Why I'm returning my G5, after 5 days

[jinkerz9430]

Have to say, for my use case, this phone is near perfect. So fast, not an awful UX overlay, amazing creative potential with the widescreen lens. Yes, in the nude the phone could feel a bit unfinished but in a case (and what kinda person wouldn't use a case when out an about?) you don't feel it. Horses for courses, I guess.

I will tell you what kind of person. Rich people doesnt use covers, nor people who care less about their phones lol. Sometimes i ask myself why people complain so much about how the phone looks and or feel when at the end of the day they will buy a cover. (except rich people who live to break their phones---> i have seen it alot here in miami lol)

 

[ipsuvedi]

Deleted

---------- Post added at 10:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 AM ----------

In short, the G5 feels poor, for a flagship. I knew about some of these issues beforehand but I didn't think they would bother me as much. I've never returned a phone before.

I'm coming to it from a Samsung S6 Edge and iPhone 6. I can include the Nexus 5 and even the HTC One X in here too. They all felt a lot better, smoother and cleaner.

I wanted the G5 + Hi-Fi Plus to replace the phone + audio player combination I've gotten used to (most recently, Sony Walkman NWZ-ZX2).

I still haven't received my Hi-Fi Plus. But even if it was great (it is essential, for me), it wouldn't make up for everything else.

It feels like there is a lip when you swipe from the side of the screen. It's not smooth glass like an iPhone, S6/S7 Edge, or Nexus 5. It doesn't feel nice.

The chrome trim around the back has hideous gaps. The bottom of the phone doesn't align along perfectly along the sides. I think this is shocking in this day and age. I can imagine Steve Jobs slapping you in the face if you tried to release something like this at Apple.

The fingerprint scanner doesn't always work and seems to be worse than my iPhone and the S6 Edge.

The battery life is mediocre, even without always-on display. With lighter than average use I can go a day. I would expect this to be reduced with the Hi-Fi Plus. I don't want to carry two batteries and I don't want to be swapping batteries until this one becomes suboptimal. But by that time I will probably want a new device.

The supposedly metal body feels like plastic, so what's the point of it? It's not as though plastic phones fall apart or melt in time. Moreover, this prevents wireless charging.

Audio quality through the standard headphone socket is dull. The fact that something can play 24-bit audio doesn't mean it will sound great.

The tapered top of the phone means that I can't use a screen protector. In the long term, this is not a good idea, especially without a case.

The fact that the Hi-Fi Plus makes it a little bigger means that I can't use a case.

I think I'll get the HTC 10 when it's released, because the S7 Edge isn't a worthwhile upgrade over a 128GB S6 Edge.

I see, You and Your prospective has lot more defects than this phone. This is innovative device, learn to use innovative features rather praising your own preferences.

BTW... why you are searching iphone and edge phones in it.... LOL

 

[jimmmysil]

Can you give some examples of the G5 being more customizable than the S7? For me it's the other way around. I would love to be able to apply a theme and change the colors of the settings menu, which I can easily do with my s7 edge. So how exactly is the G5 more customizable?

Sent from my LG-H831 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Only one phrase. Custom roms! Snapdragon processor will game a lot of developers while exynos won't. Check and compare G3 custom Rom development with S5 and G4 with S6 and you will understand.

 

[pacods61]

Hmmmm

Only one phrase. Custom roms! Snapdragon processor will game a lot of developers while exynos won't. Check and compare G3 custom Rom development with S5 and G4 with S6 and you will understand.

Pretty sure cpu has notbing to dp with development locked bootloaders do. And the g4 has a snapdragon

 

[invertedskull]

Pardon me if someone else has replied with these or similar comments.

In short, the G5 feels poor, for a flagship. I knew about some of these issues beforehand but I didn't think they would bother me as much. I've never returned a phone before.

Hmmm... You've made some really good points, but also some that I would contest. Just so you know, I've had my LG G5 (H860) for about 3 or 4 weeks now, and I got the Hi-Fi Plus with mine.

I'm coming to it from a Samsung S6 Edge and iPhone 6. I can include the Nexus 5 and even the HTC One X in here too. They all felt a lot better, smoother and cleaner.

I wonder if the width of the body might contribute to this. Just a thought. Those phones you mentioned are a lil slimmer, no?

I wanted the G5 + Hi-Fi Plus to replace the phone + audio player combination I've gotten used to (most recently, Sony Walkman NWZ-ZX2).

I still haven't received my Hi-Fi Plus. But even if it was great (it is essential, for me), it wouldn't make up for everything else.

Me too man. I love my audio, and I HATED that LG moved the audio jack on the G3 and G4 from the bottom of the body, to the top on the G5. Makes NO SENSE to me. So I got the Hi-Fi Plus so my audio jack would be on the bottom, plus I love high quality audio. And the quality is better with it.

It feels like there is a lip when you swipe from the side of the screen. It's not smooth glass like an iPhone, S6/S7 Edge, or Nexus 5. It doesn't feel nice.

I never noticed this one mine, and I started using a case a couple days ago. So I won't anything there now. Maybe you got a bad build...

