LG G5 Modules

[wwhyte92]

Good morning fellow forumers,

I pre-ordered the LG G5 on release day and despite a couple of issues recently with battery life it has generally been a very capable device that has served me well. However, one of the major selling points of the phone was the modular design allowing for add-ons or 'friends' to be added to increase functionality of the phone as required. Yet beyond the 2 modules released initially (DAC and Cam Plus), it seems as though the manufacturer has left us all in the dark with nothing new being announced or released in the (almost) year since. This is despite a public promise by LG upon releasing the handset that future modules would be coming to the phone.

I have 2 questions relating to this issue. Firstly, does anybody know of any extra modules that are in the works and planned for public release? I reached out to LG to ask them the same question and got the expected "we cannot confirm of any future releases of friends modules for the device", but I wondered if anyone else might have any more insight?

And second, where does this leave us as customers who purchased the phone/signed up to a 24 month contract based on the promise of development/continued innovation? Had I have known that I would be stuck with the same functionality a year on as I would have on day one I would have chosen a different handset like a Samsung. With the USP of the phone having dried up what are we to do?

I had put off asking these questions until the G6 was announced at MWC as I wanted to see whether LG would actually come through and fulfil it's promise to faithful G5 owners, however with the G6 being non-modular and no such announcements as to further support for G5 modules, I feel now is the right time to beg the question.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @wwhyte92

I agree it can sometimes be quite an experience trying to gain some support sometimes from the manufacturer. It's sounds like you've been given the typical generic response. 

How did you communicate with them ?

I ask because sometimes the Social Media avenues such as Facebook and Twitter are run and answered by 3rd party companies authorised by the manufacturer on their behalf. They'll have little information imo. 

It's best to email , call them direct from their homepage. 

I've seen a few reviews of the g6 from the conference and it does on the face of it look to be a very capable phone. 

That said i base my opinion on real user reviews on YouTube and obviously hands on experience. 

[wwhyte92]

@BandOfBrothers

I contacted LG directly through their live chat function. Though I will probably send an email to confirm again later this week depending on the uptake/responses to this thread from Vodafone and other customers.

Yes the G6 looks great but considering LG had said that modules/friends for the G5 would be supported for future devices to ensure money wasn't just being wasted by customers, I'm somewhat disappointed. Coupled with no announcement at all of any further module support for the G5 I was rather infuriated with the MWC announcement.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hey @wwhyte92

Live Chat again can be manned by outsourced call centres by agents who read from a scripted type response and help pages. 

From reading your first post and running a quick Google Search it seems from blogs etc your not alone with being disappointed with the lack of modules. I hope it's not going to be a feature that's going to dry up !

[hrym]

Manufacturers are desperate for The Next Big Thing - if you discount the smartphone itself, the last was the camera.   Wearables look like becoming yesterday's toy and modules were an interesting idea that may have failed to take off, in which case I'd expect LG to want to bury the idea quietly.   We're unlikely to get any figures, but I'd guess take-up was less than amazing.  

Interestingly, there have been various plans for modular phones over the last few years and these have disappeared without trace too.   I think Google even had one.   Once again, it's a good idea on paper - you can have a better screen or camera, more storage or a new battery without buying a whole new phone, but the practicalities and the reliability of all those connectors can only have added to the upfront cost.   I suspect most people are happy with what they have as a package until they're not and then they buy a new one.  That may change with time, and as technologies mature and new features some along more slowly, but probably not yet and probably not in any form we currently imagine.

[Nabs]

Hi @wwhyte92

I've got both the modules you've mentioned and whilst I've used the cam plus extensively whilst on holiday I've not used it at all since returning. I've only once used the DAC

I've only used the DAC once just to see what it did and I've never bothered with it since.

Like you I was excited by the idea of the additional modules however as time goes on I do wonder what would actually be worth having and I honestly can't think of anything!

Is there a feature you would particularly like from a module?

[wwhyte92]

@hrym

While I appreciate that manufacturers are looking for the next big hit and I was aware of Project Ara by Google, it still leaves those of us who were early adopters of the handset in the lurch after being promised continued development of the USP. At the time of purchase the G5 was the same/very similar price point to the HTC 10 and the Galaxy S7 (albeit the S7 released a few weeks later I believe). I, as I'm sure many others, went for the G5 as it offered the opportunity to improve the handset mid-term in the contract for a fraction of the cost of buying a brand new device. A feature that was heavily promoted by LG and Vodafone at the time.

[wwhyte92]

@Nabs

Personally I was looking forward to seeing a speaker module to improve the existing single bottom speaker that leaves something to be desired (my previous HTC M8 produced a clearer and more enriched sound than the G5), and also an optical zoom add-on.

Both of these have been developed for the modular Moto Z released a couple of months ago now. Motorola seems to be taking a proactive approach to the development of modules and the continued support for the customers. Whereas LG have just left us in the dark.

[Nabs]

@wwhyte92 a proper speaker module would have been great! You're spot on about the built in speaker... it's pretty poor, especially when moving from an HTC (I came from an M9)

I can only assume that the sales numbers of the G5 were not high enough to warrant spending more time/money developing new add-ons for the device.

[wwhyte92]

@Nabs

The thing that bothers me is that that is OK for the company, but what about the customers who coughed up our money as early adopters based on promises that never came to fruition.

Is there any advise as to where we stand as customers regarding this?