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LG G5 vs LG V10 hands on comparison

The LG V10 was one of the best devices of 2015 and now has LG has a new flagship in town but how do the LG G5 and LG V10 compare? Let's take a look.
By
February 21, 2016

LG’s G-series has consistently proven to be one of the best devices of the year and last year, the company followed up by the G4 with its new LG V10, which proved to be one of the best devices they’ve ever made. Fast forward a few months and LG’s new G-series flagship has arrived but how does the LG V10 compare to the LG G5, and which phone is the one to have? Let’s take a look in this quick look comparison between the LG G5 and the LG V10.

One of the biggest changes between the LG G5 and the LG V10 is the build, with the latter featuring a combination of metal and duraguard (which is silicon in another name) and the former, an all-metal aluminium build. The addition of duraguard to the LG V10 means it is certified as being shock resistant, and is considerably more rugged than the LG G5.

The switch to an all metal build means LG has been able to make the LG G5 considerably thinner and svelter than the V10, which is thicker, wider and taller than LG’s new flagship. The aluminum build means LG has kept the weight somewhat down, with the G5 weighing in at 159 grams, versus the V10 which tips the scales at 191 grams.

The switch to metal also means LG has moved away from its trademark rear button combo on the V10 to a more traditional arrangement on the G5. On its new flagship, LG has kept the power button on the rear and embedded a fingerprint reader in it, but moved the volume keys to the left of the handset.

The LG V10 is one of the largest LG phones made in recent years as it sports a 5.7-inch Quad HD IPS display and has a secondary 2.1-inch display above it. In comparison, the LG G5 is considerably smaller as it has a 5.3-inch QHD display and, rather than use a secondary screen, LG has opted for a smaller on-screen Always On Display on its new flagship. The G5 also has a 3D Arc design that curves the display ever so slightly near the earpiece at the top of the display and this is designed to improve the in-hand and on-call experience.

The LG V10 is unique for many reasons and one of these is the dual front camera setup, with LG using two 5MP cameras on the front for intriguing selfies. The LG G5 builds on this dual camera setup by bringing them to the rear of the phone, where the 16MP standard sensor – which is almost identical to the 16MP rear camera on the V10 – is complimented by a secondary wide-angle 8MP sensor.

The second camera on the G5 allows it to capture 135 degree wide-angle shots and, unlike the V10 where you have to manually switch between the two cameras, the G5 automatically switches camera as you zoom in and out of a scene. Both cameras offer 16MP resolution and the LG V10 uses laser autofocus, while the G5 is equipped with phase detection autofocus and continuous autofocus. One feature that hasn’t made it from the V10 to the G5 is the manual video software feature, with LG opting to use the G4’s camera software on the G5 and keep certain features exclusive to V-series devices.

LG isn’t the first company to switch to a metal build but the Korean company has approached this in a different way to others, as it hasn’t sacrificed expandable storage or a removable battery for the sake of the improved build quality. As a result, the G5 has a removable bottom cover that allows you to access the 2800mAh battery (which is 200mAh smaller than the V10), which forms a key part of LG’s new modular design, and allows you to attach additional accessories – such as a camera grip with embedded battery – to the handset.

The smaller battery on the LG G5 is predominantly down to the design constraints of the new modular design but LG has included support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 standard, which means you can charge your battery to 80% in just 25 minutes. The G5 also sees LG switch to the new USB Type-C standard, while the V10 uses the older – but more widely supported at the moment – microUSB standard.

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Last year saw LG snub Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 810 CPU in favor of a closer partnership with the chipset maker on optimizing the Snapdragon 808 for the G4 and V10, but the LG G5 uses the latest and greatest from Qualcomm. Under the hood, the G5 is powered by the new Snapdragon 820 CPU clocked at 2.15GHz and pairs this with 4GB RAM and 32GB ROM. The use of the newer and vastly improved architecture, coupled with vastly improved software, means the LG G5 is considerably faster than the LG V10 (which also has 4GB RAM) and also comes with Spectra 14-bit dual image processors and Category 12 LTE support.

Hardware changes aside, the biggest difference between the LG V10 and the LG G5 is the software, with the latter ushering in a new era of optimized and vastly improved software on LG devices. While the V10 has a vast amount of preloaded LG apps and services – many of which are designed for Asian markets – LG has scaled back the software, and the G5 comes with barely any bloatware. Instead, LG has opted for an optimized experience which, coupled with the improved architecture of the Snapdragon 820, provides a fast, fluid and premium experience.

There’s no doubt that LG’s foray into metal with the V10 helped the company when designing the G5 but the similarities are mostly minimal. Instead, the G5 offers an experience that the company hopes will help them compete with the flagships of 2016, and there’s no doubt that if you want the best mobile experience that LG has to offer, the LG G5 is the smartphone to have.

What are your thoughts? Does the LG G5 deliver compared to the V10? Let us know what you think in the comments below!