lg g5 screen replacement and lcd panel cost free sample
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Your LG G5 is broken or damaged and you are looking to get your G5 repaired? Compare now and find the best price for the required service for your LG G5 and go directly to the store.
Repairing your broken LG G5 is in most cases cheaper than buying a new smartphone. You can expect costs of about USD 50 for repair services of your mobile device. Replacing the display is normally a bit pricier than that. However, in almost all cases it is cheaper to get your LG G5 repaired than buying a new device.
At 50 percent speaker repair is the most frequently selected service for the LG G5. Second most frequently selected service is power button repair at 50 percent.
The following diagram (infographic) shows the distribution of the most common repairs / damages of the LG G5. The statistics are based on the repair requests (multiple requests possible).
Replacing or repairing the touchscreen of your LG G5 becomes necessary if the touch functionality doesn""t work properly anymore for example due to damaged display glass (cracked, scratched). Symptoms can be that the touchscreen doesn""t react to touch at all, only delayed or just when applying a lot of pressure. In most cases a damaged G5 touchscreen can not be repaired and needs to be replaced.
Diagnostics/assessment of the damages is recommend when your LG G5 stopped working (e.g. does not turn on anymore) and you are not able to determine the problem. Once a technician was able to analyze the issue and has estimated a price for the repair of your G5, you are able to decide what repairs will be performed.
If you have dropped your LG G5 into water, you should act fast. Consequences of a water damage don""t always appear right away. Immediately drying the device thoroughly, turning off the phone and if possible removing the battery can help increasing the chance of a successful repair. A professional assessment of possible damages of your G5 are recommended in any case. This way serious water damage can be avoided or affected parts replaced. A technician can perform diagnostics, find all affected parts and recommend fixes. Then you can decide for yourself what repairs are actually performed.
If your LG G5 does not charge properly anymore or you experience problems connecting to your PC or MAC a repair or replacement of the phone connector port could be necessary. Often it can also be a problem with the charger/charger cable or a broken USB cable. In any case a professional smartphone repair shop can help finding the problem and replace or repair the broken parts.
The battery of your LG G5 does not hold charge or doesn’t charge anymore at all? In this case you should consider getting the smartphone battery replaced.
If thespeaker of your LG G5 is too silent, you can hear cracks, the tone is cutting out or there is no sound at all, despite the correct settings, it is recommended to get a repair or replacement of your speaker or earpiece.
If your LG G5 won""t turn on or off anymore, it is often caused by a Hardware damage of your Power button (On/Off Switch). A broken Power button of a G5 is mostly fixed by replacing the element.
If the front or back camera of your LG G5 only takes blurry photos or the camera only shows a black screen, a camera repair is able to fix the problem.
Repair or replacement of the headphone jack of your LG G5 can be necessary, if your working earphones stopped playing sound on your smartphone or stopped providing the expected sound quality. The cause for damages of the headphone jack or commonly wear and tear, dirt or a dropped phone.
If you have dropped your phone, it can happen that the volume control of your G5 breaks or does not work properly anymore. In this case you can""t change the volume physically via the buttons. The only option left is to use the user interface and control the volume through the software. A repair or replacement of the volume control buttons of your LG G5 will fix the problem.
Unfortunately we are not offering a comparison of repair shops that would be able to fix this particular issue with your G5 at the moment. We are working hard to keep adding additional repair services to our comparison. You might still want to check in with our partners whether they offer the required repair for your LG G5.
New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See the seller"s listing for full details.See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
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Many Android phones are a bit more durable than iPhones, but that doesn"t mean they"re immune to damage. Phone screens are made of glass, after all, and glass breaks when you drop it.
So. You dropped your Android phone for the 60th time and you now have a beautiful spider web pattern blooming across your home screen. If you don"t have month-to-month phone insurance, here are your options for getting it fixed -- or dealing with it.
If your Android device is relatively new (read: still under manufacturer"s warranty), the first place you"ll want to go for your phone fix is the manufacturer. The price for a broken screen will vary depending on your device, but for a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge you"re probably looking at around $270 plus a day or two without your device. Going to the manufacturer is almost always going to be more expensive than a third-party repair shop, but your warranty will stay intact and your phone will be fully restored (possibly even replaced with a fully refurbished model) to its pre-broken-screen excellence (and waterproof phones, like the Galaxy S7 Edge
Samsung owners might want to consider purchasing Samsung Protection Plus -- it"s like Apple Care, but for your Galaxy phone. Samsung Protection Plus is an extended warranty available for all of Samsung"s high-end smartphones that covers everything from mechanical breakdowns to accidental damage (e.g., broken screens). It costs between $99 and $129 for two years of protection -- during those two years, you"ll get two accidental damage claims per year and you"ll pay a $79 deductible per incident. So one broken screen replacement on the Galaxy S7 Edge will cost you $208.
If you have a Google Pixel, Google has paired up with third-party repair chain uBreakiFixto offer walk-in screen repairs for the relatively affordable price of $129 for the PixelGoogle offers a Device Protection Plan for the Pixel and the Pixel XL. The Device Protection Plan costs $99 for two years" worth of coverage, and covers up to two incidents of accidental damage (but you"ll pay a deductible for each incident -- $79 for the Pixel and $99 for the Pixel XL). In other words, one broken Pixel screen will cost you $178, while one broken Pixel XL screen will cost you $198.
If you have an HTC 10HTC"s Uh Oh Protection plan. Uh Oh Protection will repair or replace your HTC 10 one time (within the first 12 months of ownership) if the screen breaks, or if there"s damage due to water/moisture, extreme thermal or environmental conditions, corrosion or oxidation. HTC will even send you a replacement device before you send in your damaged phone (within one business day), but you"ll have to agree to a $599 credit card hold until HTC receives your device.
