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LG's elegant and unorthodox G5 (pictures)

With its unique modular design and powerful hardware, the LG G5 could be the top contender for your next phone.

Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
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1 of 19 James Martin/CNET

Set to launch globally in early April, the LG G5 first made waves when it debuted with a pull-out battery and modular design. It also has a fast processor, two rear-cameras and an always-on screen. But does it have what it takes to compete against its Android rivals?

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Sizing down the display

Compared to last year's 5.5-inch G4 (right), the G5's display has gotten smaller at 5.3 inches. It also has a 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution and 554 pixels per inch -- 20 more pixels per inch than the G4.

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It's modular -- kind of!

The device's bottom bezel is modular, so you can detach it and swap it out for additional accessories.

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Press hard to unlock

To unlock the bottom chin, you'll need to press hard on a small button on the left edge.

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Switching out the battery

The bezel is also attached to the phone's 2,800mAh removable battery.

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6 of 19 Josh Miller/CNET

Tactile camera controls

One accessory is the LG Cam Plus, a camera grip that has a physical shutter button and a zooming wheel.

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Actually coming to consumers

Though the phone is no where near as modular as Google's Project Ara aims to be, it's still unique for a mass-market flagship that will be physically available to consumers soon.

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A battery that won't quit

As for the battery itself, a preview model clocked 12 hours 33 minutes in our lab tests. I'll rerun the test again when I have final unit, but that's an impressive result.

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9 of 19 James Martin/CNET

Scanning your fingerprint

On the back is a fingerprint sensor for added user security. It also doubles as a power and sleep button. We saw something like this before from LG on the V10.

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10 of 19 James Martin/CNET

USB Type-C on the bottom

On the bottom is a USB Type-C port, which is faster and more efficient than the standard Micro-USB connection. It's also "flippable" so you'll plug in your charging cord right side up each time.

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Polished aluminum aesthetic

Foregoing the G4's plastic rear backing (right), LG went with an aluminum body for the G5.

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12 of 19 Josh Miller/CNET

Always there with info

The device runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow and features an always-on display, which continuously shows the time, date and any missed notifications even when the device is sleeping.

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Snapdragon 820 inside

Powering the handset is a 2.15GHz quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor from Qualcomm.

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More space in every frame

The phone has two rear-cameras: a standard 16-megapixel shooter and a wide-angle 8-megapixel camera. You can record slow-mo, 4K and timelapse videos as well.

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For all your selfies

There's another 8-megapixel snapper on the phone's front.

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16 of 19 Sarah Tew/CNET

Quick Cover case for added protection

LG will also sell a Quick Cover case, which lets you interact with the device's screen (like accept and decline phone calls) even when it's covered.

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A colorful lineup

The G5 comes in four colors: black, gold, silver and pink.

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That Samsung rival

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S7 (left), LG's flagship isn't water resistant and its battery didn't last as long as the latter's 16-hour lab result. It is, however, likely to be less expensive, has a removable battery, and two rear cameras.

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Standing out from the crowd

With the G5, LG has taken baby steps towards phone modularity. Though it still has a long way to go, the flagship undoubtedly stands out in this way, and it also delivers a powerful and reliable performance.

For more, click here to find out the five things you should know about the LG G5.

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