News and rumours have spread like wildfire that LG will be switching to OLED displays for their next two big flagship smartphones, ditching the LCD panels that currently occupy the G6. Although it’s an interesting move by the company, the thing I want to know is, would it matter to you?
The report from the Korea Herald said that the South Korean electronics giant would start the switch of their flagship phone screens to OLED with the LG V30 — the purported successor to last year’s V20 — as well as next year’s G7.
Now, OLED screens have a lot of benefits over LCD. Traditionally, these displays provide more vivid colours, better contrast, and the best blacks on any screen because each pixel can be individually switched off. What’s more, if you use dark themes and black backgrounds, OLED is also theoretically better for battery life because pixels that are switched off don’t consume power.
It also makes it easier (and less power consuming) for new features like the Always-On Display which LG has done on their recent flagships. So, yeah, it looks like a pretty solid choice for LG to make the switch but would that be enough to tide you over from other Android flagships like the S8 and HTC’s new U11?
I was very impressed with LG’s G6, especially when you consider its predecessor. The G6 is a solid phone with a good design that’s thoroughly modern and fitting for 2017. It also features Military-grade MIL-STD-810G shock and durability resistance which is great for clumsy hands like mine.
And honestly, I didn’t really have much of a problem with the G6’s screen either. Yes, I didn’t get to spend that much time with the phone, but on the show floor, the Dolby Vision HDR-certified 5.7-inch QHD+ LCD panel looked really great.
But even after all that, I still don’t think I’d buy the LG G6 if I were looking for a flagship Android device. And that’s because, for me, LG’s G6 lacks one crucial factor that you need to move units at the top of the pecking order: Desirability.
In contrast to the fragile Galaxy S8, the G6 feels (and looks) solid, sturdy and reliable. But it didn’t wow me the way the S8 did and so even though it really is a very solid Android phone, I don’t think it will be as popular as the S8. It’s just not desirable enough and I don’t think a simple switch to OLED screens would make much of a difference. They’d need some serious changes.
It is worth noting that even if this happens, the V30 won’t be the first LG phone to feature an OLED screen, that title belongs to the G Flex, which was released to generally mixed reception. Still, the company’s has proven themselves to be quite flexible (evident from the G Flex2 and even the G6 over the G5) and capable of learning from mistakes so maybe the return to OLED will bode well.
What do you guys think? Would the return to OLED be enough to tide you over from the likes of Samsung, HTC or Huawei? Let me know in the comments below.
