'm in the same boat as the op. I was able to use it at my work and put it through its paces.

One thing I will say is, I was taken by surprise with the g5. I have the s7 Edge and want to sell it for the g5. 3 take aways are:

1. Phone is unbelievably fast. This was the #1 reason I never liked LG. Their skin is toned down and is noticeably faster than TouchWiz.

2. The phone feels fantastic in hand and I think LG hit the sweet spot we've all been looking for.

3. Display is fantastic, Camera is 2nd to none and Battery seemed good.

 

[fresca2u]

I am thissss close to preordering one. I am retiring a (rooted) Galaxy S4, which has been a very good phone for me. I really struggled between the G5 and the S7, but finally decided on the G5 because:

Replaceable battery - I won't be swapping batteries during a normal day, but I really like to replace out when the battery gets older and doesn't hold as much of a charge. I've replaced the S4 battery three times.

LCD screen - I know it's not as rich as OLED, but it isn't as susceptible to burn in. I have a slight bit of burn in on my S4, mostly from obsessive game playing

Anyway, for you lucky folks who have been hands on with the G5...

How is the fit of the removable chin to the main body? I'm a bit worried about gaps gathering dirt. I know I'll be obsessively clean with the phone for a week or so then... Well, not so much.

Thanks!

 

[enrico_rusli]

Can you test the sound from the speaker ?

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[erwaso]

I'm in the same boat as the op. I was able to use it at my work and put it through its paces.

One thing I will say is, I was taken by surprise with the g5. I have the s7 Edge and want to sell it for the g5. 3 take aways are:

1. Phone is unbelievably fast. This was the #1 reason I never liked LG. Their skin is toned down and is noticeably faster than TouchWiz.

2. The phone feels fantastic in hand and I think LG hit the sweet spot we've all been looking for.

3. Display is fantastic, Camera is 2nd to none and Battery seemed good.

Are the low light photos better than the S7 edge?

 

[Joe the Insider]

Are the low light photos better than the S7 edge?

I honestly think they are too close for a clear winner in the low light department. Then again, I'm unable to test it in different low light scenarios since the phone can't leave the store.

 

[anon(5630457)]

I'm intrigued about this phone now that I know Lifeproof makes a case for it: https://www.lifeproof.com/en-us/lg-g5/fre-for-lg-g5/lpfr-lg-g5.html

Edit: Verizon's website lists the G5's usage time at 16.75 hours while it lists the S7 edge's usage time at 33 hours. The S7 edge will last just as long as two battery changes on the G5. No thanks. I don't want to be changing out batteries all the time.

 

[erwaso]

I honestly think they are too close for a clear winner in the low light department. Then again, I'm unable to test it in different low light scenarios since the phone can't leave the store.

Thanks. I'm thinking of just skipping this run of new phones for the next iteration. i think my G4 fairs well for my use in terms of gaming and camera. Always get excited for new phone releases it's too tempting lol

 

[tabberkev]

Edit: Verizon's website lists the G5's usage time at 16.75 hours while it lists the S7 edge's usage time at 33 hours. The S7 edge will last just as long as two battery changes on the G5. No thanks. I don't want to be changing out batteries all the time.

They use the same SoC, and the battery capacity difference is nothing like double, so I find that hard to take at face value. Depends what they include in their "usage time" I guess. Certainly screen on time wont be anything like that for either of them, and i'm prepared that the G5 will be a bit behind the S7 given its smaller battery. Great you can instantly swap in a spare though. As long as it comfortably gets me through a day (Which my Nexus 5 struggles with), i'll be happy.

 

[jamielov]

Thanks. I'm thinking of just skipping this run of new phones for the next iteration. i think my G4 fairs well for my use in terms of gaming and camera. Always get excited for new phone releases it's too tempting lol

I'm right there with you. I usually jump on preorder, but the G4 was so good, esp the camera, I don't feel the G5 warrents an upgrade for slight improvements and basically the same camera module (minus the wide screen, which I've been able to live my life without).

This isn't a knock on LG or the G5, but more praise for the G4 that it would've taken something amazing (MUCH better battery, improved regular camera) to get me to upgrade. For once I'm going to hold out until next year.

 

[anon(5630457)]

They use the same SoC, and the battery capacity difference is nothing like double, so I find that hard to take at face value. Depends what they include in their "usage time" I guess. Certainly screen on time wont be anything like that for either of them, and i'm prepared that the G5 will be a bit behind the S7 given its smaller battery. Great you can instantly swap in a spare though. As long as it comfortably gets me through a day (Which my Nexus 5 struggles with), i'll be happy.

CNET had a different experience with battery life on the G5: LG G5 Release Date, Price and Specs - CNET

"The handset's 2,800mAh battery did a great job surviving the work day without a charge. After surfing the Web, running benchmark tests and snapping photos, it was at about 60 percent in the evening.

