Earlier this week Samsung and LG kicked off this year’s flagship battle in style, coming in with powerful and interesting Galaxy S7 and the G5, respectively.
As usual, the year’s best devices usually start to show up at the MWC event in Barcelona, and this year was not a disappointment either. While the newly launched versions of the S7 and G5 are still in preview modes, we have an idea of just how powerful these devices are on paper, and the wealth of features they bring along with too.
So, between Samsung Galaxy S7 and the modular LG G5, which one comes out on top?
Hardware
Both Galaxy S7 and the modular LG G5 have the latest Snapdragon 820 from Qualcomm, an Adreno 530 GPU and a RAM of 4GB. On paper, the two should boast the same speeds. However, as usual, each manufacturer always plays around with their hardware and software in order to bring out the best – some succeed while others fail miserably. We are yet to see whether Samsung and LG succeed or failed in this year’s endeavors.
Display
It seems LG went for an IPS LCD screen while Samsung stuck with the Super AMOLED it used on the S6. There is no doubt that both technologies are superior, producing great display experiences. However, the S7 gets a notch higher with its smaller 5.1-inch size compared to the 5.3-inch on the G5 thanks to the fact that both have the same QHD resolution. This means that the Galaxy S7 packs a few more extra pixels per inch. Well, this won’t be noticeable to the naked eye, which makes another tie.
Photography
Samsung dropped from 16MP to 12MP, but LG stuck with 16MP for its rear snapper. However, Samsung believes that the extra 4MP were responsible for poor imaging when in low-lighting conditions. The S7’s camera has a f/1.7 image stabilized lens. On the other hand, the G5 pulls an amazing stunt, adding a secondary 8MP camera to the primary 16MP, making it a dual-lens snapper. The phone also offers an optional camera grip battery as well as a laser focus system, among other camera tricks.
Battery life
Samsung has improved the battery capacity of the new Galaxy S7, squeezing in a 3,000mAh unit. Even though bigger, it doesn’t beat the removable, modular option found on the G5 – you can switch batteries whenever one gets drained – as well as add extra features to the device.
Pricing and release date
Samsung has reduced the launch price of this year’s model by $50. Pre-orders are already underway on all top mobile carriers in the U.S., with prices ranging from $672 for the base model and $799 for the high-end model. The official release date is March 11.
On the contrary, LG has remained quiet about the G5’s price as well as release date. However, pre-orders will begin somewhere in March.
The big difference
While these two phones are undoubtedly powerful and with superior features, LG adds quite a number of niftier features to the G5. The phone comes with a modular battery system where adding new controls and features are the order of the day.
Just pull out the battery from the bottom end of the G5 and you can slide in a larger camera back battery unit. You can even add a digital-to-analog converter and headphone amp to boost the phone’s audio output. Even though these accessories might add some weight to the LG G5, you will have access to an interesting array of capabilities that Samsung Galaxy S7 users won’t.