The modular G5 was a novel device, but novelty alone doesn’t sell phones. So LG went back to the drawing board for its followup, and the result is, on a..
The modular G5 was a novel device, but novelty alone doesn’t sell phones. So LG went back to the drawing board for its followup, and the result is, on a whole, a fairly straightforward flagship smartphone. The LG G6 is a good looking handset, but not an especially remarkable one, with design language that brings to mind fellow flagships like the Galaxy S7.
The company’s big marketing hook is aspect ratio – not something a majority of consumers likely consider when looking for a new phone. In a briefing on the new handset, the company made reference to the competition – the not so subtly renamed Company A and Company S, both of which, it noted, are said to be considering longer phones.
But LG beat them to 18:9/2:1 (both the S7 and iPhone 7 are 16:9, for the record). Being among the first to what may well become a (erm) wider trend in the industry certainty has its perks. LG gets the first to translate all of those benefits to the smartphone buying public. Getting in early also has its drawbacks, like the fact that LG has to translate all of those benefits to the smartphone buying public.
The company certainly did its part to hype the G6 in recent weeks, capitalizing on a handful of leaks by talking up what sounded to be what it deemed a “FullVision display,” coupled with a new interface designed to capitalize on the new dimensions. But LG has let the early innovation ball get away from it in the past, with the aforementioned G5, which eclipsed and better executed by Motorola’s Moto Z line.
