Live data from Hacker News

LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

axios.com

261–270 of 700 posts

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#261
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…

there's a lot of tradeoff in samsung phones, from thermal envelop to installed crapware, but their success is not just marketing, they usually come with top of their price class camera, and that is something a lot of people care about.

especially mid range a lot of phone produces washed, sad mockery of pictures unless you're under the sunniest day conditions, and even then skin and faces get garbled by the ai-thingy lot of them sports. this does matter to a lot of consumers.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#262
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

It’s not like a battery is soldered there, you can still replace it and it’ll cost you much less than getting a new phone. AFAIK I can still get a new battery on my iPhone 7 which is 4.5 years old.

Replacing iPhone battery feels like reassembling a mechanical watch. It isn’t soldered, but it’s glued in weird way requiring applying heat. To change battery, you have to disconnect 4-5 tiniest connectors, looking like LPT for fleas, extremely fragile.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+12+Battery+Replacement/1...

And you just can’t buy original battery, they’re available only to selected service centres.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#263
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…

My LG G3 was a decent phone but I never once received any Android update.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#264
post #236
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Interestingly enough, that was sort of one of the things I occasionally used my WinMo6 HTC Tilt for JUST A LITTLE.

Back in 2007 there was a period where I was doing a lot of work on deployed standalone application servers at remote client sites, some of which had little to no internet connection.

We'd audit servers before I traveled and send me with the "right software patches", but it didn't always work out perfectly and tethering was pretty primitive back then.

I loved being able to call someone, have them check something out of sourcesafe, then throw it up on one of our servers, where I could SSH in from my phone, grab files, edit them, then shove them on my MicroSD card, pull that, shove it in a USB adapter and patch an install for a server with no internet connection.

SUPER hinky by today's standards, but it felt pretty amazing at the time.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#265
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has never had a dedicated Siri button. Also, it's a phone dialer - like the functionality of a phone dialer has been well defined since the early 2000's (also having used PalmOS, webOS, Windows Mobile 6 and 7, Early Android, and iOS from 2012 on I've never desired additional functionality here), so like what makes a phone dialer "like 10 years ahead"? - I'm not trying to snark, it's a genuine question.

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.

This is the first time I've heard of T9 being used since we moved on from the old Nokia phones that pioneered T9! Bring back fond memories of my Nokia 3310 and 8210. But yeah it's odd to see T9 in the context of a touchscreen phone...

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#266

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?

bad parenting -> unfettered access to advertising influences

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#267

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…

It's not that Samsung n' co is copying Apple, it's that Apple is making the right design and tech choices for the right reasons and Samsung is figuring this out too and making the same choices.

Samsung has led the way in many respects. Higher refresh displays, multiple cameras, always-on displays, in-screen fingerprint readers, much larger phones, etc.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#268
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…

LG G6 is my favorite phone ever. I like it physically, it’s waterproof, it has a headphone jack, it has a fingerprint reader, it has NFC, it does NOT have a notched camera, and Spigen made an awesome inexpensive case for it. And I bought mine for $360 CAD (about $240 USD) at the end of its cycle. That’s hard to beat. Samsung makes crappier, more expensive phones IMO. It’s a sad day for the phone ecosystem :-(

LG has arguably the best design in the Android pact, it's elegant and slick, while Samsung looks like things cobbled together to the sole purpose of avoiding patent wars with Apple, and Huawei is just Frankenstein.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#269
post #262
post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not like a battery is soldered there, you can still replace it and it’ll cost you much less than getting a new phone. AFAIK I can still get a new battery on my iPhone 7 which is 4.5 years old.

Replacing iPhone battery feels like reassembling a mechanical watch. It isn’t soldered, but it’s glued in weird way requiring applying heat. To change battery, you have to disconnect 4-5 tiniest connectors, looking like LPT for fleas, extremely fragile. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+12+Battery+Replacement/1... And you just can’t buy original battery, they’re available only to selected service centres.

Just pay a mobile repair shop to do it. Not very expensive and much cheaper than buying a new phone.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

there's a lot of tradeoff in samsung phones, from thermal envelop to installed crapware, but their success is not just marketing, they usually come with top of their price class camera, and that is something a lot of people care about. especially mid range a lot of phone produces washed, sad mockery of pictures unless you're under the sunniest day conditions, and even then skin and faces get garbled by the ai-thingy…

I mean honestly looking at the Linux or alternative phone offerings, I'd love to jump on it, but the cameras are ages behind. And my phone has become my main camera.
Post reply on HN