HTC 10 and LG G5 are both finally here for the Ultimate Comparison. On top of that, we will be taking a look at the camera (low light, daylight, 4K video, selfie, SloMo), performance and benchmark, battery life and charging time, speakers, and more areas to get an answer we’ve been waiting for. Between the LG G5 and HTC 10, which phone do you think is better, faster, and has more value to their price? Let’s find our camera review and comparison of the top Android flagships from LG and HTC this 2016.
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Design and build
On the exterior, each has a unique premium design with HTC 10 having the unibody all-aluminum design. It’s a slight departure from the design of HTC One A9. However, the wide chamfered edges provide some fresh sightings. The LG G5, on the other hand, has a metal body and slightly rounded sides and tapered back. The back is quite an attraction because of the dual-camera setup.
Neither are waterproof like the Galaxy S7 and Xperia Z5, but the HTC 10 has some splash proofing, which enough to keep its internal dry when accidentally spilled by coffee or tea.
What the LG G5 offers over the HTC 10 is the semi-modular design. Aside from a replaceable battery, you can also attach a dedicated high-fi audio module with 32-bit DAC amplifier and Bang and Olufsen Play. Another interesting module, which is our favorite, is the LG Cam Plus. This module adds extra camera features and battery life. There is only a handful of modules and Friends at the moment, but LG is said working to add more.
In terms of slots and ports, both have microSD card support while only the G5 has dual-SIM feature thru its hybrid SIM card tray. Both are equipped with reversible USB type-C port.
The two phones can be unlocked using the fingerprint sensor. LG G5 has its scanner embedded on the power button. There is no need to press the button as the scanner on each is blazingly fast and accurate, skipping the lock screen on each. HTC 10 has less transition effect giving it a fraction of second ahead of G5. It’s also worth mentioning that both support double tap to wake and sleep where LG G5 has always on lock screen.
There are few factors to consider in the build including the size. The two phones tip the scale at 160g while G5 is few millimeters thinner. The top and the bottom portion of G5 too is slightly curved while HTC 10 has a 2.5D glass up front. But whichever phone you will look at you’d still get the impression of a standout and well-built design in my opinion.
Display and viewing experience
The HTC 10 comes equipped with a slightly smaller 5.2-inch Super LCD5 Quad HD panel producing a pixel density of 565 ppi while the LG G5 sports a 5.3-inch Quad HD IPS LCD panel with 554 ppi. Aside from these two screens backed by Gorilla Glass 4 on top, the difference in sharpness is not noticeable. Both panels remain sharp and full of details.
What separates these displays, however, is the slightly more contrast screen of LG G5 and the really bright screen of HTC 10. The picture looks slightly saturated on G5, but again we are seeing the top LCDs with close to realistic colors than the AMOLED. That said, 10’s Super LCD allows a far better viewing experience outdoors.
Camera in low light, daylight, HDR
The HTC 10 camera setup is very traditional with a 12MP f1.8 shooter coupled with OIS and laser autofocus. The sensor size is as large on the Nexus 6P resulting in 1.55um pixel size, letting more light in a shorter period of time. LG is really known for their great camera phones. This time, however, LG pushed a dual-camera setup on the G5. The main camera is a 16MP f1.8 with about 25mm focal view while the other is 8MP f2.4 with ultra wide angle view. Each has OIS and works with the laser autofocus.
We used the primary camera of the LG G5 here. But we can’t deny that the secondary 8MP is really fun to use, which you can play some effects with it.
HDR and daylight
LG G5 is very consistent in producing neutral colors and preserving more details. The HTC 10 has smoother detail preservation with a slightly warmer white balance.
With HDR turned on, the images of LG G5 drastically improved with highlights being lifted and become more visible without degrading the details. However, the ghosting or aberration is just more apparent than HTC 10’s soft and subtle HDR mode.
Low light and flash
In low light with HDR in auto, the images are softer and brighter on HTC 10 while LG G5 shots remained sharp throughout.
In selfie shooting, the 8MP selfie camera of LG G5 preserved most of the highlights while keeping the color more saturated. Using flash at night, the 5MP on HTC 10 coupled with OIS produced more realistic light render and crisper image. In terms of beautification, HTC 10 has a mild smoothening while LG G5 has a different level you can adjust. The OIS on HTC 10 keeps the crispness in details up to the front facing video.
Selfie portrait with flash and daylight
When it comes to video recording, LG G5 remains superior in details than the HTC 10. Both shoot up 4K video and rely on the OIS for more stable capture. The color rendering is very close to their still image shots as well as the amount details. We also tested the SloMo feature on each.
Software and UI
Running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow on each device, the software experience is different from the other as the HTC 10 follows the cleaner, near stock Android experience on its Sense UI. Home screens and settings are quite easy to navigate on the HTC 10, less cluttered and more modern. The LG G5 Optimus X UI offers a ton of software features you won’t find out of the box from other flagships. Although the Optimus UI has been improved this time around, there are still areas felt dated on the LG Optimus such as the icons. The good thing is that the two run on Android and could be easily customized anytime.
HTC Sense UI
LG Optimus 5.0 UI
Performance and benchmarks
Launched this year, the two devices are powered by the same latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset and paired with 4GB RAM. The performance and speed are on par with the LG G5 having a heavier transition but still able to keep in our actual speed test. Benchmark scores are also close on the two hardware. There is no stuttering and lagging in these phones. Experience is smooth and snappy all throughout the time I have the phones.
