Display

Despite the fact that LG remains the only company that mass-produces large OLED panels for TVs, it still uses LCD displays in its flagship smartphones. LG G5 se is no exception; it has a 5.3-inch display with a matrix resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels (554 ppi), made using IPS Quantum technology. Let me explain what it is: since this is a liquid crystal display, it needs backlighting, which has become LED everywhere in our time; IPS Quantum displays use a blue LED in combination with red and green phosphors to achieve image coverage that exceeds the sRGB standard. With this, on the one hand, you can get more saturated and bright colors, but on the other hand, this is fraught with distortion, since the vast majority of modern images are designed specifically for sRGB.

We'll return to colors a little later, let's start with brightness. LG announced a “daytime” mode used on the G5, which forcibly raises the screen brightness to 800 nits when direct sunlight hits the light sensor. As a result, when using your smartphone in sunny weather you will definitely not experience any problems - but for this you need to enable automatic brightness setting; “Day mode” cannot be forcibly activated or disabled.

With manual adjustment, even at maximum, the brightness reaches only 384 cd/m2, the minimum in this mode is 25 cd/m2. Nothing outstanding in terms of numbers, but the fact remains that it is comfortable to use the LG G5 se outdoors during the day, indoors, and in the dark.

But the main surprise of the LG G5 se display lies in its contrast. The minimum luminosity of the black field at maximum brightness is 0.18 cd/m2, almost incredible for an IPS matrix, and, accordingly, the contrast is 1788:1. This, of course, is not the “conditional infinity” that we encounter in AMOLED displays, but among its LCD counterparts, the LG G5 display is a leader.

So, those same IPS Quantum colors. Above you can see that the coverage is actually noticeably wider than the sRGB standard - and this really affects the color accuracy. Unfortunately, the average DeltaE deviation for the Color Checker test (taking into account both shades of gray and a wide color palette) was 6.63 - this is a weak result. Not what you expect from a flagship smartphone. However, the average DeltaE for colors alone is 5.72 - this is also far from the standard, but it indicates that the inaccuracy of grayscale display makes a significant contribution. Moreover, the gamma looks normal - 2.24.

The problem is the color temperature. As often happens on smartphones, shades of gray are much colder than normal - in the case of the LG G5 se, the average value fluctuates around 8500-8800 K, while the norm is 6500 K. And unfortunately, this cannot be corrected in the settings.

The viewing angles are not bad, it’s comfortable for two people to watch anything on the LG G5 se; The touch layer is sensitive, responds to 10 simultaneous touches, the smartphone can theoretically be used with thin gloves, but in practice this means accepting or hanging up a call, and nothing more.

In general, the display leaves a twofold impression: on the one hand, IPS Quantum technology does not provide tangible advantages in terms of color rendering - rather, on the contrary, due to the “isolation” of the screen from sRGB realities; on the other hand, you can freely use it outside on a sunny day, and, what is even more valuable, it has almost a record contrast for an LCD display. This, of course, is a local achievement, but LG still has something to brag about.

⇡ Hardware and performance

In the year of “stripped-down flagships,” the LG G5 se was the first to fall into our hands, ahead of the HTC 10 Lifestyle. Actually, all that had to be sacrificed was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 platform and four gigabytes of RAM. Instead of them - Snapdragon 652 (MSM8976) and three gigabytes.

In the form of Snapragon 652, we are dealing with a continuation of the 625 platform - the one that will become the main one for mid-price smartphones. This is an intermediate solution that will not make the user feel severely disadvantaged, but will not provide maximum performance on all tasks. The system-on-chip includes four ARM Cortex-A72 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz and four ARM Cortex A53 cores at 1.4 GHz, the cores are made using a 16 nm process technology.

Of course, there is no catastrophe with the performance of the LG G5 se - in terms of benchmarks, the new platform is inferior to last year’s flagship ones (in particular, the Snapdragon 808, which underlies the LG G4), but in others it is quite competitive with them. Comparisons with the top systems-on-a-chip of this year, of course, look more sad.

The Snapdragon 652 graphics subsystem, Adreno 510 clocked at 550 MHz, is also an “intermediate” option, which nevertheless competes quite well in 3DMark even with some of this year’s flagships. In the GFXBench test, however, the situation is worse. In practice, this means that the LG G5 se can run all the games that you find on Google Play, including the most hardware-demanding ones - but don’t expect everything to run extremely smoothly; frame rate drops are possible.

But the LG G5 se is perfectly optimized - you don’t experience any problems navigating the operating system. The smartphone is also “friendly” with the browser, although, of course, it lags behind devices on more expensive platforms in the WebXprt test.

The amount of RAM (let me remind you, this is 3 GB) does not greatly affect the behavior of the smartphone - at least in ordinary tasks you don’t feel it, although a 2K screen is very demanding on RAM. Problems will begin a little later, when downloading more recent applications aimed at this year's flagships.

The amount of built-in flash memory is fixed, and it is very small - 32 GB. This is nothing for a modern smartphone. The situation is corrected by the ability to use a microSD memory card with a theoretical capacity of up to 2 TB. For this, however, you will have to sacrifice a second SIM card - no surprises here, the most common scheme now.

⇡ Communications and wireless communications

Wireless modules that are used in expensive smartphones can be copied from one article to another with your eyes closed: NFC, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, working with LTE networks, in this case with maximum speed up to 300 theoretical megabits per second (that is, the sixth category). Naturally, the version that comes to our market has all the necessary bands for 4G networks.

The LG G5 se has two important differences from other smartphones in terms of communication. Firstly, there is no alternative to the dual-SIM version - in the “either-or” option (microSD or second nanoSIM) and with one radio module (Dual Standby mode - when a call arrives on one SIM card, the second one is temporarily disabled). Secondly, LG's commitment to the infrared port, which allows you to control various household appliances using your smartphone. Many in 2016, after playing with this function, abandoned the IR sensor, but not LG.

