Earlier this year, LG took the wraps off the LG G6 flagship. Taking a figurative U-turn towards a more traditional design once the LG G5’s unique modular design failed to impress, the G6 still managed to be unique in the sense that it was the first phone this year to minimize bezel space in order to increase screen size. Even though the G6 doesn’t feature the latest Snapdragon 835 processor (which was allegedly because Samsung had first dibs on the processor and LG wanted to release the G6 ahead of the S8) various BOGO offers, price cuts, and Google Home promotions managed to make the G6 a solid choice among flagships this year.
Although LG’s “shrunken bezel, bigger screen” approach is not as exclusive as it was when it was first released, it has been almost entirely exclusive to flagship devices – until yesterday. Alongside the LG G6 flagship, LG will also produce the LG Q6+, Q6, and Q6α, a line of devices that share a similar design to the G6, but lower-end specs on the inside.
All the Q6 variants will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, a 5.5-inch 1080 x 2160 resolution display (FullVision 2:1), 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera with wide angle lens, 3,000 mAh battery and aluminum body. The devices vary in RAM and internal storage. The Q6+ features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage; the Q6 features 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage; and the Q6α features 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
While the specs vary, it’s clear the headlining feature of all three devices is the FullVision 2:1 display. Even the most powerful Q6 device, the Q6+, doesn’t offer much more than more RAM and internal storage. None of the devices feature a fingerprint sensor, water resistance, or great cameras.
Yet, despite all that its missing, I still think it’s a valuable addition to LG’s lineup. After all, minimizing bezels is an extremely popular trend this year and understandably so. Smartphones have reached a ceiling regarding how big they can get; even so, not everybody is interested in having a huge phone. Still, the benefits of having a larger screen are difficult to argue with, so shrinking the bezels to achieve a larger display is something worth celebrating in the smartphone space, especially now that LG will be extending this “breakthrough” to people who aren’t interested in flagship devices.
Of course, the device still needs to be reasonably priced to be considered a good deal. Although LG unveiled the Q6 trio yesterday, there hasn’t been any official word on pricing other than they will have "exception pricing". Phone Arena found potential evidence that show the Q6+ and Q6 could be priced around $450 and $350, respectively; no information on the Q6α, but if the $450 and $350 price tag were true, then $250 would be a logical guess.
It’s difficult for me to say whether those would be good prices for these phones or not. As much as I am starting to fancy smaller bezels and larger screens, not having a fingerprint sensor, waterproof protection, or a decent camera make it a difficult sell at $450, at least. I would probably consider the Q6 for $350, and the Q6α for $250 seems decently priced as well.
It seems a bit frivolous to say whether I would or wouldn’t consider the phones at these prices considering we don’t know that these will be the prices. At the very least, I will say it’s nice to see LG caring about the non-flagship crowd. I just hope these lesser versions of the G6 don’t end up like the mini flagships back in the day, where the cost of the minis was way above what they ended up being worth simply because they shared similar branding.
Readers, what are your thoughts on LG’s latest trio? Have you been waiting for a non-flagship smartphone with slim bezels? What prices would you consider to be fair for these devices? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
