Last year's phone is hardly old and busted, but the new hotness is a bit of a departure.
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The may be one of the sleekest phones in recent memory. Long, sloping curves. Sharper edges. Leather backs. (You folks with the plastic chose poorly, IMHO.) Excellent rear buttons. A killer camera. And now we have the . Decidedly more round — due in no small part to the removable modules (and swappable battery) tucked into the bottom.
There's a lot to like in both these phones. There's a lot we'll miss from the G4.
Let's take a quick look at both these phones side by side at .
Where to start on the differences between the G4 and the G5? On the back, most likely. You'll certainly notice that the rear-facing volume buttons from the G4 have moved to the side of the phone. That's going to be big for some folks. But for me it was mitigated by the fact that I just don't need to adjust the volume that often. The bigger deal was addition of the fingerprint sensor. That's my favorite way to unlock the phone — so much so that I no longer use a Bluetooth Smart Lock — and having the power button integrated into it is just icing on the cake. And it's 100 percent better than the combo fingerprint/power button on the LG V10. Job well done here.
Moving the volume keys will be big for some people, but the fingerprint sensor is a welcomed addition.
Then you've got the dual rear cameras on the G5. It's easy to over think this. Don't. You have one for a "normal" camera view, and one for a ridiculously wide 135 degree — almost fisheye — effect. There are easy buttons in the camera app to flip between the two, and a couple of modes to take advantage of the wide-angle lens in funs ways. That's about it. It drastically changes the look of the phone, but LG did a nice job sloping the body up into the Z-stack (that's the fancy name for the camera depth — and for it sticking out the back of the phone).
LG's use of metal on the G5 is decent. Certainly a step up from the overly plastic edging on the G4. It's maybe still not as nice as what other manufacturers are doing with metal. But on the other hand LG Has hidden the antenna lines on the G5, leaving a sleek, round design.
The G5 is actually a tiny bit shorter than the G4 (the smaller screen helps there), but it maybe doesn't feel smaller thanks to the sloped edges of its older sibling. It's not bad, just different.
Category LG G5 LG G4
Operating system Android 6.0.1 Android 6.0
Processor Snapdragon 820 Snapdragon 808
Display 5.3-inch IPS QHD quantum display 5.5-inch IPS QHD quantum display
Storage 32GB UFS ROM, microSD up to 200GB 32GB eMMC, microSD up to 128GB
RAM 4GB LPDDR4 3GB LPDDR4
Rear camera 16MP main, 8MP wide-angle (135 degrees) 16MP
Front camera 8MP 8MP
Battery 2800 mAh removable 3,000 removable
Modules LG Cam Plus (camera grip with 1100 mAh)
LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play None.
Dimensions 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm 148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3-9.8 mm
Weight 159 grams 155 grams
Another new selling point — other than the modules, of course — is that the G5 is using USB-C instead of micro-USB. That'll require new cables and such, if you're finally taking the plunge. But you're going to love the reversible port. No more fumbling to make sure you're plugging in the right way.
There are a good many reasons to love the G5. There also are a good many reasons to hold off on upgrading if you're currently on a G4. Choose wisely.
