LG G5 - Finally

Okay, so my handphone change could not wait any longer.  My old G3 just stopped detecting my memory card altogether and some of my apps that are in the memory card became inaccessible.  While I could transfer the app to internal storage, it also means that I would run out of space in the phone.  Taking photos also mean that they will be stored in the internal storage.

So I checked my telco provider's website for the contract rate.  I was really lucky that the G5 had a $200 off promotion.  I had also passed the minimum re-contract period which means that they will waive the $200 (yes $200, not $100 which I previously thought!!) admin fee if I re-contract now.  My G3 itself is still worth $150 if I trade it in.  So not wanting to delay any longer (while the promotion is still on) I decided to just go for a G5.  All-in-all I got it at a price of $229, which is not bad for a flagship.  I had considered the Samsung S7 but the price difference was a good $320.  So I thought the G5 is a better buy, where dollars and cents are concerned.

The G5 is really a sleek phone.  While it has a metal feel, it's not so heavy as compared to let's say the Sony Z5 Premium.  The G5 feels more comfortable in hand.  It's thinner than my G3 because the back is flat and not curved.  But what I really like is the fact that it is light despite some of the metal parts in the body.  The loudspeaker placement is also better this time, which is at the bottom of the phone instead of the back which makes the ringtone and any other notifications more audible when placed inside the pocket.

Front Profile

Back Profile

Side Profile

Bottom Profile with the USB-C, microphone & loudspeaker

Another feature of the G5 which I find very useful is the "always on" feature.  I don't have to tap on the phone to see notifications every now and then.

Always On

The screen itself is brighter than G3 with punchier colors and better contrast.  G5 still retains the Quad HD resolution from G3.

G5 Screen

A friend had asked why I got the G5 saying that it has poor performance and not so good build quality (yeah, even my wife says it's Low Grade.. get it?).  Well... I'm not sure how poor the performance is, the phone runs my Star Wars & Injustice games very smoothly.  They were rather laggy on my old G3 with occasional "hangs".  The Photos application would sometimes crash - I hope LG will release an update/fix for this soon.  With regards to build, I don't really care about it because I always put on military grade casing on my phone - I prefer Spigen or Otterbox.  For my G5 I settled on Spigen - Tough Armor.  So the phone is really well protected from drops and such.

Spigen Tough Armor on my G5

The casing comes with a "stand" which makes it convenient to watch videos

This is only my 3rd day with the phone, but it already gave me a lot of reasons to like it much, much more than my old G3 which had served me well.

I look forward to having a good time with this fellow.

~ Photos taken with Sony RX100 Mark III ~