MWC: LG Debuts The Modular G5 Smartphone, Acessories Including VR Goggle

LG Electronics today unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2016 its highly anticipated LG G5 smartphone, a new design with a metal uni-body featuring a Slide-out Battery and also a Modular Type design. The device comes with 'LG Friends,' a collection of companion devices that transform the G5 into a digital camera, Hi-Fi player and more. Basic features of LG's latest flagship device are the following:

The G5's 135-degree wide angle lens lets you choose between standard or wide angle lens.
Its Always-on Display makes notifications just a glance away with the time, date and more available anytime without waking the G5.
The 3D Arc Glass featured in the smartphone's 5.3-inch display creates a curve and a colorful metal surface through a microdizing process.
The G5's insulative antenna is invisibly integrated into the body without disrupting the look of the metal uni-body.

LG's First Modular Type Smartphone

LG is taking its top smartphone in a new direction. Though slim, the LG G5’s body is modular: The bottom pops off, allowing you to swap batteries and even add new functionality with separately sold modules.LG's Modular Type design gives the LG G5 the ability to transform into a digital camera, Hi-Fi player and more all while keeping its traditional removable battery in a full metal uni-body design.

The LG CAM Plus is a camera module that can be attached through the battery slot to deliver a convenient control of a standalone camera. It doesn’t bring an additional lens or sensor, but it provides physical buttons for power, shutter, record, zoom, LED indicator and comfortable grip. It also offers auto focus and exposure lock. When attached to the LG G5, it provides an additional battery capacity of 1,200mAh.

The LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY is a portable Hi-Fi DAC audio player developed in collaboration with B&O PLAY. In addition to the 32-bit Hi-Fi DAC upsampling technology first introduced on the LG V10, LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY also supports 32-bit 384KHz high-definition audio playback. LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY can be used either as a module with the LG G5 or as a separate Hi-Fi DAC by connecting to any smartphone or PC.

The LG G5 has two cameras on the rear: one with a standard 78-degree lens and another with a 135-degree wide angle lens. The 135-degree lens on the LG G5 offers a viewing angle that is approximately 1.7 times wider than those of existing smartphone cameras and 15 degrees wider than the human eye's field of view. At launch, you won’t be able to use the cameras in tandem for depth sensing, the way the cameras of Intel’s RealSense system do. But LG’s says the dual-camera capability could potentially be expanded, either by LG or third-party developers.

The LG G5 features a collection of photo effects including Pop-out Picture, Film Effect and Auto Shot. Pop-out Picture combines images taken by the standard and wide angle lens to create a picture-in-a-frame effect. Film Effect can apply nine different film emulators to an image while Auto Shot is an enhanced camera UX which automatically captures the perfect selfie shot when a face is recognized.

LG made a few other changes to the G4 blueprint. For a few years, LG’s design signature has been buttons on the back of the phone. The power button is still on the back - now with an integrated fingerprint scanner - but the volume buttons are on the side.

The 5.3-inch Quad HD IPS Quantum display on the LG G5 offers an Always-on feature. The concept of the Always-on Display was first introduced in the LG V10 as the Second Screen and now that feature has evolved onto the main display to show the time and date continuously even when the G5 is in sleep mode. This means that you can always see the time at a glance, even during important meetings or when your hands are full.

To minimize power consumption, LG redesigned the display driver IC memory and power management function so that the display's backlight only illuminates one small part of the overall display. Thanks to this technology, the Always-on Display requires only 0.8 percent of the battery's full capacity per hour to operate.

Another display feature in the LG G5 is Daylight Mode, which gives the G5 great outdoor visibility beyond that of current auto brightness technology. Daylight Mode detects surrounding light conditions and instantaneously increases or decreases the brightness of the display, up to 850 nits.

With the G5, LG is introducing the LG Playground. With this, LG aims to strengthen the ties with its partners and introduce various devices and supporting programs to maximize the LG Playground.

