Only a couple of years ago, LG's phone business was interesting but hardly good enough to keep the big boys awake a night. How quickly things change, with first the LG G3 and its amazing screen, followed up by last year's LG G4, which we loved due to the combination of excellent screen, versatile camera and leather back (on the premium model): it certainly gave the Samsung Galaxy S6 a run for its money. As a result, LG is one to watch, and the LG G5 could be one of the most exciting handsets around.
One of the hard things about trying to work out when LG will launch a phone is that the company has not stuck to a strict yearly release schedule. However, if the latest report from etnews.com is to be believed, then we should see the LG G5 released in February to coincide with the MWC show in Barcelona. That would put the G5 head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S7. According to the report, the handset will be available to buy worldwide within a few weeks of the official unveiling.
What you need to know, quickly
Need the information fast? here's everything you need in a quick, bite-sized digest. Obviously, everything here is based on unconfirmed rumours, so things can change quickly, but the below is, at least, a quick view of how things stand at this point in time.
What is it? | The follow-up to the LG G4 and LG's latest flagship smartphone |
When is it out? | February 2016 seems likely, although we may have to wait a little longer |
What's new? | An improved camera, Android 6.0 and an iris scanner |
In Detail
Design
Although the leather back of the LG G4 was different to that of every other phone, it turns out that people weren't that interested in it, with the quality of the camera proving to popular. For that reason, etnews.com is stating that LG has decided to go for an all-metal body this time around. LG will redesign the handset to create something that looks different. Given the company's design track record, the LG G5 could be gorgeous, but we're all going to have to wait until there are some leaked designs before we can tell for certain.
Screen
Although the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium was the first phone with a 4K display, it doesn't seem as though many manufacturers are keen to follow suit: 4K draws a lot of power and requires a lot of processing. Instead, it looks as though LG will stick with its 2,560x1,440 IPS LCD panel instead. This isn't a problem in my book, as this resolution is more than enough on a 5.6in screen.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
LG could only use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor in the G4, with the faster 810 supposedly suffering from overheating issues. LG won't hold back with the G5, though, allegedly turning to the brand-new Snapdragon 820 instead. Early benchmarks, reported on Gizchina, show that the 820 is the faster mobile chipset available at the moment. In addition, it's built using a 14nm fabrication process, which should make it cooler and use less power than the Snapdragon 810 and 808. As well as the speed improvements, the Snapdragon 820 also has faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi (4x MIMO) and a new 4G modem, for maximum download speeds of 600Mbit/s, although this needs network support.
Camera
The camera was one of the best things about the LG G4, with its 16-megapixel sensor, laser-guided autofocus and optical image stabilisation. LG is looking to improve on this and is apparently turning to Sony again, this time for a 20-megapixel sensor. If the sensor can balance low-light performance with all of that extra resolution, it could make the LG G5 the best smartphone for photography.
Price
I'm expecting the price of the LG G5 to be around the same as the premium LG G4: around £520 at launch. LG has slowly increased its prices over the years, so you may have to pay a little more than that: I'll bring you more information as it comes in.
