LG’s Mobile Division Is Failing — a Splash of Water Might Help
Has your mother ever nagged you as a kid, telling you to splash water on your face when you wake up in the morning? My Eastern European mother has. She always used to tell me that it would help rejuvenate me and wake me up. I did it begrudgingly, even when I questioned whether or not it actually did anything. However, sometimes it does indeed just feel good to have that sharp sensation of cold water hitting you. It can make you feel more alert and allow you to maintain focus; or, it can relax you and allow you to stay calm.
I used to have an HTC One M7, and loved the design of it from the all-metal build, to the sleek chamfered edges, to the clean-looking dual front-facing speakers. To me, that was a timeless design that will never look bad. At the time, it was genuinely a cool phone to have, and felt much more advanced than the competing iPhone 5S. Pink-camera issues aside, I loved that phone.
I remember being so enamored with this phone and how cool I thought it was, that I as a high-school student sent emails to HTC Corporate telling them how to properly market this phone because they had a gem on their hands. I don’t think they listened to me, so that’s clearly why they failed (it’s sarcasm!).
Another phone I adored was the LG G4. Damn. I remember being super excited about the G4 being released. That majestic marvel of design just spoke to me, from its [slightly] curvaceous screen, to the ‘I do what I want’ button layout on the back, to the gorgeous genuine-leather backplates that took advantage of the phone having a removable battery and microSD slot. I waited patiently for LG to release the phone on Verizon’s employee device program, and my patience was rewarded with a free [extra] battery and beauitful brown leather backplate.
Do you have any idea how cool it was that the G4 had a removable back at the time? It allowed you to change out the battery and add a microSD card. This phone was announced just a few days before the Samsung Galaxy S6, which was a very good phone in its own right and offered a much different design than the outgoing S5. Despite how cool the S6 was, you couldn’t change out the battery or have expandable storage, something which Samsung backtracked on with the Galaxy S7. If you remember phones from back then, you might remember Qualcomm’s processor fiasco, where the 810 had been deemed defective and was very prone to overheating. LG decided to just not use the octa-core 810, and opted for a hexa-core 808 — a bit weaker, but a processor that didn’t heat up as much as its big brother.
What I’m trying to get across by highlighting all of the above is that LG came off as a very confident brand to me when they released the G4. No big players were doing anything as daring as the leather backplates, putting the power and volume buttons on the back of their phones, and just ditching the Snapdragon 810. Not only was the G4 daring in its design, but it was a great phone, too. The screen was big and it was pretty, the software wasn’t difficult to navigate, and it had one of the best smartphone cameras, offering a lower aperture compared to most of its competition, a manual mode that allowed users to shoot in RAW, and three-axis optical image stabilization.
LG offers unique things in its phones now, too, like a dual-screen case and a powerful DAC for audiophiles. However, I feel like they’re offering the wrong things. They’re focusing on things that most people won’t care about; furthermore, they’re just not doing enough to attract new people to LG. It doesn’t help that they severely overprice their phones and then discount them heavily shortly after release. It pains me to read articles saying LG is considering exiting smartphones in 2021. It really does, because I know what they company used to be capable of and I used to be in love with their unique sense of innovation and lack of a need to be like everyone else. Now, in 2021, they’re still not like everyone else — they’re just much worse.
Let’s start with what used to be LG’s flagship product, the G series. Their current G offering is the ‘LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen.’ Okay. I’ll say it for you. What the actual fuck is that name? I get that ‘ThinQ’ is supposed to be your AI, ‘smart’ trademark, but LG, buddy… people just:
- do
- not
- care
‘ThinQ’ means absolutely nothing to most people. If anything, it just confuses consumers. Get rid of ‘ThinQ’ entirely, because even I’m not sure what ‘AI’ benefits that phone is supposed to have, if any. If you want a name to encompass your smart home products, that’s great; but get rid of it entirely from your smartphones’ names. Furthermore, change the name. ‘ThinQ’ is terrible. I can’t sugarcoat that. It’s not sexy and it’s confusing. Get rid of it.