As part of the ecosystem, LG is introducing a range of companion devices, aptly called LG Friends:

The LG 360 VR is a VR goggle that can be connected with the G5 via a dedicated cable and works exclusively with the G5 to simulate a 130-inch TV viewed from two meters away. It has a foldable design so that users can carry and watch VR content anytime, anywhere. Unlike other VR devices that require a smartphone to be inserted into the device, the LG 360 VR weighs only 118g (4.16 ounces) and is just one-third as heavy as competing VR goggles while delivering a resolution of 639 ppi. It has two small 1080p high-definition screens, one for each eye, along with corresponding lenses that can be focused individually. The device is compatible with 360-degree images and videos captured with LG 360 CAM as well as all Google Cardboard content.

The LG 360 CAM is a compact 360-degree angle camera equipped with two 13MP 200-degree wide angle cameras, 1,200mAh battery and 4GB internal memory, which can be supplemented by a microSD card. The LG 360 CAM can be connected to the LG G5 allowing users to create 360-degree content. The LG 360 CAM provides 2K video and 5.1 surround channel recording on three microphones to help users create 360-degree contents. Images taken with the 360 CAM can be uploaded to Google Street View and YouTube360. The images will also be available to view on the LG 360 VR or other smartphones and devices that are capable of 360-degree content.

The LG Rolling Bot is a companion device that rolls like a ball while capturing images and videos with its embedded 8MP camera. Not just a toy, the LG Rolling Bot can be used as a monitoring system for the home, a pet care companion as well as a remote controller for compatible home appliances. With an IP camera connectable via Wi-Fi, users can remotely monitor the interior of their homes with the LG G5 via live streaming.
The LG TONE Platinum (model HBS-1100), the latest in the LG TONE Series, is a Bluetooth headset that has earned the Harman Kardon Platinum grade. It is the first Bluetooth headset equipped with aptX HDcodec, delivering lossless 24-bit audio.
H3 by B&O PLAY is a set of high-end earphones that is compatible with the sound of the LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY. Designed for audiophiles as well as anyone who considers audio performance a top-priority in a smartphone, H3 by B&O PLAY works with all Android smartphones.
The LG Smart Controller allows users to control certain drones. With the LG Smart Controller, users can check the video stream from the drone through the LG G5 in real time and control the unmanned aircraft with the LG Smart Controller joystick.
Only available in the LG G5, Friends Manager is the hub application that allows the G5 to connect with LG Friends. LG Friends Manager automatically detects nearby LG Friends and connects in three steps, eliminating much of the hassle of pairing devices.

In terms of performance, the LG G5 is equipped with Snapdragon 820 processor which offers features such as 64-bit performance, Adreno 530 graphics and lower-power Qualcomm Hexagon DSP. This processor also delivers Qualcomm Spectra 14-bit dual image signal processors (ISPs). The Snapdragon 820 processor also has an integrated X12 LTE modem that supports Category 12 download speeds of up to 600 Mbps and LTE Category 13 uplink speeds of up to 150 Mbps. Compared to the previous generation Snapdragon processor, the Adreno 530 graphics demonstrate up to 40 percent faster graphics performance and up to 40 percent more power efficiency. The Snapdragon 820 processor also supports 4K capture and playback and it is also optimized for VR.

The LG G5 is equipped with aptX HD, an enhanced codec that supports 24-bit sound over Bluetooth, delivering clear sound over wireless connections without any loss.

Quick Charge 3.0 offers fast charging. By employing an intelligent algorithm, Quick Charge 3.0 is 27 percent faster and 45 percent more efficient than the previous generation.

The LG G5 has also great battery life, thanks to the Low Power Location Estimation technology. This solution enhances the battery efficiency by as much as 41.9 percent by improving the power consumption related to location-based apps.

The LG G5 & Friends will be available soon at AT&T, Best Buy, B&H, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon.

Key Specifications: