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

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#571

Post by rchaud » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:34 PM UTC

twobitshifter wrote: post #512

I still have my Nexus 4 (LG manufactured) in a box somewhere. This was actually my first smartphone, and it turned out to be a great purchase. It was affordable, simple, and somewhat close to open. Rooting in place was as simple as could be, and with “Xposed” I was able to get features on my phone that wouldn’t be widespread on stock Android or iOS for many years. It’s hard to point to anything very wrong with that p…

The camera. It was shockingly bad. Otherwise, I agree. It was a pleasure flashing custom ROMs on to it, as you didn't need to go through the rigmarole required to get an an alternative bootloader running. There was a ton of development happening on XDA-developers then as well, so every week the distros would get better and more stable.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#572

Post by rchaud » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:37 PM UTC

avelis wrote: post #541

So, many big phone makers tried to meet the smartphone transition and pulled out. It sucks. Palm LG Nokia RIM (BB) Microsoft Amazon Obi Worldphone I know BB still makes phones but it is no longer a dominant arm of their business.

BB's last phone was the Priv in 2015. All phones after that were built and sold by TCL, who licensed the Blackberry name. They weren't bad phones and the 2018 Key2 is actually something of a a cult favorite. But it's Blackberry in name only at this point.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#573

Post by rchaud » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

Server6 wrote: post #122

VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #110

At this point there are basically no non-Chinese mobile phone makers aside from Samsung and Apple. And even those devices are still manufactured in China, right?

Here's a list: Apple – American Samsung Mobile – South Korean Nokia Mobile – Finnish Google Pixel – American Sony Mobile – Japanese LG – South Korean BLU Products – American Lava – Indian Sharp – Japanese Fairphone – Dutch Philips Mobile – Dutch Yotaphone – Russian BQ – Spanish Acer – Taiwanese Asus – Taiwanese HTC – Taiwanese Essential Products – American Cherry Mobile – Philippino DoCoMo – Japanese Panasonic Mobile…

Micromax in India assembles phones locally. Parts and design however are sourced from China.

Yotaphone is primarily a carrier/networking tech company. The mobile arm that created the Yotaphone e-ink/LCD phone went bankrupt in 2019. Their last device was the China-only Yotaphone 3 in 2018 [0].

[0]https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/18508418/yota-devices-ban...

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#574

Post by shaicoleman » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:49 PM UTC

camhart wrote: post #358

vbezhenar wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Kazakhstan both companies advertise a lot. But people buying Xiaomi, because they are cheaper and better.

Xiaomi's battery management (aggressively killing apps) is horrendous.

Here's a guide how to fix it:

https://dontkillmyapp.com/xiaomi

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#575

Post by sodality2 » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:50 PM UTC

lamp_book wrote: post #324

jcronenberg wrote: post #312

What I find most sad about this is that LG appears to be the only manufacturer who makes phones with both wireless charging and a headphone jack. Somehow these features seem to contradict themselfs for other manufacturers. Wireless charging is seen as a premium feature, while headphone jack is seen as a budget feature. I unfortunately have gotten so used to both that I don't want to give them up. I love my wired head…

These, the higher quality DAC, and the lack of software bloat are killer features for me. I'm not looking forward to replacing my G7.

I just got a G7 as well and I love it. really don't want to replace it either.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#576

Post by gregmac » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:51 PM UTC

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #471

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 had an S4 then a G4 and then a S8 and never looked back. I'm now on the S20+. The jump from the S4/G4 to the S8 was such a massive one it felt like it was a whole new experience. The only thing that would convince me to switch from Samsung is if Google got its act together and built a real flagship complete with all the bells and whistles. Samsung, for me, just works. It's a bit obnoxious to have doubles of apps, b…

I've also had an S8 for the past 2-3 years. I remapped Bixby button (home button, or double click+hold for flashlight, even when locked). I also use almost none of the Samsung apps. I use Novalauncher which is better than any other launcher I've tried: lets me hide everything I can't otherwise uninstall, and with ability to set grid spacing/sizing lets me have a single (non-scrolling) page of "all apps I care about" I can swipe up to get to.

Totally happy with it.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#577

Post by oezi » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

underwater wrote: post #241

The mobile phone ecosystem is sick, and I don't see it getting better. The fact that there is not a third choice is maddening. Even in the worst parts of the Microsoft era we had Apple as the underdog. Apple products had issues, but Apple die-hards at least could rest easy knowing that they were buying into a company who stood for something. In the mobile space the underdog is Google; a company who sees dealing with…

How much is Google still investing in Android? The Android ecosystem feels stagnant since at least 2 years. It seems Google is content with Apple taking most of the hardware profits and them taking the ad dollars.

I wonder if this will backfire soon. Wasn't LG the OEM for some of their Pixels? Who is replacing them?

What about Apple's mobile processors outclassing Android?

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#578

Post by foobaw » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:52 PM UTC

LG should've gone out years ago. Hindsight is 20/20 but it just wasn't worth it after G6 in my opinion. Obviously, G4 was when they should've really stopped but that's much harder to predict.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#579

Post by CivBase » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 4:53 PM UTC

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…

My first (and apparently last, now) LG phone was a V30. It's currently my main driver and I have no plans to get rid of it.

It has expandable storage, a headphone jack, a full screen with a very thin chin and forehead, a decent camera, loud speakers, a good fingerprint reader, FM radio, a battery that still gets me through a full day easily, and almost everything I want from a phone at what was a very competitive price.

The only thing it's really missing for me is a software update. If there was any hope for that before, there is certainly none now.

The only thing that appears to come close to being a suitable replacement is the ROG Phone 5 but it's expensive, lacks expandable storage, and I've heard bad things about ASUS's software support.

As excited as I am for the PinePhone and Linux smartphones in general, I don't see that being a viable main driver for at least three or four more years - probably longer. Maybe I can keep my V30 going until then...

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#580

Post by skrowl » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 5:02 PM UTC

nayuki wrote: post #528

neogodless wrote: post #513

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha I wish your point about browsers was correct. Sorry, Safari is (a very distant) number 2. https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share

Except for Safari's mandatory monopoly on iPhone/iPad, unfortunately.

That should get fixed soon(ish) when Apple is forced to allow other app stores on their devices. Real firefox / real Chrome / emulators / etc!