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LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

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211–220 of 700 posts

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#211

Given LG's success in the TV biz with WebOS, I'm surprised they never made a port of the OS for their mobile line.

WebOS is originally made for mobiles. Not enough people want an OS that doesn't have native support for Android or iOS apps. Even windows couldn't cut it.

They do now. We have all became acutely aware of Google and Apple having too much power over the mobile ecosystem. Windows Phone 8+ didn't offer any differentiation other than UI design and they were charging for Windows mobile at first. Windows never got the critical mass of apps. It wasn't open source. Microsoft is just another tech giant. But if they piggy backed off the TV market success of WebOS they could have a truly open source alternative to Android that other organizations could have more influence over.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#212
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.

My personal phone is a Nokia and I just received a Samsung for work. I use MS Launcher on both.

I did try the Samsung phone app but didn't like it and have installed the Google one. I've only done one settings search and it was really slow too.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#213
post #153

Given LG's success in the TV biz with WebOS, I'm surprised they never made a port of the OS for their mobile line.

Not sure if joking or not...

Not at all. I realize WebOS started as a mobile project but I want to see it come full circle back to mobile.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#214
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsungs S10+ and Google Pixel phones have a double tap to wake up too. [1] https://www.samsung.com/sg/support/mobile-devices/how-to-qui... [2] https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/7443425

My LG G3 had it in like 2014 or whatever year I bought it.

Introduced by Nokia in Symbian but I forgot when, maybe around 2008? I have to assume Nokia patented the feature as it's super useful but was missing from all non-Nokia phones for the longest time.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#215
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…

Sony phones too seem to be quite underappreciated. The Xperia X line came with amazing built-in noise-cancellation, which only required a special purpose made $20 NC31E earphone with a 5-pole connector. The performance of this combo to my surprise was amazing! It matched WH-1000XM4 and Bose QC20 in home-office environments. Not having to carry around yet another earphone that needs charging was radical. Sadly, the wh…

I love this combo! Since the NC31E were pack-in earbuds, they were dirt cheap on the grey market. I purchased my pair for ~20CAD just before Covid. They work well with my XZ1 compact. After the XZ1, they removed the special 5 pole jack so new Xperias lack the feature.

The implementation is clever too. The wired-noise cancelling doesn't require extra chips. Sony used the built in noise-cancelling feature on the Qualcomm audio chips. The chips also support a "transparency mode" like feature, but there is no convenient way to use it in software.

> Sony phones too seem to be quite underappreciated.

Their phones are excellent, but their not available at all in many marks (they left Canada recently). Xperias are very expensive. For example, the Xperia 10ii costs twice as much as the Moto G8. Both phones have the same SDM665 SoC and budget eMMC storage. On paper, many people would cross shop them.

Since I've owned my XZ1c, I've come to appreciate the durability of Sony phones. I've dropped it, caked it in grease and batter, and generally abused it with no case. It works fine, just some chips in the paint. Based on this I would recommend Sony. They use thick Gorilla Glass 6 and even the cheaper models are IP68 rated. Cell phone durability doesn't translate well to a spec sheet or tv ad very well though.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#216
post #89
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…

I greatly preferred TouchWiz to stock Android UI. It's a matter of preference.

TouchWiz bears minimal resemblance to Samsung's newer UIs, to be fair. Most seem to find the newer OneUI iterations to be significant improvements because they make for a far more full-featured device than stock Android with a more consistent UI experience and without the slowdowns that people complained about with TouchWiz. I'm curious how you'd find it as someone who preferred TouchWiz.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Does anyone actually care about any of these things? On HN, sure. The other 3.6 billion smartphone users out there? No. The top voted opinions on HN are niche and don't represent the general population in any way. You can see this effect on other threads. Here are a few classic examples. - Everyone on HN hates Facebook, and yet 2 billion+ people use it every day. - Privacy is a paramount concern on HN, more importa…

I agree about the HN bubble, but not every comment has to reflect the larger market; The comment is about the power users and it reflects the significant portion of HN. Just like content on Computer Science is preferred on HN, it doesn't mean just because not everyone is a CSE/Computer Scientist in the real world, CS content is not valuable.

The issue is not that HN users have different preferences or that they signal those preferences. The issue is when they are surprised and annoyed that the ordinary folks in the real world don't make the same superior choices that they do. Why do they keep buying iPhones instead of Fairphones? Why do they keep using ad supported services instead of paying for it? Why do hundreds of millions of them eat at McDonald's?!

This lack of understanding of the general population is the issue.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't discard Huawei, they are on par with Samsung.

Huawei is basically dead as a consumer brand after USA and EU went after them [0]. They've re-branded most of their consumer stuff as Xiaomi. [0] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/chinese-telecommunications-co...

Wait, what? Are you trying to say Xiaomi is rebranded subset of Huawei?

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>removable batteries aren't that important now If you like throwing out your phones every two to three years, then sure.

Phones that do fast charging properly (e.g. heat generating components in the charger not in the phone) like Oneplus phones, will experience fat less battery degredation than an iphone or samsung phone.

Not as important these days.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#220
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. Fro…

Read somewhere "Good product with great marketing beats amazing product with no marketing."
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