7 ways to test the LG G5 to the limit
Want to see how far LG’s flagship can go? You need these apps, games and media
The LG G5 is billed as one of the world’s most powerful smartphones – but how do you find out just how powerful that really is?
You can read the spec list, of course, and it’s mightily impressive (4GB of RAM, Snapdragon 820 CPU, 16MP and 8MP dual rear cameras, 5.3in 2K screen), but you can’t see what 4GB of RAM looks like. To the naked eye, the cameras look really rather similar. And if you want to check out the CPU, you’ll have to do some pretty invasive surgery on your brand-new blower – something we really wouldn’t advise.
No, it’s much better to see all those stats translated into real-world performance. What you need are some apps, games, videos and other tasks to see just how well the G5 holds up under pressure. And we’ve picked out seven of the best.
Real Racing 3
Real Racing 3 might be a few years old, but it’s still one of the most visually impressive mobile games around – and still one of first games people download when they want to see if they can make their new phone or tablet break into a sweat. And the LG G5, with its Adreno 530 GPU and Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, won’t have any trouble running it at its full potential.
As its name suggests, this game aims to deliver a true-to-life motor racing experience (or as close as you can get to that on something that fits in your trouser pocket) and offers a selection of real cars in which you tear around real tracks. In fact, there are almost 150 fully licensed cars and 16 tracks, so if you want to tackle Silverstone in a Caterham Seven or the Nürburgring in a Bugatti Veyron during your morning commute, this is the download for you.
Daredevil (Netflix)
Netflix and Marvel have teamed up to create one of the most enjoyable comic book series on TV (except, y’know… it’s not technically on TV… it’s on Netflix). Daredevil sees lawyer Matt Murdock take to the streets and rooftops of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen to clean up the bad guys. Of course, this being a Marvel show, he’s not just some regular vigilante – he’s blind, but his hearing is so acute that he can essentially ‘see’ better than somebody with 20/20 vision.
Anyway, Daredevil is a dark show. Both in terms of its subject matter and in terms of how it actually looks. And that provides any mobile device’s display with something of a challenge. Thankfully, the LG G5’s 5.3in 1440 x 2560-pixel IPS Quantum display has more than enough contrast and detail to deliver the show just as the director intended.
Photograph a football match
Being at a football match is usually brilliant fun. But when you come to share your smartphone photos of it, you’ll probably find them a crushing disappointment – missed action, grainy images of the crowd, and a total failure to capture that “big game” vibe you felt when you were in the stands.
But the G5 has more in its locker than the average handset when it comes to taking great photos. For starters, there’s searingly fast laser-assisted autofocus on the 16MP, 75 degree primary camera, which’ll make locking onto running players and keeping them in sharp focus a much simpler task. Then there’s the secondary wide-angle camera, which uses a 135-degree lens to fit more of the scene in the frame – perfect for capturing shots of the stadium and crowd reactions.
And finally, why not use the G5 add-on the 360 Cam to make 360-degree videos and images of the match? That way, anyone who couldn’t make it to the game can experience at least a little part of it from your point of view.
Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks
The G5 is one of a handful of smartphones capable of playing studio-quality HD music files, and among the many albums available in uncompressed FLAC format is Dylan’s classic Blood on the Tracks, featuring the likes of Tangled Up In Blue and Shelter From The Storm in 24-bit/96kHz format.
If you’re used to using streaming services for your music fix, you’ll be shocked at how clean, clear and detailed HD music can sound.
AnTuTu Benchmark
Benchmarking apps have their limits – after all, by their very nature they’re not testing “real world” use of a smartphone, merely a simulation of it – but if you’d like to compare the G5’s performance with that of other Android devices, we’d suggest you turn to AnTuTu.
This app makes your phone run the technical gauntlet, testing RAM, CPU, GPU, I/O and more in a matter of minutes. These scores are then added to AnTuTu’s online database, allowing you to see how they match up against those of rival phones and tablets.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2K trailer
The film itself may have attracted lukewarm reviews, but this trailer is hot enough to stretch your new G5’s display capabilities to their very limits. That’s because it’s rendered in a 2K resolution of 2560 x 1440 – which, if you didn’t already know, corresponds exactly to the number of pixels in the G5’s screen.
Once you’re done with Supes and Bats (and this is a trailer, so you will be after three minutes), type “2K trailer” into YouTube’s search box and you’ll find a host of other movie clips to chuck onto its screen, including Warcraft, Suicide Squad, Jurassic World and Gravity.
The Room Three
If atmosphere, mystery and puzzle-solving appeal to you (and why wouldn’t they?), this game has all three in spades – not to mention some the most beautiful environments you’ll find on any mobile title.
It’s not a title that’ll run stutter-free on most smartphones, but the G5 has the power to deliver a smooth, super-sharp experience that won’t distract you from the touch-based puzzles you’ll need to solve to unravel the intriguing plot.
To find out more about the LG G5, click here >>
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