LG will be unveiling their next flagship LG G6, at the MWC 2017 on 26th February. With Samsung’s flagship missing from the event, LG will have the chance to shine bright. To do just that LG has ditched the modular design used for LG G5, which was not very well liked if the dropping sales figures are anything to go by. This time around they have made use of a metal glass unibody design with a non-removable battery. In addition, to trump the competition, LG worked on bringing the best features and specs to its flagship. For LG G6’s processor it chose Snapdragon 821, this aspect has been confirmed by one of the slides from LG’s presentation at the CES 2017.
Before hand it was speculated that LG will make use of Snapdragon 835 SoC which has been produced using the 9nm process, making the chip faster and more energy efficient than its predecessor. Making use of the latest processor should have been the logical choice on LG’s part but they could not get hold of Snapdragon 835 chipsets in time for the mass production of LG G6. A few days ago, a report stated that Samsung has gotten hold of the early supplies of Snapdragon 835, making it quite difficult for other suppliers to get their hands on it in time for the devices they planned to launch in the 1Q 2017.
LG also faced the same issues and instead of waiting for Snapdragon 835 chipsets, they went ahead and used Snapdragon 821 chipset instead. If LG had waited to get substantial amount of chips to start mass production of LG G6, the launch of the device would have been delayed to April-May.
LG’s made a smart and strategic choice when they went for Snapdragon 821 processor. Firstly, they have already set the launch date for 10th March, this will give them an advantage over their arch rivals Samsung, as their flagship will be launched in mid-April. This will give LG 6 weeks in which they do not have a major competitor. Secondly, they can tip their favor by providing people with a safer alternative. Safe because LG to date has a good track record in the smartphone battery department, sadly the same cannot be said about Samsung after the Note 7 fiasco. Consumers would be a bit reluctant to trust Samsung again and LG has already claimed that G6’s battery will not overheat. Apart from that LG’s aggressive marketing strategy for their ‘Idea Smartphone’ is bound to make it one of the most talked about devices of the year.
What do you think, did LG make the right choice? or do you think even with the space left by Samsung, LG will be unable to maximize their sales? Let us know what you think.
