T-Mobile recently confirmed its LG G5 launch plans, and Sprint has just announced its own. The modular smartphone will be available for preorder on March 24, and it will be released on April 1.
Sure, LG is following Samsung, HTC, Huawei and Apple in constructing its 2016 flagship smartphone out of metal and glass to give it a more premium feel, but the company is also offering that with a twist. In an effort to stand out from its rivals, LG was able to salvage the almost-now-extinct user-swappable battery with its slide-out modular case. LG is betting on this new modular approach and is hoping third-party companies sign on.
LG currently offers a user-swappable battery, digital camera/extended battery add-on and a Hi-Fi audio player that all slide into the bottom of the smartphone to add hardware on-the-fly.
T-Mobile recently announced its official LG G5 launch plans, and Sprint customers will be glad to know the carrier has just announced its G5 preorder, pricing, release date and promotion details.
"The new LG G5, combined with our super-fast LTE Plus Network and amazing offers, makes this the ideal time to give Sprint a try," said Rod Millar, senior vice president-Product and Supply Chain, Sprint. "The LG G5 is an innovative device that features a modular design, allowing the customer to add CAM Plus, for a more comfortable way to take pictures as well as an additional battery. Plus, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile customers who switch to Sprint now can save 50 percent off most standard rate plans."
Preorders for the LG G5 will begin on March 24 online and in Sprint retail stores on March 25, with the smartphone being released on April 1.
The LG G5 will be offered by Sprint for $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $24. It will also offer customers the LG G5 for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate when signing a new two-year contract with the carrier.
The LG G5 features a 5.3-inch 2560 by 1440 quad-HD LCD display with a pixel density of 554 pixels per inch (ppi) and is surrounded by a sleek metal aluminum unibody case. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 processor, Adreno 530 GPU (graphics processing unit and 4 GB of RAM. It includes 32 GB of internal storage and microSD expansion slot that supports up to 200 GB microSD cards.
LG chose to use a dual-rear camera setup with both a 16 megapixel camera and 8 megapixel camera, in addition to an 8 megapixel front-facing shooter for video chat and selfies. LG is one of the only smartphone makers shipping handsets with a removable battery, and it includes a 2,800 mAh battery that can be easily swapped out thanks to the modular design of the G5. Users can replace its battery and add extra hardware, like a camera accessory or Hi-Fi audio player by simply sliding out the bottom of the handset.
Sprint will include an LG G5 extra battery, battery charging cradle and USB-C to micro USB adapter. It will offer the smartphone in color choices of Silver, Titan, Gold and Pink.