It also did well -- so far -- in our lab tests. When I get a final unit I'll run the test again of course, but this model clocked in 12 hours and 33 minutes of continuous video playback in airplane mode. That's a marked improvement from the G4, which had a 3,000mAh battery but only lasted 10 hours and 38 minutes. It lasted longer than the Nexus 6P's 3,450mAh battery (11 hours and 15 minutes) too.

Compared to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, however, the LG lags behind. Those phones lasted an impressive 16 hours and a whopping 19 hours and 48 minutes respectively. They can also charge wirelessly."

Basically, CNET almost had the same specs as Verizon, except in their tests, the S7 edge lasted 1.5 times longer than the G5 (versus 2x's longer, as listed on Verizon's website).

 

[erwaso]

CNET had a different experience with battery life on the G5: LG G5 Release Date, Price and Specs - CNET

"The handset's 2,800mAh battery did a great job surviving the work day without a charge. After surfing the Web, running benchmark tests and snapping photos, it was at about 60 percent in the evening.

It also did well -- so far -- in our lab tests. When I get a final unit I'll run the test again of course, but this model clocked in 12 hours and 33 minutes of continuous video playback in airplane mode. That's a marked improvement from the G4, which had a 3,000mAh battery but only lasted 10 hours and 38 minutes. It lasted longer than the Nexus 6P's 3,450mAh battery (11 hours and 15 minutes) too.

Compared to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, however, the LG lags behind. Those phones lasted an impressive 16 hours and a whopping 19 hours and 48 minutes respectively. They can also charge wirelessly."

Basically, CNET almost had the same specs as Verizon, except in their tests, the S7 edge lasted 1.5 times longer than the G5 (versus 2x's longer, as listed on Verizon's website).

That S7edge battery is crazy. Love the wireless charging too. Hopefully LG can finally get on board with it instead of making us go to ebay and amazon for dang qi stickers lol.

Cmooooon fast wireless charging G6!!!

 

[Mexico619]

Are the low light photos better than the S7 edge?

I used it at a sports stadium so I was in and out. I would give low light to the S7 Edge, but the G5 didn't lag too far behind. The change was noticeable though.

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[Mexico619]

1. Camera is as good as G4 - Can you elaborate more as I have never used the G4 but I thought the V10 had the best camera if this is on the G4 scale with twice as many cams that can't be good. I would assume then that the new G5 can't even compete with the GS7 based on the cam being just as good as the older model.

2. You said yours was a demo unit? can you really evaluate Battery life on one of those I thought they were not optimized like a actual retail unit.

3. Who will want to put different color bottoms on this thing they only come in Titanium, Pink, Gold, or Silver switching any of those doesn't seem like something someone would want to do as these are metal not plastic bright colors. Just my thought on that. Thanks again Mexico619.....

1. The G4 had a very good camera and I would say it's a noticeable improvement though I can't comment too much since I didn't use a G4 for long. The second camera lens is 8mp rather than the 16mp of the main camera.

2. I'm not saying that's the battery life you'll get, just from my time of using it, was disappointing. Again we could see a difference between the demo and retail unit.

3. I just thought it was interesting that the phone knew it wasn't the correct modular that belong to it.

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[Mexico619]

I am thissss close to preordering one. I am retiring a (rooted) Galaxy S4, which has been a very good phone for me. I really struggled between the G5 and the S7, but finally decided on the G5 because:

Replaceable battery - I won't be swapping batteries during a normal day, but I really like to replace out when the battery gets older and doesn't hold as much of a charge. I've replaced the S4 battery three times.

LCD screen - I know it's not as rich as OLED, but it isn't as susceptible to burn in. I have a slight bit of burn in on my S4, mostly from obsessive game playing

Anyway, for you lucky folks who have been hands on with the G5...

How is the fit of the removable chin to the main body? I'm a bit worried about gaps gathering dirt. I know I'll be obsessively clean with the phone for a week or so then... Well, not so much.

Thanks!

The fit of the chin is actually really slick, as in it blends perfectly well. You really wouldn't know you can take it out unless someone told you. I wouldn't worry with dirt getting in the gaps.

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[nokia4life]

1. The G4 had a very good camera and I would say it's a noticeable improvement though I can't comment too much since I didn't use a G4 for long. The second camera lens is 8mp rather than the 16mp of the main camera.

2. I'm not saying that's the battery life you'll get, just from my time of using it, was disappointing. Again we could see a difference between the demo and retail unit.

3. I just thought it was interesting that the phone knew it wasn't the correct modular that belong to it.

Posted via the Android Central App

Wow didn't think of it that way it does make sense why you threw that in. I wonder how the phones know that you would think they would be interchangeable regardless right.

 

[RadiantDuck]

Had a quick hands on in store today. Feels really nice in my hand and the lumps on the back aren't nearly as bad as the photos make them look!

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[Wildo6882]

I'm really thinking about dumping my 6s Plus for this phone as long as the battery is good enough. To me, the only thing the S7/edge has that's better is the battery.

 

[angelblast1997]

What store? ATT, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc?

Im getting mine on Friday but I want to check it out before hand to pre-order it.

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