All-Metal LG G5 Features 'Primer' not 'Plastic', Claims Company

LG has responded to the allegations that it has stuffed a lot of plastic instead of metal into the LG G5 flagship smartphone. The South Korean smartphone manufacturer says that it's not plastic but primer it has used in its "all-metal" smartphone. It adds that the unibody casing of the LG G5 is in fact made out of an "advanced aluminium alloy."

Last week, a gadget reviewer on YouTube claimed that the LG G5, which was launched at Mobile World Congress in February, has a significant amount of plastic on its body. Addressing the growing uproar from the community, LG says that the material it has used in some parts is not plastic, but primer, a substance that is used for coating on wood and metal surfaces.

Explaining why it has used primer, the company says that the primer was used to hide the antennas. Using primer instead of "all-metal" in certain parts helps bolster the antenna strength in the phone. In fact, as pointed in the official press release, the insulative antenna is "invisibly integrated" into the body without "disrupting the seamless look of the metal uni-body."

YouTuber JerryRigEverything last week, when trying to test the durability of the smartphone, found that a thin layer of what appeared to be aluminium coated with a thick plastic layer. The YouTuber took a knife to shave away the back to reveal only pure plastic until he reached deep inside the phone.

The LG G5 is among the hottest smartphones in the market, having also won the crown for the best smartphone at MWC. The smartphone packs in top-of-the-line specifications while also offering features such as LG Friends modules.

By adding the LG Cam Plus camera module, a user can add physical buttons for photography on the device as well as extend the battery capacity to 4000mAh. Similarly, the Hi-Fi Plus module adds support for DAC and 32-bit audio playback to the smartphone.

The use of primer, for whichever reason, might not sit well with some users. The LG G5 will launch in India later this year.

You can check out LG's complete statement on the metal versus plastic controversy.

"Contrary to erroneous reports online that the LG G5 body is composed of plastic, LG would like to state unequivocally that the uni-body casing of the G5 is composed of a special aluminium alloy, LM201 (Feb. 2016 patent pending). LM201 was developed by LG in partnership with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology for use in high-end sports cars, aircraft and consumer electronic product where durability, rigidity and lightness are required. As a die-cast metal, LM201 was determined to be most appropriate material to accommodate the curves of the G5. After the die-casting is complete, the insulating antenna slit is applied directly to the aluminium casing followed by a coating of primer which provides additional insulation and enhances the surface profile for the "microdizing" process, where pigment containing tiny metal particles is applied directly to the primer to provide a smooth and durable finish. While both anodized aluminium and microdized aluminium will scratch if enough pressure is applied, in the case of the G5 the gray primer beneath the pigment layer may be mistaken for plastic when the colouring is scratched off. We want to reassure our customers that the uni-body of the LG G5 is advanced aluminium alloy, not plastic."