Gadgetory

the LG g5 has already battled the g4 in our recent comparison video but how does it handle the monster phablet LG released almost seven months ago I'm Juan Carlos bag now for pocket now and here's part two of our LG family fight the g5 versus the v10 what we have here are two phones vying for the future of LG's design strategy the v10 was the first phone to walk away from LG's mostly glossy grey plastic catalog a combination of silicon grippy backplate and steel side rails was a bold departure from the g2 g3 g4 and the Flex Series phones the g5 does not follow in the v10 footsteps though the frame is supposedly a higher quality metal skeleton the surface customers will interact with is essentially a high quality paint neither design is without compromises a minor fall from two feet onto one of my camera tripod legs has already gouged a side of the g5 the v10 has bounced off of concrete curbs leaving no marks on the steel rails but the silicone is somewhat fragile when using different mounts and cases both phones give off positive impressions but it's difficult to overlook some of the build quality missteps of the g5 rough seams around the phone and gaps on the battery tray while it's a funky feeling tearing off the back of the v10 this hardware combination of materials recalls some of our favorite metal edge devices like Moto X's Lumia 930 s and Note fours we are comparing a phablet against a smaller flagship but features like battery size and camera hardware didn't change significantly when moving from the g4 to the v10 Mergen AMA creatures like the fingerprint scanner placement and that this sensor is always on on the g5 address issues of operating larger phones in smaller hands though personally I do miss having the volume controls on this rear panel by the power button those considerations are well-intentioned but there's no getting around the fact that the v10 is a big phone we move up from a 5.3 inch screen on the g5 to a 5.7 inch screen on the v10 with a little extra forehead space dedicated to dual selfie cameras and an always-on second screen ticker the g5 s always-on mode is deaf a more elegant if a bit less functional solution for at-a-glance information beyond the size of each screen we have the same quad HD resolution of 2560 by 1440 and both phones use LG's IPS quantum LCD technology anecdotally I think the g5 might have a slightly brighter screen than the v10 but we're unable to devise a method of capturing those minut differences on video there's a hard division and how LG approaches different consumer demographics with these two phones the g5 is noticeably more powerful thanks to a beefier welcome 820 processor the v10 like the g4 before it used the less powerful Qualcomm 808 as with our G for comparison basic interactions like navigating the UI are smooth enough on both devices but taxing these phones the g5 is more responsive and handles multitasking with fewer instances of halting or lagging but for the g5 s extra power we don't see some of those great professional features found on the v10 the g5 is a consumer all-rounder you see so it doesn't get professional-grade control over the camera the main 16 megapixel camera sensors on both phones are almost identical but the v10 assured in fantastic options for controlling video and audio the g5 has great options for still photography but the main change here is the addition of a second wide-angle camera as a fun feature the core photo and video experience remaining almost identical to the g4 even though the v10 is on a less powerful processor it's capable of saving a significantly higher video bitrate it brings options for changing the aspect ratio and it has an option for 60 frames per second video at up to a cinema wide resolution of 2560 by 1080 all options the g5 should handily be able to reproduce now it should also come as no surprise that gaming performance is better on the g5 though I do need to find more graphics intensive games to test as Marvel future fight is getting a bit played out suggestions in the comments are always welcome audio is a split decision between these two phones the v10 speaker is somewhat unimpressive and while the g5 is in no danger of unseating an HTC it is better than its phablet counterpart that story completely reverses on headphone playback however the DAC in the v10 is one of the best on the market the amp on the v10 is punchy and loud LG didn't include comparable audio Hardware on the g5 in the hopes that we buy add-on accessories unfortunately now it seems that the hi-5 friend for the g5 might not make it to North America making this business move from LG fairly disappointing headphone playback from the v10 is head and shoulders above the standalone g5 a better clarity better dynamic range lower noise floor and it's better able to drive more expensive headphones it really is no contest for people who want higher quality audio playback moving to battery life this is a solid win for the g5 while the v10 shares the same 3000 milliamp hour capacity with the g4 it has a larger screen to illuminate and a second display drawing more juice than the g5 s always-on mode mix in a little camera usage in some gaming and the v10 is a more difficult phone to power past dinnertime our video test streaming 30 minutes of HD video over Wi-Fi at 50% brightness the g5 drained 7% of its battery while the 6 month old v10 drained 10% losing to even the year old g4 on this test that 7% difference in battery capacity isn't nearly enough to balance the power efficiency of the g5 so let's wrap this up where's that leave the LG g5 against its own stable mate the v10 we acknowledge that these two phones are designed to cater to different potential audiences so we should expect to see some separation on various features offered still it can be frustrating to look at some software improvements on an older device which don't make it into a newer phone Samsung cameras for example between galaxy s and galaxy note phones regularly leapfrog each other but we would always expect an improvement in an S Series phone to be included on a following note and vice versa the g5 is more powerful and has better battery life both our killer improvements for people on the go yet there's a charm to using the v10 for folks who want better headphone audio built-in or better tools for producing content the v10 is only six unsold at the time this comparison was produced and it still stands as a viable option for someone buying a phone today but deciding between v10 features and g5 power that's not very fun and this now leaves us wondering what we might see from LG as a follow-up to the v10 we're not too far away from when a successor might be released as always folks thanks so much for watching be sure to subscribe to this channel for our full coverage on the LG g5 with reviews comparisons and the most in-depth camera examination available online and hit that thumbs up button on this video for a little extra positive reinforcement for pocket now i'm juan carlos bag now you can chat me up on twitter and instagram is some gadget guy and i will catch you all on the next review