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

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#591

Post by unethical_ban » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:44 PM UTC

I can only think of a few reasons that LG couldn't make it, and none of them are enough to sink a brand:

* Lack of updates * Occasionally non-flagship hardware * That Nexus issue many years ago

Their UI is better than Samsung. They're less intrusive than samsung. Their flagships are usually pretty good and come at good discounts soon after release.

I have an S21 now, and the number of bloatware samsung apps has me wanting to move back to Oneplus or even Apple, maybe. I only bought it because I wanted a flagship high-refresh phone under 6.5".

I'll miss LG a bit, it isn't as if we need fewer competitors in the Android space. It's Chinese brands, Samsung, and Google now pretty much, no?

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#592

Post by datavirtue » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:45 PM UTC

coryrc wrote: post #548

pdimitar wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most non-technical people I know opt for iPhones because they know they can use them for 5-6 years with 1-2 battery swaps (that costs 30 EUR where I live). And for display quality. I keep hearing this adage of "iPhone as a status symbol" and I have legitimately never in my life seen it. Only ever saw people on the internet talking about it. An anecdotal data point for you, if it's useful.

I used my $80 Android phone for four years. (Blu R1 hd). You you paid more for battery swaps than my phone.

You clearly got lucky on that dice roll.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#593

Post by ceedan » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:47 PM UTC

Well that explains why I got my LG G8X ThinQ for 50% off, with a free dual screen case, $100 gift card rebate and a free 2 year warranty with proof of purchase. I got this phone just over a year ago. It's a great phone. Fantastic battery life, and it has a headphone jack. It's a shame - I felt a little weird getting an LG phone but I literally asked for "the best phone for the cheapest price" and LG/the dude at the Sprint store definitely delivered. I would have definitely considered an LG phone for my next purchase, but I'm hoping that won't be for another few years.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#594

Post by vetinari » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

hackerfromthefu wrote: post #438

vetinari wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung TouchWiz has been dead for several years now, their OneUI is in what, third iteration now? From aesthetic and usability point, it is indeed nicer than stock android.

i suppose thats a matter of taste .. i moved from stock android to s20+, and i agree its not as bad as previous samsung touchwiz era :) but then i declined most of the samsung apps - google already has all my data and i dont want to share it with samsung on top of that, and then samsung also included third party services such as a dialer app which i didn't use because of the (lack of) privacy policy overall i'm looki…

I prefer Samsung apps over Google's for the simple reason that they do not insist on uploading my stuff anywhere.

E.g. Google Photos had two choices for the cloud service: start uploading now or upload later (and nagging meanwhile). There's no option for not interested, don't bother me anymore. Samsung Gallery asks for OneDrive once, but is fine with declining and not bothering me anymore.

Yes, the dialer does use third party service for screening the calls; it asked you about it, and when you declined, it respected your choice (I've declined as well).

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#595

Post by VHRanger » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:50 PM UTC

unethical_ban wrote: post #591

I can only think of a few reasons that LG couldn't make it, and none of them are enough to sink a brand: * Lack of updates * Occasionally non-flagship hardware * That Nexus issue many years ago Their UI is better than Samsung. They're less intrusive than samsung. Their flagships are usually pretty good and come at good discounts soon after release. I have an S21 now, and the number of bloatware samsung apps has me wa…

> Their UI is better than Samsung.

Is there any UI that is *worse* than samsung?

They have ads in the menus now. And their UI layer adds significant touch latency.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#596

Post by eptcyka » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

ineedasername wrote: post #552

kijin wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody I know who isn't seriously into tech even realizes that phones need security updates. The problem is compounded by the fact that every manufacturer has their own schedule for security updates. Just because Android got a widely publicized security patch doesn't mean that their phones will get it any time soon. By the time they do, nobody remembers what it's for.

I'm not sure there's any phone provider that has security updates available the same day that Google releases them, or very quickly at all. I remember the last Samsung phone I had, S7 edge, I went months without updates. Unfortunately, if security is a top priority, your best choice at 1st party phones like Google's Pixel or the iPhone. I used to use Xiaomi's flagship and it seemed to have fairly regular updates, but…

I am sure you'll end up retiring your pixel 4a far sooner than it will become unusable due to wear and tear due to Google's ridiculously short support term :/

I believe my next phone will be a glorious fruit device, probably a second hand one.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#597

Post by datavirtue » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:52 PM UTC

deanCommie wrote: post #143

trabant00 wrote: post #116

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…

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…

I think it stemmed from their dominance in quality TVs for a while. These days I see no reason to pay Samsung's rediculous TV prices and they do puy out some real garbage screens now but for a while it was Samsung or some peasant trash.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#598

Post by datavirtue » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:53 PM UTC

murukesh_s wrote: post #234

benibin wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 predic…

Sounds like child abuse.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#599

Post by officeplant » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

gpspake wrote: post #504

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'm kind of surprized that the Pixel line isn't considered the "flasgship of flagships" by more people given that it's literally the flagship first-party manufactured device by the OS creator. It's the closest thing to the iphone experience with android. If you use Fi, messages mimics imessages (in that you can use it online) and your service, device, and OS all come from the same company and you get the most out of…

>If you use Fi, messages mimics imessages (in that you can use it online)

To be fair that is available for all US carriers at this time. I've had RCS working on Mint(T-mobile) and now Visible(Verizon) for years.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#600

Post by unknown2374 » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

asah wrote: post #447

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.

serious q: OnePlus looks *great* but I'm concerned about the Chinese government and the de facto cyberwar with the US. Example: I have security sensitive US clients, and I'd be concerned that (in the future, let alone present) I'd be labeled a security risk for carrying a "chinese cellphone." How do you mitigate this concern? (serious replies only please)

This is the exact same reason I can't go for a OnePlus myself. I would look elsewhere.

edit: even if you flash the phone with open-source ROMs and firmware, the closed-nature of cellphones in general make it nigh impossible to know what hardware backdoors the manufacturers are forced to put in.