By addressing some of the key rumors of Apple’s upcoming flagship, LG is planting an early flag in the premium phone category. But will it even get noticed?
The LG G6 has an impressively thin bezel.
A thin frame around a display with rounded corners, wireless charging, a dual-camera setup and a water resistant body.
Sound familiar? No, it’s not the rumored iPhone 8. It’s LG’s newest flagship phone.
The G6 is a stark contrast with last year’s more experimental attempt , which let you swap out the bottom chin for different pieces such as a special stereo and a better grip for the camera. Consumers soundly rejected the G5’s modular concept, sending LG to back to the drawing board for its latest phone.
The G6 features an expansive 5.7-inch display, Google Assistant and a splash-friendly design.
This year’s back-to-basics approach is free of gimmicks and may end up resonating more with consumers. That would be good news for LG, which will need all the help it can get in 2017. Once a top phone maker, the company has watched several Chinese rivals zoom past it. The company now ranks ninth in the world with 3 percent of the market, according to Gartner.
Last month, it posted an operating loss of 258 billion Korean won, or roughly $220 million, partly due to weak sales of the G5 and marketing expenses for its V20 phone.
« The LG G6 will set the tone for all others to follow, » said Wayne Lam, an analyst at research firm IHS. « The idea of fitting a big screen in a not-so-big phone is critically important if we are to address the topic of ergonomics and immersiveness of the visual user experience. »
Phones — particularly premium flagship models — often take more than a year to develop. When you see a phone launch, often the successor model for the following year is already in development.
