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kkh786

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 25, 2013
734
816
United Kingdom
So the new phone season is starting to get to full swing (again)..

LG has sent out invitations to an event taking place on 26 February, where it is expected to launch a new flagship smartphone.. presumably the G6.

The handset will succeed the LG G5, which was unveiled at MWC 2016. LG took an enormous risk by making last year’s handset modular featuring a removable battery and numerous clip-on accessories.

As history tells us the G5 failed to ignite consumer interest, allowing the likes of Samsung and Apple to dominate the market with the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 7.

So consequently LG has changed direction and is rumoured to instead concentrate on improving a selection of core features with the G6, including waterproofing and a large screen.

I am curious to see what is unveiled as I have always had a soft spot for the G series (granted I am very happy with the Pixel at the moment). :)

What do you guys think?

KKH
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
What they need to address is build quality, their dodgy android skin, the terrible display quality of the G4 & G5 which were really subpar panels compared to the competition, and improve battery life / size.

Fix those and keep their Quad DAC from the V20, and general improvements to camera and then we have the possibility of a great handset.
 

kkh786

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 25, 2013
734
816
United Kingdom
What they need to address is build quality, their dodgy android skin, the terrible display quality of the G4 & G5 which were really subpar panels compared to the competition, and improve battery life / size.

Fix those and keep their Quad DAC from the V20, and general improvements to camera and then we have the possibility of a great handset.

I agree with most of your points.

I have used the Original G, G2 and the G4 extensively.. I thought they were pretty good.

For me the G4 screen was OK but the bootloop issue was the reason I got rid of mine.. before it happened!

The G3 however was shocking.. lagfest.com! Yuck!

Interestingly, I wasn't too tempted by the G5 as to me it felt like an incomplete product from day one.. also suffers from the dreaded bootloop issue!

G6 should be much more refined.. I hope they sort out that cartoonish UI.. mature up a bit and get close to Stock Android! And please LG FFS.. learn from you past mistakes.. change your memory system from eMMC and upgrade your factories so they can soldier properly!

Anyway.. I have always rooted for LG when pitted against Samsung.. as they have been the underdog to Samsung in all fields they compete in! Haha! :rolleyes:
 
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spriter

macrumors 65816
May 13, 2004
1,460
586
I really liked the wide angle camera on the G5. Worked well in quite a few situations. The rest was either OK (weird slopping screen) or not good (battery life, skin, gaps where mods went flush, painted plastic to imitate metal, etc.).

It'd take something exceptional to: a) make me ditch the 7 Plus; b) jump ahead of a Pixel, 3T or S8 in the Android space.
 

MindsEye

macrumors regular
May 3, 2010
241
23
For me the the rumoured form factor makes this a non starter. it could tick every other box on the feature list and come at a good price but it wouldn't matter if it has the rumoured 2:1 2880 x 1440 panel.

its something i've hated with monitors/TV's (at least anything beyond 16:9 and smaller than 27") and was glad when tablets started bucking this trend of making screens longer but narrower.

I do see some benefits to this when its held in portrait i.e easier to grasp, seeing a bit more of a discussion in messaging apps but i'll take a wider keyboard, better browsing/reading experience, easier access to notifications and far less of a 'squished' look in landscape.
 
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Andres Cantu

macrumors 68040
May 31, 2015
3,327
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Texas
Apparently it'll have a Snapdragon 821 chip.

If that's the case, it's dead-on-arrival, unless it doesn't cost the usual $649.99.
 
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Sensamic

macrumors 68040
Mar 26, 2010
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The Verge has an image of the phone apparently. Check it out if you can. Looks like a bigger S6 to me.
 
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MindsEye

macrumors regular
May 3, 2010
241
23
Definitely looks better than G5 but with the 821, as others have said likely DOA.

I do wonder about validity on this new rumour about the Samsung and the snapdragon 835. Will any phones be announced at MWC be announced with this chip? Nokia 8 and Xiaomi Mi6 have already been heavily rumoured to have the 835.
 
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tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
The Verge has an image of the phone apparently. Check it out if you can. Looks like a bigger S6 to me.

Here the link to the article and image for anyone interested:

This is LG's G6 smartphone, coming February 26th

IMG_0095.JPG

I like the small bezels but the aluminum frame looks vaguely ;) similar to an assortment of existing smartphones and I personally much prefer the black bezel matching the display.

I'm also in the camp with those having little faith in LG. They seem to have no specific direction with their smartphones--every iteration of their flagships bear little resemblance to previous designs. I appreciate that companies like Samsung, Apple, HTC and even OnePlus seem to have established a characteristci design style thats synonimous with their brand.
 

epicrayban

macrumors 604
Nov 7, 2014
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MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
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a better place
The 21:9 ratio screen will be very strange .. overly elongated in portrait and with black borders for most 16:9 content viewed ... strange decision, but it's LG ....
 

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
The 21:9 ratio screen will be very strange .. overly elongated in portrait and with black borders for most 16:9 content viewed ... strange decision, but it's LG ....

I dunno, it's the kind of thing that could bizarrely work. Although obviously you don't know until you try.
 
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tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
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Kind of insane that that's the reason. Samsung has the potential to dominate Android even further this year.