If your Android device is older (out of warranty) or a less popular model, you"ll probably be able to save money by going to a third-party repair shop. I called a few local repair shops in the Los Angeles area and got quotes for between $100 and $250 for a Samsung Galaxy S5
There are a couple of benefits -- aside from price -- to using a third-party repair service. If you go to a local repair shop, they"ll be able to fix your phone quickly (some in less than an hour; one local LA shop even offered to come right to my apartment and fix it on the spot), which means you won"t be stuck without a phone. Most third-party repair shops also offer a warranty on the parts they replace, which means you can call them if your replacement screen stops working for any reason (aside from, you know, dropping it and breaking it again).
Some places will also offer a slightly lower price for repairing broken glass (as opposed to broken glass anda broken LCD) -- uBreakiFix, for example, charges $180 to repair the glass on an LG G5, and charges $200 to repair the glass and the LCD on the same phone.
Using a third-party repair service to fix your device"s broken screen will almost certainly void your manufacturer"s warranty, so if your phone is new it"s best to first check out the manufacturer"s quote. Some new phones, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, are very difficult to repair, so you may find that the manufacturer has a better price than any reputable third-party service.
Assuming your device"s broken screen isn"t drastically interfering with your ability to use your phone, or making your fingers bleed, you may want to just ride out the cracks until you get a new phone (or until it does make your fingers bleed). To make your device last as long as possible, cracks and all, I suggest putting it in a sturdy, shockproof case, because any bumps or drops could cause more damage. If the cracks on the screen cross usable area, you may also want to look into a glass screen protector -- to protect your fingers from cuts and to protect your screen from more damage.
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Modular with big eyes. LG"s new G5 comes with some new innovations. The smartphone is now modular and has a dual-camera. As well as the conventional lens, there is an additional wide-angle lens, but unfortunately, the resolution is pretty low. The battery capacity has also reduced.
The G5 is the flagship smartphone from the Korean manufacturer LG with the latest technology and also introduces some basic changes. Contrary to the current trend, the display size has shrunk from 5.5 inches in the LG G4 to 5.3 inches for the new model. On the other hand, the memory has increased to 4 GB and the internal storage can be expanded via microSD. LG uses a completely new chassis. For the first time, it is made of aluminum, but still has a replaceable battery. Although its capacity is reduced, the runtimes are not supposed to be any worse. The modular slot also allows expanding the smartphone with additional modules.
At the heart of the LG G5 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 – one of the fastest SoCs you can currently get. As with many other manufacturers, LG now uses the more modern USB Type-C port. You also get a fast LTE, an Infrared transmitter and for the first time, a fingerprint scanner. The price has increased to 699 Euros (~$796 / RRP). The plastic version of the LG G4 was available for 649 Euros (~$739), while the version with the leather rear cover was 50 Euros (~$57) more expensive.
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: combined headphones and microphone jack (3.5 mm), Card Reader: microSD up to 2 TB (SD, SDHC, SDXC), 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: Proximity, Rotation, Accelerometer and G-Sensor, VR sensors, digital compass, barometer, Android Beam, Wifi Direct, Miracast, SlimPort, OTG, DLNA, Infrared
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz), UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900 and 2100 MHz), LTE Cat. 6 (Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 38 and 40), LTE, GPS
10.78 Wh, 2800 mAh Lithium-Ion, removeable, 3.85 Volt, Talk time 2G (according to manufacturer): 29 h, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 21 h, Standby 2G (according to manufacturer): 400 h, Standby 3G (according to manufacturer): 400 h
Speakers: Mono speaker, Keyboard: virtual, modular quick charger, USB cable, headset, LG Backup, SmartWorld, QuickRemote, QuickMemo+, LG Health, LG Friends Manager, 24 Months Warranty, USB Type-C, FM radio, Head-SAR: 0.737 W/kg, fanless
The LG G5 has an aluminum unibody chassis with a sophisticated feeling. Only the polished side edge is rather sharp. Despite the smaller display, the dimensions have hardly changed compared to the LG G4. Otherwise, the build quality leaves a very good impression. The gaps are even and twisting attempts are not an issue for the smartphone. You can only hear slight creaking inside the case. Unfortunately, the card tray is made entirely of plastic.
The volume button has been moved from the rear to the left side of the frame. The power button has remained at the back of the smartphone and acts as the fingerprint scanner at the same time. All buttons have well-defined pressure points and can be easily reached. Another button is located on the frame, which releases the lock of the modular slots.
After that you can easily pull it out and like the standard model the battery can be removed. Currently LG offers two additional modules for the G5. The CAM Plus module comes with dedicated control elements for the smartphone camera and provides better grip and also expands the battery capacity by another 1200 mAh. It retails at 99 Euros (~$113). The additional module Hi-Fi Plus retails for 150 Euros (~$171). It is equipped with a 32-bit D/A converter as well as an AMP amplifier and does, among others, work with high-quality headphones.
If you want to change the module, you will have to remove the battery and restart the smartphone after the switch. At least a warm-swap solution would have been nice.
Google Nexus 6P Apple iPhone 6S Plus Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Motorola Moto X Force LG G4 Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge LG G5 Huawei P9 DIN A6 ❌
The connectivity of the LG G5 does not leave much to be desired. The device supports Miracast, Wi-Fi Direct, Android Beam and DLNA for wireless media streaming. The USB Type-C port also supports SlimPort, so you can transfer images via HDMI cable when you use the corresponding adapter. OTG is not an issue either, but we only get the old 2.0 standard. NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, FM radio and infrared transmitter are also available.
The card tray carries a Nano-SIM and a microSD-card. If you want to replace the SIM-card, you will notice that it requires a restart of the smartphone. The microSD slot supports all modern cards with capacities up to 2 TB. This is rather confusing since currently the highest capacity is 200 GB, and 2 TB only indicates the technical capability of the SDXC standard. You can only use the microSD-card as an additional storage and cannot combine it with the internal storage. It is not possible to transfer apps (App2SD).
