LG To Introduce The LG G6 Early Next Year (2017)

LG needs the boost, and it needs to get past the tepid response to the LG G5.

LG bet it all on Mods with the LG G5, but its ‘Friends’ ecosystem hasn’t been a winner, and the company has not released any additional modules since, to help build the range or to entice users.

As a result, LG will really have to blow the competition out of the water with it’s next flagship device, which we expect will be called the LG G6, and rumours that the modular feature will be dropped are already spreading.

Here’s everything we we know about the LG G6.

The most recent leak comes from @OnLeaks, and shows a 360-degree video of the device and the render falls in line with other leaks we’ve seen. The LG G6 could have a pretty familiar design similar to the LG G5 albeit with a few refinements.

LG will do away with modularity in the G6, and it looks like the 3.5 mm headphone jack will stick around in LG’s next flagship. The leaks also show what appear to be glossy finishes, following the new design trend set by Apple with the Jet Black version of the iPhone 7.

The camera module and fingerprint sensor along with button placements seem to remain the same as on the LG G5, but with a few differences. The G6 is expected to slim down a little to 72.43 mm, which is slightly thinner than the G5’s 73.9 mm chassis, although barely enough for most to notice the difference.

Coming back to modularity, for a second, the LG’s Friends range of modules for the G5 didn’t catch on, despite being an unusual feature with plenty of potential. This lack of success may actually cause LG to drop the feature for the G6.

It may not be the end for LG Friends, and LG has said it is not abandoning the modular ecosystem, according to CNET.

Perhaps LG will return with a stronger range for the next-to-next flagship (let’s call it LG G7 for now), or a spinoff sub-range only for module-enabled phones. It’s speculation for now, but should LG drop modules for the next major releases, it will be a blow to LG consumers that own the LG G5 as it would mean they spent money on supplementary products that aren’t reusable with future devices.

Every device today, needs a calling card, to stand out in the marketplace.

So, if LG drops modularity, it is said to replace it with something more in line with market standards. LG may be adding water resistance to the LG G6. Companies that supply waterproof adhesives are apparently bidding for the job of keeping the wet stuff out of the LG G6. This could translate into the G6 not having removable sections for new modules or a replacement battery.

The Japanese version of the LG V20, named the Isai Beat locally, included water resistance, but not the removable battery — two features that can’t work together. In December, a tweet from David Ruddock at Android Police shared that the LG G6 will not have a removable battery. It will, however, feature an all-glass design, and will keep its headphone jack (unlike the iPhone and rumoured Samsung Galaxy S8).

There’s more.

Following reports of an LG Pay mobile payments system, LG may introduce heightened security on the LG G6, in the form of an Iris scanner.

LG Innotek, a division of LG that produces components and other technology, had shown a traditional double-camera iris scanner, and a new single module with an iris scanner and a selfie camera inside, at a recent technology show. This has prompted rumours LG may take one of the modules and integrate it into the LG G6, although LG Innotek has issued a statement saying no deal exists. The company supplies components to many manufacturers.

If there’s one feature Samsung has a leg up on compared to Google, LG, Apple (yeah, Apple), and other smartphone competitors, which is it’s Samsung Pay. Where other mobile payment solutions (including Apple) use NFC, or near field communication, to offer a tap-and-pay experience, Samsung uses Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). This means it replicates a card swipe — so it works wherever you can use your credit card.
That’s far better than looking for NFC terminals!

LG is now rumoured to be adding MST technology into the LG G6 to offer a similar payment service to rival Samsung, according to ET News. The company was supposed to launch LG Pay at the start of the year, but the plans were scrapped. We may see it for the first time on the LG G6.

Launch and availability

The LG G series device have traditionally been released at Mobile World Congress, and that’s unlikely to change for the LG G6. What could change, however, is the availability date after the device is launched.

The G5 was first unveiled at MWC in February 2016, but it wasn’t until April that consumers could actually own it. That could change this time around, and the G6 could be made available a full month earlier than its predecessor.

Why the change in availability? Well, 2016 wasn’t exactly LG’s best year. The LG G5 largely failed to capture the imaginations of consumers, and while the LG V20 was a great device, it also didn’t sell like LG might have hoped.

In the new year, LG would probably want to shake things up a little — which means beating out the competition by releasing flagships a little early. Considering that Apple released the mid-range iPhone SE in March 2016, LG may do well to get it’s next big device out before Apple issues an update in the budget-friendly market zone.

Either way, we wish LG pulls it off this time. They’re too good a device manufacturer to keep faltering.

Originally published at Chip-Monks.