LG G5 (and Friends): Australian pricing and availability
The modular LG G5 is on its way to Australia along with a few cool accessories. Here's when you can get it and what you'll pay.
LG's latest flagship phone raised a few eyebrows when it first got announced thanks to one unusual feature. The phone is modular, up to a point, with a removable lower section that allows you slot in new modules, such as camera-style grip.
If it sounds a little confusing, that's because it is when you first see it, but it quickly makes sense once you play around a little. LG isn't making Australia wait for too long this time around: The G5 will be available from May 2 at Harvey Norman and Optus and May 3 for Telstra. It's going to cost you AU$1,099 outright.
At the moment there are no Australian telcos that have announced plans, so we only have the outright pricing available. We imagine that plan structures will start trickling out as the May release date looms.
The modules, which LG have puckishly termed Friends, will cost extra of course. The first lot available are:
Cam Plus: A bulkier camera grip that slots into the base of the G5 and offers physical buttons for power, shutter, record, zoom and LED battery indicator, all for AU$129.
Hi-Fi Plus with B&O Play: The same thing as the Cam Plus, but it's a portable digital-to-audio converter (DAC) music player that supports 32-bit, 384KHz high-resolution sounds. AU$229 from May 2.
There are also a couple of external accessories:
360 Cam: A handheld 360-degree camera that takes stills, full HD video and a 5.1 channel sound recording via three microphones. It's AU$399 out on May 2.
Rolling Bot: It's a remote control, rolling IP camera that can zoom around your house, like a creepy, less cute BB-8. It'll be AU$399 and out sometime in June.
Battery charging kit: The modularity means the G5 has a swappable battery, so get a charger for AU$69.95 in mid-May.
We'll keep an eye for other Friends as they arrive.