The operating system of the LG G5 is Google Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, which is the latest version as of this writing. LG has also added its own user interface. You will feel right at home if you have used an LG smartphone before. The only new "feature" is the lack of an app drawer; otherwise, there are only visual changes.
Once again, you get the familiar apps such as LG Health, Backup, Quick Remote, Memo+, Smart Doctor and SmartWorld. There are also some third-party apps, including Evernote, Facebook and Instagram, which cannot be deactivated or deleted.
According to the specification sheet, not a lot has changed in the communication modules compared to the predecessor. The WLAN module supports the modern IEEE 802.11 standards a/b/g/n/ac in 2.4 as well as 5 GHz networks. The range of the module is very good. The smartphone indicated an average connection of only 12 meters (~39 ft) away from the access point (Devolo dLAN 1200+ Wifi ac), but there were no limitations during HD video streaming or when we browsed the web. Even the reaction times are very low.
As with the G4, mobile Internet connections are possible via HSPA+ or LTE Cat. 6 (up to 50 Mbps upstream, 300 Mbps downstream). We would have liked to see a faster standard, especially since the integrated SoC is already equipped with an LTE X12 modem. At least, LG supports more frequencies this time, so frequent travellers will not find any nasty surprises. We did not notice any problems in the metropolitan network of Vodafone and O2.
The LG G5 can be located via satellite networks, GPS and GLONASS. The location detection is also quite fast indoors and accurate down to 15 meters (~49 ft). The accuracy has improved to 3 meters (~10 ft) in the outdoors – a very good result.
We also wanted to test the smartphone on a quick bicycle ride and compared the results with the bicycle navigation device Garmin Edge 500. The performance of the review unit is good, but the measured track length is 120 meters (~131 yd) shorter with the smartphone. A pretty small deviation, but a closer look reveals the smartphone had some issues at the turning point in particular. Nevertheless, the G5 should work well both for navigation purposes as well as Geotagging.
LG has improved the voice quality of the LG G5 significantly. It is very good on both sides when you hold the device to your ear and even the suppression of ambient noise works well. As soon as we activate the speaker, the voice of the call partner is very loud and ambient noise is slightly muffled, but you can still hear them. There are also distinct echoes. Nevertheless, the LG G5 is a good choice when you just use the hands-free feature occasionally.
Just like the predecessor LG G4, the front camera of the G5 has an 8 MP camera (2448x3264 pixels, 4:3) in combination with a fixed focus and auto-HDR. The sensor works well for selfies, because as well as a gesture and voice trigger, you can once again use the volume down button to create a continuous shoot with four pictures. A Beauty mode is also available and will apply a nine-stage soft-focus across wrinkles. The quality is very good, but we would finally like to see an autofocus.
The hardware of the main camera lens at the back has not changed. You still get a 16 MP sensor (up to 5312x2988 pixels, 16:9) or 12 MP (3984x2988 pixels, 4:3) respectively, so it is one of the few cameras with a higher resolution in the 16:9 aspect ratio compared to 4:3. Once again, the familiar laser autofocus and the color spectrum sensor are available, as well as the optical image stabilizer 2.0. The aperture (f/1.8) has not changed.
The quality of the pictures is still impressive and seems to be identical to the camera of the LG G4. Once again, we can see a slight haze (scene 2), which can be avoided when you use the Pro mode. The latter offers manual controls for all settings such as the light sensitivity (ISO 50-3200), exposure time (1/4000 up to 30 seconds) as well as white balance (2300-7500 K) and even manual focusing is possible. Furthermore, the live-view for long exposure times of up to around 5 seconds is visibly more reliable compared to the P9 or the Galaxy S7 Edge. However, the G5 is not perfect in this respect either. You can also create additional RAW files in the Pro mode.
The pictures are otherwise very sharp and have a good dynamic range, but you can notice that there has not been any further development since last year. Instead, competitors such as Huawei with its P-series, which had worse cameras last year, have closed the gap. You still get a really good camera, even in 2016.
The actual highlight in terms of photography is the second camera at the back, which has a 135-degree wide-angle. However, the resolution of 5 MP (2880x2160, 4:3) is also much lower. This lens is more appropriate for objects that are further away or landscapes, because the distortions caused by the curvature are very obvious at close ups. Still, you will like this possibility if you want to get a lot of content in the picture, especially since the switching between the two lenses is very easy with two icons at the upper edge. The following two comparison shots were taken from the same spot.
The video features of the LG G5 are identical to those of the G4 and offer a good quality all the way up to the Ultra-HD resolution (3840x2160 pixels, 30 fps, 48 Mbps). Unfortunately, Full HD is limited to 60 fps and slow-motions are only possible in the small HD resolution at 107 fps. Time-lapses are possible in 1080p with 10x up to 60x the speed. The voice quality has also improved and there is only a little noise now.
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
We also had a closer look at the performance of the two rear-facing cameras under controlled lighting conditions. First, we took a picture of the ColorChecker Passport to evaluate the color representation. The pictures were not edited afterwards and there was no white balance. While the colors of the 16 MP sensor are slightly pale and the grayscale is quite dark, the colors of the wide-angle camera are very rich and saturated.
The test chart was also photographed under the same conditions. The main camera is conveniently sharp all the way up to the edges, but the intensity of the shot fades slightly. Lines and curves are very detailed in the center, but some of the fonts on the colored surfaces show minor errors when you enlarge the picture. These errors are visible without the zoom in the picture of the wide-angle lens. The picture has a lower contrast and is slightly blurrier in general. You can also see the curvature of the lens very well on the sample picture, but this is a result of the short distance.
