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

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#581

Post by m4rtink » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:08 PM 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…

Consistent stylus support ( they call it S-pen) for one thing! Comming from PalmOS and N900 the lack of stylus support was the biggestregression to me on modern smartphones.

Being able to take notes, draw simple pictures, use denser UIs again is just so refreshing! Also new stuff like on-hover translation overlay or stylus button actions.

Really, Samsung is preatty much the only vendor that cares about stylus support these days andvthat's sad. Also if you want to draw on the go, the only usable mobile drawing tablets come from Samsung, unless you want to lock yourself into the overpriced dumbed down closed nightmare that is the Apple ecosystem.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#582

Post by Al-Khwarizmi » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:11 PM 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…

I don't have much experience with LG phones, but my experience is exactly the same as you mention with Samsung vs. HTC, Samsung vs. Sony, and more recently, Samsung vs. Huawei. All of these four brands are or have been prevalent in my family and close friends and I have tried at least 4 or 5 of each.

To me, Samsung's UI has always been the clunkiest and worst of all I tried, plus their phones have a tendency to degrade fast in terms of battery consumption and lag (I don't know if due to hardware or software updates). And yet, the press has always praised every Samsung flagship while often lambasting the competition.

Honestly my hypothesis is that they just devote a lot of money to buy reviews.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#583

Post by at-fates-hands » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:18 PM 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…

> Do people actually like all those Samsung annoyances?

Switched to a Samsung A71 after having an Apple 7+. Gave my 7+ to my daughter who previously had a 6+.

I'm about six months in and I'm going back to Apple or OnePlus. My iphone had a few quirks that I could deal with. Nothing major. The A71? OMFG every single day I'm dealing with constant issues with the phone:

- finger print scanner is the worst I've ever had bar none.

- All the Samsung apps continually turn on and fight with the Google apps for preference, even after I've turned them off

- The Samsung apps constantly run and drain my battery. A brand new phone, with a non-power user and it can't make a full day on a full charge? Unreal.

- I had to turn off all the notifications. It seemed like every 5 minutes a new system notification would pop up. Like: "Your wifi is unprotected! Use Samsung VPN to protect it!" Even when I'm already running a VPN??

There's a ton more that happen less frequently, but dealing with these every day has soured me completely to Samsung products. I had a OnePlus before my iPhone and loved it. Stock Android, no frills, battery lasted forever, no bloatware.

I just can't use Samsung phones ever again - no matter how good their marketing is.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#584

Post by pjmlp » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:23 PM UTC

oriolid wrote: post #466

herbst wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does Samsung audio do better than other phones? I still own a mp3 player because not even those shitty beats phones did a close to clear sound experience. Ps: i never used a theme. All i want is stock android o.O

Samsung Pro Audio used to be the only low-latency audio API on Android devices. AFAIK it was a very thin wrapper over JACK. Of course, using it often crashed the app, and then Samsung first declared it deprecated and then didn't port it to 64-bit runtime.

Because eventually AAudio was created, by the time 64 bit Android started to matter.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#585

Post by dlevine » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:29 PM UTC

I never had an LG smartphone, but I have many fond memories of my old LG VX4400 dumbphone that I had from 2003-2007. It was built like a tank, easily fit in my pocket, and the battery lasted for 4 or 5 days. Sure it didn't have a web browser and the only available apps were BREW, but I didn't really need any of that stuff at the time.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#586

Post by The_rationalist » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:29 PM UTC

As a reminder the Iphone one wasn't actually the first full tactile, "wide" screen smartphone, it was the LG Prada. However the Iphone was still innovative, especially on the software side.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#587

Post by TexasfoldsEm » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:29 PM 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…

Since getting my first LG I have not gone back. I just picked up an almost new LG v40 for 125 bucks on ebay and there is no need for nything faster in my opinion. It will be sad to see them go. I mean in a month or two you can get the v60 for 259 I bet. Probably not after they stop making their phones. I have two LG televisions in my home that are over ten years each and they still work perfectly also. In fact, I m using one for a monitor I am typing to right now.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#588

Post by nucleardog » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:31 PM UTC

oriolid wrote: post #450

mdiesel wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 for OnePlus. I started years back on the 2, upgraded more recently to the 6T. Will take a lot of convincing for me to even think about anyone else. Same experience though, people have either heard of it and rave about it, or ask who makes it.

OnePlus seems to have same kind of marketing aura as Samsung. I remember when they first came out and my co-workers were bragging about the great features OnePlus had. It turned out that Nexus 5 had all the same stuff.

OnePlus was great when they hit the market because their phones had all the same stuff... but for cheaper to significantly cheaper.

They were never really sold as competing with a Nexus 5, and most people weren't buying a Nexus 5. (Even so, it was still ~20% cheaper.) People were looking at a OPO against a Galaxy S4/S5 and the other flagships that were all more than twice the price.

It was "marketing aura" in the sense that they took a phone that would have normally only appealed to developers/phone geeks and managed to market it to the masses to some extent.

But it wasn't _just_ marketing aura just because there was one other phone on the market that could compete with it. It was a legitimately good offering at the time when a Samsung cost twice as much and their offerings in that price range had seen so little care and attention as to be barely functional in many ways.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#589

Post by tootie » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:41 PM UTC

trabant00 wrote: post #116

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. Fro…

I'm pretty amazed Samsung can pull this off. Anyone who is the least bit brand conscious is buying Apple everything. Android's big appeal to me is power features and value and Samsung is the worst on those facets. I've had a few LGs and they were really nice.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#590

Post by datavirtue » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:42 PM UTC

SkyBelow wrote: post #461

gmadsen wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if seems like all collection of social structures eventually coalesce into a duopoly.

It is a legit concern of mine. I've been asked for phone recommendations from family as well, but they only focus on the main brands with a strong preference for Apple as the status symbol and Samsung as the slightly less pricey option for people who want a phone they can do a bit more with (which is to say they see Samsung as the phone I like because it isn't locked down). Even after explaining there is more to Andr…

One of the best phones I ever had was a $500 Sony Xperia (amazing battery life). The other best phone was a Nokia 920 (?) Windows phone (zero cognitive load). Tech superiority and user experience are not market defining factors, clearly. I think both Samsung and Apple are trainwrecks compared to their earlier offerings. This because of a lack of competition now.