LG is getting out of the mobile phone business • Hacker News Board

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#111

Post by speedgoose » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:51 AM UTC

Judgmentality wrote: post #88

ekianjo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Removable batteries create bulk, Not even remotely true. The LG V20 is very thin and still has a removable battery.

Batteries have to hold substantially more power now than they did 5 years ago. EDIT: Huh, I looked it up and I'm completely wrong. Battery sizes haven't changed.

They charge much faster now, which is good for sales because a battery that charges fast is very convenient. So it progressed.

Fast charging degrades the battery slightly faster than slow charging but it's not the end of the world in my opinion. I'm guessing it's much better to not keep your phone battery at a high state of charge for a long time, much of the chemical reactions that degrade the battery happens at high state of charge, than avoiding to fast charge it to 80%.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#112

Post by blackoil » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:51 AM UTC

ohazi wrote: post #66

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…

Google Apps aren't gold standard. I own a Samsung phone I have replaced launcher (MS launcher) /SMS (SMS organizer). Contacts and Phone app maybe Samsung's but they never troubled me. Only Settings search is unexplicably slow which annoys sometimes.

In terms of hardware/updates Samsung is good enough. Only Chinese phones may give better value for money but they come with too many software quirks, which I don't like.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#113

Post by justicezyx » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:53 AM UTC

supernova87a wrote: post #106

Maybe it's a statement about how difficult it is to be profitable in the industry, and how much support/development effort it takes to keep up. If this is true, I might suggest that people who wonder "can't we just make our own open source phone" inject some realism into their estimates about how much work is needed to make an alternative that people actually want to use.

> can't we just make our own open source phone

This seems have nothing to do with LG's move.

On the contrary, what drives LG to leave smart phone also enables the open source smartphone: the lowering of manufacturing puts more emphasis on software reconfigurability to the targeted audience of open source smartphone.

LG cannot sustain because they don't have a strong software product to make their smartphone profitable.

And open source smartphone is about open source anyway. It should not be compared to mass market products anyway.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#114

Post by sanxiyn » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:53 AM UTC

reaperhulk wrote: post #105

sanxiyn wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huawei is absolutely writing their own kernel, see https://github.com/LiteOS/LiteOS .

They may be working on other things but they also trumpet harmony as their own. Ars Technica wrote an article about how original it actually is: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/02/harmonyos-hands-on-h...

I mean, "fake it till you make it" is a good strategy (although you probably shouldn't lie). It is a sound engineering decision to rewrite Android piece by piece, like replacing Linux with LiteOS.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#115

Post by karlshea » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:53 AM UTC

ehsankia wrote: post #55

shp0ngle wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is lots of weird Android stuff on AliExpress.

You don't even need to go that far. - ASUS is on it's 5th? gaming focused phone (with attachable fan and all) [1] - You have folding, flipping and stretching [2] phones - You still have plenty of great niche hardware keyboard phones [3] The issue is that these mostly fill niches, as the majority of people are happy enough having the a clean simple phone. [1] https://rog.asus.com/phones/rog-phone-model/ [2] https://ww…

> with attachable fan and all

Oh my god you're not kidding.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#116

Post by trabant00 » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:53 AM UTC

ohazi wrote: post #66

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…

Because at large people don't select their phone based on what you mention. What does matter I believe is marketing.

I think most importantly is Samsung's image presence vs LG. Can't remember the last time I've seen a TV advert for LG. Or a billboard in the city center, or youtube hype from influencers, etc. While Samsung is everywhere.

Second is the cool factor. LG has none while Samsung have this as a priority. From the design of the phones to their special physical presence in malls.

People often ask me (as an IT guy) to recommend a phone. But they always have their mind made up by the time they ask and Samsung is the choice. The other options don't look as good, are considered a risk vs a known, and are also seen as a budget choice for those who can't afford a Samsung. Sometimes I feel they would be even ashamed of having people see them with anything "less".

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#117

Post by Zardoz84 » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:57 AM UTC

bogwog wrote: post #46

pookieinc wrote: post #22

Can someone enlighten me on why manufacturers who have experience with software, such as Microsoft, don’t create their own OS for their mobile phones? I recognize that it’s easier and faster to iterate to just use Android with some sprinkles on top, but even if it meant spending 4-5 years developing it, the potential market share is absolutely massive. I can see the first year or two would not be great since app deve…

Not sure how you missed the whole Windows Phone era ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Phone ), but they tried doing their own operating system and it didn't work out. Blackberry too. And Samsung (Tizen) And there was also WebOS which I know was used in atleast one tablet, maybe some phones too, and which is currently owned by LG. Just think about how manufacturers are struggling to find success with their own s…

> And Samsung (Tizen)

And before Bada . And Samsung had a bad history of promising stuff for users of Bada and Tizen, that never got shipped. This is one of the reasons that I would never bought a Samsung phone again.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#118

Post by sanxiyn » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:58 AM UTC

LeoPanthera wrote: post #108

batiudrami wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a long time stock android didn't have T9 contact searching from the dialer (and, astonishingly, iOS still doesn't), something present since the Galaxy S1.

Why would you need T9 on a touch screen? You can just display a full keyboard. That was the defining aspect of the keynote that launched the first iPhone, even. There's nothing "astonishing" about it.

For many people T9 is faster than QWERTY keyboard.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#119

Post by martyvis » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 6:00 AM UTC

klondike_ wrote: post #109

rtkwe wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's decent reasons behind most of those, or at least consistent ones, a lot is around slimness which drives strength and material decisions. > removable batteries Those usually require relatively flimsy backs that slide fit onto the phone. This has problems with water proofing and it's a part that can wear and eventually fit poorly or fall off. It's a lot easier to waterproof/resist a phone when you can seal the…

>removable battery It's not really worth the extra few mAh for a battery you can't replace, considering that in a few months it will wear out and you quickly lose that advantage. User replaceable batteries allow you to put in a fresh battery every year, meaning you can take full advantage of the battery capacity regardless of how old the phone is. >IR Blaster The IR blaster is one of the most used apps on my V20. It…

Both my LGV30+ and my wife's LG K61 are waterproof for 30 minutes at at least 2 metres

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#120

Post by blackoil » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 6:01 AM UTC

klondike_ wrote: post #5

What happened to the Android phone ecosystem? Android phones used to offer unique and useful features like removable batteries, headphone jacks, IR blasters, SD cards, etc. Now it seems that Samsung and Google are obsessed with copying whatever Apple does, even their controversial decisions like removing the headphone jack, even after making fun of Apple for doing it. No thanks, why would I buy a shittier iPhone with…

With fast charging, removable batteries aren't that important now. IR blaster is too niche. SD card, headphone jack are still available in lot of phones, but again aren't deciding factor for most people.

IPhone is an aspirational brand with awesome marketing, so things like notch which don't make much sense are copied by everyone.