After LG rolled out its latest flagship smartphone, the LG G5, rumors regarding an LG G5 SE variant of the phone emerged quickly.
Previous rumors looked at the upcoming G5 SE as a possible 4-incher like Apple's iPhone SE, but what we now know is that the device is nothing more (or less) than a watered down LG G5. The reason for this is that emerging markets such as Russia or Latin America have lower price expectancies when compared to the United States, for example.
To meet the pricing range, LG adjusted the configuration on the LG G5 and turned it into LG G5 SE. The new handset packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 instead of the top-tier Snapdragon 820 and uses 3 GB of RAM instead of 4 GB.
In Russia, the LG G5 SE comes off as a 3G handset. This is interesting because the Snapdragon 652 SoC has embedded LTE X8 support from the get-go.
Looking deeper into the device, the G5 SE comes with all the goodies of its premium variant.
The 5.3-inch screen is a Quad HD able to display resolutions of 2,560 x 1,440p, and it seems that the device could have VR integration. It remains to be seen whether or not the Snapdragon 652 can handle the bulk of processing power required in creating VR experiences.
The camera combo is the one that we have seen on LG G5. On the rear, the device sports a 16-megapixel and an 8-megapixel sensor that can shoot 4K Ultra HD and on the front of the device sits an 8-megapixel selfie snapper. The battery is a 2,800 mAh.
While Latin American and Russia will probably miss out on the LG G5, it looks like the developed countries will see the G5 SE in their stores.
The smartphone is equipped with the modular features that we've seen on the G5, which let users swap in accessories such as a HiFi module or a camera module to the battery compartment.
Software-wise, the LG G5 SE lands with Android Marshmallow pre-installed.
LG trademarked the name "G5 SE" a little while before Apple rolled out its iPhone SE. Insiders from the tech industry speculate that the G5 manufacturer is now banking on the global popularity of Apple's phone to push its own product in developing countries.