Yeah, not really the ideal situation to foster a more competitive Android landscape. Don't really fault Samsung for cornering the market if they're able to, as they need to look out for themselves first and foremost. Just feels a little underhanded to me, considering they're essentially blocking the rest of the market from having access to the best available chipsets (SD and Exynos).

I think it already sucks that the mobile OS has turned into a two horse race...would suck for it really to boil down to just 2 manufacturers dominating the market as well.
 
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epicrayban

macrumors 604
Nov 7, 2014
6,517
5,353
Yeah, not really the ideal situation to foster a more competitive Android landscape. Don't really fault Samsung for cornering the market if they're able to as they need to look out for themselves first and foremost. Just feels a little underhanded to me, considering they're essentially blocking the rest of the market from having access to the best available chipsets (SD and Exynos).

I think it already sucks that the mobile OS has turned into a two horse race...would suck for it really to boil down to just 2 manufacturers dominating the market as well.

Agree very much. They helped design the chip, right? It's their 10nm design. I guess they have dibs on it, but agree, this means other Android OEMs won't be able to have the best chipset to compete. People are already being turned off by this rumor for the LG G6.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
Agree very much. They helped design the chip, right? It's their 10nm design. I guess they have dibs on it, but agree, this means other Android OEMs won't be able to have the best chipset to compete. People are already being turned off by this rumor for the LG G6.

I have no idea about assisting in the design, thought they were just the primary fabricator for Qualcomm.

Again, I don't expect Samsung to behave in a way that isn't advantageous to themselves---just personally not happy with what it means for the industry. If you don't prefer Samsung, it means you're pretty much out of luck if you're looking for an Android device with the best hardware--no different than if you prefer iOS but don't like the hardware Apple is offering as you don't a choice in the matter.
 
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epicrayban

macrumors 604
Nov 7, 2014
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I have no idea about assisting in the design, thought they were just the primary fabricator for Qualcomm.

Again, I don't expect Samsung to behave in a way that isn't advantageous to themselves---just personally not happy with what it means for the industry. If you don't prefer Samsung, it means you're pretty much out of luck if you're looking for an Android device with the best hardware--no different than if you prefer iOS but don't like the hardware Apple is offering as you don't a choice in the matter.


It's probably the reason why the HTC Ultra U is 821 also. 835 will eventually make their way to other OEMs after the S8.

I understand your comparison, but it isn't quite like Apple's situation. Other OEMs will offer their own advantages to makeup for the "dated" chipset. But again, in agreement generally about competition.

To be fair though, it's not like a company like HTC can pin their problems on no access to the latest chips. Many OEMs like HTC, Motorola, and Sony have bigger problems to solve sadly.
 
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kkh786

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 25, 2013
734
816
United Kingdom

v0lume4

macrumors 68030
Jul 28, 2012
2,554
5,324
Let's look at this through the eyes of the average consumer -- do they really care which processor is in the phone? As long as the phone runs smooth, then it's good enough, right? Because that is one sexy design in the picture posted above. THOSE BEZELS, or rather the lack thereof!

I've gotten to the point where I'm much more skeptical than I used to be about paying $650+ on a cell phone unless it's absolutely worth it. I feel that these days, the only folks that can command a premium for their phones are Apple and Samsung. And, maybe, Google (seems to be working okay for them based on how well the Pixel is selling). That brings me to my point -- I wonder how much LG is going to charge for this thing. I feel like if you're not Samsung, Apple, or Google, you need to price your phone accordingly. Give people a great value for their money. If it's the same price as the iPhone or Galaxy then unless there is a KILLER feature, the phone is DOA.

I really do like that design though, for real.
 
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epicrayban

macrumors 604
Nov 7, 2014
6,517
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Let's look at this through the eyes of the average consumer -- do they really care which processor is in the phone? As long as the phone runs smooth, then it's good enough, right? Because that is one sexy design in the picture posted above. THOSE BEZELS, or rather the lack thereof!

I've gotten to the point where I'm much more skeptical than I used to be about paying $650+ on a cell phone unless it's absolutely worth it. I feel that these days, the only folks that can command a premium for their phones are Apple and Samsung. And, maybe, Google (seems to be working okay for them based on how well the Pixel is selling). That brings me to my point -- I wonder how much LG is going to charge for this thing. I feel like if you're not Samsung, Apple, or Google, you need to price your phone accordingly. Give people a great value for their money. If it's the same price as the iPhone or Galaxy then unless there is a KILLER feature, the phone is DOA.

I really do like that design though, for real.

I do have a feeling LG will do well this year with the G6 honestly. It'll probably be a terrific option for those who really don't want an Apple or a Samsung.
 
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trifid

macrumors 68020
May 10, 2011
2,078
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That design looks great, the moderately thin bezels look very refined and elegant. It makes the iPhone's big bezels look grotesque in comparison ;)
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
Definitely looks better than G5 but with the 821, as others have said likely DOA.

I do wonder about validity on this new rumour about the Samsung and the snapdragon 835. Will any phones be announced at MWC be announced with this chip? Nokia 8 and Xiaomi Mi6 have already been heavily rumoured to have the 835.
Samsung bought out the entire current 835 inventory. Hence why the G6 has the 821.
 
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