Design: A Big Shift for LG

The design of the LG G5 is where the biggest change can be seen compared to last year's LG G4. With the G5, you're getting an all metal phone that's completely made of metal, and it's also modular. The bottom of the phone comes out, allowing you to still remove and replace the battery just like before, while maintaining micro SD card expansion. This design shift is a big deal for LG, as they've moved away from a plastic design or a combination of plastic and leather, which was seen on last year's model.

The G5's metal design feels more premium than its predecessor, despite being made entirely of the same material. However, it's also clear that LG focused more on hardware usability and the uniqueness of this modular design. The screen on the G5 is smaller than last year's 5.5-inch display, but it still maintains a Quad HD resolution. Another notable feature of the G5's screen is its always-on display, which shows notifications and other useful information. This feature was not available on the G4.

On the back of the phone, you'll notice that the power button is still present, while the volume rockers have been moved to the side. In contrast, the G4 has all its keys at the reach of your index finger on the back. The camera setup on the G5 is also a notable difference, featuring a dual-camera setup similar to last year's V10 model. However, it's now located on the back instead of the front, and it includes a wide-angle lens with an 8-megapixel sensor that allows you to switch between standard and wide-angle shots.

Software: A Cleaner Experience

The G5 is running on Android Marshmallow, which is accompanied by a much cleaner version of LG's UI. The first thing you'll notice is the absence of an app drawer, but there are also fewer features overall. This is in contrast to last year's model, where you had more bloatware and features that may or may not be useful. However, it seems that LG is focusing on making the experience as clean and streamlined as possible.

In terms of software updates, it's clear that LG is playing catch-up with the current Android Marshmallow version. This means that the G5 is not receiving any major updates, which could be a concern for users who rely heavily on their device. However, it's worth noting that LG did introduce a new software update process to address these concerns.

Conclusion

Overall, the design and software of the LG G5 represent a big shift for the brand. While some changes may not be as exciting as others, it's clear that LG is trying to make a statement with its latest device. With its modular design, always-on display, and powerful hardware, the G5 has a lot to offer users who want a premium smartphone experience.

However, there are also some drawbacks to consider. The lack of an app drawer and fewer features overall may be a disappointment for some users, particularly those who are used to more bells and whistles on their devices. Additionally, the fact that the G5 is not receiving major software updates could be a concern in the long run.

