The LG G5 is another confirmation of just how far LG is willing to experiment in its smartphone design language. With its recent launch at the MWC in Barcelona, the question is the revamped design, dual rear cameras and interesting modular battery and accessories going to leave its predecessors in the dust? LG G5 might be an iteration of the G series devices that we've come to love but its also a pretty excellent smartphone.

Design and Build Quality

In 2015, the LG company opted to forgo the metal unibody design for its LG G4 but instead chose to feature a removable leather or plastic back. This time round, the manufacturer swapped their previous design for more high-end materials such as a Gorilla Glass 4 protection and metallic build for their G5 flagship. Along with being thicker at 7.7 mm, the metal body is much more durable with resistance to scratches and bumps compared to the plastic or leather covered LG G4.The G5 back is non-removable with the physical buttons found on the LG G4 also missing. The flagship bundles only the camera sensor, LED flash and also spots a new fingerprint scanner placement. The lack of a removable back fortunately, doesn't mean the battery isn't removable, it is simply covered by a removable cap that can be slid out at the bottom of the device.The microSD card and SIM slots are housed on the device's right side, while the volume buttons are located on the left.At the device's bottom sits a USB Type-C port as well as speakers.At the front, the phone comes with an Always On display resembling the second LG V10 screen, which is essentially used to display the time, date and notifications. The front camera, speaker and flash are placed right above the 5.3-inch G5 screen.

Display

LG G5 is slightly smaller than the G4 at 5.3 inches, but with a similar QHD resolution, the phone promises a greater pixel density. G5's IPS LCD screen is integrated with Digital Camera Initiatives which give colors a seemingly natural look with the display particularly being bright.The G5 embraces the Always On feature, which can also be found on the LG V10. The feature ensures that information such as time, weather, notifications and date is always displayed without need of waking your device.

Special Features

Following the trend of the latest flagship smartphones, the LG G5 has taken the initiative to include a fingerprint scanner, which not only unlocks the smartphone, but also serves as a camera launcher, answers incoming calls and silences alarms.Another special feature introduced on the LG G5 is the inclusion of the Magic Slot, which allows the connection to external gadgets such as external keyboards, cameras, speakers and even smartphone VR headsets. The Magic Slot can be accessed at the base of the device by removing the battery cap.

Software

LG G5 is powered by Android 6.0 Marshmallow incorporated with LG's very own UX 5.1 user interface. This means the Material Design has returned, and for improved user experience there are several new features with the likes of Doze, Google Now on Tap and app permissions enhancements.Some features have also been eliminated from the UX 5.0 including the dual-window mode and the app drawer, suggesting that the rumor that Google intends to remove it from Android N could be credible.A swipe on the home screen towards the left, navigates to the Bulletin, which shows a variety of boards for your calendar, smart settings, music and QREMOTE.

Performance

The metal build G5 packs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, complemented with 4 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 32 GB. The Snapdragon 820 is the latest highly optimized CPU, moving from the overheating-plagued Snapdragon 810 processor.Perhaps this overheating issue is the reason LG opted to bundle the G4 with an hexa-core Snapdragon 808, which still offered optimal performance. As for the G5 we can only look forward to an exceptional performance and a seamless experience of everything from multi-tasking to gaming resource-intensive games.

Camera

The G5 camera boasts a 16 MP primary camera pasted with an autofocus laser along with a dual LED flash. Thanks to the secondary 8 MP wide-angle camera which includes a field view of 135 degrees, we can only expect superior image quality compared to LG G4.

Battery

Surprisingly, the G5 has a smaller battery capacity than the G4, with only 2,800 mAh. G5 makes up for the 200 mAh less of battery with two of its energy-saving modes including the Marshmallow Doze feature, which optimizes battery management.Moreover, G5 provides a quick charge feature which can come in handy whenever you need a fast power boost.

LG G5 Release Date and Price

The LG G5 smartphone was unleashed to the world at the MWC recently held in Barcelona. There haven't been any confirmations as of yet on the phone's availability or price.What are your thoughts on the LG G5 features? Let us know in the comments.

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What's my model number?

There are several ways to locate your model number:

Option 1
On your device, go to Settings, then "About device" and scroll down to "Model number"
Option 2
Often times you can view the model number inside the device, by removing the battery
Option 3
Using Samsung's model/serial number location tool

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