The LG G5 is VERY underrated and underappreciated

[barondebxl]

Sup y'all, I really wanted to post this because I feel like the G5 is not getting the credit it deserves. But first let me give you a little bit of my smartphone background.

For the past 2 years, I have not kept a single phone for more than a month. The phone that I kept one month was the Galaxy S7 which was as recent as 3 weeks ago. Before that it was the HTC One M8 that I kept for 3 weeks. I constantly chang smartphones and I definitely have a condition . Im stating that because I have tried every phone you can possibly think of that came out from early 2014 till now. Prior to 2014 I wasnt going as crazy as I did the last couple of years. I'm slowing down now so that's good lol.

Just to name a few, I had the S7, Note 5, 6P, V10, G4, S6, S6 edge, S6 edge plus, Moto X, Xperias, Iphone 6s and 6s plus...not going to name them all but you get the point. So I'm very familiar with smartphones and I got a pretty damn good idea how they rank imo and in some areas objectively. The LG G5 is top 5 phones I have ever used EASILY. Is it the very best? No. I'll personally give that to the S7 (exynos variant) but it's right up there.


I got my G5 a few days ago and I'm already in love with it. It's not perfect by any means, but its a damn good phone and when I like or love something I feel the need to speak on behalf of it or defend it....whatever you wanna call it.


The phone has been out for over a month now so I got lucky and I didn't get any build quality issues. My module at the bottom Is perfectly lined up, no warping on the back of the phone, I don't notice any light bleed....my unit is as perfect as can be.

This phone has a fantastic display. I can see it very clearly in sunlight. No it's not as bright as the S7 but it's perfectly fine for me and it is super duper sharp. The wide angle camera is probably the best feature this phone has, it's too dope. I wonder why OEMs didn't think of doing that before, it's really really straight ????.

The performance is OUTSTANDING!!!!! This phone absolutely flies without slowing down ever. No lag, no stutter, it just slices through everything. Battery life is good. Not great, not bad, but it's good. I'd say it's slightly above average. I have only had my phone for 3 days but I get 4 1/2 of screen on time every day. In fact I'm on pace to reach over 5 hours of sot today. Plus I have the extra battery and cradle so I just swap batteries. I have yet to charge my phone, So convenient. Also, this is the thing that inspired me to start this post the most, it's the standby time of this phone. I have never ever ever ever seen anything like this before. Whether in wifi or mobile network data, whether the phone is laying down or is in your pocket, if you don't use the phone it does not drop one percent for HOURS. Im so impressed by that because coming from a Samsung phone, Samsung devices have atrocious standby time. But this is even better than an iPhone. It's absolutely insane.

Which leads me to say this. People bash LG for the G5 design, it's ugly, it feels cheap blah blah blah.....I understand all that. But there's another way to look at it. This is the only flagship to offer a removable battery. Whether you care for that or not you still gotta respect it. And the way it's done is pretty stylish to me, I have fun Everytime I switch the battery. Also they are pretty much the only OEM to still offer the IR blaster. Again, even if you don't use it it's there and it's the fact that LG gives us that option that is cool. Same thing with the coating on the back of the phone that ppl say feels plasticky, but it was done to hide the antenna bands. It seems to me that LG did what they did, having the best interest of the consumers in mind. Of course they wanna make money and all that but they could have easily ditched the removable battery, made a full metal unibody non removable battery device a la Samsung and call it a day. Instead they took the risk with the modularity. Today it's not respected but in the future when we look back at that, we will pay homage to LG for that. Great phone and I would recommend anyone to give it a try, it is totally worth it. I love the LG G5 and I'm very proud of it.


I still think the Exynos Galaxy S7 is overall the better phone, just because of the crazy battery life. In terms of performance they both cancel each other out. In day to day operation, fluidity and seem less operation I have to give it to the G5. In terms of loading apps, especially games and game play I have to give it to the S7. Both leads are minor but I do notice a difference.


