LG G5 vs LG G4 – what’s new in this year’s flagship and is it worth upgrading

Unlike last year, when LG announced their flagship LG G4 in April, this time around the South Korean manufacturer decided to act a bit earlier and revealed their top-tier offering in February. However, the device will still be available for purchase starting April. Just like any new product, LG G5 was met with mixed feelings from the users, but most of them think that the overhaul is worth purchasing the new model. There are also a lot of consumers, who think that it isn’t worth upgrading from the G4 to the G5 yet and prefer to wait another year for the G6 instead. Anyway, we’ve decided to do a quick comparison of the smartphones and see if it is really worth moving away from the G4.

The LG G5 is expected to hit the market in early April, but the G4 is still on the shelves and you can find it here: http://amzn.to/1QQ4pTt

Design

One of the biggest differences between the phones is in the design department. If last year’s model was available in two version – plastic or leather back cover, this time around we only get one choice available – metal. LG G5 features a unibody chassis, aluminum-magnesium alloy with user removable battery. The phone feels more premium in the hand and you can easily tell that it’s a flagship device.

LG G4’s weight is 155 grams, which is 4 grams lighter than its successor, but you’ll hardly feel the difference. At its thickest point, the G4 measures at 9.8 mm, but thanks to its curved back, reaching 6.3 mm thickness, it feels a lot thinner. Things aren’t very different with the G5, as well, as it measures at 7.7 mm thickness and fits comfortably in the hand, thanks to its smaller overall size and curved edges.

The volume rocker keys are no longer positioned on the back of the device, unlike LG’s last couple of flagships. Don’t get us wrong, the South Korean manufacturer hasn’t given up on this type of design language. The only back button located below the rear camera of the phone is the power button. While we’re on the subject, we should note that the power button now integrates a fingerprint sensor and we were very pleased with its performance, as its fast and accurate, while being very comfortable to use – similar experience to the Nexus 5X.

Another new addition to the design is the detachable bottom plate of the phone, which can be removed by pressing a discrete button, located on the back side. This is also how you get access to the user-removable battery of the device. Furthermore, by detaching the bottom plate you can take advantage of all the extensions that LG has provided. For example, you can. attach a B&O-branded module to increase the audio quality of the phone, or go with the CAM Plus extension that will not only provide you will comfortable and easy to use physical camera buttons, but will also increase the capacity of the battery with an additional 1200 mAh. Two of the extensions include the manufacturer’s first VR glasses and 360-degrees camera.

Hardware

It seems like the increasing screen size trend is now over, as LG G5’s display measures at 5.3″, compared to the 5.5-inch screen on its predecessor. However, the resolution remains Quad HD resolution (1440 x 2560) resulting in more detailed images, due to the higher pixel density – 554 ppi vs 538 ppi on the G4. To be fair, we hardly think that you’ll notice the difference. This year’s flagship again uses an IPS panel and has a fourth generation Gorilla Glass protective layer on the screen. Another difference in the screens of the G4 and G5 is the presence of the Always-ON feature on the newer model. This function should increase the battery life of the phone, by reducing the number of times you turn on the display, just to see the time, missed calls, messages, notifications, etc.

Speaking of the battery, it is perhaps the only thing that hasn’t been upgraded, compared to the one on G4. It’s actually the other way around – 2800 mAh vs 3000 mAh. We’ll make sure to test its durability, of course, as soon as we get our hands on the device and see how it affects the phone, in terms of battery life. Anyway, both devices provide easy access to the battery and they both are user-replaceable.

As a tradition, each new flagship phone has more powerful SoC than its predecessor. LG G4 had Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 running the show, which boasts two Cortex-A57 cores and two Cortex-A53 cores. In their new model, LG has stuck with Qualcomm, but the mobile chip inside is the new Snapdragon 820, boasting four Kryo cores, which we’re very eager to test. The available RAM has also been increased to 4GB from 3GB, while the GPU is now the Adreno 530, compared to the Adreno 418 on the G4.

The last thing we want to talk about is the camera, which has also received an update. The main shooter of LG G5 is again a 16MP unit and features the same laser autofocus technology, OIS, f/1.8 aperture and LED flash as the G4. The main difference in this year’s model is the presence of a secondary 8MP sensor with a wider field angle, which provides tons of new options in the camera menu, aside from all the traditional shooting modes and manual settings.

The LG G5 is expected to hit the market in early April, but the G4 is still on the shelves and you can find it here: http://amzn.to/1QQ4pTt

Specs sheet

Official product videos

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