Difference Between LG G4 and LG G5

The key difference between LG G4 and LG G5, its predecessor, is that the LG G5 comes with a fingerprint scanner, Always On display mode to save power on the battery, metal finish on the body, a secondary rear camera for wide angle shots, and a faster processor. The LG G4 comes with a larger display, higher battery capacity, and a better screen to body ratio.

The LG G5 is a premium device which is elegant and comes with a lot of innovative and cool features. The performance is also top notch. All of these, combined with the latest Android Marshmallow OS and LG UX, promise for a great user experience. This includes capturing quality images as well as playing graphic intensive games. The Always On feature and the dual rear camera add to excitement the device has to offer. The LG G4, on the other hand, comes with a larger screen. Other than the secondary rear camera, all the specs remain the same for the primary rear camera. Let us take a closer look at what both the devices have to offer to the user.

LG G5 Review – Features and Specifications

The LG G5 was launched in MWC 2016 in Barcelona. The LG G5 has some unique features that could give the competition a run for its money. When compared with previous generations, it comes with an up-to-date design, powerful processor, and many other interesting features.

Design

The LG G4 does not feature a uni-body design as with many of the flagship devices released in 2015. It comes with a back made up of plastic or leather. The LG G5, on the other hand, comes with a premium design made up of metal and Gorilla Glass 4. This makes the device more durable and elegant at the same time. The thickness of it is 7.7mm, and it is more shock and vibration resistant than the previous model. The back of the device consist of the fingerprint scanner, LED flash, and the rear cameras. Although the back of the device is not removable this time, the battery can be removed from the bottom of the device with the help of a removable cap. On the right-hand side of the device resides the SIM and the micro SD card slot whereas the left-hand side of the device consists of the volume control button. On the bottom of the device, you will find the speakers and the USB type C port. Similar to the LG V10, which came with a secondary screen to show the notification, date and time, the LG G5 also comes with the Always On display which is also used to show similar details on the primary screen itself lighting up a few pixels.

The screen size is smaller than its predecessor at 5.3 inches. Above the screen are the front facing camera, flash, and speakers. The device is ergonomic, and one-handed use of the device is comfortable. The buttons are also easily accessible during one handed operation. To conclude, the design on this device is great.

Display

The LG G5 comes with a display sized at 5.3 inches and offers a QHD resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels. The IPS display produces natural colors, thanks to Digital Camera Initiatives. The display is bright as well and is visible when the lighting conditions are bright around it. The display is also able to produce great viewing angles.

Processor

The smart device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor 820, which comes with an octa-core processor. The LG G4 was equipped with the Snapdragon 808 hexacore due to the overheating issues that were faced by the Snapdragon 810, but the Snapdragon 820 does not seem to be struggling with such issues. The new processor can be expected to be efficient and provide good performance in app multitasking and running intensive gaming. The device will perform without any lag where apps will function fast and fluidly.

Storage

The internal storage which comes with the device is 32 GB.

Camera

The LG G4 came with one of the best cameras in the Android world, and the LG G5 will not be an exception. It comes with a rear camera that has a resolution of 16 MP which is assisted by a dual LED flash and laser autofocus. The resolution is the same compared with the LG G4, but it comes with another 8 MP camera on the rear which is capable of capturing a wide angle of up to 135 degrees field of view. The camera also lets the user store images in RAW format and setting like ISO can be manipulated manually.

Memory

The memory that is available with the device is 4 GB.

Operating System

The LG G4 started off with the Android Lollipop, and it’s not a surprise that the LG G5 comes with the Android Marshmallow 6.0. The LG UX is the user interface which the user will directly interact with. The Android Marshmallow also adds in a lot of additional features like Doze power saving, App permissions mainly aimed at security and Google Now on Tap. Dual apps are not supported at the same time while the app drawer has been removed. A left swipe on the screen will reveal Bulletins, which can be disabled if the user prefers to do so.

Battery Life

The LG G5 comes with a removable battery with a capacity of 2800 mAh. This is a tad less than the capacity found in its predecessor, but features like Doze will help the device to catch up. The LG G5 also comes with two energy saving modes to conserve the battery even further.

Additional/ Special Features

Always On Display

The LG G5 comes with an innovative and interesting feature known as Always On Display. This is similar to the secondary display found on the LG V10 but works on the primary display itself. This is a convenient feature as it will only light up a few pixels on the display to show the time, date and notification reducing the battery consumption. The user does not need to wake up the device in order to view this information.

