Theta Android News: The LG G5, those modules and why I was wrong

Thursday, February 25, 2016

The LG G5, those modules and why I was wrong

First impressions aren't usually the best judge of anything, but they sure are hard to overcome. Sometimes it takes some help from a friend.

Let's talk about the LG G5. Some of us already know that it's exactly what we're buying just as soon as we can buy it. Others are never going to buy a phone that isn't [insert your favorite brand here] and just don't care. But a lot of people — myself included — got stuck trying to figure out the logic behind the G5, its "Friends", and a system that feels like the old PCMCIA cards for my forgotten Thinkpad.

I never have to worry about carrying parts around and swapping things if I don't want to carry parts around and swap things.

I was in the last camp. I let the idea of using swappable modules overshadow everything else. I even had a bunch of words written about why I felt the way I felt about the G5, why the modules were a bad idea, and why I thought the whole thing was a step in the wrong direction. I like gadgets and parts and and things, but I need a dependable phone and not a science kit as a daily driver. Phil read them, and rejected all of my ideas — and he was right. After some back and forth, he asked me why I was letting the accessories distract me from the phone. I didn't have an answer.

That's what it took to make me realize that the G5 may be that dependable phone I want to use, and I never have to worry about carrying parts around and swapping things if I don't want to carry parts around and swap things. I hate it when Phil is right, but my first impressions of the G5 were wrong. And I think Derek is wrong. And a lot of people saying the same things I was thinking are wrong.

You might be thinking, "Wait, Jerry. You can't say other people are wrong for having an opinion!" But you're wrong, too. Nobody who hates the idea of swapping cards and modules on the G5 has used it without swapping cards and modules for more than 10 minutes. Nobody. Any opinion we have right now is just a gut reaction because we let the modules distract us from the fact that they are just accessories. You're not buying a camera module or a DAC module and then deciding to attach a phone to it, you're buying a phone that you can insert a camera module or cool hi-fi amp into if you want to. And if you don't want to, you don't have to.

I'm still concerned about a few things with the LG G5. I'm afraid the battery is going to be too small. I'm leery about LG's commitment to keeping the software up to date and secure. My issues with the G4 — poor touch sensitivity and WiFi problems — have me worried about quality control. But these are legitimate concerns that I can address after I've had time to try a G5 for more than a half-hour. And I will. What I won't do is worry about swapping cards until I decide if I want to worry about swapping cards.