The LG G5 is an incredible phone, I'm confident that if you take a 100 ppl on XDA who don't care for this device and let them test the phone for a few days, most of them will have a different opinion about it. I'm glad LG came out with this phone, much respect to them. Cheers!









Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk

 

[kwkw480]

I'd like to say that if you have money like that to burn I could use a donation. PM me for my PayPal

 

[barondebxl]

I'd like to say that if you have money like that to burn I could use a donation. PM me for my PayPal

Lol! But actually I didn't burn money like that, I'm pretty good at reselling and buying so I was barely losing money when I was moving in to a new phone. Sometimes I gained money.

Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk

 

[panamaniac]

Lol! But actually I didn't burn money like that, I'm pretty good at reselling and buying so I was barely losing money when I was moving in to a new phone. Sometimes I gained money.

Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk

I'm curious how you did this, were you buying on eBay slightly used or what? If you were buying new I feel like you'd be spending a pretty penny each time you switched. Also all the phone setting up, oy vey! I guess that's the exciting time for phone ownership, the first few weeks, but its also the biggest headache . not sure I could do that.

Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

 

[trotirider]

Off topic about his money.
I agree with you, I had a s5 and not interrested about s7 (it's close to iphone now) and nothing really new.
Lg have balls to make something new this year.
I don't understand why it is underappreciated.
Modules are just a +, wide angle is pretty fun and removable battery is a need.
I saw benchmarks where g5 is better, like read speed memory and in the comments nothing about the g5, just like it doesn't exist.. all are speaking about s7, htc 10, iphone etc..
I'm not saying this is the best phone, but it doesn't deserve these bad comments.
Anyway I don't care, this is my first lg and I don't regret this choice.

 

[gfreek]

The unsung hero!

Couldn't agree more with OP, Yes the G5 is not perfect and in fact it was my second choice, I had initially pre-ordered HTC 10 but cancelled when it was delayed with shipment and went with G5 instead and I'm glad I did I have no regrets!:good:

Granted the HTC 10 hardware build quality and software is superior to G5's but I think internally this is a better phone. That dual lens is far from a gimmick it super useful and fun when taking pictures.

Pros:
- Dual Lens Wide and Normal
- Phenomenal standby time considering 2800mah battery ( Its the best I have seen from all the android phones I have ever owned!)
- Ergonomically feels better in the hand then the HTC 10
- No Lag blisteringly fast, never get too hot.
- Modular design
- Battery life: Light to Medium usage can get 20hrs, Heavy usage can get 15hrs that is amazing!

Cons:
- Although G5 is unibody metal, the finish is not at the level of HTC,Samsung or apple. (Its a case of LG taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back)
- Low capacity battery
- LG UI/skin not at the same level as HTC sense or Touchwiz (Doesn't bother me as I use Nova launcher)

 

[~~Tito~~]

My main gripes with the phone are inital launch bugs such as the auto brightness issue, the FFC bug, and the shorter battety life. Build quality isn't the greatest but its the finish they used that makes it feel worse. I have had 0 slow downs, lags, or any other SW issue that makes the phone unusable. Coming from the Note 5, this phone runs rock solid.

If LG pays attention to this device and regularly updates it. It just might become a 2 year phone for me.

Lol! But actually I didn't burn money like that, I'm pretty good at reselling and buying so I was barely losing money when I was moving in to a new phone. Sometimes I gained money.

Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk

Exactly. You just have to sell at the right time, and keep the phone in great condition. I've done the same over the years.

 

[Jonathan-H]

I agree 100% as well except i'd call the battery life exceptional. I am getting up to 6.5 hours SOT, over a days battery life and that's with wifi and or 4g on permanently, Facebook, Messenger, Whatsapp, Instagram, and screen brightness never lower than 70%, mostly around 90%.

There's only one other phone which can beat it for battery life (S6 and S7 will die very fast at 75 to 100% screen brightness), and that is the HTC one m8. My GF has it, and always has screen at 100% brightness and gets 7 hours SOT regularly.