Fingerprint Scanner

The LG G5 comes with a fingerprint scanner mainly due to other flagships adopting this feature. This scanner can be used to unlock the device, answer a call, and secure many other features on the device.

Magic Slot

The LG G5 also comes with a magic slot which enables an external device to connect with the smartphone. This slot is placed on the base of the device covered by a cap. Devices which can connect with the LG G5 include VR headsets, cameras, speakers, and keyboards.

LG G4  – Features and Specifications

The LG G4 is an impressive device which was released last year. It came with a pair of great cameras and one of the most accurate screens in the market. The device is an update of its predecessor.

Design

The design of the LG G4 has seen an improvement. The front of the device is flat while the back has a subtle curve so that it fits and feels comfortable in the hand. This has been designed in such a way so that it provides comfort to the hand and is easy to grip. The fashion department saw leather backs for the device which gave the device a luxurious and unique look. Although the design of the device is not out of this world, it still is one of the most ergonomic devices to be found in the mobile market.

Display

The size of the display is 5.5 inches. The display technology used is IPS Quantum. This is one of the best displays around. It will be very hard to distinguish the screen from the gray bezels. Only the speaker grills and the LG logo are the visible part of the front of the device. The screen is able to produce more accurate colors rather than an over-saturated one found with the Samsung devices. The brightness of the display is also on par with its competition. In other words, the screen can be said to be only a few step away from perfection. The screen struggled to produce the deep blacks that were produced by the AMOLED display, though. When the screen is viewed from an angle, the screen’s vibrancy goes down.

Processor

Initially, the processor that was expected to power the LG G4 was the top-tier Snapdragon 810 chip, but LG decided to move on a different direction. LG decided to power the flagship with the Snapdragon 808 processor which comes with a hexacore processor capable of clocking a speed of 1.8 GHz. Although the specs may be a degrade when compared to Snapdragon 810 with less core and a lower graphics performance, it is still a very capable system on the chip. The apps can be expected to work without any lag due to the optimized design of the device.

Storage

The device also comes with dual slots to support micro SIM and a micro SD card.

Camera

The rear camera of the device has been placed on the back of the device which boasts of 16 MP resolution. The camera is assisted by a two-tone flash and an IR autofocus module for fast autofocusing. The front facing camera comes with a resolution of 8 MP. The photos that are captured by the device will end up bright and crisp. The aperture of f 1.8 will ensure that the devices are filled with detail while the low light performance will also be at a good standard. The camera is also able to support manual mode which can capture RAW shots. The 8 MP front facing camera also performs to produce great selfie shots. The camera also supports recording 4 K, which would be crisp clean and bright.

Audio

The volume which can be produced by the devices is at a respectable value. The clarity produced by the speakers is also better than that on the Galaxy S6 in comparison. So the need for a headphone is not compulsory. The device can be used in private with the speaker turned on. The Bluetooth and wired headphones can work simultaneously without any type of lag when connected with the LG G4. Two people will be able to listen to the audio track at the same time, but two audio track cannot be routed to both the headphones.

Memory

The memory that is available with the device is 3 GB.

Software

When swiping across right on the screen of the LG G4 will reveal a smart bulletin page which collects data from apps and providing the user with information.

Battery Life

The battery is removable and comes with a capacity of 3000mAh.

What is the difference between LG G4 and LG G5?

Design

LG G5: The dimensions of the device are  149.4 x 73.9 x 7.3 mm and the weight of the device is 159g. The body is made up of metal while the device also supports touch fingerprint authentication. The device is available is Gray, Pink, and Gold.

LG G4: The dimensions of the device are  148.9 x 76.1 x 9.8 mm and the weight of the device is 159g. The body is made up of plastic. The device is available is Black, Gray, Brown, and White.

The main difference between the two devices is that LG GG5 comes with the fingerprint scanner which has become a norm in latest flagship devices. Its body is made  up of metal giving it a sturdy and premium look. The new LG G5 also does not come with antenna slits as with many other metal-based flagship devices thanks to a design called microdising. The battery is removable.

OS

LG G5: The LG G5 comes with the Android Marshmallow 6.0.

LG G4: The LG G4 also runs the Android Marshmallow 6.0.

