(Pocket-lint) - The LG G5 was officially unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona and has since become available to pre-order in the UK.

It seems LG making quite a large departure from the G3 and G4 handsets that came before, so is definitely one that should pique your interest if you're in the market for a new phone.

There's a new design, a shift in focus and a number of innovative features that LG hopes will help the G5 hit the big time. LG launched this phone saying it wasn't about the numbers. But it is about doing, it is about experiences, and it is about playing.

With that all in mind, here's everything you need to know about the new LG G5.

The LG G5 shifts the design away from LG's trusted plastics of past generations and now focuses on metal, launching its first metal unibody handset.

Much of the sculpting of previous handsets has also been ditched: there's no nature-inspired curve here. Instead there's a phone that measures 7.7mm thick depending on where you look. The volume controls move to the side, leaving a power button with embedded fingerprint scanner on the back.

READ: LG G5 review: Modular misfire?

But that's not to say this handset lacks character: there are soft curves to make it comfortable to hold, and a luscious curve at the top of the display that looks great.

The shape is likely to be the least talked about aspect of the LG G5 design though. Instead, the modular nature of the phone will be the hot topic. Depressing a small button on the side at the bottom releases the bottom section of the phone and lets you remove the battery. It's still all metal, but innovatively done.

It's that removable section that can be switched to add different modules, called Friends, to change the skills of the LG G5.

The LG G5 features a 5.3-inch display with 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, 554ppi. It's not the largest display around on a handset this size, but it's still offering a cracking resolution.

It's a IPS LCD panel, which LG says is important for the Always-on feature that the G5 offers. This will give you information on the display without you having to wake it up. If this was an AMOLED display, showing that information all the time would lead to burn out.

READ: LG G5 vs LG G4: What's the difference?

LG has redesigned this display however, so it offers a partial on/off state which it uses for the Always-on function. It's able to do so without using the G5's application processor, so it keeps power consumption to a minimum. LG says that the display will only use 0.8 per cent battery per hour in Always-on mode.

The LG G5 shakes up the camera dramatically, pairing a 16-megapixel sensor with a second 8-megapixel sensor. It retains the normal laser autofocusing, but looks to offer a range of new functions with this new pairing of cameras.

Firstly, the 16-megapixel camera will operate as a standard camera, taking your high resolution shots exactly as you'd expect. The second camera, however, has a 135-degree lens, so will take wide angle photos.

READ: LG Cam Pro: Get a grip on mobile photography

The idea is to let you easily fit more into a shot, without having to use a stitched panorama. It's ideal for things like city scenes or anywhere you want to get more into the picture.

It's not designed to compete with pro-spec wide angle shots, it's simply designed to be practical and fun. Switching from one camera to the other is easy within the new app.

There are also a range of additional functions offered that use both cameras. You can record video and stills at the same time, you can have a number of different framing effects and plenty more.

The LG G5 features the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 octa-core chipset with 4GB of RAM. There's 32GB on internal storage, along with a microSD card slot for expansion.

The LG G5 battery has a capacity of 2800mAh which isn't huge, but uniquely for a metal handset, you'll be able to switch that out yourself by removing the bottom of the phone and sticking in a new battery.

There's no wireless charging on offer, but you do get Quick Charge 3.0 and USB Type-C.

As we mentioned, there's a fingerprint scanner on the rear of the handset.

The big play with the G5 is in the domain of accessories. Using that removable bottom section, you'll be able to change the skill set of your phone by swapping modules.

There's the LG Cam Plus which is designed to enhance the camera experience. You simply remove the bottom of the phone and put the Cam Plus module in its place and you have a range of additional features. Firstly it expands the battery to 4000mAh for all-day shooting, but it also adds buttons and a better grip, for a more natural camera experience. It will cost £69.

The LG Hi-Fi Plus is a module developed in partnership with B&O Play, offering a 32-bit DAC and amp, designed to give you an audiophile experience from your handset. Again, you simply swap the bottom module of the phone for the Hi-Fi Pro module and you'll be ready for better quality audio. It will cost £149.

READ: LG 360 VR preview: A unique perspective on mobile VR

There are also external accessories. The LG 360 Cam is a 360 camera, using dual 13-megapixel cameras back to back. This wirelessly connects to the G5 so you can preview, save and share your 360-degree world. It captures both video and stills, perfect for making your own VR content and it is fully compatible with YouTube 360 video and Google Street View. The LG 360 Cam costs £199.

Talking of VR, there's also the LG 360 VR headset. This VR headset takes the form of glasses that you wear, connected to your phone via USB. It contains a display for each eye, offering 960 x 720 pixels each. For audio you can connect a set of headphones to the VR headset. It works with Google Cardboard and YouTube 360 video content, as well as LG offering its own hub within the headset. The LG 360 VR costs £199.

