HTC announced its next flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, at the beginning of April, looking to re-find form and take the fight to the likes of Samsung and LG.

LG's modular handset, the LG G5, came earlier in the year and it brought a range of innovations, offering something different to the Android market.

There's a lot that's similar about these two handsets too though. Here they are, head to head, so you can see exactly what the differences are between the HTC 10 and the LG G5.

HTC 10 vs LG G5: Design

The HTC 10 features a metal body with chamfered edges on the front and rear, a fingerprint sensor on the front flanked by capacitive buttons and no front-facing BoomSound speakers, making it quite different from its predecessors. It has a solid build quality and design, featuring a slick and understated finish that we really like. The front is more elegant than HTC's previous flagship and the HTC 10 makes better use of the space than its predecessors too.

It measures 145.9 x 71.9mm, offers a curve between 3mm and 9mm and hits the scales at 161g. Despite losing the front-facing speakers though, BoomSound is still supported, now called BoomSound Hi-Fi, and Hi-Res Audio is on board too. 

The LG G5 has a painted metal body with a modular element to it, allowing for a replaceable battery by removing the bottom of the device, as well as the attachment of what LG calls Friends - more on those in a second. It's the only metal device to offer a removable battery but the G5's finish feels plasticky, especially compared to the HTC 10. The display on the G5 does have a nice soft curve that tapers away vertically towards the top of the handset though, which looks great.

It measures 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7mm and weighs 159g so while it is a little taller and wider than the HTC 10, it is slimmer and lighter. LG's flagship also has a fingerprint sensor on board but you'll find it on the rear beneath the camera rather than the front.

Of the two, the G5 is different, but the HTC 10 definitely feels like the more substantial handset, with a nicer design and higher quality finish.

HTC 10 vs LG G5: Display

The HTC 10 comes with a 5.2-inch Super LCD 5 display with a Quad HD resolution. This means the new flagship offers a pixel density of 565ppi. HTC has been praised in the past for its displays, although the HTC 10 isn't one of its best.

It is better than the One M9 though, delivering a sharp, detailed and tuneable screen, but the auto-brightness is a little sluggish and viewing angles aren't amazing. The HTC 10 does have a great display, it just isn't HTC's greatest.

The LG G5 opts for a 5.3-inch screen, which is therefore slightly larger than the HTC 10. It too is an LCD display and it also features a Quad HD resolution, which means a slightly lower pixel density than the HTC 10 at 554ppi. There's going to be little visual difference between these two displays in terms of sharpness however.

Auto-brightness works well on the G5 and there's ample punch from colour and contrast, even if it is a little cool at times. We were also impressed with the viewing angles and the LG G5 offers what it calls Alway On display meaning certain information is provided on the screen without the user having to power on the display. 

HTC 10 vs LG G5: Cameras

The HTC 10 features a 12-megapixel UltraPixel rear sensor with 1.55µm pixels, and an aperture of f/1.8. Optical image stabilisation is on board, along with laser autofocus and a dual tone LED flash.

In terms of the front-facing camera, you'll find a 5-megapixel sensor with 1.34µm pixels and an aperture of f/1.8, like the rear sensor. It too features autofocus, a front-facing flash and optical image stabilisation, the latter of which is a first for the smartphone world. Both perform well and certainly better than HTC's previous flagship, resulting in the company's best smartphone camera for a long time. In good conditions, the HTC 10 takes consistently good images, while in lower light, some detail is lost and the laser auto-focus isn't perfect. It's definitely a step in the right direction though.

The LG G5 has dual rear cameras comprising of a 16-megapixel sensor and a 135-degree wide-angle 8-megapixel sensor. This second sensor is designed to offer a field of view closer to that of the human eye. Laser autofocus and optical image stabilisation are both once again on board, and there is an LED flash too. This is also the area that the G5 wins. It takes ridiculously good images in all conditions, offering super-fast and super-accurate autofocus wherever you point. 

The front-facing camera is 8-megapixels, which means the G5 offers a higher resolution than the HTC 10 for selfies and video calling but it doesn't have OIS on board. As cameras go in flagship handsets however, LG's dual offering is a storming performer.

HTC 10 vs LG G5: Hardware

The HTC 10 arrives with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, supported by 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage and microSD for further storage expansion. The battery capacity sits at 3000mAh and it is charged via USB Type-C, with support with Quick Charge 3.0. It's a hugely powerful handset and it performs very well, offering a slick and fast experience. The battery life doesn't hit the two-day promise from HTC but you'll get through most of the day before it needs a top up.

The LG G5 also opts for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM but offers the one option of 32GB for its internal memory. It too comes with a microSD slot for further storage expansion and USB Type-C but the battery capacity is a little smaller than HTC 10 at 2800mAh. Once again, the LG G5 is a powerful handset and it too runs a slick and smooth operation. We weren't hugely impressed with its battery life, but like the HTC 10, the G5 also supports Quick Charge 3.0 so we managed to get from 15 per cent to 68 per cent in around 25 minutes.

The LG's battery is also replaceable as we mentioned, and one of the "Friends" offered by removing the bottom of the device is a special DAC for better audio capabilities.

The LG G5 has 24-bit DAC within the headphone socket, as does the HTC 10, with Hi-Res certification. Both have great audio capabilities so you don't lose out with either in that department.

HTC 10 vs LG G5: Software

The HTC 10 runs on Android Marshmallow, just as the LG G5 does. You don't get the same software experience however as both companies add their own skins on top of Android's software.

HTC's device delivers a closer to raw Android experience than LG's though. The HTC 10 launches with a refined version of Sense, which is lighter than previous iterations, offering an experience that's designed to be the best of Android with the best of HTC Sense.

LG also refined its latest Optimus UX software for the G5 by removing the app launcher but it's still very much LG software with Android underneath.

HTC 10 vs LG G5: Conclusion

The LG G5 is a great device and it stole headlines when it launched because it managed to be a little different with its modular build. The HTC 10 gives it a good run for its money though, with a design that's more substantial, offering a higher quality feel in the hand.

Both feature the same powerful hardware and both promise to deliver a great camera experience, although the camera is probably the G5's best asset. The HTC is conventional, but we really like the wide-angle offering of the LG G5.

Based on the numbers, there isn't much in these two devices in terms of specs. The decision will more than likely come down to design and software experience. The HTC has a more premium and solid appearance, perhaps also gaining the the edge with its refined software, but LG's modular nature could win it some fans, and coupled with its excellent camera, it too has some winning features.