Remember the G5 from LG? It's been almost two years since that phone launched, but, based on the quick turnaround from the company behind that particular modular smartphone, it may not have remained in the public's consciousness all that long. It had lofty aspirations, though! Along with Motorola at the time (and kind of Google, until it wasn't), the modular smartphone idea was being championed by the Life's Good crew with a pretty high-end smartphone.
I actually liked the overall design aesthetic of the LG G5. That modular design, though, wasn't necessarily something I was ready to jump on board with. Being able to slide out the battery from the bottom was pretty cool, though. It didn't necessarily have the smallest bezels, but they weren't ridiculous, either. It wasn't a bad phone!
Unfortunately, it didn't really stand up against the competition of the year.
I feel like LG bounced back pretty well with the G6 last year. It's a great looking handset with minimized bezels, a nice enough display to look at, and cameras that should get the job done for anyone wanting to snap photos with their phone. If anything, it showed that LG was learning, growing, and while the G6 might not have been enough to climb to the top of the pile of flagship smartphones in 2017, it did at least hint that maybe LG's next effort would be some pretty top-tier stuff.
Basically, I don't necessarily think the naming scheme of any of those devices somehow left LG at a disadvantage to the competition. But LG apparently feels differently, at least going into 2018. We heard earlier today that the company is going to rebrand its G-series of devices, and it will either opt for an entirely different name, or go with a two-digit number scheme that sounds reminiscent to the company's V-series (V30, for example).
According to unnamed folks, the reason for the planned change is that LG wants to look competitive right off the bat to potential buyers, and having a phone on the market in 2018 called the G7 -- when Samsung has the Galaxy S9, HTC has whatever comes after the U11, and Apple has the follow-up to the iPhone X (and iPhone 8!) -- just doesn't express the same level of high-end features.
I can understand the sentiment, but at the same time these numbers are just meant to express a chronological order. Just as we've seen from Samsung, Apple, and many other companies, they can use whatever number(s) they want when they see fit. Apple skipped the iPhone 7s and went with the iPhone 8 (this counts, just because of how Apple names things), and even apparently skipped the iPhone 9 to go right for the iPhone X.
Plus, if it's just a naming scheme that will earn eyeballs and dollars, then the LG V30 (30!) should be doing pretty well for itself!
I don't think the G-series has a bad name, but I also don't think it necessarily has to be permanent, either. LG can market a new brand name all it wants, but it's ultimately going to come down to the phone, I think. Both its design (which will really catch someone's eye), as well as its features and price point. LG wants to make sure that it remains a true competitor to Samsung, HTC, Apple, and others, it's going to have to go beyond just a rebranding.
What do you think? Will LG see a nice resurgence in 2018 following a rebranding of its G-series lineup? Other than a name change, what do you think LG has to do to really compete in today's market? Let me know!