LG Mobile lacks inspiration. After almost three years in the red, the division of the Korean group could postpone the launch of the G7 while waiting to find an argument that differentiates its flagship from those of the competition.

LG's Vice President spoke about his group's mobile division last week at a press conference in Las Vegas, at CES 2018. The company did not present new smartphones. But the Vice President took the opportunity to clarify the situation of this activity in a bad position (at the financial level) for several years, despite terminals that were sometimes very disruptive (like the G5), sometimes very complete and in phase with the market expectations (like the G6).
The G7 pushed back ... see you later?

According to the latter, LG is no longer intended to present smartphones on fixed dates or merely to ensure visibility during the launch of competition. The terminals will be able to stay longer in the store. Their renewal could be lengthened. And the same platform could be exploited several times to create declensions. This translates into fewer different terminals, but just as many product references.

With such an announcement, a consequence could be immediate: the G7 could not be present in Barcelona, ​​contrary to what had been supposed previously. The brand's next flagship, which may not be called G7, could wait until March or April to be official. An indiscretion relayed by the Korean daily The Korea Herald seems to confirm this hypothesis. According to an anonymous spokesman for the firm, the G7 was delayed. And the successor of the V30 could also be delayed ...

Not different enough from competitors

The reason is simple: Jo Seong-jin, the vice president of LG who spoke last week, reportedly asked his mobile division to rework on the smartphone. The preparations for the G7 would have been stopped. And the development teams would be back at work to create a new version of the phone on which marketing teams can work to differentiate the phone from the competition.

Because this is the problem of LG smartphones in 2017 (see even a little before). It is not so much that the products are not good, quite the contrary. The concern is that LG's phones are far too competitive. And it's true: we are far from the disruptive chassis of LG's Black Label series, such as the BL40 New Chocolate and its 4-inch widescreen display. However, LG took the risk in 2016 of creating a disruptive smartphone: the G5 and its modular ecosystem. But it has not experienced the expected commercial success. And the concept was soon abandoned to adopt a smoother design.