I would say the G5 is a keeper for me... until a new phone with dual lenses as they are really important to me now.

 

[PaoloMix09]

Couldn't agree more with OP, Yes the G5 is not perfect and in fact it was my second choice, I had initially pre-ordered HTC 10 but cancelled when it was delayed with shipment and went with G5 instead and I'm glad I did I have no regrets!:good:

Granted the HTC 10 hardware build quality and software is superior to G5's but I think internally this is a better phone. That dual lens is far from a gimmick it super useful and fun when taking pictures.

Pros:
- Dual Lens Wide and Normal
- Phenomenal standby time considering 2800mah battery ( Its the best I have seen from all the android phones I have ever owned!)
- Ergonomically feels better in the hand then the HTC 10
- No Lag blisteringly fast, never get too hot.
- Modular design
- Battery life: Light to Medium usage can get 20hrs, Heavy usage can get 15hrs that is amazing!

Cons:
- Although G5 is unibody metal, the finish is not at the level of HTC,Samsung or apple. (Its a case of LG taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back)
- Low capacity battery
- LG UI/skin not at the same level as HTC sense or Touchwiz (Doesn't bother me as I use Nova launcher)

I am hearing so many bad comments about the HTC 10 on their forums about their phones lagging, saying that their nexus or M8's are way smoother. Also hearing that people who have the 10 that have messed with the G5 say the G5 is one of the fastest phones they have ever used. I'm not liking this, I might not get the 10 anymore and might just wait for the htc nexus or note 6.

 

[barondebxl]

I am hearing so many bad comments about the HTC 10 on their forums about their phones lagging, saying that their nexus or M8's are way smoother. Also hearing that people who have the 10 that have messed with the G5 say the G5 is one of the fastest phones they have ever used. I'm not liking this, I might not get the 10 anymore and might just wait for the htc nexus or note 6.

The G5 is super well optimized, and it's funny cause usually they suck at that. But They started with the V10 and carried that on to the G5.

Sent from my LG-H860 using Tapatalk

 

[Angie*]

Totally agree with barondebxl !!!!!

To those like me who find themselves dismayed all alarmist posts, where there are countless jumble defects: catastrophic battery, dead pixels, stains on the screen, bars on the screen, GPS problems, bluetooth problems, catastrophic hardware finishes, crackling headphones, too low light, fingerprint sensor problem, not good pictures etc, etc ...
In these readings, I almost canceled my preorder.
Coming from a Note 3 that still works perfectly optimized by the root, very powerful, I do not really "need" to change (except for Note foist said to my half awaits impatiently ^^)
But I decided to wait and see: possible return within 15 days.
I received April 29 (Darty) and discovered the LG interface after 5 years spent with Samsung.
Balance sheet after two weeks where my point of comparison is the Samsung Note 3:

