LG G5 vs LG V10: first look

LG has finally unveiled its latest flagship – the LG G5. Its quite a departure, design-wise, from its flagship G line thus far, while at the same time it adopts and evolves some unique features from the unorthodox LG V10 phablet, which was launched late last year. No, there isn't an asymmetrical ticker display on LG's new heavy hitter. Instead, LG has gone with a more elegant solution by integrating an Always On display into the G5. And that's just one of the many things setting the G5 and V10 apart. Let's take a quick look at how these two smartphones compare!

Design

The LG V10 was quite an interesting handset design-wise. After spending a couple of years experimenting with the concept of curving its top-class phablets in a banana shape (LG G Flex and G Flex 2), and even using the tech to add a very slight, ergonomic arch to the mainstream G4, LG suddenly did a U-turn and produced a more orthodox, slate-shaped phablet. That doesn't mean it's mundane, however. The V10 has two stainless steel bars on its sides for durability and a sturdy feel. On its back, one can find a camera ring that matches the metal side guards and a conveniently placed volume rocker and power key / fingerprint scanner combo. Unfortunately, LG chose to make the top and bottom bezels out of plastic, and the phone's removable back cover out of a thin, flimsy-to-the-touch, rubbery plastic material.

With the LG G5, the manufacturer again strays away from its signature design choices and gets closer to the mainstream. The body is made entirely out of metal, and the volume buttons are moved to the side of the handset for a more traditional look and operation. The power / fingerprint scanner button is still nested on the back of the device, just below a bulging camera module, which holds two sensors – one 8 MP wide-angle shooter, and a traditional 16 MP one. It's placement and overall aesthetic, we feel, is going to be an acquired taste.

Of course, the G5 also has the unique modular design, which allows its bottom bezel to be unlatched and replaced with alternative modules, of which there currently are two available – the LG CAM Plus and LG Hi-Fi Plus. And, naturally, the new flagship is going to be more compact than the V10 due to the fact that it totes a 5.3-inch display – noticeably smaller than the 5.7-incher on the phablet.

Display

A 5.3-inch Quantum IPS display vs a 5.7-inch Quantum IPS display. Both have a 1440 x 2560 pixel resolution, with the G5's pixel density being 554 ppi, whereas the same metric is 515 ppi on the LG V10. So, yes, a shootout between the two will give you very similar results – punchy, albeit a bit inaccurate colors, and a very crisp resolution, which makes it virtually impossible for the naked eye to spot individual pixels.

There are, however, a couple of differences. Obviously, the V10 is a more niche, phablet-class handset, and its display is noticeably larger than the G5's, which is aimed at more conventional users. The V10, however, also has a secondary display at its very top, which is dimly lit even when the phone is sleeping, giving the user at-a-glance information about pending notifications and the current time. When the phablet is on, the secondary display houses panels with links to favorite apps, recently used apps, access to utilities, and music playback.

The G5 inherits the always on concept of the V10's mini ticker display. However, it doesn't have an extra stripe on its top. Rather, its main display can glow with a dim light, and display a clock and the same app-related notifications. So, the G5 also has the benefits of the always on technology, but doesn't have the mutitasking recent apps / favorite apps panels.

Processor and Memory

The LG V10 is equipped with a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 and 4 GB of RAM. Despite the fact that LG didn't use the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 back when it designed the V10, the phablet still runs pretty smoothly and relatively stutter-free, though it can run out of breath when demanding tasks are involved.

On the other hand, the LG G5 has the brand-new Snapdragon 820 SoC humming under its hood, and if the few quick benchmarks we ran on the device are anything to go by – it is a true powerhouse. Powerusers that demand nothing but bleeding edge performance from their handset will find it hard not to go with the G5 in this face-off. Of course, it also has 4 GB of RAM.

In terms of storage, the V10 wins with 64 GB of built-in memory, where the G5 has 32 GB. Still, both smartphones support expansion via microSD card of up to 2 TB.