Samsung Galaxy S7 or LG G5: Who Will Win at MWC 2016?

The Mobile World Congress 2016 is just a day away. The technology fest will see some major unveiling and some next-gen tech on display. In the smartphone department, two names have been given a lot of hype for many weeks now, and rightly so. Samsung and LG are both ready to unveil their flagship devices. We’ve heard rumours and leaked renders of both and now it’s time to see which flagship does better based on what we know so far.

Design

Samsung achieved a beautifully crafted phone with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and there is no reason why the Korean-based giant would want to steer away from that. From what the renders have told us the upcoming Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will follow the same design language as their S6 counterparts. Only the standard 5.1-inch S7 will have a curved edge at the back rather than a flat one seen on in the S6. The renders of the devices look great and Samsung may just have another great looking device on their hands.

The LG G5, on the other hand, is likely to go with a more squarish look as compared to the G4. The back may not be as curved as its predecessor. It is also rumoured that LG is incorporating a modular design with the G5. The G5’s modular design, according to rumors, involves a detachable bottom, which will reveal the battery and allow it to simply slide in and out. Not only does this design help in making a thinner looking device, but it also gives easy access to the removable battery. Furthermore, it is also rumoured that the G5 will feature a secondary display above the primary one that will display apps and notifications, similar to the LG V10.

Camera

When it comes to the camera, Samsung has done extremely well in decimating its competition with some superb camera modules in the S-series. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Plus had incredible cameras that won last year. This year, Samsung wants to take its camera up a notch which is why it’s using a new Britecell technology for the Galaxy S7. Rumours peg the rear camera at 12MP with f/1.7 aperture, which means that Samsung is focusing a lot more on quality while the front camera will be at 5MP.

The LG G5 is set to sport a dual camera set-up at the back – 16 MP and 8 MP. Leaked images posted in December show a dual camera fitted under a back panel. There’s also a flash and what looks like a fingerprint sensor below which is also expected to double up as the power button. LG has also done extremely well in the camera department and the V10 is one such phone in LG’s lineup that stands as proof. The cameras on the G5 is said to be developed by Sony.

Hardware

Both the flagship devices are expected to feature top-of-the-line and next-gen specifications. The Samsung Galaxy S7 upon launch is expected to  to feature a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution, a new 12 MP BRITECELL camera with f/1.7 aperture, and a 5 MP secondary camera. Two SoC configurations are expected – one being the new Exynos 8890 and the other being Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820. 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage is expected as well as a MicroSD card slot this time around and the battery is expected to be upwards of 3500mAh. A fingerprint sensor will be housed in the home button.

The LG G5 is rumoured to come equipped with a 5.3-inch QHD display, sporting a Snapdragon 820 processor and 3GB of RAM with 32GB of internal storage. It’s also suggested that LG G5 might include an eye scanner, USB-C connectivity and a fingerprint sensor.

Features

It has been rumoured that Samsung has been working on an Apple 3D Touch-like feature for the Galaxy S7 devices. The pressure sensitive feature, reportedly called ClearForce, is being developed by Synaptics. If this is true, we may just see apps for Android being updated to include pressure sensitive features as well, much like the apps for iOS. Meanwhile, another set of rumours suggest that the S7 will have Apple Live Photos-like feature which makes tiny GIF-like videos.

A recent teaser video posted by Samsung’s Indonesian page showed that the Galaxy S7 will be waterproof to some extent.

LG is planning to launch the G5 with market disrupting specs and features, according to rumours. Now while one unconfirmed feature involves a modular design with a removable bottom, LG has teased some other features as well such as an ‘Always On’ mode which displays notifications on the screen without having to turn the screen on. A dual rear camera setup and a secondary display will be the other highlights of the G5.