LG was kind enough to provide us with a CAM Plus module for this review. The optional component tips the scale at 55 grams (~2 oz) and also provides some additional physical buttons. The small lever can launch the camera from standby, the smaller trigger launches video recordings, the slightly larger one next to it has two stages and can focus pictures or take a picture, respectively. The zoom wheel at the corner allows a continuous camera zoom, which uses a digital zoom. Once you zoom far enough, the smartphone will automatically change to the wide-angle lens. It is easy to operate with one hand without having to fear losing grip. The zoom wheel is very smooth, but also loud, because the two plastic elements rub against each other audibly. This is also audible in video recordings, since one of the microphones is in close proximity.
The additional battery is very practical and provides another 1200 mAh, increasing the total capacity to 4000 mAh. The two batteries will drain simultaneously in a ratio of about 2:1, so the additional battery will be empty sooner than the internal one. The buttons of the CAM Plus are locked as soon as you plug in a USB cable into the smartphone, so it is impossible to use an external battery or storage simultaneously with the module – this solution is rather unfortunate. However, if you take a lot of pictures with your smartphone, the additional module might be an interesting gadget.
The LG G5 comes with a modular power adapter with a nominal output of 9 watts (5V, 1.8 A) and a USB cable. Unfortunately, the corresponding headset was not included with our review unit.
The capacitive touchscreen of the LG G5 has very good gliding capabilities and inputs are executed quickly and reliably. We could not notice any restrictions towards the edges either. Up to ten inputs are recognized simultaneously.
The virtual keyboard will be familiar for users of the G3 or G4, since LG has not changed it. It supports automatic word predictions, swipe, as well as voice inputs and works great for typing. You can also install other layouts from the Play Store.
For the first time, LG has implemented a fingerprint scanner into its premium model. It is located at the back of the chassis and is integrated into the power button. Setting up the scanner is quick and easy and the detection rate is good. Unlocking the device is a quick process.
The LG G5 has a 5.3-inch Quantum IPS display with a high resolution of 1560x1440 pixels. This results in a pixel density of around 554 PPI, so the contents are sharp. Only the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (801 PPI) manages a much higher pixel density within the comparison.
We measured the display luminance with the activated brightness sensor, because the smartphone does not reach its full potential otherwise. We can measure up to 809 cd/m² and still around 700 cd/m² with an even distribution of bright and dark areas (APL 50). This means that the device will not be quite as bright in practice as advertised by LG. If you prefer the manual control, you are restricted to 400 CD/m². It is fortunate that the black level remains constant in all scenarios. 0.43 cd/m² is a decent result and allows a great contrast ratio of 1823:1.
We used a spectrophotometer and the analysis software CalMAN for further display measurements of the LG G5. While the brightness and contrast are on a great level, there is still room for improvements in term of colors. The grayscale shows a distinct blue cast in bright areas, so the picture appears pretty cool. Colors perform slightly better, but all of them show significant deviations from their ideal values. Yellow tones tend towards green and red colors slightly towards magenta. However, this is not an issue in practice.
The LG G5 is ideally equipped for outdoor usage: High contrast and a high maximum luminance. But a direct comparison with the Huawei P9 and the HTC 10 shows that the display is darker and harder to read than the rivals, despite the technical specifications. Possibly, this will be a result of the calibration of the ambient light sensor, because it will only use the maximum luminance under direct light. This is probably to save battery capacity. The outdoor capabilities of the LG G5 are still good, but stay short of its own possibilities.
ℹDisplay response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.↔ Response Time Black to White
The display backlight flickers at 2273 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 34 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.
The viewing angle stability of the LG G5"s Quantum IPS display is very good. We can only notice a very small brightness drop from very flat angles. There are no color inversions or ghost effects.
The LG G5 is the first smartphone in review with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996. After its processor based on the big.LITTLE concept from ARM with eight cores, Qualcomm now uses its own Kryo cores and reduces the SoC to a quad-core. It consists of two clusters. The cores of the power-saving cluster are clocked at up to 1.6 GHz and the performance cores at up to 2.15 GHz. The GPU, Adreno 530, and the LG G5 has 4 GB LPDDR4-RAM. We have already had the chance to perform some benchmarks with a reference platform, which are listed in the compare element, but the review unit cannot keep up with these results.
Geekbench nicely shows the improvements in the per-MHz performance of the new high-end SoC. The LG G5 is between 79 and 90% faster than devices with the Snapdragon 810 in the single-core test. It is only beaten by the iPhone 6s Plus (Apple A9). You can notice the four missing cores in the multi-core test: Nevertheless, the new chip is faster, even though the performance gains are not that big. Only the Galaxy S7 Edge (Exynos 8890) and the Huawei P9 (Kirin 955) are even better in this test.
The Adreno 530 performs very well and dominates the competition in all the modern benchmarks, even the very powerful iPhone is beaten in the majority of the tests. Only in Basemark ES 3.1 does it lag short of the expectations. This is a very time-consuming benchmark, so this could be a first indicator of the throttling of the SoC.
The system performance is also great. The system runs very smoothly in practice and there is no cause for criticism. The PCMark score supports this as well, only the P9 is better in this respect.
We performed the browser tests with the preloaded Google Chrome browser (version 49). Subjectively, web browsing on the LG G5 is fast and there is no cause for criticism. The benchmarks, however, show that the performance of the review unit is rather average within the comparison group.
The internal flash storage of the LG G5 is really fast and is almost on par with the Galaxy S7 Edge. The latter is rather faster in sequential read and write transfers, but the G5 is slightly ahead in the test with small files. Only the P9 and the Moto X Force are a bit faster in the 4K write test. About 23 GB of the 32 GB is available for the user.
The microSD slot of the LG G5 is also one of the faster modules, but cannot utilize the full potential of our reference card Toshiba Exceria Pro M401. It is therefore not surprising that LG has decided against the combination with the internal storage, because the performance differences are just too great.
