Pre-release LG G5 shows up in the flesh on Dubai selling site, corroborates dual-camera, removable battery rumors

With all the hype and abundance of leaks surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S7, it’s easy to forget that the other big Korean tech company is due to launch a brand new flagship smartphone soon. LG will unveil the G5 at an event in Barcelona on Sunday, Feb. 21 and is expected to depart from its usual plastic-bodied device in favor of an all-metal flagship.

Just a few days ahead of its launch, a unit has been spotted for sale on Dubai’s Dubizzle website, and seems to show the unit in the flesh for the first time.

So far, leaks surrounding the device have been relatively few and far between. From what we’ve seen before today, we are expecting a device with an all-metal chassis, boasting a dual camera setup with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. We’ve also been expecting a device which departs from LG’s tradition of using rear volume and power buttons, in favor of the more traditional side edge-mounted setup.

Today’s leak shows the device in great detail. As we can see in the gallery below, the camera housing protrudes slightly from the body of the phone. Two camera lenses are separated inside the pill-shaped glass panel by what looks like a dual-tone LED flash and laser-sensor for autofocus. Beneath that is the fingerprint sensor, which also seems to protrude slightly from the back of the phone.

For me, the most interesting part of this leak is the line, or gap, along the bottom edge of the device. A rumor from a few weeks ago suggested LG was looking in to an innovative method for housing a removable battery. This method would use a detachable bottom edge, with a possible release button on side acting as a catch to hold it in place.

We’re still yet to see how exactly this will work, but the unit photographed seems to have a detachable bottom edge. It’s worth noting, we can’t say that with complete certainty, not until we see the bottom edge separated from the phone, which none of these photos show.

Another interesting element could be a secondary display, similar to the LG V10 and the recently announce X-series phones. Messing around with the brightness and contrast levels seems to indicate that there’s a panel beneath the top bezel that’s slightly different to the rest of the display. There’s a chance it’s a reflection of the photographer’s surroundings, but given how it runs perfectly parallel with the phone’s frame, it could equally be the secondary ‘ticker’ screen. Or perhaps, it’s a hideously large screen gap.

If it is a secondary screen, it would fit in with previous rumors which suggested we would see the feature added to this year’s G-series phone.

As for the listing on Dubizzle, the seller claims that this is a unit with a valid IMEI in “brand new” condition, in original packaging. It’s being sold for around $680 USD, which isn’t too much more than what we’d expect LG to sell it for in the US when it gets its retail launch in the coming months.