LG has made a lot of prominent smartphones that had revolutionized the smartphone industry. For example, LG G3 when launched, was one of the most popular smartphones.. LG used to incorporate new innovations in their Models which sometimes stunned their rivals. Still they could not get enough foothold in the highly competitive and highly lucrative smartphone market. Even with so many innovations to their credit, their market share was far behind their popular Korean competitor, Samsung.
LG had a lot of innovations to their credit. Some of them worked and some failed. Following are some of the LG Innovations
One of the LG smartphone innovations was like laying out 2 screens on a smartphone, which then was a stunner.
The LG Prada in March 2007 was the 1st smartphone to have a capacitive touchscreen. Literally, most smartphones nowadays have a capacitive touchscreen. So it was clear that the innovation of capacitive touchscreen by LG changed the smartphone world today.
LG Optimus 2X was the 1st smartphone in 2010 to have a dual-core processor and 1080p video recording.
The very next year, LG released their Optimus 3D which was actually the first smartphone to have 2 rear cameras.
LG even released their Optimus 4x which was the first smartphone to have a Quad-core Processor.
In September 2013, LG G2 was the very first smartphone to have a “double-tap to wake” function. Most smartphones nowadays have this feature. LG referred to this as the “Knock Knock” feature.
LG’s first mass-produced smartphone with QHD Display was the LG G3.
LG V10 was the first dual-screen smartphone with a secondary screen above the display. But this idea didn’t work out as though as it would and so it failed.
LG V40 was the first smartphone to have 3 rear cameras, an ultrawide, standard, and telephoto camera.
LG’s most perfect smartphone, the G8, was on the line for a few years until it got outdated. The reasons it was the most perfect smartphone are
- Solid phone
- High-end chip ( When it was released in 2019 )
- No Camera Bump
- Had Headphone Jack
- Had slot for Expandable storage
- Decent Battery life
- Had Vein Id
In spite of all these innovations, LG failed. why?
One of the main issues was marketing. LG knew how to make excellent smartphones but was found wanting in marketing them. Their choice of long and unattractive names for their smartphones like LG V60 ThinQ 5G, did not go well with their clients. The short names would have enhanced the smartphone’s appeal.
LG was introducing new ideas that sometimes took for granted by the smartphone community. There were some features like the mini display on top of the LG V10 and V20, that didn’t go well with customers. The self-healing back panel of the LG G Flex was really cool, but we don’t see them anymore. LG tried curved phones that fit in the hands very well and gave a perfect view from the eyes to the display. which didn’t last either. The G5, the modular phone in which we could interchange the batteries, was so cool and handy. But a year later, LG stopped producing their batteries and hence flipped their complete ecosystem.
LG G8 had an IR sensor next to its front camera for reading its veins in your hand and it barely worked. They were also having a bad record for delivering software updates to their phones.
Some of the LG Models lagged in basic features, for example, LG V 60 had a 60 Hz refresh rate display when all their competitors had 90 Hz or more refresh rate. . Even LG Wing, a premium smartphone worth Rs. 60000 had a Snapdragon 765 Processor, at a time when its competitors had more advanced processors.
Another reason why LG Phones died early is that they took really big risks. They tried all the new ideas and inventions in smartphones that they could and some of those really changed the smartphone industry but many failed, unlike some manufacturers who, make money making flagship models without taking many risks.
LG, when announced that they are shutting down their phone industry, said that it was their strategic decision to exit the mobile phone sector and to concentrate on other resources such as Connected devices, Artificial Intelligence, etc. They still manufacture a bunch of other things such as Monitors, TVs, Appliances, etc. This just helps them to focus more on other things that will grow more and eventually increase their market shares.
Good Bye, LG Smartphones!