Connectivity: I have no problem with the Bluetooth (pairing is no problem with my car radio, other smartphones ...), GPS (waze no problems), the sound works well, whether media , headphones, telephony.
My battery holds without problem two examples:
17h22. to reach 26% 41% Desktop / 21% inactive phone / waze 9% / 6% Playstore / facebook 6% / 4% sleep / mood 3% / 1% OS
33h15 to arrive at 18%: 37% inactive phone / 28% screen / 7% waze / 6% cellular sleep / 5% facebook / 5% lge exchange / 3% OS / 2% mood (sms)
Charging is fast (i confess that I did not time it, but it is faster than the Samsung)
I let the still active bluetooth, GPS only with Waze (40 to 50 min / day) network that oscillates much between 4G, 3G and even Edge (travel between city and countryside -network Bouygues), always on the still active there including the night (I should point out that I lose with 0% at night.)
No physical problems: no scratches, bad finishing module that bad snaps from day between the bottom of the phone and body.
I was a little afraid of the boss of the sensors on the back of the device but frankly, I am pleased to see that it does not appear that much, and it is not unsightly.
The battery system is surprising: it is always afraid of the clip / unclip, but no concern to undo and return on the basis or the CamPlus.
No not with accessories problem earphones and CamPlus + official hull that were offered with the pre-order: the CamPlus fits well, is taken well in hand, but is certainly not very "pretty "globally on the phone, but it is not just that.
The shell fits perfectly to the body of the phone works perfectly for the always on, and all notifications which are inter-act: calls, alarms, always on, and it closes well, contrary to what I read.
Side screen and picture, no problem of light leakage spots, bars other dead pixels, or brightness: neither always on (which I find even too bright at night) or read (I often find very / too bright, which I blamed the Samsungs, consistently lowering the brightness).
The colors are true, I was afraid to "come down" to the LCD after enjoying the AMOLED. I actually detects nothing shocking about this change.
The pictures are good, more natural than photoshopped and instagrammé effect affixed by Samsung. The details are present, bright colors without being flashy, the wide mode with the dual sensor is a real plus, not too distorting effects.
I'm always trying to domesticate the manual mode, which offers many possibilities of shots, it's a bit complicated when not used, and there is no manual or explanatory guide.
system side: I'm V10c-EUR-XX is fluid, no lag. I returned to routinely Next launcher, I was pleased that LG will not rot their device with a multitude of useless apps, LG or Google or other partners. I easily off those that do not interest me, very few.
I installed Greenify, following me since its appearance, especially for apps such FB, twitter and G + that tend to reactivate and drain the battery.
No problem with the SD CARD, I can transfer what I want it, no recognition problem with my PC when I connect them together.

Small negatives: the USB3 cable is not plugged really well; it is not set as a USB 2 or 3. If the moves being transferred, it disconnects.
The app LG Health is a little less complete than the S Health (maybe time to get used to it), I especially regret not being able to return data on previous days.
Why the shell has thee an open window? I fear that the screen is scratched. The S view from Samsung was entirely covering the screen, and it worked well....
I do not yet fully tested CamPlus am, I hope to have good weather (and time) to do so soon.

That, I think I have everything reviewed ^^
I am fully satisfied with my choice and happy to have left the Samsung microcosm.

And for those who hesitate, I tell them: go ahead, throw yourself in the water !!

 

[jinkerz9430]

I still dont have the lg g5 because im waiting for the root to be released first. However, for those haters, i would like to say that if you dont like your lg g5 you can send it to me lol i will pay for the shipping.

Now, im going to comment in favor of the lg g5 even if i dont have it yet. Every phone has its flaws. There is not perfect phone yet because every customer has something they would like to add or remove. I currently own an S5 and im desperate to buy the lg g5, and not the s7 nor htc 10. And for me, huge flaws are the following ones: lack of slot for external sd card, no removable battery, burn in screen, and back easily breakable.

I dare you to leave your s7 with screen on and full brightness with an image with very saturaded color, and status bar on for half a day. That would be your biggest mistake(burn in image) . Here i am with my s5 with amoled screen and burn in image. Now, personally, the s5 is way better than the s7 in many aspects. And the s7 to me was like 1 steps forward 4 steps back for samsung. I was a fan of samsung but not anymore.

People who talk bad about the appearance, seems to be obsessed with just that. And i was wondering, do people always carry their phones without the cover? I really doubt that most of them do, and despite covers offer protection, they also cover the (what so many people call premium design and feeling). So, why to argue about the appearance when you will put it inside a cover anyway? Grow up and get over it.

Also, there is the problem with people complaining about the modules. Understand people, that's just an additional feature, and whether you want to buy more modules or batteries or not is not an obligation, it is an option. Thats way better than what samsung has done previously. Which is limiting your options. When you buy an any item, do you buy an item which is very limited on its functionality? Or do you buy an item that do more than it has to offer... I dont know you but LG has just opened a new gate on the era of smartphones. And probably samsung will end up copying it, and all other phones as well. Sure i heard that google was developing a new modular smartphone but they have taken so long, and whoever release their product first thats the one who desetve the 1st place that honors the feature. And that resulted to be LG.