The chrome trim around the back has hideous gaps. The bottom of the phone doesn't align along perfectly along the sides. I think this is shocking in this day and age. I can imagine Steve Jobs slapping you in the face if you tried to release something like this at Apple.

Agree with you there. The gaps you are talking about are referred to by someone in a video I saw before I bought the G5, as "chips." They aren't chips, but it's where the antenna apparently stops and starts. I think it looks bad too, but for me it's not a deal breaker. But you are right, LG should have done something about it. And you didn't mention this, but how it doesn't line up with the battery / chin eject button... that's REALLY bad. But yes, the chin and body do not line up so nicely either. I don't feel it now that I have a case tho.

The fingerprint scanner doesn't always work and seems to be worse than my iPhone and the S6 Edge.

I've had a few instances of it not working right off, but more times out of ten it works right away. I actually heard the opposite in some video reviews, that the Samsung Galaxy S7 fingerprint scanner isn't as good as the G5's. *shrugs* It might all be subjective.

The battery life is mediocre, even without always-on display. With lighter than average use I can go a day. I would expect this to be reduced with the Hi-Fi Plus. I don't want to carry two batteries and I don't want to be swapping batteries until this one becomes suboptimal. But by that time I will probably want a new device.

Mine has been great. But yes, with the Hi-Fi Plus it is drastically different (worse off). I actually ended up returning my Hi-Fi Plus due to a mystery issue I could not solve, so this is not an issue for me now. But I do miss not having the audio jack at the bottom. For those interested, here's the issue I was having (this is a link to my Dropbox where I've posted video footage of the audio suddenly stopping): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4vczqajzr9lt8k5/AAAkgG00DOPAxw8yt5avyVIZa?dl=0

The supposedly metal body feels like plastic, so what's the point of it? It's not as though plastic phones fall apart or melt in time. Moreover, this prevents wireless charging.

It's not supposedly, it is metal. But yes, why on earth they they plastic-ify it? Late at night when I'm watching TV with the wife, I have my phone face down on the couch. My arm occasionally touched the phone and I feel the cold metal body. I REALLY like that. Sucks about wireless charging, I'll agree. It's a disappointment since the G3 had it, and maybe the G4, I don't know. So now I have a couple wireless chargers laying around doing nothing. BUT I rarely found wireless charging to be that great anyways, so not a deal breaker for me.

Audio quality through the standard headphone socket is dull. The fact that something can play 24-bit audio doesn't mean it will sound great.

The tapered top of the phone means that I can't use a screen protector. In the long term, this is not a good idea, especially without a case.

Have to disagree with you there on both. Audio is great for me, even without Hi-Fi Plus. And I got a screen protector on mine, it just stops before the curve starts. Would be nice to find one that does curve downward, but it's better than nothing.

The fact that the Hi-Fi Plus makes it a little bigger means that I can't use a case.

Not true, there are both cheap and pricey cases made to house both the phone and Hi-Fi Plus when connected. I have one from eBay.

 

[mgolder]

These types of posts are just awful. Basically amounts to someone kicking and screaming and thinking that everyone should pay them attention...... The forum equivalent of someone saying 'I'm unfollowing this page now for xyz reasons'....... Instead of just, you know, leaving.

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

[Perpatoura]

Agree on most of this, I regret to have purchased this device and I came from a G4. Besides GPU/CPU/RAM (which actually don't count as real improvements for me), I don't see improvements, for me it's only the wide angle camera, everything else is worse or same..

 

[galr]

Agree on most of this, I regret to have purchased this device and I came from a G4. Besides GPU/CPU/RAM (which actually don't count as real improvements for me), I don't see improvements, for me it's only the wide angle camera, everything else is worse or same..

Maybe.. but I can't think of not having the wide angle after having the G5.
The camera is just outstanding (unless you just point and shoot..then you might as well get an S7).

I'm not loving the design, but it does more than the rest of the phones out there..so functionality wise, it's ahead of all the other phones out there and that's why I'm with the G5 for the past 5 months. Duck the design... it's going into a case anyway.

 

[mgolder]

Agree on most of this, I regret to have purchased this device and I came from a G4. Besides GPU/CPU/RAM (which actually don't count as real improvements for me), I don't see improvements, for me it's only the wide angle camera, everything else is worse or same..

So, if the internals aren't 'real' improvements..... And take away the camera.... What could/should they have added to make it actually improved?

Oh, and remember you have to work on the assumption that the modular bottom would still be there.....

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

[Perpatoura]

So, if the internals aren't 'real' improvements..... And take away the camera.... What could/should they have added to make it actually improved?

Oh, and remember you have to work on the assumption that the modular bottom would still be there.....

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

Improve the camera quality, port at least the video settings from the V10, don't make the sound quality worse, don't make a metal frame that feels like plastic that hinders wireless charging, don't make the top screen curved so that we have problems with glass protectors, don't reduce the display ratio, don't release an unfinished pseudo-modular system and hinder development for new modules.... All in all the phone feels like a nightly release.

 

[persvent]

This guy sounds like a whoos, Aeneas, complaining about nonsense crap. I do agree with Verks, G5 is awesome, some qwerks but able to iron out, but nonetheless, an awesome phone (received Oct 7th)