A new report claims the LG G5 will be released by US Cellular on April 1. This news could possibly confirm that Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint will follow suit and release the G5 on April 1.
For the last couple of months, details regarding Samsung and LG's 2016 flagship smartphones were leaking on almost a daily basis. While the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge mostly stuck to the same design as that of its predecessors, LG was introducing a brand new modular design that not only matched Apple, Samsung, and HTC in the metal and glass departments, it also allowed the company to highlight it and was able to do something important the others were not offering.
The company came up with a novel way to add hardware features to the G5, including the ability to allow consumers of swapping out batteries, and add extra hardware to the smartphone by simply sliding off the bottom of the G5's case.
When the LG G5 was officially announced at Mobile World Congress in February, all major U.S. carriers confirmed they would offer the smartphone. LG most recently released a statement that confirmed the LG G5 would go on sale in "early April".
It appears that "early April" could actually mean April 1. Sources told DroidLife that US Cellular will open preorders for the LG G5 on March 28 and will begin selling the smartphone in stores on April 1. The source goes on to say that it will be priced at $636 full price, $199 when signing a new 2-year contract, or $26.50 per month for $24 months.
The LG G5 features a 5.3-inch 2,560 x 1,440 Quad HD display with a pixel density of 554 pixels per inch (ppi) and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. It includes 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage and microSD expansion slot that supports up to 200 GB microSD cards. The handset ships with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and an updated version of LG's Optimus UX 5.0 skin which runs on top of Android.
The LG G5 has a very unique camera setup; the smartphone features two rear cameras, a 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel shooter with OIS (optical image stabilization), laser autofocus, and 8-megapixel front-facing snapper for selfies and video chat. The handset features a modular metal case that allows hardware accessories, including extra battery, camera accessory/extended battery, and a Hi-Fi audio player that promises to please audiophiles.
When it comes to the design of the LG G5, the smartphone is a complete departure from the company's previous flagships, including the LG G4, and G3, which both were constructed out of plastic that tried to fool the eye into thinking that they were made out of metal, and also had all of its controls on the rear of the device. The G5 is constructed out of premium metal and glass, its volume buttons are now located on the side, and a fingerprint scanner has been added to the rear case, just below the dual-rear camera.
While we haven't heard any official dates from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, it seems highly likely that they will all release the LG G5 on April 1. Best Buy just announced it was opening up preorders for the LG G5 on March 18, so expect to hear something from the other carriers any day now in terms of preorders and release date.
Are you planning on buying the LG G5, if so why? Please let us and our readers know in the comments below.
