LG has a habit of pre-announcing devices before they officially debut. It's a tactic the company has used for a while meaning by the time we get to the upcoming event or show, there are normally few surprises remaining.
The LG G5 is the next hotly-anticipated device and although it has been heavily rumoured, almost all the official details regarding the upcoming flagship have been kept close for now. LG announced the official case for the device as well as the "Always-on" display, which isn't much, but has it in fact revealed more than we think elsewhere?
In the week leading up to Mobile World Congress, LG has revealed two mid-range smartphones that will sit in what it is calling the X series. One of the devices focuses on display, while the other is all about the camera. Could LG be combining the two specialist features on these two mid-rangers into one device for the LG G5?
Here is how the LG X screen and LG X cam compare against the rumoured specs for the LG G5. They may give away more than you'd initially think.
LG X series vs LG G5: Display
The LG X screen is the mid-ranger that has a special focus on display. It comes with a 4.93-inch Full HD main display and a secondary 1.76-inch "Always On" display with a 520 x 80 resolution. The second display is the same low powered display that can be found on the V10. It allows for at-a-glance notifications and information including time and date.
The LG G5 is confirmed to be coming with an "Always On" display too after the company uploaded a GIF on its Facebook page presenting the feature and there are also rumours claiming it will have a secondary display. There were no details on size or resolution but based on the rumours, it is likely the G5 will have a larger main display than the X screen, as well as a higher resolution.
A 5.3-inch main display with a Quad HD resolution has been suggested for the G5 with a secondary display offering a 1040 x 160 resolution. While the X screen handset doesn't offer any details for the size and resolution, it does suggest that if the mid-ranger is Full HD, a higher resolution and probably larger size will be present on the flagship. We'd also expect the same technology as the X screen.
LG X series vs LG G5: Camera
The second mid-ranger that was announced - the LG cam - focuses on the camera. It features 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel dual rear cameras. These are coupled with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
What does that tell us about the G5? Well the new flagship has been rumoured to be coming with dual rear cameras, as well as an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It is likely at least an 8-megapixel front camera will appear on the G5 as if the mid-ranger offers this, it would be odd for the flagship to come down, especially as the G4 also comes with an 8-megapixel front snapper.
The rumour for the G5's dual rear cameras sits at 16-megapixel and 8-megapixels that are capable of 135-degree wide-angle shots. With the mid-range device offering the dual-camera setup, it is certainly a rumour that is now more plausible for the G5 and a bump in resolution wouldn't be completely nuts either. LG also didn't show off any images of the rear of the X cam smartphone - funny that.
LG X series vs LG G5: Design
The LG X screen measures 142.6 x 71.8 x 7.1mm and comes in black, white and pink gold colour options. The LG X cam measures 147.5 x 73.6mm and has a curved rear between 5.2mm and 6.9mm. It will be available in titan silver, white, gold and pink gold.
The LG G5 has plenty of rumours surrounding its design, including the idea that it will be fully-metal with a fingerprint sensor and a modular section to accommodate a removable battery. Its measurements have been touted as 149.4 x 73.9 x 8.2mm, which if true suggests a very similar footprint to the X cam device but a little thicker and taller.
There haven't been any rumours surrounding the LG G5's colour options but from the X series, it looks like pink gold is a thing.
LG X series vs LG G5: Hardware
The LG X screen has a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. There is also a 2300mAh battery on board. The LG X cam on the other hand has a 5.2-inch Full HD display, 1.14GHz octa-core processor and a 2520mAh battery. Both have 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and run on Android Marshmallow.
The LG G5 is expected to arrive with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It is also thought USB Type-C will be on board along with microSD support and a removable 2800mAh battery. Given the hardware load out of the mid-rangers, the specs predicted for the G5 seem entirely reasonable.
LG X series vs LG G5: Conclusion
Do the X series devices tell us anything concrete about the LG G5? No, but they do set a couple of benchmarks for the new flagship device.
They also make a couple of the rumours surrounding the LG G5 a little more plausible like the dual cameras and the secondary display because if these features are available on a mid-range device, there is no reason not to combine them and bump up the other specs for the flagship.