Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5 – which is best?

This year’s crop of flagship smartphones have never been better. Samsung led the charge with its excellent Galaxy S7 handset, but now LG’s joined the fray with the G5, the modular wonderphone that lets you slide out the bottom and add in different modules and attachments. I liked them so much that I gave both Best Buy awards, unless you have particularly deep pockets, you’re eventually going to have to settle for one or the other.

In this article, we’re aiming to finally settle the debate on which is best – the Galaxy S7 or LG G5? We’ve put both smartphones head to head on design, display, performance, battery life and camera quality to give you a blow-by-blow breakdown of where each one fails and succeeds, and where it’s just too close to call, helping you make the right choice in order to get the most out of your new smartphone.

We’ll also be focusing on the regular, flat S7 rather than Samsung’s fancier Galaxy S7 Edge, but given the number of similarities between the two phones, much of the comments we make about the S7 can also be applied to the S7 Edge as well. To see how the S7 differs from its curvy cousin, see our S7 vs S7 Edge article.

Design

Materials: Following on from last year’s Galaxy S6, the Galaxy S7 is made out of glass and metal, helping it maintain that premium look and feel that’s now come to define all of Samsung’s latest handsets.

Admittedly, the glass rear can pick up rather a lot of fingerprints during daily use, so it might not always look as pristine as you might have hoped, but at least you don’t have to worry about water damage, as the S7 has an IP68 certification. This means it’s completely dustproof and can withstand being submersed in up to 1.5m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes – perfect for those accidental toilet drops or sudden April rain showers.

The LG G5, on the other hand, is all metal, resulting in a plainer, matt finish as opposed to the glossy glass of the S7. Admittedly, the G5 is far from the most attractive phone I’ve ever seen, but I do prefer not having to wipe it clean every five minutes. It’s also easier to hold than the smooth, rounded corners of the S7, and I don’t feel like I’d need to invest in a case to make sure it didn’t fly out of my hand.

However, the G5 lacks the S7’s waterproofing protection, making it more prone to breaking if you drop it in the bath, for example. It’s still splash-proof, but LG doesn’t recommended dunking it in an open body of water.

Features: There’s a good reason why the G5 isn’t waterproof, though, and that’s because of its clever modular design. Press a small button on the left hand side of the handset and the whole bottom section will pop off, allowing you to slide out the battery and pop in a new one or attach one of its extra G5 modules, such as the LG Cam Plus or LG Hi-Fi Plus. The former is a physical camera grip, while the latter is a portable Hi-Res audio dock.

It’s too early to say how useful or popular the extra modules will be just yet, but the ability to remove and replace the phone’s battery is a big plus compared to the fixed, non-replaceable battery on the S7. Samsung might have brought back the microSD card slot for the S7, but there’s nothing like being able to pop in a fresh battery to keep you going after a long day’s use.

Something both phones do have in common, though, is a fingerprint sensor. The S7 hides it in the home button, but LG’s placed the G5’s on the back, which in my eyes is arguably more convenient than having it on the front. Unlike the S7, the G5’s sensor also doesn’t require you to press it down before it unlocks the phone either, making it even easier to use.

However, the S7’s front-facing sensor should theoretically be more useful once Android Pay (not to mention Samsung Pay) finally arrives in the UK, as trying to authorise a payment on an NFC reader might be quite tricky if you’ve got to have your finger stuck round the back. For now, though, I much prefer the G5’s fingerprint sensor, as it’s not only easier to reach, but I found it was also more accurate.

Dimensions: The S7 measures 142x70x7.9mm and weighs 152g, making it ever so slightly smaller than the G5, which measures 149x74x7.7mm and weighs 159g. These differences are pretty miniscule, though, and you’d certainly be hard-pressed to notice the difference in daily use.

Conclusion: There’s no denying the S7 is the more aesthetically pleasing handset, but for me, the G5 is just so much more practical. It might lack the S7’s waterproofing, but it feels better in the hand, its fingerprint sensor is more convenient, and its modular design means you have all the benefit of a full-metal unibody design without losing out on the ability to replace the phone’s battery.

Display

The Galaxy S7 has a 5.1in display with a 2,560×1,440 resolution, which gives it a pixel density of 577ppi. The LG G5 has the same resolution, but its display is a fraction bigger at 5.3in, giving it a slightly lower pixel density of 554ppi. In practice, though, you’d need bionic eyeballs to tell the difference, as both phones look just as sharp as each other when you sit them side by side.

The quality of each display is equally superb, too. Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology continues to beat almost every other LCD panel out there, as it covers a full 100% of the sRGB colour gamut, can produce perfect 0.00cd/m2 blacks, ultra-high contrast and has a more-than-decent max brightness of 353.74cd/m2.

LG isn’t far behind, though, as its Quantum IPS display is still one of the best LCD screens around. Covering 97.1% of the sRGB colour gamut with super low black levels of just 0.19cd/m2, the G5’s display looks equally stunning, particularly when it’s complemented by an excellent contrast ratio of 1,621:1. It matches the S7 for brightness, too, as its peak white level can hit 354.05cd/m2.

Both phones have a sneaky outdoor brightness mode, too, which activates when the brightness is set to auto and you take it outside in bright sunshine. Thanks to each one’s adaptive light sensor, both phones will automatically pump up the brightness way beyond its normal limits to give you an extra burst of clarity when you need it most. The S7 can reach 470/m2, but the LG G5 goes even further, jumping to an incredible 717cd/m2.

Each phone has an Always On Display (AOD) as well, which can be set to display information permanently on the screen such as the time, date, battery status and, on the S7, even some rudimentary calendar info. This means you don’t have to press the power button to simply check what time it is, and neither one puts a significant drain on the handset’s battery life either.