Display

LG G5: The LG G5 comes with a display size of 5.3 inches and a resolution of 1440 × 2560 pixels. The pixel density of the screen is 554 ppi and the display technology that powers the device is the IPS LCD. The screen to body ratio of the device is 70.15 %.

LG G4: The LG G4 comes with a display size of 5.5 inches and a resolution of 1440 × 2560 pixels. The pixel density of the screen is 538 ppi and the display technology that powers the device is the IPS LCD. The screen to body ratio of the device is 72.46 %.

The LG G4 has a larger screen at 5.5 inches and a better screen to body ratio comparatively. The LG G5 comes with a sharper pixel density thanks to the smaller screen it comes with. The display on the LG G5 is also brighter and comes with the Always On display feature which shows key information on the screen by lighting up a few display pixels. This consumes little amount of energy as the most of the screen and a part of the processor remains turned off.

Camera

LG G5: The LG G5 comes with a rear camera which has a resolution of 16 MP. The flash that assists the camera is the LED flash.  The aperture of the lens is f 1.8. The size of the sensor is 1 / 2.6 “ and the pixel size on the sensor is 1.12 micros. The front facing camera comes with a resolution of 8 MP.

LG G4: The LG G4 comes with a rear camera which has a resolution of 16 MP. The flash that assists the camera is the LED flash.  The aperture of the lens is f 1.8. The size of the sensor is 1 / 2.6 “ and the pixel size on the sensor is 1.12 micros. The front facing camera comes with a resolution of 8 MP.

The LG G5 comes with an additional rear camera which has a resolution of 8 MP also coming with a 135-degree wide angle sensor. This is more than the field of view that can be captured by the naked eye. The two rear cameras will be able to capture video and photos at the same time as well as add filters and effects to the image which are captures.

Hardware

LG G5: The LG G5 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 which comes with a quad-core processor. The processor is capable of clocking a speed of 2.2 GHz. The graphics are powered by Adreno 530 GPU. The built in Storage is 32 GB where 23 GB is the maximum user storage. The storage can be expanded with the help of a micro SD card. The memory that comes with the device is 4GB.

LG G4: The LG G4 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 which comes with a hexa core processor. The processor is capable of clocking a speed of 1.8 GHz. The graphics is powered by Adreno 418 GPU. The built-in Storage is 32 GB. The storage can be expanded with the help of a micro SD card. The memory that comes with the device is 3GB.

From the above comparison, the new LG G5 comes with an efficient and faster processor. The memory on the device is also higher at 4 GB. The LG G5 comes with modules called LG Hifi Plus, which is expected to increase the quality of the audio and the Cam Plus comes with auto focus, zoom shutter button, and an analog dial. This module also can increase the battery capacity of up to 4000 mAh.

Battery

LG G5: The LG G5 battery capacity stands at 2800mAh that is user replaceable.

LG G4: The LG G4 battery capacity stands at 3000mAh and is user replaceable.

 LG G4  vs LG G5 – Summary

  LG G5 LG G4 Prefered
Operating System Android (6.0) Android (6.0, 5.1)
Dimensions 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.3 mm 148.9 x 76.1 x 9.8 mm LG G4
Weight 159 g 155 g LG G4
Body Metal Plastic LG G5
Finger print scanner Yes No LG G5
Display Size 5.3 inches 5.5 inches LG G4
Always on display Yes No LG G5
Resolution 1440 x 2560 pixels 1440 x 2560 pixels
Pixel Density 554 ppi 538 ppi LG G4
Display Technology IPS LCD IPS LCD
Screen to body ratio 70.15 % 72.46 % LG G4
Rear Camera Resolution 16 megapixels 16 megapixels
Secondary rear camera Yes, 8 MP 135 degree wide angle No LG G5
Front Camera Resolution 8 megapixels 8 megapixels
Aperture F1.8 F1.8
Flash LED LED
Pixel Size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Sensor Size 1/2.6″ 1/2.6″
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 LG G5
Processor Quad-core, 2200 MHz, Hexa-core, 1800 MHz, LG G5
Graphics Processor Adreno 530 Adreno 418 LG G5
Memory 4GB 3GB LG G5
Built in storage 32 GB 32 GB
Expandable Storage Availability Yes Yes
Battery Capacity 2800 mAh 3000 mAh LG G4
Modules Yes No LG G5