READ: LG 360 Cam: Capture your VR world

Finally, LG has announced the LG Rolling Bot. This cute ball carries a camera, speaker and mic and connects to your home Wi-Fi network. You can control it using your G5, driving around your house. It also contains a laser pointer, designed to entertain your cat or dog. There's no word on pricing for Rolling Bot.

The LG G5 launches on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but heavily doctored as LG normally does.

The biggest change is the ditching of the apps tray, so now all your app shortcuts will appear on home pages. You still get to make folders and move things around, but there will no longer be a shortcut to tap to take you through to your selection of apps.

There will be added software support for the LG Friends, with a Manager app to take care of those connected devices.

The LG G5 was unveiled on 21 February 2016 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and it will be available from 1 April in the US and 8 April in UK.

Pre-orders have opened at many of the major networks and retailers, and several of them are offering unbelievable incentives to get you to sign up with them. Virgin Media is even giving away a 32-inch TV to customers to wait to buy the phone from its store on release date.

SIM-free, the handset will be available for £529 and in three colours, grey (Titan), gold and silver from multiple retailers. The following are if you want it on a contract - there are plenty of attractive deals on offer.

To celebrate the phone's connection with Bang & Olufsen, Carphone Warehouse is including a pair of B&O Play H3 in-ear headphones worth £149 with every pre-order while they last.

The high-street retailer is offering the phone across several networks, including EE, O2, Vodafone and its own iD provider. One of the most economical price plans is £37.49 a month for a 24-month plan and £29.99 upfront cost.

That'll get you 5G of 4G data a month and unlimited texts and minutes on EE.

Alternatively, you can get the monthly cost down to £26 a month if you pay £149.99 upfront. That gets you 3GB of monthly data and unlimited texts and minutes on Vodafone.

You can also get deals without upfront costs for the handset from £37.50 a month.

The grey, gold and silver versions of the LG G5 are all available.

FIND OUT MORE: Carphone Warehouse

Instead of Carphone Warehouse you can opt to go straight to the networks. EE, for example, is offering even more freebies. It ups the ante by giving away a similar set of B&O Play H3 in-ear headphones and adding a B&O Play S3 Bluetooth speaker - a combination set it claims is worth over £400.

It only ranges the grey (Titan) and gold handsets, but plans start at £29.99 a month for 24 months, with the handset costing £99.99 upfront.

That will get you 1GB of 4G data, 500 minutes of talktime and unlimited texts.

If you want to pay less upfront for the phone, the cheapest deal is £39.99 a month for 24 months with a £9.99 upfront cost. That gets you 4GB of data and unlimited texts and minutes.

Ordering the phone from EE will also get you Wi-Fi Calling and 4G calling, which means that voice calls will switch to data connections if the mobile signal is not strong enough. It will default to your Wi-Fi network at home, for example. You only get that when ordered directly from EE.

FIND OUT MORE: EE

If you're after a new telly and willing to wait until the 1 April release date, Virgin Media has a staggering deal for LG G5 purchases. It is giving away a free 32-inch LG HD TV when customers purchase the phone from that date.

The 32LH510 TV is worth £250 and will be available from launch day, so just hold off from pre-ordering if you want to snag one.

Freestyle price plans will start at £31 a month with no upfront fee for the LG G5 itself. That will include 250MB of 3G data.

Virgin Media's Freestyle plans also offer the ability to increase or decrease the monthly airtime tariff every month. And the Wi-Fi Buddy app will hook you up to thousands of secure Wi-Fi hotspots around the UK for free.

The phone will be available from Virgin Media's website and in-store from 1 April.

FIND OUT MORE: Virgin Media

Like Carphone Warehouse, Vodafone is giving away a free pair of B&O Play H3 in-ear heaphones with every pre-order on a Red or Red Value Bundle plan.

The first 2,000 customers who pre-order the phone will get the additional headphones, worth £149, and you need to get your order in by 31 March as the phone ships on 1 April, like with others.

Vodafone is offering the LG G5 in grey (Titan) and gold colours on 24-month price plans, starting at £29 a month with an upfront cost of £49 for 1GB of 4G data, 1,000 talk minutes and unlimited texts.

Alternatively, you can get the phone for a £9 upfront cost on a £34 a month tariff. That includes 2GB of data and unlimited minutes and texts.

Vodafone Red Value plans also include six-months of Netflix, Now TV, Spotify or Sky Sports and inclusive calls to the UK from Europe from £39 a month with a £9 upfront handset fee.

FIND OUT MORE: Vodafone

O2 are offering a similar deal to Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse, with a free pair of B&O Play H3 headphones with pre-orders, although this deal expires on 7 April, so you have to be fast.

You'll be able to get a 32GB handset with no upfront cost for £32 a month, scoring yourself 1GB of data.

FIND OUT MORE: O2

Like O2, Three is yet to reveal details about its LG G5 pre-orders or price plans.

We expect Three to post details on its webpage at three.co.uk soon.

Writing by Chris Hall and Rik Henderson.