Samsung is the largest smartphone maker in the world, but the South Korean giant is not alone in their homeland, as LG is also big in the game, and both companies have been fierce rivals for years, trying to beat each other on all sorts of electronics. It wouldn’t be surprising that their next flagship phones will share similar features, and the folks at PhoneArena have put together a list of what both companies are likely to offer on the upcoming Galaxy S7 from Samsung and the G5 from LG. The list excludes commonly known features, such as display resolution, RAM, processor and overall specs, and their custom software overlay. So, let’s jump to the items.
We get notifications on our phones all the time, and having to turn the display on only to check if there’s something important is a waste of energy. With that in mind, LG has already confirmed that the G5 will have an always-on display while Samsung is expected to include the same feature on the Galaxy S7. With the technology, users can have a glance on notifications, without the need to turn on the entire display. Perhaps the most important feature, both devices are expected to come with is a fingerprint reader. Samsung phones already have the tech for 2 years now, but LG didn’t include the feature on the G4. Fingerprint scanning technology is gaining a lot of focus lately and it is an important part of mobile payment systems, also helping with making devices more secure. Additionally, it is a lot easier to unlock the phone with a fingerprint, instead of typing a password or drawing a pattern. Another feature expected to be seen on both phones is the USB Type-C charging port, which is still catching up on manufacturers. LG has already put the tech on the Nexus 5X, but Samsung is yet to play with it. One of the main advantages of the Type-C standard is that it offers faster data and energy transfers.
Jumping to the physical part, both Samsung and LG have enraged users by their choice of materials for their phones. Samsung has finally ditched plastic, making the Galaxy S6 with a mix of metal and glass, but LG has opted for keeping the plastic on the G4, even if combined with leather. Plastic is cheaper and easier to work with than metal, but no one wants a cheap look when paying a premium price. That said, Samsung is expected to keep with their metal-glass formula, and LG is said to make the G5 with an all-metal body. External memory cards are important to expanding the storage provided by the manufacturer, but Samsung surprised everyone by removing microSD support from the S6. However, rumor has it that the S7 will bring the feature back. LG fans didn’t have this problem, as the feature is present on the G4, and it is also expected to come on the G5.
Both devices will be announced very soon, on February 21st, so it shouldn’t take long for us to see what Samsung and LG have been preparing for us. MWC is right around the corner and we also expect a lot of important tech announcements, so stay tuned for complete coverage of the event.