The navigation module works with GPS with support for A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou. The module starts up rather “tightly” - it took about a minute and a half to communicate with 16 satellites with location determination on the LG G5 se. But the smartphone was tuned to all of them at once, and the accuracy was six meters. You will not have any problems with navigation using this device - except that you will have to be patient at times when you first launch the navigation program.

⇡ Camera

Competing with each other in the field of mobile cameras, smartphone manufacturers from time to time come up with something loud - sometimes successful (the very high resolution of Nokia PureView 808), sometimes not at all (the very small resolution of the “ultrapixel” camera of HTC One). This year, dual-camera solutions came to the fore: first used in the Huawei P9, where two modules were used to improve the final picture, now on the LG G5/LG G5 se, where two different modules perform different tasks.

The body combines a 16-megapixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture lens and a standard viewing angle (78 degrees) and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle (135-degree viewing angle) camera with an f/2.4 aperture lens. The first one is taken directly from its predecessors: LG G4, LG V10. The same proven module with laser autofocus and optical stabilization, which allows you to get some of the best photos in the class, has changed little since last year, although competitors in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the same Huawei P9 also look very powerful.

The second module is much more interesting. It does not shine with high picture quality, being limited both in terms of aperture (which means the ISO inevitably rises in dark conditions) and in resolution. But due to the wide angle, it allows you to get very impressive landscape shots or shoot videos in the style of action cameras (first of all, GoPro comes to mind, of course).

Shooting with a wide-angle camera at dusk

In terms of the quality of the resulting image, the second camera is more reminiscent of modern front-facing cameras - with low detail and a high level of noise in the dark. Another thing is that it relies on very accurate laser autofocus, dual LED flash and manual shooting mode, due to which you can manually adjust the shutter speed, sensitivity, white balance and exposure metering method and get a very reasonable result, for example in twilight.

A separate plus of both LG G5 se cameras is optical stabilization. Blurring when shooting in the dark is still possible and even probable - I thus ruined several test shots without noticing micro-blurring on the smartphone screen. But with proper skill, you can shoot with shutter speeds around 1/5 and even 1/3 seconds. You can see an example above.

The camera application interface is the same as in the LG G4: three screens (only the viewfinder, minimal settings and manual mode), displaying all settings on the screen in one strip and a virtual horizon available in manual mode.

But the functionality has expanded slightly: in particular, a slightly strange “picture-in-picture” mode has been added, when the device shoots simultaneously with a wide-angle and a regular camera. At the same time, the central picture (the one with a narrower angle) can be changed using various special effects like a fish eye. The shooting mode with all three cameras is, for my taste, more interesting - it creates an entire atmospheric collage. But in this case, the shots are taken not simultaneously, but one by one.

In the pictures below you can see how the 16-megapixel LG G5 se module and the Huawei P9 camera performed in the same situations.

Regarding the LG G5 se camera, the same words that we said about the LG G4 are true - excellent clarity across the entire field of the frame, the camera confidently works with contour sharpness. The quality of shooting in the dark is good, the colors are not bad, although the Koreans have some tendency to choose too cool shades. No problems with autofocus - by smartphone standards, very fast and accurate work. In comparison with the Huawei P9, we note a more confident exposure metering and a more distinct separation of the subject and background in a portrait situation, but also a noticeably weaker dynamic range.

The camera can shoot 4K video at up to 30 frames per second - it turns out, frankly, so-so. The resolution is fair, but the picture is slightly jerky; It's better to set it to standard Full HD.

The 8-megapixel front camera, without flash and autofocus, is quite ordinary and allows you to take fairly detailed selfies in good light. There will be problems in the dark - however, this has never bothered lovers of self-portraits; the value of a high-quality front-facing camera is somewhat exaggerated.

⇡ Autonomous operation

The LG G5 se uses a removable (due to modular design) 10.8 Wh battery (2800 mAh, 3.85 V). This is less than on the LG G4 and LG V10, but the display is also smaller. So the device holds up well - during testing I had to recharge it on average once every day and a half. Daily charging is inevitable for modern smartphones, but there is no chance that it will suddenly run out before the end of the working day.

In our usual test with HD video playback at maximum brightness with wireless modules turned on and active updates, the LG G5 se lasted more than seven hours - an excellent result. Here, the LG device was second only to the Moto X Force and the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Since the LG G5 se runs on Qualcomm, it also works with proprietary fast charging (QuickCharge 3.0), filling the battery by 83% in half an hour.

Conclusion

LG wanted to surprise everyone with its new flagship and once again attract attention. This time the focus is not on design, but on manufacturability. Sometimes such attempts lead to failures - features declared as advanced are simply not of interest to the consumer. In the case of the LG G5 se, there were several such features at once. Modular design is, at first glance, exactly the thing that won’t work: the average user wants to make his life easier by purchasing a smartphone, replacing many with one gadget, and not create a launching pad for future purchases. And it’s precisely this psychology that two built-in cameras fit perfectly into, depriving the consumer of the need to buy additional mini-lenses that expand the camera’s view. Two cameras are really very convenient.

The modular design, however, has another bonus - increased maintainability and the ability to change the battery if something happens. Nowadays, when there are almost no smartphones with removable batteries left, this is important. However, LG has always been famous for this.

But with the “cut down” version it turned out awkwardly. Yes, the reasons for its appearance are extremely clear, and the sacrifices in the form of a lack of one gigabyte of RAM and a middle-class platform instead of the Snapdragon 820 do not look so terrible while maintaining all the other advantages of the smartphone: a good 2K display, a metal case, a fingerprint scanner, high-quality cameras What’s scarier is that the se version costs the same as full-fledged flagships of competitors - you can psychologically force yourself to prefer the LG G5 se to them either out of loyalty to the brand, or by falling for the design of the device, or by really wanting two rear cameras. The smartphone turned out to be good, even very good, but it all looks as if LG has really gathered itself into a rather narrow niche of manufacturers of “unusual” smartphones.

The LG G5 and LG G5 SE smartphones are truly revolutionary smart mobile phones. They surprise with their modular design and impress with the third digital camera installed on the back of the case.

