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LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

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Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#231

Post by 7952 »

rtkwe wrote: post #67
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…

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…

My hunch is that the 3.5mm jack caused too many warrenty returns as people over stressed the socket.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#232

Post by deadmutex »

arvinsim wrote: post #73
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…

Androids have become iPhone sheep. That is, whatever iPhone decides to do, they just copy it. I don't know if it is because the business just decide to follow market trends or if the designers are secretly Apple fanboys.

Umm, there is a lot of useful tech that iPhone is missing/Android phones had first:

E.g. - >60Hz displays - 5G (e.g. S10 5G was released >1 year before iPhone with a 5G). - Notchless phones, etc.

This is why if you watch Apple presentations, they'll always say "best iPhone ever", not "best phone ever".

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#233

Post by sgtnoodle »

unreal6 wrote: post #24
zozin wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're obsessed with making money. No 3.5mm means you're more likely to buy bluetooth earbuds. No SD? Cloud services. Battery? You'll get a new phone after 18-24 months. No charger? Wireless charging pad. Apple can "get away" with it because to a lot of people it's a luxury/lifestyle brand. Android vendors copy them because they want to create new revenue streams by removing features/out of nothing too!

Then why wasn't there massive commercial success for the phones that kept these features, like a headphone jack an SD card? Samsung tried to market it for a few years, but eventually surrendered to the same trends like the rest of the market. If this was really so bad for consumers, they would've chosen the alternatives that were available at the time.

I own 3 LG G6 phones. I like the SD slot and headphone jack. I like the display. I like the lack of gimmicks. The camera is mediocre quality-wise, and slow to load and snap a photo, though. The OS is falling out of date, and Google's apps have bloated enough that it's annoying to navigate and listen to youtube music at the same time.

The G6 has some reliability flaws around its USB port and camera focus mechanism. I bought two of them used, and the 3rd new because it had a 2 year warranty. The warrantied one I sent in twice under warranty. The 2nd time, they sent me back an "upgraded" G6+ with amazon branding and a locked bootloader, which was unacceptable to me. I politely asked for the G6 or another phone with an unlockable bootloader, and a month later they sent me another G6+. It took 3 months to get that straightened out, but I ended up with a like-new refurbished G6.

LG definitely lost money just on the one phone I bought new due to the reliability issues, and probably burned through $100+ in unnecessary stupidity with their warranty process.

I tried buying a used V20 (I think) at some point, but the display had severe burn-in, and I was able to return it.

I think LG just went slightly too mediocre on each of their phones to optimize costs, missing the forest for the trees. The G6+ would probably be a nearly perfect phone that I would happily pay money for, if it wasn't bootloader locked and infected by amazon. The only reason I have an itch to replace my G6 right now is because of the mediocre camera; I miss so many precious toddler moments that my wife's pixel doesn't. I'll bet every G6 ever made complains about "moisture in the USB port". The V20 clearly has a screen burn-in issue.

I bought a used-but-modern mid-range Samsung tablet to mount on an exercise bike, but it turns out none of the biking apps support it. I was annoyed at first because I hate consumer electronics without a purpose, but it turns out it works well as a tablet and I use it all the time. I've owned other tablets over the years, and they all sucked. Clearly Samsung has some idea of what they're doing.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#234

Post by murukesh_s »

benibin wrote: post #192
arkitaip wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When 6-year-olds use Samsung as a synonym for Android, you know that Samsung's marketing is crushing it. Which is a shame considering how poor their overall software quality is.

I'm sorry but how a 6 years old know anything about phone brands?

its election time in my home state in India and my 6+ year old asks me who will win the election? I was surprised at the question and the fact that she is able to articulate the political party names. At her age i didn't even know what a political party is. I then realized she sees lots of Television now ever since she moved to her grandama's house during covid.

She goes and names three top parties herself and predicts that one particular party will win. I was surprised.. Asked her why she think so and says she sees more ads of that particular party more than others.. i was beyond words.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#235

Post by cageface »

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…

At least in the places I've been in Asia distribution is a huge part of it. Samsung phones are available in every shop and they have their own dedicated stores in the bigger shopping malls.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#236

Post by djmips »

BardRT wrote: post #139
ehsankia wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Whoa. Thank you SO MUCH! I'd completely despaired of ever finding a modern smartphone with a full physical keyboard on it. It's been 8 years since I had one. Now to do some research and find a US carrier that it'll work with.

I wonder if you could even code on that...

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#237

Post by blackoil »

scaladev wrote: post #167
blackoil wrote: post #120

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.

Maybe, but I haven't seen this issue with ~3 year old, Lumia, Xiaomi, Oneplus and Samsung phones in my family. Battery life may have gone down a bit but not as a practical deterrent. We aren't heavy users so that may be the reason.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#238

Post by eru »

DenseComet wrote: post #45
villgax wrote: post #29

Can manufacturers do a wedge like design with a thicker top & tapered bottom edge? That way there is no camera bump & the device sits flat on a desk & a bit raised towards you as well. Bonus camera points coz the lenses are along the same axis horizontally & closer to the centre of the device than in one corner, likewise for the front facing camera too, which could just be shoved into one corner without leaving a hol…

The original Pixel had that exact design, although the later designs went in the opposite direction.

I don't remember them being wedge shaped?

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#239

Post by djmips »

xpressvideoz wrote: post #69

I've appreciated LG's adventurous moves. The one I liked the most was LG Optimus 3D, which provided a naked-eye 3D display similar to that of Nintendo 3DS. The most recent LG Wing, I was hopeful. But LG also left a bad taste in my mouth. The last LG phone I used, Nexus 5X, died all of a sudden, but after months of despair, I could revive it using a freaking hair dryer .[1] Yeah, some of you who are well versed to sol…

If it was a car you would have just taken it to the local repair shop and hopefully it's an affordable repair but phones don't have that and so when they die, and they all do, it's quite harrowing (unless you are super rich).

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#240

Post by billfruit »

jariel wrote: post #187
deanCommie wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung absolutely decimated the other manufacturers in marketing - including Google. I remember seeing GQ articles that were interviews with celebrities that was kind of a "30 questions" thing where each celebrity was asked the same set of questions. One of them was: "iPhone or Samsung?" It didn't matter that the answer to every single one (in that issue) was iPhone. It didn't surprise me that celebrities would be 1…

It's not bewildering if it's literally always been true. A few points: Samsung is not cool. Or rather, maybe a little bit among some very middle/lower class people. Selling mobiles is done primarily through carriers - this is not about Samsung direct advertising mostly, by and large, it's through the deals made with carriers. Google has never taken their phone and it's manufacturing/distribution as seriously as Samsu…

Outside of US, carrier bundling is rarely seen, people buy phones and carrier plans often prepaid separately.
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