Despite these limitations, the LG G5 is still a solid choice for anyone looking for a high-quality smartphone with advanced features. Its modular design and powerful hardware make it a compelling option, even if it's not perfect.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up guys lawn here from Android authority and we're taking a quick look of the LG G5 versus last year's LG G4 and the easiest place to start with these two devices is obviously the design because this is a very big design shift for LG this year so with the G5 you're getting an all metal phone but not only is it completely made of metal it's also modular the bottom of the phone comes out and you can still remove and replace the battery just like before and still maintain micro SD card expansion uh with the G4 you have a plastic design or a combination of plastic and leather if you opt for the leather back um and it definitely doesn't feel quite as premium as the G5 but the design is definitely a little bit more unique and stands out a little bit better whereas the G5 kind of took a step back in terms of design and focused more on Hardware uh usability and the uniqueness of this modular design the screen on the G5 also went down from a 5.5in screen on the G4 to a 5.3in screen but it still maintains the same Quad HD resolution and the other big difference with this screen here is that it's an always on display uh whereas with the G4 you didn't really get that feature um so with the always on display you're going to be able to see your notifications and other useful tidbits of information on this particular screen another difference that you're going to notice is on the back you'll notice that the power button is still there on the back of the G5 uh but the volume rockers have been moved to the side whereas on the G4 you have pretty much every single key at the reach of your index finger on the back side of the phone the camera is also a pretty big difference you have a dual dual camera setup on the G5 uh which is very similar to the V10 but it's on the back instead of the front and on the G4 you just have the single 16 megapixel camera uh the camera on the G5 is also 16 megapixels as well uh but you also have the wide angle lens at 8 megapixels and this basically allows you to switch back and forth between the two in the UI uh so you can go from wide angle shots or standard angle shots which is a really cool feature uh that only the G 5 can do right now but both of these phones uh have pretty awesome cameras built in so you're going to be able to get quality photos from either one of these devices as far as specs go you're dealing with the very powerful Snapdragon 820 on the G5 and 4 GB of RAM and on the G4 you have the Snapdragon 808 and 3 GB of RAM uh internally there's 32 gigs of onboard storage and micro SD card expansion on both uh and as far as the battery goes you have a 2800 mAh battery on the G4 5 which is slightly smaller than the 3,000 mAh battery on the G4 but you do have USB type-c on the G5 where as the G4 uh has the regular standard micro USB the last big difference that you're going to notice with these two phones is in the software so the G5 is running on Android Marshmallow with a much cleaner version of LG's UI so the first thing you're going to notice that there's no app drawer but there's also less features as well so there's no Q slide or Q memo or anything of that nature and the really focusing on just making the experience as clean and as streamlined as possible uh whereas with the G4 you're getting a lot more bloat wear and a lot more features which may or may not be all that useful and the software is obviously not up to date with the current uh Android marshmallow so uh the G5 definitely is taking a lot of steps in the right direction as far as the software is concerned but that's going to do it for this quick comparison of the lg5 versus the lg4 hopefully you guys enjoyed it and stay tuned to Android authority.com for more of our mwc 2016 coveragewhat's up guys lawn here from Android authority and we're taking a quick look of the LG G5 versus last year's LG G4 and the easiest place to start with these two devices is obviously the design because this is a very big design shift for LG this year so with the G5 you're getting an all metal phone but not only is it completely made of metal it's also modular the bottom of the phone comes out and you can still remove and replace the battery just like before and still maintain micro SD card expansion uh with the G4 you have a plastic design or a combination of plastic and leather if you opt for the leather back um and it definitely doesn't feel quite as premium as the G5 but the design is definitely a little bit more unique and stands out a little bit better whereas the G5 kind of took a step back in terms of design and focused more on Hardware uh usability and the uniqueness of this modular design the screen on the G5 also went down from a 5.5in screen on the G4 to a 5.3in screen but it still maintains the same Quad HD resolution and the other big difference with this screen here is that it's an always on display uh whereas with the G4 you didn't really get that feature um so with the always on display you're going to be able to see your notifications and other useful tidbits of information on this particular screen another difference that you're going to notice is on the back you'll notice that the power button is still there on the back of the G5 uh but the volume rockers have been moved to the side whereas on the G4 you have pretty much every single key at the reach of your index finger on the back side of the phone the camera is also a pretty big difference you have a dual dual camera setup on the G5 uh which is very similar to the V10 but it's on the back instead of the front and on the G4 you just have the single 16 megapixel camera uh the camera on the G5 is also 16 megapixels as well uh but you also have the wide angle lens at 8 megapixels and this basically allows you to switch back and forth between the two in the UI uh so you can go from wide angle shots or standard angle shots which is a really cool feature uh that only the G 5 can do right now but both of these phones uh have pretty awesome cameras built in so you're going to be able to get quality photos from either one of these devices as far as specs go you're dealing with the very powerful Snapdragon 820 on the G5 and 4 GB of RAM and on the G4 you have the Snapdragon 808 and 3 GB of RAM uh internally there's 32 gigs of onboard storage and micro SD card expansion on both uh and as far as the battery goes you have a 2800 mAh battery on the G4 5 which is slightly smaller than the 3,000 mAh battery on the G4 but you do have USB type-c on the G5 where as the G4 uh has the regular standard micro USB the last big difference that you're going to notice with these two phones is in the software so the G5 is running on Android Marshmallow with a much cleaner version of LG's UI so the first thing you're going to notice that there's no app drawer but there's also less features as well so there's no Q slide or Q memo or anything of that nature and the really focusing on just making the experience as clean and as streamlined as possible uh whereas with the G4 you're getting a lot more bloat wear and a lot more features which may or may not be all that useful and the software is obviously not up to date with the current uh Android marshmallow so uh the G5 definitely is taking a lot of steps in the right direction as far as the software is concerned but that's going to do it for this quick comparison of the lg5 versus the lg4 hopefully you guys enjoyed it and stay tuned to Android authority.com for more of our mwc 2016 coverage\n"