• Content
• Introduction
• Specifications
• Appearance
• Equipment
• Screen
• Camera
• Performance
• Communication capabilities
• conclusions

Introduction

“Don’t have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends,” says the famous proverb. It is unlikely that people in South Korea are well acquainted with Russian folk proverbs and sayings, but the appearance of the LG G5 and LG G5 SE smartphones on the market makes us think otherwise. After all, the concept of new models is the ability to add so-called “friends” - modules that expand the functionality of the smartphone. But how many “friends” are needed for complete happiness is up to each user to decide individually. More on the rest later in our review.

Specifications of LG G5 and LG G5 SE

	LG G5	LG G5 SE
Display	IPS Quantum, 5.3”, 2560×1440	IPS Quantum, 5.3”, 2560×1440
Chipset/Graphics	Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 /	Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 /
RAM/ROM/Flash	4 GB / 32 GB / microSD	3 GB / 32 GB / microSD
Cameras	front: 8 MP; rear: 16 MP + 8 MP	front: 8 MP; rear: 16 MP + 8 MP
Communications	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, USB Type-C, NFC, IrDa	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, USB Type-C, NFC, IrDa
FM	+	+
Networks	2G, 3G, 4G	2G, 3G, 4G
Battery	2800 mAh	2800 mAh
OS		Android 6.0.1 + UX 5.0 shell
SIM	SIM + SIM/microSD	SIM + SIM/microSD
Internet	WAP, EDGE, GPRS, HSDPA	WAP, EDGE, GPRS, HSDPA
Dimensions	149.4×73.9×7.7 mm	149.4×73.9×7.7 mm
Weight	159 g	156 g
Price (Yandex Market)	to the Russian market not officially available	RUB 42,990

Appearance

Compared to the LG G4, the LG G5 and LG G5 SE models received a smaller display - 5.3 inches versus 5.5 inches. The matte metalized body of the new products looks very stylish and has a smooth tactile feel. In comparison with the same LG G4, the corners of the new product are rounded, so they do not cut into the palm. The case is called metallized because a plastic coating is applied to the metal base (anodized aluminum). By the way, he hardly collects fingerprints. The 2.5D glass used actually gives us a smooth curve, and when you slide your finger down to bring up the operating system’s notification shade, you experience pure pleasure. On the left side we found a volume rocker. The right end carries a plug, under which a combined slot is hidden - with a tray with two places: one is designed for installing a nanoSIM, and the other is for installing either a second nanoSIM or a microSD memory card. The kit includes a special key for the slot lock. The device's power button has a built-in fingerprint scanner and is located on the back right in the center. Above the scanner button there are two cameras and an LED flash. We'll talk about why the second rear camera was needed... Of course, there is also a front camera, so the LG G5 and LG G5 SE have three cameras in total! The bottom end is equipped with a speaker, a microphone and (attention!) a USB Type-C port. Another surprise awaits the user in the form of an inconspicuous button in the lower left part of the case. If you press it, the battery pack will come out from the inside. Accordingly, this default module can be replaced by another. At the moment, several friends gadgets have been announced, but only 2 are inserted into the battery slot. These are LG Cam Plus - a module with an additional battery and mechanical camera control buttons, as well as LG Hi-Fi Plus - a module with a built-in digital-to-analog converter for audiophiles. The dimensions of the LG G5 and LG G5 SE are the same - 149.4 × 73.9 × 7.7 mm, but the latter is slightly lighter: 156 g versus 159 g.

This is LG G5

This is LG G5 SE

Equipment

The delivery set consists of a complete adapter, a USB Type A - USB Type C cable, a standard headset, paper documentation and the smartphone itself.

The photo shows the LG G5 model, which is not supplied to the Russian market; externally, both modifications of the smartphone are absolutely identical

Screen

The heroes of our review have a 5.3-inch IPS screen with 3D Arc curved glass and a really high resolution - 2560x1440 pixels. It's 0.2 inches smaller than the LG G4's screen. Pixel density - 554 ppi. Protection - Gorilla Glass 4. The screen is, frankly, good: with wide viewing angles, high contrast and rich color reproduction, but it lacks brightness. On a fine sunny day this is felt especially strongly. Although there is a special “daylight mode” that automatically measures the light parameters and instantly increases or decreases the brightness of the display.

Camera

No words, LG G5 and LG G5 SE surprised with a third camera on the rear panel. It is 8 megapixel. Its feature is a 135-degree lens to provide a wide viewing angle. Thanks to this, during shooting you can capture much more space in the frame - almost twice as much as conventional smartphones allow. This is especially valuable when traveling, when you want to photograph a solid architectural structure in its entirety, but there is no opportunity to move away from it.

The only negative is that the wide-angle lens gives perspective distortion. As for the front camera, it is 8-megapixel (f/2.4 aperture), equipped with a screen backlight and a “face enhancement” option for selfies. The main one is 16-megapixel with an f/1.8 aperture. It is armed with laser autofocus, LED flash and optical stabilization. The focal length is 27.88 mm (35 mm full frame). Switching between cameras is easy - with one click on the corresponding icon on the screen in shooting mode.

Below you can see the original photographs taken in various conditions with the LG G5 and LG G5 SE cameras, giving yourself an impression of the photographic capabilities of the smartphone. Let us immediately note that the cameras of both modifications of the smartphone are absolutely identical.

To view a full-size photo, right-click and select “open image”

Sound

Of course, one of the main attractions of the LG G5 and LG G5 SE is the detachable LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY. That is, this Hi-Fi audio player was created in collaboration with the most famous player in the audio market - Bang & Olufsen. So there is no doubt that the LG G5 and LG G5 SE will attract true connoisseurs of high-quality audio, because the 32-bit Hi-Fi digital-to-analog converter with oversampling technology (384 kHz / 32 bits) reproduces high-definition audio. As for the operation of the main and conversational speakers, we cannot make any complaints about them - everything works “excellent”. There is even an FM tuner with the ability to record broadcasts.