Just my opinion hahaha

 

[Angie*]

Totally agree !
I have burn in on my Note 3: the notification bar on top of the screen
I always use dark wallpapers and themes, night mode, except with Waze- > fatal error... :-/

Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk

 

[adamelphick]

Have to agree with the OP. I absolutely love my G5!

As you can see from my Signature pic I have been through many manufacturers (including Samsung) and ended up sticking with LG for a while now. Loved my G3 (the 2gb/32gb version of course), the G4 was a step up in all aspects (once I got LG to replace the early motherboard with a new one that doesn't get bootloop), and now the G5 is just WOW. So fluid and smooth and the wide angle lens is brilliant. I have just come back from holiday with my partner who has an iPhone 6 Plus - arguably the best iPhone so far. Usually they take all the 'good' shots outside (my G4 beat indoors easily), but this time it was ... ' oh can you take that as I can't fit it all in'... even on the NORMAL angle I fitted more in, and widescreen well... no need to even comment! The picture quality is really good, colours look natural, and even though my Cam Plus module didn't turn up before I went away (grrr) the phone was a godsend!

I have no issues with bluetooth, the GPS works fine (with NavFree, Navigator and Google Maps), all my social apps work great, and thanks to Three UK and their free country roaming I had H+ throughout most of my Scandinavian trip!!

I know it has it's flaws. The screen has very slight 'bend' in the lower corners, and I hope this will be OK with my new glass protector when it arrives, but if not I will simply get it swapped out for one that doesn't have the bend issue. Compared to some issues I've had that is so minor it's not worth mentioning. Compare it to my friends who spend £700+ on top end iPhones who had them go all 'curved' simply by having them in their pockets!

 

[lilhaiti]

I've had my G5 for a little over 3 weeks now and I must say that I am seriously digging this phone. I was team HTC up until the M9 which wasn't a bad phone...just very mediocre in most regards. One thing I LOVE about this phone is the camera, man this thing takes amazing pictures and the wide angle lense is a very welcomed plus. Battery life for me has been good but not great, standby is great but it drains a little on the fast side under moderate usage, overall not bad. The build has some minor detail issues that I no longer see because I put the phone in a case.

A lot of phones receive negative press and do not fully deserve it. I believe the G5 and HTC 10 both have received tough reviews, but both seem to be damn good phones. A lot of people subconsciously base their opinion off of the opinions of reviews and it seems to muddy the waters.

 

[galr]

I've had my G5 for a little over 3 weeks now and I must say that I am seriously digging this phone. I was team HTC up until the M9 which wasn't a bad phone...just very mediocre in most regards. One thing I LOVE about this phone is the camera, man this thing takes amazing pictures and the wide angle lense is a very welcomed plus. Battery life for me has been good but not great, standby is great but it drains a little on the fast side under moderate usage, overall not bad. The build has some minor detail issues that I no longer see because I put the phone in a case.

A lot of phones receive negative press and do not fully deserve it. I believe the G5 and HTC 10 both have received tough reviews, but both seem to be damn good phones. A lot of people subconsciously base their opinion off of the opinions of reviews and it seems to muddy the waters.

Yep, all the reviews keep saying S7 Edge... so I went to buy an S7 Edge. Luckily, last minute I followed my guts and got the G5. Boy I'm happy with this phone!
I had it with me in Europe and it is amazing. :good::good::good:

 

[jinkerz9430]

Totally agree !
I have burn in on my Note 3: the notification bar on top of the screen
I always use dark wallpapers and themes, night mode, except with Waze- > fatal error... :-/

Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk

hahahah that's what i thought at first. That the notification bar was the one burned in the screen, but it is the opposite, because the notification bar is pure black, it doesnt degrade the pixels from is true colors. The areas of pure blackness in the phone with amoled screen doesnt use the pixels, instead it turn them off. You just have to search on google for a white image and put it in a full screen mode. You will see that there are 2 whites. One one kind of yellowish turning brown, and the other one is the best one an amoled screen can achieve. Therefore, your situation is just like mine. We have our screen about 95 percent completely burn, the other 5 percent is not burn. And if you leave an image with multiple colors and some sections with pure black then only the color parts will burn in. Then black part wont.