The LG G5 is suitably equipped for gaming, because the Adreno 530 is one of the fastest GPUs you can currently get in a mobile device, and it already supports the new Vulkan API. Unfortunately, GameBench could not be activated on the smartphone, so we cannot show you any benchmark results at this point. The performance is still more than sufficient for any game from the Play Store, even at the highest settings.
The touchscreen and the good position sensors ensure handling without any problems. However, the speaker can be easily covered by the hands when you play in landscape mode.
The surface temperatures of the LG G5 will reach up to 34.7 °C (~94 °F) at the front while idling. The difference compared to the results under sustained load is surprisingly small, because we can only measure up to 37.7 °C (~100 °F), which is comparatively low.
We use the GFXBench Battery Test to check how the smartphone manages the heat development of the SoC. We used the classic test with the T-Rex test as well as the version Manhattan 3.1, which requires more performance. Both tests are repeated thirty times and the app logs the battery capacity as well as the frame rates. The situation is quite good in the classic test. We can see performance drops starting with the 12th run, but the difference is not that big at up to 11%. The situation changes with the more challenging Manhattan test, which uses the OpenGL ES 3.1 API. We can already see a similar performance drop after the 7th run and even a 30% drop compared to the initial performance after run number 21. This also explains the surprisingly bad Basemark ES 3.1 result.
The mono speaker of the LG G5 is integrated at the lower edge of the chassis. This has an advantage, since you can put the smartphone on a table, for example, without covering the speaker. The sound quality is surprisingly good, but there is – as expected – too much emphasis on the high tones. They are so dominant that the medium tones are basically non-existing. You can actually notice some sort of bass, which is perceptible as muffled booming. The high tones are pretty linear, but very high tones and voices in particular distort rather quickly. The maximum volume is decent at 86.4 dB(A).
The power consumption of the LG G5 is on a good level and the smartphone is quite frugal. A small outlier is the maximum idle consumption. However, we tested it with the activated ambient light sensor and the highest luminance settings, so we get the full 800 cd/m². This clearly shows why LG has restricted the manual brightness control.
The LG G5 supports Quick Charge and the smartphone is charged by 27% within 15 minutes. 50% is reached after 27 minutes and 80% after 48 minutes. A full recharge of the battery takes 82 minutes. The output of the power adapter does not leave much headroom, but it is sufficient. However, it is frugal and consumes only 0.01 watts at the socket if you do not use it.
Similar to the Galaxy S7 Edge or the Lumia 950 XL, the LG G5 also supports the Always-On display. It will increase the standby consumption to 0.34 watts and is therefore comparatively frugal.
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Despite the smaller battery capacity of 2800 mAh compared to the LG G4, the current premium smartphone from the Koreans can actually manage better runtimes. The LG G5 also performs very well within the comparison. Better runtimes are achieved by the Moto X Force and particularly the Galaxy S7 Edge, but it also has a much larger battery. The tests with an adjusted display brightness of 150 cd/m² are more important, where the Huawei P9 shows more stamina.
If you have the CAM Plus module, you will get another 1200 mAh, so the LG G5 is on par with the Mate 8 (4000 mAh). The latter is more efficient in the Wi-Fi test and lasts almost 14.5 hours, whereas the LG G5 with the additional module shuts down after 12 hours and 36 minutes.
LG has been really creative this year to get the attention of customers and we think the Korean company offers a successful overall package. The combination of a good display, proven camera and decent battery runtimes is a solid foundation. We really like the new design and the modular concept of the LG G5 offers interesting additional modules.
LG should improve the calibration of the ambient light sensor with an update, because the contents appear rather dark outdoors. The camera offers a performance similar to the predecessor, the idea of a second wide-angle lens will certainly find some friends and we liked it during the review, despite the low resolution.The LG G5 is a modern premium smartphone with a good dual-camera. Thanks to the modular slot, the smartphone is a very individual companion, but it also comes at a price.
The LG G5 does not reveal any major issues, so it is one of the best smartphones you can currently get and it is also suitably equipped for upcoming trends such as virtual reality. The additions by LG Friends are great possibilities that also expand over the products from LG.
As a child I was fascinated by my Commodore 16, and this sparked my enthusiasm for computers. Using my first modem, I surfed the BTX videotext system and later the World Wide Web. I have always been captivated by the latest technologies, and this is especially true for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. I’ve been part of the Notebookcheck team since 2013 and have also on occasion written for Notebookinfo.de, and I’m looking forward to testing new innovations for our readers. I like to spend my spare time indulging in photography and barbecues and being with my family.
I grew up with modern consumer electronics and my first computer was a Commodore C64, which encouraged my interest in building my own systems. I started working as a review editor for Notebookcheck during my dual studies at Siemens. Currently, I am mainly responsible for dealing with business laptops and mobile workstations. It’s a great experience to be able to review the latest devices and technologies and then compare them with each other.
Just curious, seeing the abysmal panorama performance, angle-wise (no full swing, at best 180 degree): are there any third-party Android/in-camera applications available that can do better in this respect?
(the Casio TR & ZR series are a relaxed breeze in both respects; full 360 degree swings or more (landscape orientation; 180 degrees in portrait orientation), and it requires a very erratic hand to end up with an error)
(but alas, even though these same Casio"s excell in wide-angle, 21mm and recently 19mm, this G5 does heaps better, with 135 diagonal (= close to 10mm lens in 35mm-terms)
Photoshop got incredible built in stitcher for at least 6 years. If you need it for free there is hugin (just google hugin panorama). And then you just need to take sequential pictures that cover what you want to capture. The only somewhat proper stitching is on the google camera app IMO.
And this opinion by someone who adored not just analog panorama (with days between action & result at best) but also the maddening combination of inpredictability plus long turnaround times of Kodak HIE.
