April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] BARCELONA/SEOUL -- It's here. The new flagship smartphone G6, which will hopefully lift LG Electronics out of the doldrums, was unveiled on on the eve of the Mobile World Congress that kicked off in Barcelona on Feb.27. 

As widely expected, it comes with a larger display, not to mention Google’s machine-learning software. Industry watchers say, the phone better live up to expectations, since LG timed the release to come after its rival Samsung Electronics’ released its Galaxy S8 series. 

“Our mobile business serves as an essential link to other vital parts of the Industry 4.0 era. I will make it my highest priority to turn our mobile business around,” said LG Electronics Vice Chairman Jo Seong-jin.

The company also stressed that it conducted more than 20 safety-related tests to ensure the quality of the battery in the latest model. With a heat pipe inside the device, the G6 was allegedly built to emit internal heat.

An LG G6 smartphone is displayed at the company's exhibition booth during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Related:
LG aims to play it safe with G6
G6 to feature 3200mAh non-removable battery 


LGE adopted a 5.7-inch (14.5-centimeter) 18:9 ratio display for the G6, making it the first smartphone in the world to have the 18:9 ratio display, the company said.

The display, exclusively developed by LG Display, has the highest pixel density among all LG smartphones, at 564 pixels per inch. The G6 is also the first smartphone to offer high dynamic range-based Dolby Vision and HDR10.

“As the world’s first smartphone with the 18:9 ratio display, the G6 will enable users to have a new level of visual experience with high convenience offered by the optimal, one-hand grip,” said Cho Jun-ho, president of the mobile communications division at LG Electronics.

Measuring 71.9mm x 148.9mm with a width of 7.9mm, the smartphone was certified as having the “optimal grip” by a research team led by Andris Freivalds, an ergonomics professor at Pennsylvania State University.

For user convenience, LG chose Google Assistant to compete with Apple’s Siri and Samsung’s Bixby.
The Google AI program will allow users to operate the G6 through voice commands, even when the screen is turned off.

The G6 also has 13-megapixel dual cameras on its rear side to capture objects at a wider angle and backgrounds that are farther away with high definition.

The design was kept minimal by halving the width of the bezel on its front and locating a camera, sensor and speaker all at the top. A fingerprint sensor-based power button is located at the back.

The G6 comes in three colors: Astro black, Ice platinum and Mystic white. 
For the Korean market, LG Pay software has been installed in the G6. The pay service will be launched in June.

By Song Su-hyun and Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald (song@heraldcorp.com)
(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)