LG G5

In today`s market, you can get affordable flagships such as the recently-launched OnePlus 3 (review FAQs) or LeEco Le Max 2 (first impressions) at almost half the price of the G5, which offer a beefy 6 gigs of RAM. However, the Korean titan has ensured that the hardware powering the show on the G5 is just one part of the story. LG`s latest flagship justifies its price tag by packing in interesting innovations – a semi-modular design, dual camera sensors along with catering to power users with features like removable battery, while keeping the sticker price of Rs 52,990, which is similar to other premium flagships.That said, it’s one thing to offer innovation, and another to make it work flawlessly – and that’s where the G5 starts faltering. It might be the first smartphone globally to feature a semi-modular design, but  that’s not how modularity was supposed to be when it was teased a couple of years back. The idea of modularity – which Google’s Project Ara is also envisioning – is to be able to swap components from the device for new ones. For example, adding a better camera module in place of the default one. But that’s not possible with LG’s top-end offering. You can only extend its capabilities with the Cam Plus module or Hi-Fi Plus module, for turning the phone into a camera or an audio-centric device. Plus, there’s an additional cost involved, since you have to pay Rs 6,990 for the Cam Plus. LG is yet to reveal the pricing of the Hi-Fi Plus.There are some other accessories as well under LG’s Friends programme – the 360 CAM, 360 VR, and a Tone Platinum Bluetooth headset. However, they aren’t modular as such. The brand has promised to offer more modular devices with its Playground initiative, and in our opinion, that can certainly make the LG G5 more lucrative. It’s more prudent since Lenovo-owned Motorola recently took covers off its Moto Z flagships that also come with snap-on functionality dubbed Moto Mods. While one can argue that its implementation isn’t exactly modular, some of the accessories showcased by the company seem quite useful. Plus Lenovo has opened the platform for developers for launching compatible mods.Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate LG for its efforts, but they aren’t very practical. And, if those are removed from the equation, then Samsung’s Galaxy S7 duo scores higher on almost all counts – beautiful design, slightly better display (thanks to the AMOLED panels), superior cameras (due to the dual-pixels technology) and better battery life, along with waterproof capabilities. You also get to choose between the Galaxy S7 (review), which is compact, or the Galaxy S7 edge (review), which is a phablet and ups the style quotient with its dual edges. Completing the holy trinity of Android flagships for 2016 is HTC 10 (review), which is a great smartphone as well, although we’d probably pick the G5 over it.In sum, the LG G5 is a special smartphone in the Android space, but it’s very difficult to recommend it over Samsung’s latest pair of flagships. But if you are among those who want to stand out from the crowd, then you can’t go wrong with it.