Antutu Benchmark Score
Battery life and charging
Now on battery, the HTC 10 has a larger 3000mAh non-replaceable battery cell while the LG G5 has a smaller 2800mAh replaceable one. Battery life on HTC 10 is quite better with few more hours than the LG G5 in our endurance test. However, LG G5’s biggest advantage here is the removable battery and extra juice when you use the Cam Plus module.
Battery life and charging time
Both use USB Type-C with Quick Charge 3.0 support from Qualcomm. Charging is really fast, both can be filled from 0 to 100% in just 1 hour and 20min. A 10-minute charge would already give you equivalent to few hours of battery life in real world.
Speaker and audio
The HTC 10 rocks BoomSound stereo speakers but not front-firing as the top speaker is utilized as a tweeter while the bottom-facing is a subwoofer. Audio is still rich, loud, and crisp. LG G5’s mono speaker at the bottom, however, beats the HTC 10 in loudness. The bass and treble are slightly stronger on the concentrated single speaker of LG G5.
Pricing and Verdict
The hardest part of this comparison is really picking the right phone. I will have even a hard time choosing on which to buy between the HTC 10 and LG G5. I really like the classic and refined experience of HTC 10. LG G5 has a lot of unique features that excite me especially the dual-camera setup and semi-modular design. I really did wish that both should have waterproof features, though.
Nevertheless, whichever phone you will pick, I’m pretty sure you won’t go wrong. The LG G5 retails for Php 34k price or $760 USD locally. HTC 10 is not officially released here but you could pick up one for around P34k too through online.
| Specs, PH Price | HTC 10 | LG G5 |
| Display | 5.2-inch Quad HD Super LCD5, 565 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4 | 5.3-inch Quad HD IPS LCD, 554 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Size | 9m thick, 161g weight | 7.7mm thick, 159g weight |
| Design | 2.5D Curved Glass + aluminum, IP 58 water/splash proofing | Semi modular, aluminum unibody |
| Colors | Silver, Black, Gold | Gold, Titan, Pink, Silver |
| Chipset & CPU | Snapdragon 820 quad-core | Snapdragon 820 quad-core |
| Graphics | Adreno 530 GPU | Adreno 530 GPU |
| Memory | 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, microSD up to 200GB | 4GB RAM, 32GB storage, microSD up to 200GB |
| Camera | 12MP main, f1.8 lens, 1.55um pixel size, Optical Stabilization, 4k video, LED flash | 16MP main f1.8, 8MP ultra wide angle f2.4, Optical Image Stabilization, 4K video |
| Selfie | 5MP selfie front-facing, OIS | 8MP selfie front-facing |
| Connectivity | 4G single LTE nano SIM, WiFi ac, Bt 4.1, GPS, fingerprint scanner | 4G dual LTE nano SIM (hybrid), WiFi ac, 4G LTE, Bt 4.1, GPS, fingerprint scanner |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, upgrade to 7.0 Nutella | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, upgrade to Nutella |
| Battery | 3000mAh, Quick Charging 3.0 | 2800mAh, Quick Charging 3.0 |
| Ports, quick charge | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| Release date | April 2016 release date | April 2016 release date |
| Price | Php34k price in the Philippines / $760 | Php34k+ price in the Philippines / $760 |
Did you have software update prior to shoot out because there was update on camera which apparently boosted camera performance of HTC 10 sagnicantly? Pocketnow for instance did camera review after update the diference was obvious. Thanks.
Hi. Most of the shots taken was using the HTC 10 before the 100MB update. After updating with the 100MB (mostly stability/performance according to log info, no mention of camera), I didnt see significant changes.
The main camera problems/issues with HTC 10 was not solved with the latest update: vignetting, yellow/warm overcast white balance, softer details, etc.
See the photos below with the late HTC 10 firmware compared to LG G5.
I am still a little puzzled. From your images I can see HTC 10 lacks in white balance which seems to be on the greenish side somehow and images are too soft. Taking into account sensor and consequently pixel size is bigger it should be number one in low light performance or at least match the best in the class.
As I mentioned pocketnow praised latest update for 10 but again from your samples it’s far from rose garden.
I will have to wait for few more weeks and see what others be posting, consumers until then HTC didn’t nail camera experience. Thanks for samples I wish you had a lot more photos to showcase because it is one of the most important things in today’s flagship phone.
Sure. I will try to take more photos and maybe compile all with the issues in the upcoming editorial. Let me know if you want to know more aside from camera so that I could check it.
That is great idea to show both pros and cons of camera and probably mention update that not only me but a lot of HTC fans around internet talk about .
If you consider covering more planes about this multidimensional phone maybe talk about speakers bring them into comparison to other flagships .
Maybe display calibration too if you have necessary tools and means to do it.
Of Course it’s just suggestions nothing more nothing less.
Thanks
Hi Jade. Do you know if the HTC service centers here in the Philippines have a good customer service? And can I easily get parts for the phone once it starts to break or fail? I’m quite hesitant on buying a phone without great after sales service from the manufacturer.
Hi cholo. Don’t know any service centers for HTC here in the Philippines. Not sure if they still exist after the brand was pulled out. But probably they would refer you to nearest region like SG or HK for service.