LG got in on the action at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona by unveiling its new G5 handset on Sunday, February 21st. It will be the first publicly available modular smartphone by a top tech giant.
The Magic Slot
The highlight of the G5 is undoubtedly the “Magic Slot,” which lets you quickly change batteries or transform the G5 into a handful of other things, like a high-end digital camera, or Hi-Fi audio player. With enough practice, you might even be able to wow your friends with some badass battery switching.
LG Friends
There are a couple more companion devices, called “LG Friends,” expected at launch. These include the LG 360 VR headset, which plugs into your device via a dedicated cable and only weighs 118 grams (compare with Samsung’s Gear VR, which weighs 280 grams).
The LG 360 CAM has two 13-megapixel, 200° wide-angle cameras to capture photos and videos in 360 degrees. The camera has a 1,200 mAh battery, and 4 GB internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD.
LG Rolling Bot is basically a BB-8 for your home, complete will silly beeping. You can control the rolling robot with your phone, and is intended to be used for everything from home security to playing with your pets.
LG also announced the LG Tone Platinum Bluetooth headset, H3 by B&O Play headphones, and the LG G5 Smart Controller, which is used to control drones. All of these devices can be easily used with the LG Friends Manger app.
The Phone Itself
Lest you forget about the phone itself, the G5 comes with its version on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 SoC, with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB on-device storage, with microSD expansion. The handset as a 5.3″ Quad HD always-on display with a secondary ticker screen.
The G5 comes with a removable 2,800 mAh battery that’s meant to work with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, meaning you should be able to charge your battery from 0-80% in roughly 35 minutes.
While the phone’s Magic Slot is certainly the star of the show here, dual cameras certainly are worth mentioning. There’s a standard 16-megapixel shooter, but you also get an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens to capture more on-screen (1.7x wider) without having to reframe your shot.
There’s also a fingerprint sensor on the back on the device, similar to the Nexus 5X and 6P.
There’s no solid release date yet, but we can expect it sometime in early April. Price details are also unconfirmed, but estimates seem to range from $550-$650.
Specifications
- Display: 5.3-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum Display (2,560 x 1,440 / 554 ppi)
- Memory: 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM / 32 GB UFS ROM / microSD (up to 2 TB)
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Processor
- Camera: Rear Standard 16 MP, Wide 8 MP / Front 8 MP
- Battery: 2,800 mAh (removable)
- OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Size: 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm; Weight: 159 g
- Network: LTE / 3G / 2G
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / USB Type-C / NFC / Bluetooth 4.2
- Colors: Silver / Titan / Gold / Pink
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