Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

axios.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

531–540 of 700 posts

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#531

Post by paulryanrogers »

behnamoh wrote: post #509
gmadsen wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

that seems to be the case: - two-party government, - two major desktop OSs (macOS and Windows), - two main mobile OSs (android and iOS), - two major phone manufacturers (Apple and Samsung), - two main internet browsers (Chrome and Firefox), - two mainstream cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum), - two major home internet providers (Verizon and Comcast) - two ... There are exceptions of course, esp. in the retail ma…

Actually only one broadband ISP choice for many households

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#533

Post by marcosdumay »

varispeed wrote: post #376
Jefff8 wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not especially pro-Samsung, and I'm just one consumer and I'm sure that for every unhappy one, there's someone who loves LG or loathes Samsung, but I will never buy any LG product at all if there's something else available which is about equivalent. They sold me their top-end phone, years ago, for a top-end price, on the basis that they would update Android in the next three months. It was a nice phone, but three…

I have a Samsung phone that used to be their top of the line. I have never updated it because I know the next update disables call recording. I believe any subsequent phone has non-working (probably not in every region) call recording so that is a deal breaker for me. It seems like they got lobbied by insurance companies who scam people over the phone (they promise options that turn out to be a lie) and you can't rea…

By the way, there is a great call recorder in F-Droid. If your phone doesn't have built-in support, you can always get it there.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#534

Post by onli »

jfd98njkdgnh wrote: post #475
onli wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw a video about that by one of those tech youtubers, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3wNsTLCEw . Many good points imho: 1. LG did not have one thing they stood for. At a time it was repairability (the LG G5 and LG V20 is one of the best older Android phones with an exchangeable battery), sound quality, supporting modules to extend the phone (but almost never releasing any), one release had a great camera, last…

This is part that is aggravating to me. I know you are right, but why does it have to one thing. A discerning consumer should be able to determine if a given product works for its use case.

I thought that argument was strong. If a brand or at least a product line has one characteristic, it can find customers that value it and it becomes their goto choice. Without that, the product has to find new customers each time. Gets ridiculous with cult-like followings as with Apple, but in essence it does not have to be a bad mechanism.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#535

Post by rektide »

pimeys wrote: post #227
striking wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OnePlus ships phones with unlockable bootloaders. They're great! However, when you unlock your bootloader, you lose access to things that demand devices be trusted by Google. So Netflix no longer even shows up in the Play Store, you can no longer use NFC pay, etc. And ROMs are not what they used to be (though the update process being lighter and quicker is a nice change). It's too bad, but I get why it is the way it…

I never used my old xiaomi with anything else than lineage os and I used NFC payments and a bank app all the time with my phone. You're mileage may vary I guess...

Android SafetyNet[1] is supposed to exist to give developers protection against users/"threats".

A very popular Android modification tool Magisk has been waging a long running battle against Android to try & get by SafetyNet & other validations. However the increasing securitization at a hardware level is leaving less & less possibility[2][3] for users to access their devices as they would like.

I can't remember what movie it is, but I keep thinking about some movie with a person trying not to get kidnapped, and the victim being told early on: "if anyone says 'you're safe and secure' don't trust that person", which, sure enough, latter gives way to the believed-good but actually-bad guys driving off with her saying this & her appropriately freaking out. We are secure all right, secure against ourselves. What we are doing- creating ever more perfect anti-user enclaves- is vile. The security world has such a ferociously ruthelessly absolutist view on security, is so ready to declare threads & build bigger moats & walls, but users & freedom keep getting screwed. Such woe.

[1] https://developer.android.com/training/safetynet

[2] https://www.xda-developers.com/safetynet-hardware-attestatio...

[3] https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/29/googles-dreaded-saf...

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#536

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

donmcronald wrote: post #130
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…

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 :-(

I was one of those with G6's broken sim tray issue.

I think that was the only manufacturer issue I ever had with an LG phone.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#537

Post by agentdrtran »

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…

The samsung of today is pretty far from the S4 days. They toned down the crap a lot starting on the S7 I think and personally I love a ton of Samsung-only additions. Some of the quirks are annoying but the amazing hardware+great additions balances it out.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#538

Post by pkulak »

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 tech reviewers don't know how to review software. They just measure camera megapixels and dynamic range, screen nits, processor speed, etc, then say it they like it or not.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#539

Post by WarOnPrivacy »

Crono wrote: post #445

Very sad. I found the perfect smartphone for me - the V20. It almost feels like a smartphone that happened by accident and will never return in its glorious form again. Dont know what else to use if it dies. Already have a spare Screen and its 4th Battery ready to be used. The second screen is just the perfect solution for having an allways on display without a real (and stupid) notch. I love this feature. Also knock…

I really miss my V20's 2nd screen and removable battery.

I went with the V30 next because I needed the extra horsepower. I'm mostly happy - except for the headphone jack on top.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#540

Post by ineedasername »

postingawayonhn wrote: post #206
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…

I think for Samsung the key was to build a loyal customer base by copying the iPhone at a lower price point. Thier designs have now departed significantly from those of Apple but the core customers have stuck around.

Except Samsung's prices now rival the iPhone. The Samsung S21+ without a trade in is $1199. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is actually $100 cheaper at $1099.

Flagship prices seem completely ridiculous these days for minor improvements over the previous year's models or even their second-tier offerings. But consumers put such a premium on having the newest shiniest thing that the previous year's model can frequently be had for less than half the price.

Looking at unlocked iPhone retail prices for the iPhone 4 in 2011, flagship pricing has increased 3-4x the inflation rate for the same period of time.

Post reply on HN