Just got the phone in my hands but was quickly disappointed. I can"t seem to find a setting that would let me choose full resolution when shooting raw, it"s only approximately just half compared jpgs in auto mode. RAW: 2656x1494 (3,97Mpixels 16:9), file size 19,5Mb. JPG: JPG: 5312x2988, 15.8MPix.
Hard to believe but it seems that this is something of a user error! IrfanView, that I used for opening the dng images, opened them with half a resolution. Another software and the issue is gone...
Although the phone is pretty, has a very fast basic OS, and has a long battery life and lots of apps, it"s held back by clumsy task switching, a terrible keyboard, lack of basic tools in the OS without a 3rd party app (attachments, file manager, zip support, etc.), memory and storage limitations, and proprietary Apple stuff, such as requiring my birth date and credit card number just to create an Apple ID, and having to depend on the Apple/iTunes for content and iCloud for storage. It"s pretty much a consumer appliance and not really a tool for getting stuff done.
Is it possible that a future update may improve the video quality on the G5? The review says that video isn"t as good as in other flagships, but I was wondering whether this could be a software issue, rather than a hardware one
" proprietary Apple stuff, such as requiring my birth date and credit card number just to create an Apple ID, and having to depend on the Apple/iTunes for content and iCloud for storage. "
The camera is very good for shooting pictures, and is above average for shooting video. Here is a short film shot only with the LG G5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Uj9ZFESUU
Still waiting for the time when smartphones shoot full frame, RAW file, can trigger wirelessly off camera lights, able to capture shallow dOF and high ISO sensitivity.
The local phone repair place tells me that their parts supplier tells them that all replacement lens covers in the US are sold out. I"ve been waiting for almost a month, and now it"s going to be another week yet. They hope.
My G5 is now fixed. It cost about $45 (USD), which seems to be about the standard charge for most mobile phone repairs. It took less than 10 minutes to do the actual repair, once they got the part.
I bought a G4 because the results from raw are good. JPEG on an LG is execrable so why post rrsults instead of just saying you have to use RAW. The other reason to buy is the panoramas but thry are hopeless as thry have thr same lowres blocky appearance the jpegs here have with added massive exposure shifts on any scene not being the same tone everywhere. It alters exposure as you pan instead of using a single consistent exposure
Is it possible that a future update may improve the video quality on the G5? The review says that video isn"t as good as in other flagships, but I was wondering whether this could be a software issue, rather than a hardware one.
I am quite surprised by low quality rendering - water color quite often especially in greens. Having V10 and G4 I hardly ever got this level of smearing. I think LG with this model has gone Samsung route - quite heavily overprocessing the JPG. V10 renders - at least in comparable scenes - visibly more naturally - not to mention available full manual video mode.
If you are a photographer you will take pictures with what ever is available and you will be able to get better shots than the less experienced. The shots people get with phones never cease to amaze me. You must come to terms with the reality that the opportunity to criticize does not make one a critic. Non photographers (as you would) get meaningful things and have fun doing it. Where"s the harm in that? Art, after all, is in the eye of the beholder.
Although there are undoubtedly some photographers who take pictures with their smarphones, smartphone "photographers" are generally not photographers at all, but merely consumers who take snapshots with their smartphones. Having the ability to hold a camera in your hand and press the shutter does not make one a "photographer" any more than drawing lines on a piece of paper makes one an "artist".
Either way sort of proves my point. Either everyone who takes photos can be called a "photographer", or there really is no difference between "photographer" and "non-photographer" since there"s no qualification or licence that you need to earn to be deemed as such. Photography isn"t med school.
There are millions of very good photographers out there who are not holding kilograms of gear to make photographs. The tool does not make the craftsman. A true craftsman chooses and uses the tool to get the job done.
We have new tools now in the chest. They are not replacing the old ones anytime soon - and maybe never will. Times do change. But there"s no need to feel superior about "being a photographer" because you"ve invested in - and may even be good with - the traditional stuff.
Considering just how bad the reviews for this smartphone overall have been everywhere, it doesn"t seem as though these cameras are going to move the sales much. Very few people consider the camera as being more than one aspect of consideration, and rarely the biggest aspect.
Well, of course we focus our review on the camera and not on the other elements of the device...that said, what exactly is it that"s so bad about the G5?
True, but that"s only because no-one has done it right so far. And with current obsession with super-slim phones, I can"t see it happening any time soon.
Panasonic DMC-CM10 was a step in the right direction, and LG G5 brought some interesting ideas, but both were/are lacking... Let"s wait see what the future holds.
I read lot of these LG G5 reviews. I think the implementation of the modular design and build quality could be better. However, I think the phone feels quite well made. Performance wise there is really nothing to complain about. The UI is fast and call quality is excellent. I chose this phone over other phones because of the dual camera and the modular feature. I posted test photos here:
From what I"ve seen, all of the latest flagship phones got great reviews and bad reviews. Different people like different things. (Shocking revelation)
I like my G5 just fine. Is it perfect? No. Would I be happier with an S7 or an HTC 10? I doubt it. Are there people who"d be happier with one of those? I"m sure of it.
I don"t know where "the main camera is good, but not great" comes from. As smartphone cameras go, it"s top-tier. The only complaints the review had were in JPEG rendering, and you can shoot DNG and avoid all of that.
And the wide-angle is better than fair. It"s absolutely not on a par with the main camera, but it"s infinitely better than the wide-angle lens on any other smartphone out there (because there aren"t any).
For me, the modular design was a "so what" feature. But I bought my G5 when the "free battery and charger" promo was running, and I"ve found it quite liberating to not worry about how much charge is left in my battery, because I"ve got a charged spare.
Since your review of the camera itself is good, but not outstanding, the phone itself would need to be very good to compare with the best Android and iOS models, and it"s not.
