LG G5: Specs to expect from flagship phone at Mobile World Congress 2016

The LG G5 is set to be a major highlight at the Mobile World Congress 2016 giving stiff competition to Samsung's 2016 flagship launch Galaxy S7. In fact, LG wants to captivate the smartphone industry a little ahead of the MWC 2016 and is holding the LG G5 event on 21 February at 2pm (local time), which is a day before MWC kicks off at Barcelona, Spain.

IBTimes UK takes a look at some of the most anticipated features from the upcoming flagship model:

Look and Design

Unlike earlier G series phones from LG, the G5 will not sport a polycarbonate chassis and instead will have a full-metal body. The metal unibody transformation has surely been done to keep in line with its competitors such as iPhone 6s and Samsung S6, which already sport metallic bodies.

As per leaks on mobile accessories merchandising websites, the manufactured cases for the G5 show that volume knobs will be moved to the side and the phone's dimension will roughly be around 149×74×8mm.

The screen size is largely expected to be close to the 5.6-inch mark with a Quad HD display. Some reports suggest another 5.3-inch model of the G5 may be launched later in the year. Although some reports indicate a 4K screen given the company is equipped with the technology, it is unlikely that it may be applied to such a small screen.

Removable Battery

Unlike most of its competitors like OnePlus and iPhone, LG is confident that a removable battery is the way to go. The upcoming flagship handset is expected to sport a removable battery slot at the bottom where the device's battery can be pressed in and slid out when needed. This would make battery swapping easier than having to remove the back casing of the device.

However, if the LG G5 is to compete with the best from Samsung and Apple, it will need to significantly improve battery life. Despite its good looks and performance, the G4's 3000mAh capacity battery was regarded as a major flaw in the model.

Camera with Dual LED Flash

Android Community reported that LG G5 is believed to feature a 135-degree wide-angle camera, dual-lens configuration, and probably two LED flash bulbs. Underneath the dual LED flash setup, there appears to be an area for the device's laser autofocus system according to some case design leaks.

LG has used their focus technology in other smartphone products earlier like the LG G3, LG G4, and the new LG V10. Although camera specification reports are not so strong most point to the G5 sporting a 21MP rear and an 8MP front snapper.

Processor, RAM, OS and Storage

LG G5 is expected to feature a Snapdragon 820 chip-set with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a microSD slot. The Snapdragon 820 usage is no surprise as most flagship phones in 2016 are likely to ditch the earlier Snapdragon 810 for the 820.

As for software support, while Android Marshmallow updates have begun rolling out for some LG G4 handsets, it is expected the LG G5 will have the latest Android OS on board as soon as it hits the shelves.

Iris Recognition

LG G5 is apparently in the race to be tagged one of the most secure smartphones ever released. According to a report from Korean site Whowired, the LG G5 could use iris scanning technology developed by IRIENCE, a Korean biometric specialist to unlock screens and also authenticate Android and the rumoured LG Pay transactions.

The LG G4 currently has no biometric authentication at all, not even a fingerprint scanner like the iPhone 6s and Samsung Galaxy S6.