Performance

Inside the LG G5 there is a powerful flagship chipset from Qualcomm - Snapdragon 820. This chipset is created using a 14-nm FinFET process (transistors with a 3D structure) and contains two high-performance cores with a clock frequency of 2.2 GHz and two less powerful ones with a clock frequency of 1 .6–1.7 GHz. The first cores are useful for resource-intensive tasks or “heavy” games, and the second ones for less demanding processes. The picture is completed by the Adreno 530 graphics controller with support for OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 2.0 and the Vulcan API; Spectra IPS processor for image processing; Hexagon 680 DSP digital signal processor and X12 LTE modem. The manufacturer claims that the Snapdragon 820 is twice as fast and also more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 810. There is a lot of RAM installed - 4 GB. The built-in memory is even abundant - 32 GB. If there is not enough, then insert a MicroSD memory card into the slot and forget about the lack of space, filling the flash space with music, movies, photos, games and other content. Even the most demanding games will run and run on the LG G5. Many open applications are also not a problem - the smartphone does not “freeze” from this. As for the LG G5 SE, the hardware is a little simpler: 8-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor (4 ARM Cortex-A72 cores (1.8 GHz) + 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores (1.4 GHz ), as well as 3 GB of RAM. The graphics subsystem is also a little weaker - Adreno 510. And here are the results of our tests. In the Geekbench 3.4.1 benchmark, the result for one working core of the LG G5 was 2270 points, and for all four - 5281 points.

But in the 3DMark Sling Shot benchmark, using OpenGL ES 3.1, we got a result of 1988 points, which literally means the following - this smartphone is one of the most productive 3D graphics in the world at the moment. The test in Ice Storm Unlimited showed the same thing, where the smartphone scored 28,964 points.

The results of measuring average FPS at a resolution of 2392x1440 also frankly pleased us - 57.9 in the “high quality” mode, 55.7 in the “ultra high quality” mode and 59.0 in the “high performance” mode. On such a smartphone you can safely run all modern 3D toys: they will launch without lags or other tricks.

Comparison tests for the LG G5 SE are presented below. The performance of the LG G5 SE is expectedly lower compared to the LG G5, but overall it looks very decent.

Software and autonomy

Smartphones come to their owner with the Android 6.0.1 operating system pre-installed. Of course, all fans of the South Korean giant's mobile products know that in addition to Android, they will also have a proprietary shell. This time it's Optimus UX 5.0. Among the innovations, we note the abandonment of a separate application menu. In the LG G5 and LG G5 SE, applications are installed directly on the desktop, which evokes analogies with the iPhone. There is now an option to manually configure the grid for arranging applications on desktops: you can choose from three sizes: 4x4, 4x5 or 5x5. Even in the proprietary shell, you will no longer find annoying smart notifications. And the notification curtain itself “lightened up”. The developer was not lazy and even redrawn the icons. However, it is now impossible to remove or add icons to the quick access panel. But the Always On Display function remains. Notification information, date and time are always displayed on the screen, so you don't have to activate the display every time. The battery is installed with a decent capacity - 2800 mAh. In economy mode, both models will last a whole day. Note the possibility of fast charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 - charging from 0 to 100% in just one hour when using an authentic charger.

Communication capabilities

LG G5 and LG G5 SE support work with one or two SIM cards in GSM/GPRS/Edge, UMTS/HSDPA+ and LTE Cat.12 networks. You can access the Internet using a dual-band WiFi a/b/g/n/ac/ad module. There is also a Bluetooth 4.2 module. It is impossible not to mention NFC with an infrared port; the latter allows you to use your smartphone as a universal remote control for household appliances. But the smartphone is connected to a personal computer not through the MicroUSB port, but through the modern and high-speed USB Type-C. And every day it’s getting easier to find such a port in modern computers. Navigation in GPS (A-GPS), BeiDou and the domestic satellite navigation system GLONASS is supported. Finding satellites occurs in a matter of seconds. Many different sensors: accelerometer, proximity, gyroscope, light, compass, magnetic, fingerprint sensor.

conclusions

What can we say in the end? If someone complains about expensive modules for the LG G5 and LG G5 SE, then there is no need to buy them. But it’s nice to know that you have the option of upgrading your mobile device: you can improve the audio unit, or you can improve the “camera” part of your smartphone. However, it is not only the modular design and the support of “friends” that make the new products stand out. These models also have a third camera to capture more of the world around you. In general, cameras are the strong point of smartphones. The hardware “stuffing” is beyond praise - it has powerful chipsets and a lot of RAM (3 or 4 GB). Fast battery charging and MicroSD support will be a plus. However, there is also the other side of the coin. Thus, the presence of a removable module still affects the strength of the structure at the place where the module is attached. The brightness of the display, in our opinion, is insufficient, although this saves battery power. But overall, the LG G5 and LG G5 SE are truly innovative smartphones that oh t of your money.

We award these smartphones our Editors' Choice medal for their combination of quality, innovation and superior design.

Despite the fact that LG is responsible for the very successful Nexus 5 and , the Korean company has not yet been able to get into the first echelon of smartphone manufacturers - everything there is occupied by the Chinese, as well as Samsung and Apple. Realizing the situation, LG is taking a step towards unusual and niche devices - this movement is confirmed by the gradual winding down of production of Nexus 5X, which was unable to repeat the success of its predecessor. LG G5 at least aroused serious interest and gossip: wouldn’t this design be flimsy? Is it really necessary to have two main cameras?

In Russia, another topic for discussion has been added to this: at the start of sales, the LG G5 will be supplied in a simplified se version, which is distinguished by the use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 system-on-chip instead of the Snapdragon 820 and 3 GB of RAM instead of 4. These are the differences, actually , are exhausted - but the image suffers somewhat. The fact is that the lightweight version costs the same 50,000 rubles - the same as the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Apple iPhone 6s in “full” versions. Is it really that important?

