LG announces two flagship smartphones for 2016 as it aims to turn around mobile division losses

midian182

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LG has confirmed its next big smartphone release. The LG G5 will be launched next Sunday, February 21, a day before Mobile World Congress opens to the public in Barcelona, Spain. Later that same day Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy S7.

A recent leak suggested that the new LG G5 would feature a larger 5.6" screen, a Snapdragon 820 SoC, a fingerprint scanner, and a dual 20MP camera on the back. The LG G4 was well received when it launched last year and made it to our list of the best smartphones you could buy, however by year's end it received a discount in order to compete with similarly equipped phones in the $400 range such as Motorola's Moto X and the newer Google Nexus phones.

By its own admission, 2015 was a “challenging year” for LG. The South Korean company revealed in its quarterly earnings that it lost $36.4 million in its mobile division for the final quarter of last year, a drop of almost $20 million compared to the same period in 2014. Additionally, LG shipped 59.7 million smartphones last year, representing a year-on-year improvement of just half a million. In an attempt to improve its profiability, the company will introduce "two new flagship models" in 2016, along with "a more cost-competitive value chain."

Like so many other smartphone manufacturers, LG faces a constant battle to shift its products in a field dominated by Samsung and Apple. The company will be hoping that its two premium models released this year will help it gain a larger share of the market.

LG has confirmed that it will unveil one of these flagship devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. While the firm hasn’t revealed what specific model will be on show, it’s heavily rumored to be the LG G5, the successor to last year’s well-received G4.

A leak last month suggested that the G5 will improve on the G4 by featuring a larger, 5.6-inch screen, a Snapdragon 820 CPU, a fingerprint scanner, and a dual 20MP camera on the back.

Little is known about the second device LG plans to launch, although it is expected to arrive in the second half of 2016. Considering that the company released the G4 and the V10 last year, there’s a chance that the second new flagship could be a successor to the dual-display V10.

When LG talks about launching a cost competitive value chain, it is referring to a new lineup of low-cost mobile devices aimed at those consumers who don’t want to pay premium-model prices. As more features trickle down from high-end handsets to these ‘budget’ smartphones, it’s becoming an increasingly popular market and quite a lucrative one for the device makers.

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I can see why there is low sales. They have introduced the V10 in my country last week where Samsung usually releases their phone immediately everywhere.
 
The difference to successful phones is no one buys LG phones as fashion accessories. Apple and even samsung to some extent are fashion items that have new versions released almost monthly. I buy new phone every 4-10 years depending on actual development in tech. Everything I use works perfectly now so no need to upgrade. Not seeing any need to upgrade in near future either but in 4-10 years I can see buying LG product if it has what I need at the time. Also as they produce new phones all the time older ones get cheaper faster and as nothing needs that extra power you might as well buy the cheaper one. Cheaper models of new phones usually have less features and as old phones are dirt cheap they really ain't a option.
 
The difference to successful phones is no one buys LG phones as fashion accessories. Apple and even samsung to some extent are fashion items that have new versions released almost monthly. I buy new phone every 4-10 years depending on actual development in tech. Everything I use works perfectly now so no need to upgrade.

LG did try to make the G4 more fashionable by giving it a leather back, it just wasn't advertised nearly enough and most people don't make the connection as you stated.

Seriously, how many phones have you used for 10 years? I feel that number to be exaggerated a little, even 4 years with a cell phone seems very improbable, you either take extremely good care of your handsets, or don't use them for much more than what a phone is actually for.

Besides I swear they designed the phones to start slowing down after you reach the one year mark, my G3 has been a wonderful device. However ever since last week when I surpassed the 1 year ownership mark it has started to show signs slowing down, maybe it's just me but it seems awfully suspicious at the moment.
 
I'm still happy with my G4 and I hope they continue with the removable battery and memory card.

Same story here. I'm very happy with my G4 and in the free extra battery. I won't be upgrading to the G5, but if I was in the market for a new phone it would be my go to
 
It will be exciting day. My 5-th phone in my life will be decided on that date. My first ever phone was Motorola T-100.
 
In what universe does the following statement make any sense: "The LG G5 will be launched next Sunday, February 21, " ????
 
Someone is suffering from a major reality dysfunction: "... the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month".
 
