At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, both Samsung and LG officially unveiled their much awaited flagship smartphones for 2016 – Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5. They’re both powerful smartphones that are packed with impressive specification and features. So how do these two flagship smartphones stack up against each other? Here’s a spec by spec comparison of the two incredible handsets.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Design
Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S7 comes with the same metal and glass design to the last year’s Galaxy S6, but with dual subtle curves on the back pane. The dual-curve back of the Galaxy S7 allows it to be more comfortable to hold than its predecessor, which is definitely a welcome change. Another thing that differentiates the old and new Galaxy model is that’s water and dust resistance. The Galaxy S7 has an IP68 rating, which means it will be more resistant than its predecessor.
Unlike Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 is a complete reinvention from the brand in terms of design and build quality. The new LG’s flagship phone uses a brand-new metal “unibody” design with a slide-out battery and ‘Modular Type’ design that allows user to attach various modules such as LG CAM Plus, LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY, and more.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Display
The S7 sports a 5.1-inch quad HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, while the G5 has a 5.3-inch Quad HD IPS display, also featuring a 2560 x 1440 pixels. This means that the LG G5 has larger display, but S7 has a sharper display with a few more pixels packed in per inch.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Processor and RAM
Both the Galaxy S7 and the G5 offer significant improvement in processing power compared to the last year’s flagship smartphones.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is powered by either an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or the Exynos 8890 octa-core processor, depending on the region or carrier, and 4GB of RAM. Consumers in the United States will be getting the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820-powered variant, while most other markets will be getting the Exynos 8890-powered variant.
Both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 as well as the Exynos 8890 offer comparable performance and are a pretty significant upgrade over last year’s flagship mobile SoCs.
The LG G5 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset as well, making it a hugeupgrade over the G4 in terms of performance. Both the devices are backed by 4GB of RAM.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Camera
Both phones get significant camera upgrades from their predecessors. While Samsung has reduced the megapixel counts in its new Galaxy S7’s rear camera from 16MP in the Galaxy S6 to 12MP. However, the company has increased the pixel size, which lets in a lot more light. There is also a wide F/1.7 aperture lens which offers ability to capture high quality images in low light conditions.
The LG G5 has two camera on the back: a standard 16-megapixel shooter and an 8-megapixel camera with a wide-angle 135-degree lens. The wider lens lets you capture more in the picture, which is pretty useful for big scenic images. It’s also added some new features to the camera such as Pop-out Picture, Film Effect and Auto Shot. But what is more interesting is the LG G5’s modular design, which lets users add a Cam Plus to the smartphone, and convert it into a digital camera. The LG Cam Plus has physical buttons for shutter, record, zoom, LED indicator and comfortable grip, along with intuitive auto-focus and exposure lock. It gives the G5 an additional battery capacity of 1,200mAh when attached.
Both devices can shoot 4K video and each has its own dual-tone LED flash. For selfies, the Galaxy S7 sports a 5MP front camera with the same f/1.7 aperture lens, and the G5 houses an 8MP front-facing camera.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Battery
The Galaxy S7 includes a 3,000mAh battery while the G5 has a 2,800mAh battery. The S7 wins when it comes to size by 7 percent, which might not seem like much. Moreover, Samsung has developed a special liquid cooling system to help keep systems cool, which could positively impact overall battery life,
LG G5, however, has the advantage of featuring a removable battery. This means that you can carry extra batteries and never have to worry about running out of juice.
Both phones offer fast charging thanks to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0, but Samsung also offers fast wireless charging, which is 50% faster than normal wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Operating System
Both Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5 come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, but each has its own custom UI on top. Galaxy S7 runs the company’s TouchWiz UI. That said, Samsung has made some minor changes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on the Galaxy S7, such as redesigned app icons and a slightly different color scheme in some apps.
The LG G5 on the other hand is running the LG UX 5.0. The latest iteration of LG’s custom Android skin has is leaner than ever before, with minimal additions. Aside from tweaks such as custom home screen animations and the lack of an app drawer, it is pretty close to stock Android.
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5: Storage
Addressing a major complaint that most Galaxy S6 owners had against Samsung, the company has decided to re-introduce memory expansion on the Galaxy S7, which can be further expanded by up to 200GB. The smartphone is available in 32GB and 64GB internal storage capacity.
Similar to the G4, the G5 comes with just 32GB of internal storage. It’s also expandable via a built-in microSD card slot. But while Samsung’s maxes out at 200GB, the G5 can add up to a whopping 2TB.
The table below provides a more detailed comparison between Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5.
The table below provides a more detailed comparison between Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5.
| Model | Samsung Galaxy S7 | LG G5 |
| Operating System | Android Marshmallow 6.0 with Touchwiz | Android Marshmallow 6.0 with LG UX |
| Dimensions | 142.4 × 69.6 × 7.9mm | 149.4 × 73.9 × 7.7mm |
| Weight | 152g | 159g |
| Screen size | 5.1 inches | 5.3 inches |
| Display | 2,560 × 1,440 pixels Quad HD Super AMOLED, 577 ppi | 2,560 × 1,440 pixels Quad HD Quantum IPS LCD, 554 ppi |
| Processor | Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 | Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 |
| RAM | 4GB | 4GB |
| Rear Camera | Dual Pixel 12MP with OIS and f/1.7 aperture rear camera | Dual lenses – 16MP main and 8MP wide-angle (135 degrees) with OIS rear camera |
| Front Camera | 5MP with f/1.7 aperture front camera | 8MP front camera |
| Internal Storage | 32 / 64GB + microSD( up to 200GB) | 32GB + microSD (up to 2TB) |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh | Removable Li-Po 2800 mAh |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE, HSPA+, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC | 4G LTE, HSPA+, USB Type C, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC |
| Color Availability | Black Onyx, Gold platinum, Silver titanium and White pearl. | Silver, Titan, Gold, and Pink |
| Extra Features |
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Conclusion
The Galaxy S7 is a refined version of last year’s GS6 design with the addition of a microSD memory card slot and an IP68 rating. If you liked its predecessor, but found it lacking in these areas, the Galaxy S7 may be the perfect smartphone for you.
On the flip side, LG is trying to create a whole new ecosystem to complement the G line. The LG G5 features a new modular design with a metal uni-body that enables users to attach various additional parts to give it additional functions. If you love innovation then LG G5 is the right phone for you.