LG G5 will have an app drawer included in UX 5.0 after all [Video]

When LG launched the G5 at its event in Barcelona last month, it took us a little by surprise that the company was following the trend of Chinese OEMs and ditching the Android app drawer. With the device’s official retail launch just a few days away, it seems the manufacturer has changed its mind.

In a video showing off its revamped user interface, dubbed UX 5.0, LG shows three options in the Home section of the settings menu. Previously there was ‘Home’ and ‘EasyHome’. The former of these is the app drawer-free regular launcher which we got our hands on in Barcelona. The latter is a basic user interface ‘for beginners’, which did include an app drawer. In essence, until now, you wouldn’t have an app drawer unless you were willing to put up with the basic UI with big icons.

You’ll notice in the screenshot above, and video below, there’s a new ‘Home & app drawer’ option in UX 5.0. This is essentially the new, regular launcher with revamped icons and functions, but with an app drawer.

As well as the new app drawer setting (shown at around 2:15), the video shows the much cleaner user interface with plenty of crisp whites and attractive graphics and fonts as well as the camera features, LG health app and the phone’s ‘Smart Doctor’ which helps diagnose issues on-device.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk8Zs3Mlbcs]

Like Samsung, LG has a tough year ahead. Several manufacturers will release competitive phones with premium design and high-end features, but without the traditional cost associated with flagship phones. If LG is going to remain competitive, it needs customers to buy in to this message of playfulness and fun, and to have a real desire for its modular approach to smartphones.