For us, the new year has only just begun as Mobile World Congress in under progress at Barcelona and the Titans are here. South Korean rivals, Samsung and LG have already unveiled their 2016 flagships at the event during the weekend and Android fans world over are still gathering their bearings.
Usually the first day of the MWC is reserved for the best smartphone launch and this year the stalwarts from Samsung and LG are the showstoppers for sure. Both flagships are expected to be priced the same and are in direct line of competition with each other. Here we analyse both flagships to determine which one of these won over MWC this year.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Design
The design aspect is where both brand have gone ahead and modified their signature style in latest flagships. In the first look, Samsung Galaxy S7 appears just as Galaxy S6 did and that is obvious considering Galaxy S6 was already a drop dead gorgeous smartphone. However, Samsung has brought about some subtle changes in the design, which can be felt when you pick up the device. Gone is the ugly protruding camera on Galaxy S6 as the primary camera on Galaxy S7 sits flush with the rear panel of the handset. Moreover, the SIM tray of the smartphone has also been changed to accommodate a microSD card along with a nano SIM card, this is a welcome revival and has delighted many Samsung lovers who were missing the same.
On to LG, the brand has completely overhauled its signature design in the new flagship LG G5 and the new device resembles Huawei Nexus 6P, which is a good thing. For the first time ever, LG has opted for a metal unibody design with a slice of modularity thrown in. LG has also got rid of the rear mounted audio and power controls, which is a disappointment in our view. This means that whole device comes with a premium metal unibody design, the bottom chin of the device can be removed to replace battery and also swap modules, which the brand has named as Friends. This is an innovative idea as it opens the door to limitless possibilities as to what can be done with the device. Already, LG is offering a module called LG Cam Plus, which is a camera grip with integrated buttons like shutter and zoom dial.
Winner: In our books Galaxy S7 is a clear winner in this aspect owing to its premium, clean and overhauled design. LG G5 loses out only on the basis of the fact that the modularity is only in its infancy and there are not much available to make full use of the same. Nonetheless, LG G5 also is a premium device with classy design.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Display
Samsung has equipped its latest flagship smartphone with a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display that boasts of a Quad-HD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. LG G5, on the other hand, boasts of a 5.3-inch display with similar Quad-HD resolution for a stunning viewing experience. Both smartphones also flaunt Always-On features, which shows all information including clock, date and notifications on the display without having to wake up the display. While many have concern that this might drain battery like there is no tomorrow, both LG and Samsung assures that it only consumes less than half per cent of battery every hour.
Winner: The winner here is again Samsung Galaxy S7 owing to the Super AMOLED panel, which offers better better brightness, vibrancy and deeper blacks as compared to IPS LCD on LG G5. Moreover, Super AMOLED also happens to be more battery friendly.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Camera
In this aspect Samsung has managed to create yet another ruckus as it has equipped new Galaxy S7 with a 12 megapixels snapper as compared to 16 Megapixels camera found on Galaxy S6. It seems like the South Korean giant purposefully leaves something more to desire in its devices. However, the brand assures that the primary camera is equipped with Dual Pixels camera module, which captures more light to produce stunning results disregarding the pixel count. LG G5 on the other hand has a dual camera setup with 16 and 8 Megapixels camera on its rear panel with an enhanced manual mode for better control over fine tuning the images. The second 8 Megapixels snapper on the rear is a wide angle camera, which helps in capturing more landscape as well as better depth. On the front, Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 have 5 and 8 Megapixels snapper, respectively.
Winner: LG G5 takes the toast in this aspect with its dual camera setup, enhanced manual mode and better front camera.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Performance
Both these handsets are latest flagship devices from their makers and so there is no questioning their performance. Samsung will be launching the Exynos 8890 chipset powered variant of Galaxy S7 in India, which is an Octa-Core processor clocked at 1.6 GHz. On the other hand, LG G5 will come with the newest Snapdragon 820 processor around the world with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz. Both smartphones have 4 GB of RAM and Adreno 530 GPU.
| Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge | LG G5 | |
| Display | 5.1 / 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED (2560×1400) | 5.3-inch QHD LCD (2560×1440) |
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 8890 or Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 |
| Processor | Octa Core | Quad Core |
| GPU | Mali-T880 MP12 or Adreno 530 | Adreno 530 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 32/64GB + 200GB microSD | 32GB + 2TB microSD |
Winner: There is no clear winner here since both smartphones are at par with each other. However, the Exynos variant of Galaxy S7 loses out by a margin to LG G5.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Battery
Since this is the first time for LG to have gone down the all metal route with unibody chassis, the batter has taken a hit. LG G5 comes with a 2800 mAh battery, which increases up to 4000 mAh when using a module. However, if you are not using any module and flaunting the G5 as it is, your battery backup is limited to 2800 mAh and you might need to recharge it more than once in a day. Samsung Galaxy S7 is equipped with a slightly better battery with a strength of 3000 mAh, which does not makes much of a difference.
Winner: Samsung definitely takes the cake when it comes to battery as well, however, it is only marginally better. And in case you decide to use LG G5 with LG Cam Plus module, you will be having a 4000 mAh battery. So clearly, there is no clear winner in this aspect.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Verdict
Heads on, Samsung Galaxy S7 wins clearly on every aspect, however, both these smartphones are powerful and premium. Samsung has stuck to and improved upon the design that clearly worked for it the last year and we are in for a treat. LG on the other hand has completely revamped its design with metal unibody and no more rear mounted volume and power control. However, it is hard to decide which one is the winner taking into consideration real life usage as they both are very different handsets and it boils down to the requirement of end user.
Above article published by Sanjeev, who blogs about mobile technology on PriceRaja.com.