In a year when many Android flagship manufacturers clamped down on expandable storage, and delivered their handsets with non-removable internal batteries, LG stood out as a company bucking that trend, giving us a G4 that not only improved on its predecessor in some significant ways, but did so without skimping on such “power user” features. As we look forward to this year’s G5, we’re already hearing about some interesting new developments that LG could have in store on the hardware side of things, including a V10-style secondary display, dual-lens main camera, and a so-called Magic Slot expansion port – but what about that removable battery? A new report suggests that not only will the user-replaceable battery be making a return, but that it could do so in an interesting new way.

Traditionally, smartphone batteries have been accessible via the rear panel of phones, popping off to give users access to not just the battery compartment, but often also slots for the SIM card and microSD, if present.

Instead of that, the G5 may take a radical new approach and give users a battery that slides in from the phone’s bottom edge – leaving the rear cover in place.

Based on supposed eyewitness accounts, users will squeeze some sort of retainer clips to pry loose the phone’s bottom edge, which will then pull out to expose the battery. After that, reports differ, but we could either get a battery that just pops right into a slot, or see a design that holds the battery in place with the help of a slide-out tray (below).

We’ve already heard claims of a G5 with a full metal body, and especially if LG is going for a seamless-all-around look, a bottom-accessible battery might be a smart way to retain the flexibility of a replaceable component while not interfering with the phone’s design.

What about bottom-mounted ports? Presumably they’d still be present, attached to the bottom edge of this battery cover and possibly interfacing with the rest of the phone via spring-loaded connectors.

(As Derrek Leigh reminds us on Twitter, this sounds a lot like how the battery worked on the old Nokia N8. And Samsung Wave 3; thanks  j2001m. It is serious blast-from-the-past day.)

Source: CNET Korea (Google Translate)
Via: GSM Arena