Battle of the Android UIs

LG beefs up camera features in UX 5.0

Friends Manager app can be used to connect the phone to other devices in the LG family

The LG UX 5.0 has an Always Onscreen, which displays information without having to wake up the phone.
The LG UX 5.0 has an Always Onscreen, which displays information without having to wake up the phone. PHOTO: LG

LG's Marshmallow-based UX 5.0 was officially released with the LG G5 flagship smartphone in April this year.

The G5 placed a lot of emphasis on being a modular smartphone, and being part of an ecosystem of linked devices.

Hence, UX 5.0 comes with the LG Friends Manager, which can be used to connect the phone to other LG devices like the LG 360 Cam and the LG 360 VR.

The Friends Manager can automatically detect these other devices, connect to them and find the appropriate software needed for the devices to work.

UX 5.0 also focuses heavily on the photo-taking experience, and LG has beefed up the camera software with a host of features.

When using the front camera, Auto Shot detects whether a user is posing for a picture, and automatically triggers the shutter, while Multi-View takes pictures with the front, rear and wide-angle cameras all at once.

There is an Always Onscreen, which displays information without having to wake up the phone.

UX 5.0 also comes with New Home, an integrated home screen where all the apps are located, much like Apple's iOS.

And after the complaints during the beta about the lack of an apps drawer, the final version of UX 5.0 has an option in the Settings menu to reinstate the app drawer.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 15, 2016, with the headline LG beefs up camera features in UX 5.0. Subscribe