The LG G5 launch continues to be shrouded in mystery, but a new report indicates at least one carrier may begin offering the smartphone on April 1. Regional carrier U.S. Cellular may begin preorders for the LG G5 March 28 and officially the device four days later, tech blog Droid Life recently reported. The LG G5 is expected to sell for $636 off contract, or for $26.50 per month on a 24-month payment plan. U.S. Cellular also still offers two-year contracts, under which the smartphone would cost $199.
LG is also expected to host a launch promotion for the LG G5 from March 28 to April 17, offering consumers a free battery, battery charging cradle, and USB Type-C adapter, according to Droid Life.
LG announced the G5 in February at Mobile World Congress and has only stated that the device would be available in early April. So far, retailer Best Buy said it will begin accepting preorders for the flagship smartphone March 18, but has not indicated when it will begin selling the device. Carriers in Canada, including Rogers, Bell, Telus, Fido, MTS, SaskTel, Eastlink, Videotron and Wind Mobile are expected to offer the LG G5 from April 8. The four major U.S. carriers, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have been completely silent about their LG G5 availability.
The LG G5 will compete with other 2016 flagships, including the Samsung Galaxy S7, which has been on sale at major carriers and retailers for a week. Several pundits believe the delay in the LG G5 launch may put off customers unwilling to wait for the device’s uncertain release date. However, the LG G5 will still hit markets before Sony’s Xperia X series and HTC’s 2016 flagship, which have yet to be announced.
The LG G5 includes a 5.3-inch Quad HD display with always-on feature, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 280 chip, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage with memory expandable up to 2TB, a USB Type-C port and rear panel fingerprint sensor. The LG G5 will run the Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.
When available, the LG G5 will sell at Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and B&H, in addition to Best Buy.
