After complaining about an LG on-screen keyboard for a while, it has finally improved, with not just customisable height, but more responsiveness and a gesture typing mode that works better than nearly every other gesture typing keyboard out there.
Gesture typing, also known as “Swype” or “Swyping” (capitalised and spelled differently from “swipe” because Swype popularised the concept) is basically a path writing system where you run your fingers from letter to letter on the screen and the software works out the word based on the letters you’re gliding your fingers to and from.
Often considered one of the fastest ways to type on a smartphone, keyboards with the concept often get words wrong because letters in gesture typing are of course close to other letters, and so the keyboard is doing its best to extrapolate what it thinks you’re going after.
In the LG G5, we were shocked and astonished to discover that gesture typing is super responsive on this phone, providing very speedy and mostly accurate word suggestions, at least in our experience.
We suspect this is helped on by a phone that has been tweaked for better performance, and really this just adds to the overall usability experience.
The other area you may find yourself liking is the fingerprint sensor, and it’s clear from this design that LG is borrowing from its work with Google on the Nexus 5X.
Just like in that phone, you’ll find a circular scanning point at the back of the phone, and this doesn’t just serve as a fingerprint scanner, but also a power button to switch the phone on and off, and return from standby.
Yes, there’s a click button underneath the scanner, and you’ll need to press that in to switch the phone on and off, but you won’t need to press that hard if you’re bringing the phone back from standby, as a registered fingerprint will kick the phone back into gear when your finger is held to the scanner.
And this part really works, with a great location meaning your forefinger can easily bring the phone back without adopting an awkward grip just to get the phone back, something both Apple and Samsung still struggle with.
Camera
The camera is one area where LG hopes to show off, and if you’ve been following smartphones for the past few years, it’s poised to be the area that decides whether people plonk down the cash for a phone.
As smartphone cameras signal the death knell for the standard proper compact digital camera, these have to get better to keep people on side, and in the G5, we’re seeing something that isn’t just better, but also capable of letting you get creative.
We all know that digital cameras are getting better, and developments to the sensors, increased pixel sizes, and smaller circuitry is all helping this area, as is glass capable of letting in more light, but the focal length of a lens is also a big factor for anyone taking a picture.
Most smartphones try to emulate a rough 24 to 28mm focal length, because that’s often wide enough to encompass a scene for a 16:9 form-factor, and the LG G5 can do this too with its 16 megapixel sensor.
But the LG G5 also has another trick, and it’s one that emulates more of an 8 or a 9mm focal length by providing a 135 degree lens on the back as well. This lens actually works at 8 megapixels, not the full 16, but it essentially gives you to settings to work with, because if you can fit everything you want in using the 16 megapixel camera, awesome, and if not, you have a wider camera to work with.
It’s an interesting effect, and while it’s not the first smartphone to incorporate two cameras in the one — HTC’s One M8 gets that honour, if it is one — LG’s G5 is easily the more successful of the two experiments.
Simply jumping between the camera modes is easy, because you’ll have an icon at the top of the screen that lets you use the regular lens (one tree in a rectangle) or have the camera dissolve into the wide angle lens using the other icon (three trees in a rectangle).
As cool as the technology is, the cameras aren’t without fault. Both are capable of some excellent imagery, though the 16 megapixel standard camera is easily the better of the two.
Speed, however, isn’t necessarily on the side of the LG G5, because while it can take a shot quickly, it doesn’t always, and we actually struggled to capture images efficiently, with the camera often taking its time.
Interestingly, the hardware button that you can add using the camera module seemed to speed things up, if only a smidgeon.
Despite these speed issues, it is possible we’ll see some improvements as the firmware tightens up over time.
Get the images off the phone, though, and you’ll find some decent quality is to be found, and that’s really no shock.
Last year’s flagship effort in the G4 resulted in a solid camera with great low-light, and this year’s isn’t far off, with some decent images in dark conditions and some lovely contrasty daylight.
But those results come from the 16 megapixel standard angle camera, because that extra module — the 8 megapixel one sitting next to it with a wider angle lens — just doesn’t feel like it provides images that are good in comparison.
You’ll find you can get a wider shot, that’s true, but the quality is noticeably lower, with obviously softened details.
For the Instagram and Facebook generation, this won’t pose too much of a problem, so don’t worry so much, but if you do anything beyond it, the 8 megapixel camera seems like a half measure, making up the middle ground just to come across a little more special, and while that’s an interesting addition, it’s not enough to make the camera duo remarkable.
Perhaps if LG had found a way to blend the two images, we might have something, but they will always take pictures separately, and your original camera doesn’t quite have the edge against some of the other flagships out today.
