Review: LG G5 – modularity brings true innovation, but at the cost of looks
The South Korean giant’s 2016 Android flagship is a sleek and powerful handset, but the modular design is both a blessing and a curse
South Korean electronics manufacturer LG made quite a splash at the Mobile World Congress in February, announcing the G5, a Transformers-like smartphone that can turn into a high-quality camera or audio player by plugging various modules into its removable chin. Since then, the buzz has simmer downed a bit – most notably when a YouTuber with access to the phone disputed LG’s claim that the G5 was an “all metal phone” – but the G5 remains a one-of-a-kind smartphone.
Hardware and features
The G5’s most advertised and eye-catching feature is its modularity. Press a button near the bottom of the phone and out comes the bottom bezel, with the battery attached. This means the phone does allow for battery swaps – the only remaining high-end smartphone to do so – but it also means the phone will shut down every time you want to plug in a module.
At launch the phone will only have two modules available (though LG promises more to come). The hi-fi audio module is developed by Bang & Olufsen and that was enough to excite me. It outputs audio files to 32-bits and doubles up on amplifiers. With a proper set of headphones, it’s audiophile quality, multidimensional sound – but it doesn’t work with Bluetooth headsets.