LG G5 goes official with 5.3-inch Quad-HD display, becomes first mainstream modular smartphone

LG G5 is the first big announcement out of MWC 2016 and it did make heads turn. Packing Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820, always-on display, an expansion slot in a unibody metal construction, an insane rear camera setup, the LG G5 may just be the most interesting product out of MWC 2016. We take a look at some of its features, specs and talk about its design as well.

Specifications

First lets get the specs of the LG G5 out of the way, so that we can focus on the more important things. The LG G5 comes with a 5.3-inch quad-HD display running on a Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor with 4GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage which is expandable upto 2TB, Android 6.0 Marshmallow with new LG UX on top.

There's 16MP and 8MP dual-cameras at the back with dual-LED flash, laser autofocus alongwith an 8MP front-camera for selfies. There is a fingerprint sensor at the back as well just below the camera module which does remind me of the Nexus 6P in conjunction with the camera sensors.

There's 4G LTE on offer as well alongwith dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC and a USB Type-C port for data-syncing and charging. The LG G5 comes with a 2800 mAh battery which can be removed with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 standard for fast charging. Even with all that under the hood of its metal body, the LG G5 is quite svelte measuring in at 7.7mm at its thinnest point with a total weight of 159 grams including battery. 

Design & Build

Starting with the design, LG has complete given up on plastic this time around. The LG G5 is an all metal affair with curved sides and corners as well as 3D Arc Glass (curved glass) in the front which melts into the metal frame of the device. You will be able to choose the LG G5 among Silver, Gold, Pink and a dark grey option which LG likes to call Titan.

The back is adorned by the dual-camera setup and just below it you will find the fingerprint sensor which also doubles up as the power button. The volume rocker has been moved to the left for good measure. Truth be told, I am going to miss the rear button setup, which I had grown quite used to with the G4.

There is an expansion slot with a dedicated button to open it at the bottom of the device which we will talk about a bit later. Let's get to the display now.

Display

Coming to the display, the LG G5 is packing a 5.3-inch Quad-HD always-on display. You get a crispy 554 PPI and by always-on LG means that you can check time, battery-status and notifications without waking up your device as just a part of the display's back-light is kept on during this mode.

LG says this is one their brightest displays yet, promising a brightness of up to 800 nits. The 3D Curved Glass at the top adds another layer of protection to the display as well. 

Cameras

LG has packed three cameras on the G5. There is a 16MP primary shooter at the back alongwith an 8MP camera there which has a wider 135 degree field of view enabling you to take wider panorama shots and cover larger spaces in a single shot. Both cameras can be used individually to capture images, but the fun part would be layering the results of both to get some very interesting images. Moreover, the LG G5 gets the complete manual control in photos we saw with the LG G4.

In-fact the 8MP rear camera on the LG G5 has a wider field-of-view than the human eye, allowing you literally capture more than what your eyes can see. Accompanying the two cameras is the dual-tone LED flash and laser auto-focus. Although its quite common now, but just to add, the LG G5 can record 4K videos as well.

Expansion Slot

This is really the most interesting part of the LG G5. You can actually remove the bottom part of the G5 to add more accessories. Their are two hardware expansion modules that LG launched at the event, the CAM Plus and Hi-Fi Plus with Bang & Olufsen (B&O) Play. But this is just the beginning, we are going to see a lot more expansion modules in future for the LG G5. This is really the first mainstream modular smartphone.

CAM Plus

Coming to the CAM Plus accessory, first of all, it adds an additional 1200 mAh battery to the G5. Then it makes for a better grip while taking photos. The CAM Plus module has a dedicated camera shutter button, a video record button, a notification LED for record status and a dial for zoom, essentially converting your G5 into a handy point-and-shoot.

Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play

The B&O Play module adds a Hi-Fi DAC to the LG G5 which allows for playback of 32-bit, 384 KHz high-def audio right on your smartphone. It has its own dedicated 3.5mm audio jack to plug in those extra sensitive audio monitors.

LG Friends

Along with the expansion modules, LG also announced some new devices to accompany your smartphone, dubbed LG Friends.

First of which is, you guessed it, a VR headset. Called the LG 360 VR, its a light and foldable VR headset with its own display. Although it needs to be connected to the USB Type-C port on your LG G5 to stream content. The LG VR 360 simulates a 130-inch TV viewing like experience and can be used to watch VR content from anywhere.

Then there's the LG 360 CAM, which as the name suggests is a 360-degree camera which comes with two 13MP camera modules with 200-degree wide angle view to stitch a complete 360-degree world view. It has a 1200 mAh battery and can record in 2K resolution. There are three microphones here as well to capture sound from multiple directions which finally translates to 5.1-channel output and you can save all recordings to a microSD card, if the 4GB inbuilt storage gets occupied.

LG has also made a cute Rolling Bot, which can move through your house on its wheels. It has a laser guided system to stop itself from hitting walls or obstacles and also has a camera built-in so that you can monitor your home from outside. But its not just a home monitor, it also acts as a smart-hub for controlling various smart devices in your household.

There was also a Smart Controller showcased, which can be used to control compatible drones using the LG G5 as the viewfinder. To work with the hi-fi audio module on the G5, the company also announced a set of Hi-Fi earphones made in collaboration with Bang and Olufsen, called the H3.

To control all these devices, the company has also made a hub on your LG G5 dubbed the Friends Manager. It would automatically detect nearby compatible devices and seamless integrate their functionality with minimal effort.

Pricing and Availability

As I wrote earlier, the LG G5 will come in gold, Silver, Gold, Pink and Titan color variants and will be available in April along with its expansion modules and Friend companion devices. At present there is no word on pricing on any of these devices.