⇡ Specifications

	LG G5 SE (H845)	LG G4	LG V10	Huawei P9	Samsung GALAXY S7
Display	5.3 inches, IPS, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 554 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.5 inches, IPS, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 538 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.7 inches, 2560 × 1440, IPS, 515 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.2 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 424 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.1 inches, AMOLED, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 575.9 ppi, capacitive multi-touch
Air gap	No	No	No	No	No
Protective glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	Corning Gorilla Glass (version not specified) on both sides
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (four ARM Cortex-A72 cores, 1.8 GHz + four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.4 GHz)		Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.4 GHz + two ARM Cortex-A57 cores, 1.82 GHz)	Huawei Kirin 955 (four ARM Cortex-A57 cores, 2.5 GHz; four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.8 GHz)	Exynos 8890 Octa (four ARM Cortex-A57 cores, 2.6 GHz; four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.6 GHz)
Graphics controller	Adreno 510, 550 MHz	Adreno 418, 600 MHz	Adreno 418, 600 MHz	Mali-T880 MP4, 900 MHz	Mali-T880 MP12, 650 MHz
RAM	3 GB	3 GB	4 GB	3/4 GB	4 GB
Flash memory	32 GB	32 GB	64 GB	32/64 GB	32/64 GB
Memory card support	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat	There is, in the S7 Duos version, a combined slot for a memory card and SIM card
Connectors	USB Type-C, 3.5 mm minijack	microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack	microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack	USB Type-C, 3.5 mm minijack	microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack
SIM cards	Two nanoSIM	One microSIM	Two nanoSIM	One nanoSIM/two nanoSIM	One nanoSIM/two nanoSIM
Cellular connection 2G		GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Cellular 3G	HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz	HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz	HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz	HSDPA 800/850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100 MHz	HSPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
Cellular 4G	LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 38, 40	LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 20, 28	LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150 Mbit/s), bands 1, 3, 7	LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40	LTE Cat support. 12 (up to 600/50 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 20
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2
NFC	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
Sensors	Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, pedometer, IR sensor	Light, proximity, pressure, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), pedometer, IR sensor		Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass)	Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, heart rate
			Light, proximity sensor, pressure sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), pedometer, IR sensor
Fingerprint's scanner	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat
Main camera	Dual camera: 16 MP, f/1.8 + 8 MP, f/2.4, laser autofocus, optical stabilization, 4K video recording		16 MP, ƒ/1.8, laser autofocus, LED flash, optical stabilization, Full HD video recording	Leica, dual module, 12 megapixels, f/2.2, phase detection autofocus, LED flash, 4K video recording	12 MP, ƒ/1.7, phase detection autofocus, LED flash, optical stabilization, 4K video recording
Front-camera	8 MP, fixed focus	8 MP, fixed focus	5 MP, fixed focus, 80° viewing angle + 5 MP, fixed focus, 120° viewing angle	8 MP, fixed focus	5 MP, fixed focus
Nutrition	Removable 10.8 Wh battery (2800 mAh, 3.85 V)		Removable 11.4 Wh battery (3000 mAh, 3.8 V)		Non-removable 11.4 Wh battery (3000 mAh, 3.8 V)
Size	149.4 × 73.9 × 7.3 mm	149 × 76 × 9.8 mm	160 × 80 × 8.6 mm	145 × 70.9 × 7 mm	142.4 × 69.6 × 7.9 mm
Weight	156 grams	155 grams	192 grams	144 grams	152 grams
Housing protection	No	No	No	No	IP68 Up to half an hour at a depth of 1.5 m
operating system	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, LG Optimus UX 5.0 UI shell		Android 6.0 Marshmallow, LG Optimus UX 4.0 UI shell	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, own EMUI 4.1 shell	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Samsung's own TouchWiz shell
Current price, rub.	49 990	30 000	35 000	Approximately 50,000	From 49 990

LG G5 se - information about the filling according to the Droid Info application

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

If the LG G3 and LG G4 were similar to each other with their cat-like “back” and textured back surface (in the case of the G4, even leather was used), then the LG G5 se is like a step into the world of traditional values. The flat back panel is made of metal, and the volume key has returned to the side. However, the power button, combined with a fingerprint scanner, remains at the rear. In the company of two camera eyes, it creates an image reminiscent of a shocked emoticon - and really, how many smartphones have you seen with two cameras at once?

LG G5 se, front panel: above the display there is an earpiece, status indicator, front camera and light sensor

However, Huawei with Honor 6 Plus and the new P9 asks you to calm down - they also have two main cameras, albeit used for other purposes. Let's return to design. Due to the metal, rather than leather, back, the smartphone does not cling to the palm as much - but matte metal cannot be called slippery either. But the smartphone has become much thinner (7.3 mm versus 9.8 mm) and slightly narrower - there is also a smaller display: 5.3 inches versus 5.5 inches for the G4. As a result, it is difficult to say which smartphone is more comfortable to use - everyone has their own trump cards. Although the G5 has a "joker" - a beveled surface above the display, it is very pleasant to drag your finger across it, pulling down the notification panel.

LG G5 se, rear panel: camera unit with two lenses, dual LED flash and laser autofocus eye, below is the power button combined with a fingerprint scanner

The dimensions of the display are quite comfortable - it is no longer too small (although I personally don’t mind 4-4.5-inch smartphones), but still quite suitable for working with one hand. Even though it’s difficult to fit, even I, who has very long fingers, have to reach the corners of the screen. Girls, for example, will have to use their second hand. However, 5.3 inches is still a very reasonable compromise in this age of throwing.

The smartphone is offered in three colors: gold, pink and gray. Once again there was no black case - it seems that the times of “black bricks” have indeed sunk into oblivion. We tested the gray one - the simplest and, I think, popular option.

The rear button, like the camera block, protrudes slightly above the body - if the cameras simply could not be placed entirely in the thin body, then the slight swelling of the key allows you to quickly feel it blindly.