Lars, interesting review. It seems that the LG G5 doesn"t have a shutter prority mode (ISO adjusting automatically to any given speed). I find this omission to be quite irritating in a high end phone (at least, there are many times I wish my LG G4 had this feature). Is there any technical reason for that? Thanks, Tiano
You can do it with the Camera FV-5 app. But my experience has been that the five-stop adjustment range that ISO offers is too limiting. You really need to be able to vary the shutter speed as well in order to handle the wide range of scenes that the camera will encounter.
Personally I never got on with FV-5 but as an alternative that also offers shutter priority mode you could try pro shot - this app has other nifty features such as controlling noise reduction, jpg compression, focus assist and many more. One of the complaints I had with manual mode on the LG V10 is shutter lag (not sure if the G5 suffers with this) but pro shot solves this - it"s blazingly fast.
I also have Pro Shot. As you say, it offers shutter priority. It also has a brilliant user interface - much better than the one on the LG G4. But I´m not using it very much since it´s very unstable, has no HDR mode, it´s limited to 800 ISO and flash metering is hit - or - miss.
But again, it´s user interface and options are IMO so much better than any other high-end phone´s stock app that I wonder why big players like Samsung, Apple or LG aren´t making anything similar.
What are the chances LG will develop a dual shot feature? The 16mp lens isn"t as wide but they could only use the center portion of the 12mp WA frame and average it into the 16mp file. If both shots are fired at the same time/SS it could be a way to reduce noise, even improve resolution.
The LG G5 looks better in person than in photos. The wide angle lens is fun. Performance wise I agree the jpegs are over processed. The dng files look much better. I"m pretty excited about the possibilities of future modules. The Cam Plus is OK but not something I would use daily. Overall it"s a great phone.
LG is a reputable manufacterer and it"s good to see a company that actually innovates. I"m not sure I"m convinced by the battery grip and dual camera setup, but on the other hand, at least LG is trying. Compare that Apple, which had the audacity to update the 2012 vintage iPhone 5 form factor into the "new" iPhone SE. At least LG is trying while Apple literally "phones it in" with the latest iPhone.
I just bought a G5 two weeks ago. Coming from a Note 3 and 4, i dont mind larger phones, which is why i will get the G5"s battery grip. Not so much for photos as i don"t use the camera that much, but for another 1200mAh of battery.
I held a demo of it and it will also be more comfortable to just hold the phone that way when im watching Netflix ect. IMO all phones should offer battery accessories.
Apple added back the 4" form factor because people keep asking for it. You can see on the Android side how many people ask for 4" phones with flagship hardware to get an idea.
LG really screwed up with G5 and the sales number shows it. It is already the ugliest of flagships (especially after the beautiful V10) and the friend modules just make it uglier.
you"re executing lg"s master plan of profit exceedingly well. by creating an ugly product, people like you will comment about the beautiful V10 and buy that instead.
Although widely reported that way, it"s not "an area of the display". The full display is dimly lit, with only a small area actually showing anything. This is an option, so you can shut it off. And the dim backlighting automatically shuts off whenever the proximity detector is triggered, such as when the phone is in a pocket or purse, or lying face-down. So it doesn"t use nearly as much power as it sounds.
Growing up, i had an alarm clock radio made by Goldstar. That was a great old radio, from the 60s. Who knew that one day, Lucky Goldstar (LG) would have one of the top camera phones out there....? They were mostly known for soap and toothpaste back in the day... :)
You could literally take any smartphone on the market, double or even triple the thickness of it and it would still fit in your pocket unless you were wearing those ridiculous super skinny jeans.
That"s great, I was never a fan of the dichotomy or the back and forth clicking... This will make the Connect content I care a about more visible (no offense to Lars).
I"d say that totally depends on your requirements and style as a photographer. Independently it is, from an engineering point of view, easier to add a wide angle than a tele to a phone camera.
Is it? Sure a real telephoto is going to extend rather, but we"re talking tiny sensors and no actual need of a telephoto lens for the same angle of view as a telephoto.
The problem is aspect ratio. The two rear cameras are 16:9, so converting to a 3:2 35mm equiv is a bit of a challenge. By the way, the 78 degrees (and 135 degrees for the wide-angle) are measured diagonally.
If you look at the diagonal angle of view on a 3:2 aspect ratio, the rear cameras are approximately 27mm and 9 mm. But if you"re going to crop your captures back to 3:2 or 4:3, you"re going to get a tighter field of view than that.
Well, it"s more complicated than that, because "conventional" cameras aren"t 4:3, they"re wider. Full frame, as well as APS-C cameras, by far the greatest number of conventional cameras have a 3:2 ratio. Small point and shoot digital models tend to be 4:3 more often, but these cameras are dying out rapidly.
G5 might be the most ambitious product ever made by LG. Combination of good camera, great sound, fast processor, etc is good, only if these features come in one piece, instead of modules.
ah, the Korean I assume...once in a while you"ve just had enough jamon, chorizo and all the other good Spanish stuff and something totally different is in order :)
Browsing your local mobile phone emporium, it"s hard not to feel a slight twinge of regret that we"re no longer blessed with the kind of variety that typified the "feature" phone era; that wild and often unpredictable age before Apple and Google dominated the landscape and big-screen mobiles were the norm. Firms like Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Sony Ericsson and Sagem weren"t afraid to experiment with their handsets, creating products which desperately tried to differentiate themselves from their rivals in weird and wonderful ways. There was a joyful creativity at work, sadly absent from the modern smartphone sector. Today"s handsets tend to follow a rigid template and any new idea that comes to market is quickly adopted by practically every manufacturer out of fear of being left behind. However, it would seem that LG - tired of sitting in the shadow of its competitors - has finally woken up to the value of offering something drastically different; the result is the G5, without a shadow of a doubt one of the most interesting phones we"ve seen in years.