 

[kms108]

hahahah that's what i thought at first. That the notification bar was the one burned in the screen, but it is the opposite, because the notification bar is pure black, it doesnt degrade the pixels from is true colors. The areas of pure blackness in the phone with amoled screen doesnt use the pixels, instead it turn them off. You just have to search on google for a white image and put it in a full screen mode. You will see that there are 2 whites. One one kind of yellowish turning brown, and the other one is the best one an amoled screen can achieve. Therefore, your situation is just like mine. We have our screen about 95 percent completely burn, the other 5 percent is not burn. And if you leave an image with multiple colors and some sections with pure black then only the color parts will burn in. Then black part wont.

These amoled now operate differently than it used too, the black is still on now, they are slightly lit, unlike the very early version, just go into a totally dark room and use a pixel tester for a total black screen, you can see the black is still lit.

 

[Angie*]

@joseguillen1994 : ouch !!
Is it true ? It's frightening !
I'll always use dark wallpapers and themes, to preserve the screen !! ?

Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk

 

[jinkerz9430]

These amoled now operate differently than it used too, the black is still on now, they are slightly lit, unlike the very early version, just go into a totally dark room and use a pixel tester for a total black screen, you can see the black is still lit.

HA! to make it worst hahaha. well, i think im ready to change to the lg g5 as soon as the root for the h830 is released. Just imagine that i bought my father an LG g3 and i almost told him to exchange it with me lol! It is way faster than the s5, sure, the picture of the lg g3 is not as good as the s5, however, i bet the lg g5 can beat the s5 camera even if they have the same amount of mega pixels. It's not that im against samsung, but a dont feel like buying a new screen everytime i leave the screen on, or that every 6 month to 1 1/2 i have to buy a new screen. The day that AMOLED screens solve this issue then i might consider to go back to them. Otherwise, im out of AMOLEDs . I dont really care about pure black colors in a phone, in the end when you pass the photos to computer they all have the same black lol. By the way. thanks for letting me know about how AMOLED works now.

---------- Post added at 04:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 PM ----------

@joseguillen1994 : ouch !!
Is it true ? It's frightening !
I'll always use dark wallpapers and themes, to preserve the screen !! ��

Send from my LG G5 using Tapatalk

That's why they suggest to use dark wallpapers, because by using it you will use less battery, but that only qualifies for AMOLED screen, However i put IPS and AMOLED Phones in a balance and (i will take samsung again as an example because i have followed the flagship of samsung since the S2 and Note 1 and all of then got burn in screen) i just see that there is not significant improvement in AMOLED devices now. In fact, for me the samsung galaxy s5 is better than the S7 or the S6. The S6 removed the waterproof, the S7 added back the waterproof, the S6 added the IR back, the S7 Removed it. Both S6 and S7 removed the ability to change the battery (unless opened the phone=remove warranty), The S6 had 16 MP of camera, the S7 lowered the pixels of the camera. As you can see i dont really see any real improvement in the s7 or S6 . Removing and putting back, then removing again. In exchange, the LG has show improvement (sure in a slow way, taking its time but the have done it). they even kept the ability of IR which S7 removed. sure, it is not important for many people, however it is there. What makes a phone great or interesting is that even if you dont use a feature at all, the feature is there for if any day something happens, or your interest to use it awakes all of the sudden. It's the same thing people dont understand about the modules, they say that modules are crap , but they don't see the real point of those modules. They are not a need, they are a want (You use it if you want them, not if you need them). And also there are rumors that LG is open for developers who wants to create new modules and they will earn a significant percent of the income generated. So,,,, who knows if there will be even more interesting things than we are currently seen on the LG G5. (I have always appreciate the smartphone developers who give us the option in case we need them :good::good::good::good::good