It’s difficult to talk about the build quality and weak points based on the results of a week of testing, but there is an obvious point - since the smartphone is modular, it means it’s definitely not monolithic. In the photographs you can see that the bottom panel does not fit evenly to the body, this is especially noticeable in the photo of the left side. And there is a very serious possibility that it is in this place that the case may become loose when constantly changing modules: at MWC 2016, LG’s stand was strewn with smartphones with large gaps between the display and the bottom panel. On the other hand, this increases maintainability when the battery fails.

A fingerprint scanner is built into the power button. Software - everything is as usual: the scanner is configured in a standard way, helps to unlock the device or confirm payment on Google Play, and by combining it with the power button, it can activate the smartphone in one movement. But either the sensor itself does not work very accurately, or the problem is that you place your finger on the back button at an unusual angle - it did not always recognize me on the first try.

⇡ Modules

The likely source of problems with the reliability of the case and the main distinguishing feature of the LG G5 (and LG G5 se) is the modular design.

The lower part unfastens in one movement - just pull it by holding the small button on the left side. The button, by the way, does not protrude above the body and has a very tight movement, so that accidental presses are excluded. By default, in this way we gain access to the battery - in which case it can be easily changed without contacting the service. The smartphone, naturally, turns off - such gadgets have not yet learned to work without power.

There are currently two modules with which you can improve your smartphone: LG CAM Plus and LG Hi-Fi Plus. LG CAM Plus is essentially a protrusion for gripping your smartphone like a camera, with a built-in 1200 mAh battery and additional controls: a shutter button, camera on, video recording and a zoom wheel. It slightly extends the battery life of the device and makes shooting in horizontal orientation easier - holding a smartphone with it is more comfortable, your hands don’t shake as much and you can set longer shutter speeds when shooting in the dark. LG CAM Plus will cost about $85.

History repeats itself again: the LG G5 smartphone was released some two months ago, but its price, as in the case of its predecessor, is rapidly falling. Today it can be found much cheaper, so we decided to take a closer look at the new flagship of the Korean manufacturer. Will it be able to become a leader in terms of price/quality ratio?

You should choose the right moment to buy an LG G5. The smartphone entered the market with a recommended price of 699 euros, but in mid-June it dropped to 399 euros. True, now in Europe the price has been raised again; for the LG G5 you will have to pay from 460 euros. But a new price reduction is probably not far off. The LG G5 H850 has not yet appeared in Russia ().

With the new smartphone, LG decided to rely on three advantages: a new design, an updated display and, of course, the Magic Slot.

The G5's display has become partially better

The screen is interesting not only with its smaller diagonal of 5.3 inches instead of 5.5", but also with the Always-On function. As in the case of Samsung, the display displays important information even when turned off, which allows you to see, for example, the time at a glance and missed calls.Technically, the solution is quite interesting, since LG implemented it on the basis of an IPS panel, although an OLED panel would have been better suited here.But the G5 only lights up one segment of the display, which displays information, which minimizes power consumption.

There are other differences compared to the G4. The maximum brightness of 404 cd/m² is not the highest, but the G5 gives a fairly high contrast level of 2.030:1. Color temperature has improved in theory, but in practice it doesn't make much of a difference. We get 8.700K instead of 9.500K before, the colors still have a bluish tint.

The same goes for detailing. LG has not changed the resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, the density has reached 554 ppi, but there is not much difference.

Snapdragon 820 in G5 does not work at full capacity

Two clusters, each with two Kryo cores, operate at a maximum frequency of 1.6 GHz and 2.15 GHz, complemented by an Adreno 530 GPU. The 4 GB memory complies with the LPDDR4 standard.

In tests, the G5 performed as expected. We received about 63,000 and 117,000 points in AnTuTu 5 and 6, 29,300 and 1,900 points in 3DMark (Ice Storm Unlimited/Slingshot), which allowed the smartphone to take the lead. CPU performance in Geekbench 3 was 2,200 and 5,100 points (Single/Multi), in GFXBench 3 GPU performance was 46 and 83 fps in the Manhattan and T-Rex Offscreen tests.

According to the tests, the LG G5 seems powerful, but the maximum SoC cannot withstand for a long time. As in the case of HTC, the smartphone does not have time to remove the accumulated heat of the Snapdragon 820 under load; the back heats up to 45 °C. To avoid overheating, the SoC has to reset the clock speeds: both clusters cannot withstand peak frequencies for a long time.

However, any drop in performance in everyday work is not noticeable. Despite throttling, even demanding applications launch smoothly.

Telephony

The Snapdragon 820 smartphone is a leader not only in computing performance, but also in terms of the X12 modem. It supports the latest 3G and 4G standards and also provides high transfer speeds. However, here everything still depends on the deployed networks. Either way, the G5 can handle download speeds of up to 450 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 50 Mbps. In 3G networks we get the usual level of 42.2 Mbit/s.

The smartphone will not disappoint even in conditions of poor signal reception; in our tests we did not encounter spontaneous data outages or frequent transitions from the 4G to 3G network. During phone calls, the smartphone benefits from good voice quality as well as effective noise cancellation. The speaker on the front side provides high-quality sound. The second speaker, which is used for speakerphone, was less pleasing; it could use more powerful mids and lows. Also, at volume levels above 65%, distortion began to appear.

The remaining interfaces are implemented perfectly. As you might expect from such a price, there is support for 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC. The LG G5 remains one of the last modern smartphones to support an IR blaster. In Europe, LG mainly supplies the G5 variant with a single SIM card, but in Russia models with two SIM cards are common. The 32 GB of internal memory can be expanded via a micro-SD card, but at the expense of a second SIM card. A modern USB Type-C cable is connected to the smartphone for data transfer/charging, but the old version is USB 2.0.

LG has placed the fingerprint sensor on the rear panel of the case. Its support is entirely dependent on Google's software implementation - with its own advantages and disadvantages. The speed of fingerprint detection is high, there were no problems in operation. But you should be careful not to press your finger too hard on the sensor. Otherwise, the display may turn off immediately after unlocking, since the sensor also serves to switch to standby mode.