Conclusion: It’s a close-run race, here, but the S7 is the clear winner. The G5 certainly has one of the best IPS screens currently available, but it just can’t match Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology when it comes to rich, vibrant colours.

Performance

Processor: In the UK, the Galaxy S7 has one of Samsung’s custom-made octa-core 2.3GHz Exynos 8890 chipsets along with 4GB of RAM. Samsung says this is 30% faster than the S6’s octa-core 2.1GHz Exynos 7420 processor, and the results of our benchmarks certainly showed a huge amount of improvement. For instance, in Geekbench 3, the S7 scored an impressive 2,115 in the single core test and a massive 6,437 in the multicore test.

The G5 also has 4GB of RAM, but combines it with Qualcomm’s new quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 820 processors instead. In the single core Geekbench 3 test, the G5 pulled ahead, scoring 2,325, but its multicore result of 5,422 fell behind, which isn’t surprising given the S7 has four more cores.

However, while the S7 might be more efficient at handling high-intensity tasks, the G5’s GPU proved to be the more capable smartphone for playing games. In the offscreen Manhattan 3.0 test in GFX Bench GL, for example, the G5 produced an incredible 2,844 frames, which equates to roughly 46fps. By comparison, the S7 only managed 2,236 frames, which works out at just 38fps.

They’re both still incredibly powerful for what’s currently available on the Google Play Store, but you’ll get better results on the G5 than you would on the S7.

Storage: The Galaxy S7 and LG G5 both come in 32GB variations, but the S7 is also available with 64GB of default storage. However, when each one has a microSD card slot, paying more for extra default storage seems like a bit of a waste of money – unless you carry an entire laptop’s worth of files round on your phone, of course.

Battery Life: The S7 has a slightly bigger 3,000mAh battery than the G5, which only has 2,800mAh to play with, but the results of our battery life test were as different as night and day. With the screen set to our usual brightness of 170cd/m2, the S7 stormed out in front with a massive 17h 48m, beating the G5’s 11h 10m by more than six whole hours.

However, when you take into account that you can simply slot in another battery on the G5, you could theoretically get 22h 20m of video playback out of it if necessary, which is arguably more useful if you don’t mind carrying another battery with you.

Conclusion: This one is harder to call. The S7 has more stamina and faster CPU speeds under load, but the G5 is better for games, low-level tasks and has the handy ability of being able to swap in another battery. What’s more important to you will likely come down to your own individual priorities, so we’re calling this one a draw.

Camera

Both handsets have compelling camera arguments this year. The Galaxy S7 has gone with a new sensor, reducing the number of megapixels to 12 (still more than enough) but boosting the size of each pixel to give better low-light performance. It’s also improved the amount of light hitting the sensor with a brighter f/1.7 aperture. Focus is also improved thanks to a dual-pixel design, with fast phase-detect autofocus across the whole sensor.

LG meanwhile has included two cameras on its new phone. There’s a typical 16-megapixel sensor, but there’s also an 8-megapixel 135-degree wide angle camera beside it for shooting bigger group shots and wider vistas.

As for which one is better, though, both have their own merits and failings. To get the best out of the G5, for instance, you really need to have HDR enabled, as the shots I took without HDR were just a touch dark and dingy compared to those on the S7. This isn’t much of a problem, but the S7 does produce slightly better shots without the extra help.

^ The S7 overexposes the sky quite a lot here, but colours are bright and accurate and there’s a good level of contrast available

^ The LG G5, on the other hand, isn’t quite so blown out, but the overall image is a fraction cooler

^ The S7 produces better shots with HDR switched on, but the sky is still overexposed in some places

^ The G5, meanwhile, really comes into its own with HDR enabled, as you get the full array of cloud detail as well as brighter, punchier colours

However, the G5’s wide-angle camera can make for some pretty entertaining shots for more creative types. It really widens the scope for what you can fit in the frame, and it works with third party apps like Twitter, too, which opens up plenty of opportunities that the S7 just can’t offer.

^ With LG’s wide-angle camera enabled, you can pack in a lot more than the standard 16-megapixel sensor

Both were brilliant to use indoors as well. The S7 was able to take low light shots at marginally faster shutter speeds, but the shots I took on the G5 were just as punchy and eye-popping as the S7’s.

^ The S7 (above) is a little warmer than the G5 (below), but both are exceptionally good indoor shots for a smartphone camera 

Conclusion: Both phones have equally good cameras, but the G5 has the added benefit of its wide angle lens as well. You wouldn’t be disappointed with either camera for everyday shots, but for those that like to have a bit more fun with their photos, the G5 is probably the better choice.

Price and Conclusion

When both smartphones have so much going for them, you can see why we ended up giving both of them Best Buy awards. The G5 isn’t quite as attractive as the S7, but it is more practical and the ability to slot in new batteries once the main one has died is a very handy extra.

The S7, meanwhile, comes out on top for its display and battery life, but the G5 has better gaming credentials. Their respective cameras are also both neck-and-neck when it comes to overall picture quality, so which you go for will ultimately come down to what your main priorities are.

There’s not even much distinction to be made on price either, as both phone cost roughly the same on contract. The G5 is marginally cheaper SIM-free at £500 over the S7’s £569, but you’re still looking at around £40-per-month if you don’t have the cash to buy them outright.

For me, I’d rather go with the LG G5, as I not only prefer LG’s UX Android interface over Samsung’s TouchWiz, but I also find the G5 easier and more comfortable to hold. On balance, it also feels just as quick as the S7, and its fun camera provides just that little bit of extra flexibility. However, for those who’d rather turn heads with their smartphone, the S7 is the clear choice.