Is it a cool idea that your phone comes with a case that has a second screen built into it? Absolutely. Will most people care? Not at all. If it’s not baked into the phone, it’s too much work. The fact that people need to attach a case to get that functionality already means it won’t be popular. People are just inherently lazy. You lost me at ‘ThinQ,’ after all. I wouldn’t even keep reading past that to learn about the dual screen part.
For the sake of not tearing into the phone too much, let’s talk about what it gets right:
- You get a free second-year limited warranty*
- It comes with a second screen*
- It has a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC and stereo speakers*
All of the above are good things on their own, but notice how there’s an asterisk next to each of them. I’ll explain why I feel each of those points needs an asterisk:
- Cool, you get another warranty year. However, people need to manually register for it. It doesn’t come on its own. People are lazy, remember?
- A second screen is a nice idea. However, people need to manually add the second screen. You literally promote this feature by saying ‘One Screen Or Two, You Choose.’ *Insert Michael Scott ‘NO!’ gif* Choice is bad! Letting people choose just stands to confuse them.
- The Hi-Fi Quad DAC is a great idea, but most people don’t know what that means. You also have stereo speakers but it’s impossible to tell that they’re there. People are so inherently lazy and ignorant that you need to explain things to them like they’re 5 years old: “Headphones + LG phone = WOW”
Realistically, why would your average consumer choose to buy the G8X over a Pixel 4A 5G right now? They’re the same price, despite LG slashing the G8X in half from a blisteringly-high $950 MSRP. The Pixel phone is so much easier to understand. It has 5G, and it takes amazing photos. It’s simple, and effective. Google isn’t trying to do too much with that phone, and it shows in the results. It’s a wildly successful product.
I believe LG is just doing way too much at once, and has lost its sense of identity almost entirely. I’m a huge fan of the new ‘LG Velvet’ and ‘LG Wing’ products. Bold design and/or crazy ideas. It’d be a shame to see the company shut down their mobile division because I genuinely feel like they have the ability to turn it around, but they’re lost and have no sense of direction.
LG. This is my plea to you as someone who used to love your phones. You don’t need a second screen to succeed. You only added a second screen in the form of a case with the G8X because you thought it’d attract people and not because you actually liked the idea. That point is clear to me. I’m sure the execution works well enough but I just don’t see the confidence that you used to have. Be confident and be bold, not because you have to but because it’s what you have always been. I see a little bit of that with the Velvet and I see it even more with the WING.
I see you’ve embraced the dual-screen with the WING. It’s no longer ‘optional’ and doesn’t come as part of a gimmicky case. Good job, genuinely! Also, I’m glad you got rid of ‘ThinQ’ or whatever the hell that was supposed to be. Progress. LG, please read what I’m about to say. Splash some water on your face. Stay focused, because I think it’s important that you take this in. Again, this is my plea to you as a former lover, and someone who wants to take you back but is oh-so hesitant.
The WING is a really, really good design and its potential use-case makes perfect sense! Watch a YouTube video as you read the comments, track your Uber driver as you text your friend, play a game in full screen with the mini-map on the bottom screen. It genuinely works. Don’t abandon it, because this phone embodies LG and your previous penchant for pinache and bold confidence.
Boldness and confidence are great things, and you’ve shown you’ll throw almost anything at the wall to see if it sticks. However, sometimes you also need to tone it down to find what’s right for you. Well, whether it’s accidental or not, you found it.
The Velvet and WING are beautifully designed. Keep the Velvet as a single-screen device and the WING as its big brother, where you can swivel out a second screen. There you go, a product family. A clear ‘big’ sibling and ‘little’ sibling environment, where both are similar enough that they create a sense of cohesion with your brand but different enough to where they’re attractive to different kinds of people.
Have the Velvet be your stylish, functional, and affordable mid-range offering, and use the WING to show the world what LG can truly be. Also, please don’t overprice them. Make people want to buy them from day one, and I guarantee you’ll be back on top.
Remember how I said “you’ve found it” with these new phones? I’m not sure if you actually know you’ve found it. I can’t tell if these phones are just another one of your confident dart-throws or if you actually realize you’re onto something with the WING and Velvet. Splash some water on your face and focus, LG. You’ve got winners on your hands, so please don’t fuck this up.