Magic Slot

Magic Slot does not mean any external port, but the ability to integrate modules - only two are available so far. LG chose the name based on the technical connection between the smartphone and the module. It offers a Cam Plus camera grip with a separate shutter button and a 1,200 mAh battery, as well as an audio module with a Bang & Olufsen DAC.

The first module will cost 100 euros in Europe or 4,990 rubles in Russia, the second - 150 euros in Europe or 9,990 rubles in Russia. In practice, we think the camera module is more valuable, and only thanks to the additional battery. But here, too, an external battery (Power Bank) will become a less expensive option.

Any flagship is a product that primarily demonstrates the company’s technological potential and its vision of the ideal smartphone. Today we will get acquainted with the LG G5 SE - it’s practically the same G5, just instead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 it uses a slightly simplified Snapdragon 652. In our case, it’s worth putting an equal sign between the models, because it’s the SE version that will go on sale, and the appearance of the original flagship is questionable. Let's get to know each other and evaluate the potential and vision of the market by LG in 2016.

Design, modular construction and “friends”

Thanks to numerous rumors and leaks, any smartphone begins to be evaluated long before it goes on sale. In the case of the LG G5, real photographs appeared a couple of days before the announcement and caused a lot of noise - in the first pictures the flagship looked too strange, one might even say ugly.

After getting acquainted with a real smartphone, many came to the conclusion that “everything is not so sad,” but a “sediment” remained. Needless to say, the G5 looks strange, both in comparison with the G2/G3/G4, and in comparison with its competitors.

Why? Mainly because of the back, on which they made two “overflows” - a large one with camera modules, flash and laser autofocus, and a small one with a fingerprint scanner. In our case, the G5 inscription on the back is also missing, because we are getting acquainted with the sample. To be fair, we note that the front side looks more familiar and normal, the only thing that confuses us is the large indentation at the top, where the rounded glass is located (flat, without the 2.5D effect).

In fact, the company has crossed out all the work and concepts of the last three years of development - there is no usual sloping back, the volume keys have again moved to the side, and the screen has been curved in the opposite direction. All that remains is the collapsible body design.

The G5 is also called a metal flagship, although this is a very controversial statement. Most likely the gray plastic base was coated with metallic paint or something similar. Our sample makes it clear that in case of falls, chips will appear on the case, revealing the real gray color of the material, which does not look like metal.

It is worth saying that the G5 feels good in the hands - all the edges are rounded, nothing digs into the palm and the smartphone is comfortable for everyday use, although it does not give a “premium” feeling.

The layout of the controls is quite traditional - under the cameras there is a mechanical power key, it is combined with a fingerprint scanner. The latter works very well and to unlock the smartphone you just need to put your finger on the sensor; you don’t need to specifically press the button. As on all LGs, the screen turns on and off by double tapping, and there is a Knock Code function.

On the left side there is a volume control key - in our sample it was not very convenient to use, because it was short and protruded slightly above the body. There is a hybrid tray on the right; you can install two Nano SIMs or a SIM card and a memory card in it. The headphone jack is on the top edge, and the USB Type and speaker are on the bottom. The smartphone is available in one of four colors: Titan, Silver, Pink and Gold.

LG G5 is one of the first modular smartphones. Along with it, the company showed a whole set of “friends” of the flagship. The list includes VR glasses, a robot ball, a camera for shooting video with a 360-degree viewing angle, a proprietary headset and two LG CAM Plus and Hi-Fi Plus modules.

The first ones are just additional accessories, and the last two are real modules that expand the functionality of the smartphone.

There is a special key on the bottom left. By pressing it and pulling the lower part of the case, you can detach the base with the inserted battery. To install another module, you need to replace the battery in it and put everything back together.

The idea with modules looks interesting on paper, but practical implementation turned out to be controversial. To connect a “friend” you need to turn the smartphone on and off, frequent replacement of modules will lead to loosening of the structure, and you will only constantly use the “friend” Hi-Fi Plus, although even this module noticeably increases the length of the smartphone, and CAM Plus by more than twice as thick as the G5 itself. Most likely, the modules are available only in black and gray and will look controversial on smartphones. The question of prices remains: in the US, CAM Plus costs $70, and the price for Hi-Fi Plus has not been announced, but given B&O’s positioning, it is unlikely to be cheaper than the first.

You can feel the non-optimality in many aspects - by purchasing each module you will pay for another USB Type-C connector, speaker, microphone and other electronics. It is not clear why the sound from B&O could not be built in by default, and CAM Plus could not be implemented in the form of a simpler case-pad, connected using a pair of contacts on the case, without the need to disassemble the smartphone, as was the case with the Lumia 1020? Taking the existing implementation, I would like to ask: why is there no miniature battery in the case that would allow the smartphone to remain turned on while replacing modules?

Screen

LG was one of the first to equip its flagship with a display with a resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels and remains faithful to such screens. Compared to the G3 and G4, the diagonal has decreased from 5.5 to 5.3 inches, the body has become a couple of millimeters narrower, but its height has increased. As before, an IPS matrix is ​​used, covered with protective glass with an oleophobic coating, the glass is curved at the top, there is an automatic brightness adjustment sensor, the screen can be turned on by double tapping.

In terms of calibration quality, the screen is not ideal - the color gamut is expanded and closer to AMOLED displays, the color temperature is noticeably higher, and there are differences in the gamma curve. The measured contrast level was 1 in 1430, and the brightness adjustment range was from 3 to 206 cd/m². During testing, I got the impression that the auto-brightness sensor always works, even when it is disabled in the settings. The display remains quite readable outdoors, but on a very sunny day there is a lack of brightness.

From the point of view of perception, I liked the screen - it doesn’t feel as cold as according to measurements. The colors are rich, the high resolution gives a very smooth picture, the sensors work quickly and correctly - the screen lives up to the title of flagship. The only thing I didn’t like was the poor polarization of the glass - if you use sunglasses with polarized lenses, then in a vertical position you can’t see anything on the display.