The G5"s gimmick is that it boasts a modular design, allowing the user to add special units - whimsically referred to by LG as "Friends" - to the bottom of the handset, augmenting it with additional features which, on any other device, would require an entire hardware refresh. The process of swapping out a module is simple; there"s a small button on the lower-left edge of the phone and pressing this with your fingernail releases the bottom section, which also contains the speaker, microphone and USB Type-C charging port. Sliding this away from the main body of the phone reveals that the battery is also connected, and this has to be snapped off and fixed to another module before re-attaching it to the G5. The entire process takes seconds, and while the phone obviously turns off the moment the battery is removed, the boot time is thankfully quick. It"s a neat trick and swiftly replacing a module in front of your friends is likely to garner more impressed glances than befuddled ones, but there are some niggles - on the unit we reviewed, the left-hand side of the module refused to fit flush against the body of the phone, leaving a noticeable gap.
Powered by Qualcomm"s new Snapdragon 820 chipset and boasting 4GB of RAM, the G5 is no slouch when it comes to pure processing power. 32GB of storage is the standard, and while a MicroSD card slot is present, you can"t "adopt" expandable memory into the internal total, as LG has decided against enabling this Android 6.0 feature. The G5"s modular design sets it apart from other phones on the market; the bottom of the device pops off and can be replaced with other modules that add functionality. The 2800 mAh battery is also replaceable - something which is rare in the Android sector these days.
Only two modules are available at present, both manufactured by LG. Cam Plus basically adds a bump to the back of the phone, intended to improve grip during photography. There"s also a dial for controlling the phone"s zoom, dedicated shutter and video recording buttons and a spring-loaded slider that fires up the camera application even when the phone is asleep. On paper, the Cam Plus makes sense; the physical camera controls make it easier to snap images swiftly and the bump - while a little unsightly - does indeed offer improved grip and stability during image capture. However, the module adds bulk and prevents the G5 from resting flat on a table.
Aside from these niggles, there"s the fact that the Cam Plus module does nothing to enhance the quality of your images or video - there"s no additional processing to speak of and it obviously can"t improve the existing optics of the phone itself. The biggest selling point of this module is arguably the boost to battery life - there"s a 1200 mAh power cell inside - but this is hardly an issue when you can simply carry a spare battery around with you and pop that in the G5 when needed (and while we"re on the topic, the phone"s 2800 mAh battery is more than capable of seeing you through an entire day of moderate usage).
The second module is an audio unit created in conjunction with Bang and Olufson which delivers 32-bit audio and can be used as a standalone unit with other devices when not bonded with your G5. A rather more expensive proposition, the Hi-Fi Plus module is for serious audiophiles only, especially when you consider that the G5"s 24-bit DAC is already superior to the 16-bit DAC seen in the Galaxy S7. Audio playback is also reliant on the quality of the original recordings, so it"s not going to make those fuzzy low-quality rips sound any better. With a retail price of around £150, the Hi-Fi Plus module could well be a complete non-starter for all but the most dedicated music buff, but you could argue that choice is everything with a modular phone.
The idea of a phone you can upgrade part by part is brilliant, but the big problem with LG"s approach at this moment in time is that neither of the available modules are genuinely worth investing in. Another issue is that the vast majority of mobile users like to clad their phones in protective cases, and these naturally have to be removed and put aside in order to affix the modules. This rather basic point could well be what kills the "build-a-phone" concept: unless you"re brave enough to walk around with a "naked" handset worth over £500, there"s a fair chance that you"ll ignore the add-ons entirely. LG hasn"t confirmed if any other first-party modules are on the way and it"s certainly not a given that third-party manufacturers will produce any, either. Still, you have to applaud the South Korean"s company"s chutzpah - even if the execution isn"t quite as effective as we might have hoped. What we"d really like to see is a handset that goes to the next level, allowing you to swap out camera lenses, memory and perhaps even processors - something akin to Google"s Project Ara.
Modules that bolt onto the phone"s chassis are only one part of LG"s "Friend" strategy, however. Additional peripherals - such as a VR headset and BB-8 lookalike - are also available. These are perhaps less exciting purely because they could be used on any phone - there"s no clever modular connectivity at work here - but it does at least show that LG is trying to think outside the box when it comes to accessories. I didn"t get to properly test the LG 360 VR headset during the review period as the unit I was sent steadfastly refused to boot up, but it feels lightweight and even comes in a handy plastic carry case. On the downside, there are no games available for the unit, just "experiences" and full-360 video sequences. The LG 360 is worn like a pair of glasses and therefore doesn"t fit snugly on the head - this means a lot of light is allowed to leak in from the sides, which could impact the immersive effect.
While the LG G5"s modular aspirations might turn heads and generate column inches, its design is sadly nothing to write home about. Say what you will about 2015"s LG G4 and its leather back panel, at least it gave the phone a unique aesthetic identity - the G5 on the other hand is practically nondescript. It"s not ugly by any means, just entirely unremarkable; LG"s overdue shift to a metal chassis has been masked by the fact that the device is covered in a primer which makes it feel like plastic. Such is the confusion generated by this coating that the South Korean firm has been forced to issue a statement reassuring buyers that the G5 does indeed possess a metal body. LG maintains that the primer allows it to cover up those unsightly antenna strips, but the end result is a handset that looks and feels somewhat cheap, despite its flagship status. The rounded corners aim for the degree of elegance we"ve seen on the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S but fail to achieve the same effect, and the sharp edge which runs around the handset can make it mildly uncomfortable to hold.
On the front, the top edge of the screen slopes away in a manner which actually feels quite nice when you"re swiping your finger down to bring up the notification pane, but the bottom edge - where the modules connect - makes the whole device look a bit unbalanced. On the left-hand side you"ll find the volume rocker, while the power button - which includes