Richard Goodwin 07/02/2017 - 11:50am

The LG G5 TANKED in 2016. And this is a real shame because it was a truly exceptional phone – and it still is in 2017

The LG G5 – in my humble opinion – was a stunning handset in almost every regard.

Yes, the modular aspect was a bit pants in practice, but everything else about the handset truly rocked my world when I tested it.

In fact, I’d go as far as saying it was easily my second favourite Android phone of 2016. The first was Google’s Pixel XL.

The LG G5 seemed to fare pretty well at MWC 2016 when it first launched; plenty of people seemed hyped about it. Though when it came time for reviews, plenty of critics couldn’t seem to get past the modular aspect of the phone.

Reviews for the handset weren’t great. The design was attacked and the modular aspect was lampooned as gimmicky, fiddly and useless.

I agree whole heartedly with the modular critique – it was pants.

But so what? At least LG was trying something new. Given time, it might have even evolved into something rather useful. Especially since Google ARA is now dead.

To be 100% frank, my love for the LG G5 was based on three things: the design of the handset, its display and its dual-lens camera.

The camera, the first dual-lens shooter to hit the market, was awesome. I found myself using it far more than any other phone I’d had before, simply because of the increased space I had to play with thanks to its wide-angle setup.

The LG G5 uses a dual-lens camera, which means instead of one sensor on the back of the phone you have, well, two. And while this might sound a bit like a gimmick — or, similar to what HTC tried to do a couple of years ago — it really isn’t.

LG G5 Camera Review: LG Smashed It Out The Park

LG smashed the ball out of the park with this imaging setup.

The G5, unlike nearly all of its peers, for now, is equipped with two rear facing cameras: the default 75º setup, which uses a 16MP sensor and captures shots like any other smartphone in its class, and a wide-angle, 135º setup that uses an 8MP sensor for wider, more panoramic shots.

The wide-angle lens lets you take truly stunning photos of things right in front of you. For instance, say you’re shooting a phone for review and it’s on your desk in front of you. With a normal phone you’d have to take a few steps back to get the ideal shot. Not so with the LG G5 — just switch to the wide-angle lens and it captures everything in front of you, as you can see below:

The wide-angle lens is also great for video as well. You can capture a more realistic, POV-style view of what you’re attempting to capture. I mainly used the wide-angle for images but I can really see a lot of people loving this aspect of the camera for video work. The possibilities, whether filming short films or vlogs, are obvious the moment you begin tinkering around with the settings.

Apple is widely reported to be including a dual-lens camera on its upcoming iPhone 7. After using the LG G5 for almost a month as my daily driver, and being someone that doesn’t really use my phone camera all that much, I can see why the world’s biggest technology form is interested in this type of imaging technology — it completely redefines what you can do with photography on a mobile phone. And this is the first implementation. Imagine what it’ll be capable of in a couple of years?

LG G5 Camera: Many, Many Modes

The LG G5 has a couple more tricks up its sleeve, and while these aren’t quite as impressive as the imaging unit as a whole, they certainly add in an element of fun to capturing images. Out the box you get seven shooting modes: Auto (the default), Popout, Multi-View, Snap, Panorama, Slo-mo and Time-lapse.

Popout mode uses both cameras to create shots where the subject is in focus and the background is kind of blurred. The standard lens captures the focus object, while the wide-angle lens handles the background and adds in effects like a vignette or blurring.

Multi-View is pretty cool too, and rather similar to an Instagram mode, as it lets you shoot three separate images and then arrange them in one, grid-like shot for uploading to social networks. This is great for images from nights-out or shots when you’re doing something, say, walking up a mountain, and you want to show progress and vistas from your vantage point inside one image.

Say, CHEESE!

Another cool feature of the camera is its built-in voice control settings, which you can turn on by tapping the Settings icon in the camera app. With this setting activated, you can assign a voice command — like, “cheese” — to activate the shutter.

This sounds like a gimmick, but if you’re capturing images on a tripod and want to minimise movement for video or photo, it is a godsend because you can say, CHEESE, and the image or video is captured without having to touch the camera and this, obviously, eradicates any movement or judder before capture.

Manual Mode For Pros

Like a lot of Android phones, the LG G5 features the ability to shoot in Manual mode. When you activate this mode you have complete control over everything — ISO, White Balance, Shutter Speed and Focal Range. This offers a degree of control over images that simply cannot be matched by standard modes, providing you know what you’re doing.

Importantly, you can also capture photos in RAW format which is ideal for more professional shooters that like to retouch and edit their captured shots in software like Photoshop.

The LG G5 Now Has Android Nougat Update

The LG G5 now has Android Nougat as well, bringing it well in line with with all the big players in the space. LG has consistently been great with its Android updates and their software, while still imperfect, is one of the better Android skins in operation.

But what I like most about the LG G5 is that it’s just a really good phone. It looks great, it feels great and it is packed with tons of useful feature and some really excellent software that is both useful and engaging to use.

The camera app, for instance, is superb.

Out of all the Android phones I tested in 2016, the LG G5 always stands out as special. I would happily use one right now as my daily driver; I honestly enjoyed using it that much.

What’s even more impressive about this phone, however, is just how cheap they are now compared to handsets like the HTC 10, Samsung Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6s – You can now pick the LG G5 up at Amazon for £399.47 — reduced from £529.99

And while that does still sound quite pricy, what you have to remember is that you’re getting A LOT of phone for that money.

I cannot wait to see what LG comes to the table with in 2016.