Platform

The LG G5 is built on the basis of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, but for the markets of Ukraine, Russia and others they created a model with the SE prefix - its basis is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652. From a formal point of view, the difference between the Snadragon 820 and 652 is significant: positioning in the line is simpler, technical process 28, and not 20 nm, standard Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A72 cores instead of proprietary Kryo, lower clock speed, slightly simpler graphics (but also from the Adreno 5xx line), more modest results in benchmarks, and so on. The amount of RAM was reduced to 3 GB, but at least they did not touch the built-in memory and left 32 GB. There is a MicroSD slot combined with Nano SIM.

There are problems in numbers - competitors have more advanced “stuffing”. In practice, the LG G5 SE seemed fast to me - the platform copes with a high-resolution screen, the smartphone is responsive in everyday tasks and can handle modern games well. Heating is within normal limits.

Calls, multimedia and Hi-Fi Plus module

We received an LG G5 SE with the index H845 - the smartphone supports the simultaneous operation of two SIMs based on one radio module. We were pleased with the contact settings - you can set your own melody for each, for each SIM card you can set both a separate ringtone and vibration type, you can adjust its intensity for different events.

The vibration alert is noticeable and the speaker is loud. The multimedia speaker is very loud, it sounds clear and pleasant. The quality of music playback in the G5 SE is on par with other flagships. If you connect the Hi-Fi Plus module, the sound becomes more saturated - the difference is noticeable. In addition, an additional item appears in the settings, allowing you to adjust the balance and set the volume with an accuracy of 1 division out of 100 possible.

The Hi-Fi Plus module can also be used as a separate DAC and headphone amplifier for Android/iOS, Mac and Windows devices. In the latter case, it was necessary to install drivers downloaded from the LG website. The device worked when connected to a PC, but an attempt to connect the module via an OTG adapter to Huawei Mate7 did not yield anything.

Operating system and shell

The smartphone runs Android 6.0, complemented by the proprietary LG UX 5.0 shell. The corporate interface has been simplified. Key changes: an always-on mode has appeared for the lock screen (the time or signature is displayed, as well as notification shortcuts), a separate application menu has disappeared, the design of shortcuts and built-in programs has changed.

Among the useful functions, we left the ability to customize the location of on-screen buttons, their number and the color of the background. In the settings, you can select applications in which the keys will be hidden automatically, even if the developer has not provided such an option.

Cameras and CAM Plus module

LG G5 boasts two main cameras and one front camera. The “regular” main module has a resolution of 16 megapixels, an f/1.8 lens, and is equipped with an optical stabilization system and laser autofocus. Next to it is a second module with a wide-angle lens (135°, f/2.4) and an 8 MP sensor. The resolution of the front camera module is 8 megapixels.

The application has not undergone any fundamental changes. It has three main operating modes: simple, basic and manual. In all of them, two Christmas tree icons are displayed at the top, with which you can switch between the two cameras.

Basic mode allows you to adjust video resolution, photo aspect ratio, apply color filters, turn HDR on and off, use special collage modes, take photos from all cameras, record time lapse and slow-mo videos, and so on ( examples). The essence of the manual mode is reflected in its name - you can set the shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and focus.

Like all flagships, the G5 SE takes excellent pictures during the day - most photos come out well, autofocus does not miss, and the white balance is correct. In difficult shooting conditions, from rooms with less than ideal lighting to twilight, the result becomes a little less predictable, but still remains decent. The flagship is just going on sale and LG will improve the software. The G4 was one of the best camera phones out there, and the G5 is taking the baton.

The second wide-angle camera is also useful - it allows you to take interesting pictures and is especially useful when photographing architecture or rooms, for example.

Photos taken from the same point using both cameras

The front camera is rather weak for a flagship, but this may be a feature of our sample.

The optional CAM Plus module is questionable in terms of ease of continuous use due to its size. It is useful only if you plan to take photographs without letting go of your smartphone. It's a pity that it doesn't have an eyelet for attaching a strap.

It is especially convenient to take photographs with it - there are shutter release and video shooting keys, a built-in battery, and a protrusion with a grippy pad. I especially liked the zoom ring. With its help, you can smoothly switch from a wide-angle camera to a regular one (it seems that the smartphone has one camera with a large zoom).

Working hours

In terms of battery capacity, the G5 SE can be considered an outsider - the removable battery has only 2800 mAh, while most competitors offer 3000 mAh or more. The smartphone supports fast charging (Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology).

In synthetic autonomy tests, the G5 SE shows average results. With normal use, you should count on a day or a day of work with three to four hours of active screen. I used my standard set of instant messengers and other applications, took photographs, read, listened to music, and the always-on function was turned on. Disabling it will increase operating time.

In general, the results can be called normal for a flagship - the smartphone can withstand a working day and does not discharge as quickly as the LG G4 did. If your usage profile involves a heavy load, you may need a short charge during the day - normal fast charge support makes this easier, and a full charge takes just over an hour if you use a Quick Charge-compatible charger.

Site evaluation

Pros: Body shape, display, operating speed, camera quality, second wide-angle camera, idea of ​​additional modules

Minuses: Design, average build quality, low maximum display brightness, non-flagship characteristics, price, implementation of additional modules

Conclusion: Having spent a week with the LG G5 SE, I would like to say that in terms of ergonomics, display quality, cameras, performance and features, this is a flagship. But am I ready to pay 18,000 hryvnia for it? No. User experience and impressions come through the process of use, which is preceded by purchase, and is achieved by comparing characteristics, design and personal perception of things. LG flagships have always had price on their side, because the characteristics were the same as those of competitors, but they asked for a little less. The G5 SE, in general, is equipped more simply than its opponents, and costs the same. At the same time, it is difficult to identify any specific shortcomings in it - there are simply a bunch of little things that add up to one big minus. Unfortunately, competition is leaving less and less room for just good and decent smartphones - the product must be either the best or at least affordable.