I am running a galaxy s5 atm and though it was a good phone the build quality has started to show how poor it is. Less than 2 year since I bought it (got it roughly June 2014), the silver paint around the charging cover has worn away, I have broken the screen a couple of times and even though it's all been repair I don't trust that it is water proof anymore. Yes this was my fault it broke but I was sat in a run of the mill white patio chair and it slipped out of my pocket and cracked the screen, hardly a massive drop.

The phone lags horrendously, mobile data doesn't auto come on after switched off wifi (you have to turn to 2G then back to 4G). I know a factory reset both these but I have done both and the faults soon return.

I have been a Samsung fan from the days of about the Samsung Omnia but I feel now I am ready for a change and the LG does seem quite appealing.
 
I'm still happy with my G4 and I hope they continue with the removable battery and memory card.

Are you really not bored of it after 6 months?? :/

Do you have 2 batteries? Have you ever switched the phone battery? Do you have a cradle to recharge batteries or you switch them and plug in the phone?

This is something that really intrigues me, people love removable batteries but:
a) They don't remove it.
b) They don't use the phone for enough time to see a lower battery retention in order to buy a new one.

Have my G2 since december 2014, never ever thought "damn I need a removable battery", specially with portable chargers being really portable.
 
Are you really not bored of it after 6 months?? :/

Do you have 2 batteries? Have you ever switched the phone battery? Do you have a cradle to recharge batteries or you switch them and plug in the phone?

This is something that really intrigues me, people love removable batteries but:
a) They don't remove it.
b) They don't use the phone for enough time to see a lower battery retention in order to buy a new one.

Have my G2 since december 2014, never ever thought "damn I need a removable battery", specially with portable chargers being really portable.

My phone before my G4 did not have a removable battery. Eventually the battery crapped out (it would last less than 15 mins) but everything else worked fine with it. In other words, battery tech still sucks. Until there is some great improvement that is released to the consumer market, I would like to still be able to switch out my battery. Especially for long trips that I can't plug in my charger.
 
Rob Thubron, your dates are all a skewed. You may want to proof-read the article and correct date related sections.

On the subject of phones, I guess we'll see who will earn my business. Because I can guarantee you that my next phone will have a removable battery and a microSD slot. If by chance the new phones remove these options, I guess I'll just be sticking with my Note4 for a long long time.
 
"The LG G5 will be launched next Sunday, February 21"

It's not next Sunday, but 3 Sundays away... FYI
 
I'm still happy with my G4 and I hope they continue with the removable battery and memory card.

Are you really not bored of it after 6 months?? :/

Do you have 2 batteries? Have you ever switched the phone battery? Do you have a cradle to recharge batteries or you switch them and plug in the phone?

This is something that really intrigues me, people love removable batteries but:
a) They don't remove it.
b) They don't use the phone for enough time to see a lower battery retention in order to buy a new one.

Have my G2 since december 2014, never ever thought "damn I need a removable battery", specially with portable chargers being really portable.
Removable batteries are something very few actually need but a lot of people manage convince themselves that they do mainly because they see others crying about it in posts.
By the time the original battery gives up the ghost it's probably time that device was replaced anyway because properly maintained, an original battery should last around three years, if not more, for an average user.
 
Removable batteries are something very few actually need but a lot of people manage convince themselves that they do mainly because they see others crying about it in posts.
By the time the original battery gives up the ghost it's probably time that device was replaced anyway because properly maintained, an original battery should last around three years, if not more, for an average user.

My reasons have nothing to do with the tears of others. But another plus of being able to remove it is when your phone is acting stupid and you have no other way to turn it off.
 
My reasons have nothing to do with the tears of others. But another plus of being able to remove it is when your phone is acting stupid and you have no other way to turn it off.
That's also a non issue, just holding down the power button resets the phone. Face it, unless you constantly drain your battery of a full charge before breakfast, in which case your battery won't survive very long, you're not going to miss a removable battery. On older smartphones, yanking out the battery was a quick and convenient fix but those times have changed.
Anyway LG needs to address their abominable UI before they change anything else, it's so horrible, clumsy and clunky it makes TouchWiz the poster boy for slick UI's.
 
For people that buy new phones every one or two years, removable batteries tend to be immaterial.

For those that want spare power on the go, it works and is very handy.
For others that experience quirky battery performance twelve to eighteen months out,
being able to swap in a fresh - new life cycle - battery as a self-service function - is yuuuuge !

As far as seven day batteries go ... that story is LMAO.
 
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