LG Electronics Inc. today unveiled the LG G5 (pictured above), its 2016 flagship, and successor to 2015’s LG G4. Not happy to merely iterate on 2015’s design, LG has completely redesigned its G-series flagship, including an all-metal unibody, Always-on display, dual rear cameras, a modular component with multiple plug-n-play modules, and a slew of connected gadgets controlled by the G5.

Read on to see which areas LG has improved on over the G4 and decide for yourself where it may have missed the mark with the new G5.

LG G5 vs. LG G4: Design

2015 LG G4, Genuine Leather

LG G4: The G4 features a curved back and measures in at 148.9 x 76.1 x 6.3 – 9.8 millimeters and 155 grams. It boasts rear-mounted volume controls and a range of removable plastic or leather-covered rear shells.

LG G5: LG has opted for an all-metal unibody design on the G5 and even managed to hide the unsightly antenna lines that plague most metal unibody devices today. The design incorporates a removable section at the bottom of the phone to replace the removable battery and attach the new modules. LG has added a fingerprint sensor — almost a standard on smartphones nowadays — and moved the volume controls back to the side of the device. The G5 measure in at 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 millimeters and weighs 159 grams.

LG G5 vs. LG G4: Display

LG G4: The G4 has a 5.5-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440)  IPS display at 538ppi.

LG G5: Marginally smaller at 5.3-inches, the G5’s display is the same Quad HD (2560 x 1440)  IPS unit, albeit with an increase in pixel density at 554ppi.

The biggest change is LG’s new Always-on display that shows the date, time and notifications even when the G5 is in sleep mode. LG claims this new feature only uses 0.8 percent of the phone’s battery power per hour, resulting in improved battery life over the user having to wake up the phone to merely check the time.

LG G5 vs. LG G4: Cameras

LG G4: The rear camera is a 16-megapixel unit with optical image stabilization, coupled with an 8-megapixel unit on the front.

LG G5: The front camera is still an 8-megapixel unit while LG has added a second shooter to the rear setup. The G5 sports a standard 16-megapixel unit as well as an 8-megapixel 135-degree, wide-angle lens for capturing landscapes, tall buildings and large groups. The wide-angle lens is 1.7x wider than standard smartphone cameras and 15 degrees wider than the human eye’s field of view.

LG G5 vs. LG G4: Internal components and extras

LG G4: The G4 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU, 3GB of RAM and has 32GB onboard storage expandable up to 2TB via microSD and a 3,000mAh removable battery.

LG Friends — modules and connected devices

LG G5: The G5 gets the newer, more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU with 4GB of RAM and the same 32GB onboard storage expandable up to 2TB via microSD. The battery capacity is slightly down at 2,800mAh, but this should be offset by the more power efficient chip and display technology.

Most notably are the modules — called “LG Friends” — that can be attached to the G5 via an expandable slot at the bottom of the phone, including a camera module and a sound module.

The CAM Plus is a camera module that, when attached via the battery slot, gives the user a better grip and controls usually associated with conventional digital cameras, including auto-focus, exposure lock, physical buttons for power, shutter, record, and zoom, and also adds a battery with a 1,200mAh capacity.

The LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY module is a Hi-Fi audio player developed in conjunction with Bang & Olufsen that supports 32-bit, 384KHz high-definition audio playback. It can be used as a module attached to the LG G5 or as a stand-alone Hi-Fi digital audio chip (DAC) connected to any PC or smartphone.

LG G5 vs. LG G4: Software

LG G4: When it was released in April 2015, the G4 shipped with the latest version of Android, Android 5.1 Lollipop with LG’s own user interface on top.

LG G5: The G5 will also ship with the latest iteration of Android, Android 6.0 Marshmallow. LG has simplified its user interface by dropping the app tray.

LG G5 vs. LG G4: Verdict

The G5 is a superior smartphone to the G4 — as can be expected from a flagship upgrade — thanks to its new all-metal unibody, more-powerful processor and added RAM. Additionally, the dual rear camera system coupled with the CAM Plus module should satisfy even the most avid smartphone photographer’s requirements while the Always-on display sets it apart from its predecessor and the competition in the display department. 

Then there’s all the cool connected gadgets (see infographic below) like the 360 CAM, 360 VR, Rolling Bot, headphones, and more that could make the G5 a must-have device for gadget freaks.

Images via LG