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I think LG have done something very neat with the new G5 and modular phone design. Having that accessory swap bay on the phone allows you to add all sorts of different tools or capabilities to the handset.

It's not ideal because they integrated it with the battery bay, so you have shut the device off to make a swap you're replacing the end of the removable battery tray, which is also a pretty boss feature given the complete sealed flagships everyone else produces now).

But, it mates both a solid, SoC platform with some modular flexibility, vice having to bluetooth tether accessory cases to your phone.



Isn't that an extension port rather than a modular phone? You can add some features via extension modules but the phone itself isn't modular. And technically that's "just" the phone acting as a USB host, coupled to the software support for modules.


But they have committed the ultimate sin for androids with that, it uses a non-standart power connector.


AFAICS it just uses USB type C, which a bunch of phones are using now instead of microUSB type B. That's hardly "non-standard."


It may have been a reference to this:

http://www.androidauthority.com/htc-10-lg-g5-breach-usb-type...

I agree USB-C is standard and will be THE new standard (over Micro-USB). But very few manufacturers are getting USB-C right.


Ah, thanks, I hadn't known about that, but I'm not remotely surprised by it.

I'm not even especially concerned by it, though I'd (obviously) prefer if everyone just used the standard charge protocols rather than thirty different "nod-and-a-wink" handshakes.

I suppose absent external pressure there's not much reason for the SoC vendors to opt for the standard over their own proprietary thing, though, is there.




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