The LG G5 Just Made Smartphones Interesting Again
As a chunk of the world awaited Samsung’s release of their yearly flagship revision, LG got on stage and announced the G5. The Korean company which has remained an underdog in comparison to Samsung massive fan appeal may finally bring back its glory of the Nexus 5.
With a first look the all aluminum design is a stark reminder of the Nexus inspired design and while the LG G5 resembles the Nexus 6p it is much smaller and more rounded. Which the location of the fingerprint scanner and the bump of the camera module almost falling exactly in place.
The LG G5 has a 5.3 inch 2560 x 1440 pixel display which also features a new always-on technology which consumes a fraction of a single percent of battery power per hour.
Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 chipset, 4GB of RAM inside the G5. LG now actually offers two camera module on the back: a regular 16-megapixel image and a 135-degree wide angle 8-megapixel camera. with both offering different features and capability.
But with all of the above, the G5 is a mere upgrade with beefy specs and power to boot. Where it radically changes the perception of a flagship smartphone, is by offering a modular 3 tier design.
The LG G5’s bottom compartment slides out, and along with it the 2800 mAh battery. Once removed the module can be interchanged, presently LG offers two, and with third party manufacturers getting access the possibilities are vast. The ones on offer include a camera grip that adds advanced hardware controls for use with the main camera on the device and a beefier stack for a better grip in the hand. The module also doubles up as a battery pack, offering 1200 mAh of additional juice in today’s battery hungry age.
Of course, the personal preference and the more interesting module is the LG Hi-Fi Plus, an external 32-bit DAC and amplifier combo unit, manufactured in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen. It supports native DSD playback and will come with a pair of H3 B&O Play earphones.
Audiophiles have been long carrying portable amps and DACs and LG aims to remove that additional problem and this may work out really well for a lot of people.
LG has basically taken one step forward towards making a truly modular phone a reality. Now if we could just replace out the chipset and the camera we are golden.
LG has dropped a panic bombshell on the audience and the tech industry, and the world should take notice. This is the evolution of smartphone design, and with the future only closer to what modular requirements each customer would have.
Samsung has done little with the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge, a safer play, giving the consumer what they wanted. Hybrid sim-slot and waterproofing, are majority changes in the Galaxy S7 in comparison.
