In the spring of 2021, LG finally closed the mobile division, ending the decade-long history of its Android smartphones. During this time, the company offered a lot of innovations that have taken root: the first capacitive screen, an ultra-wide-angle camera, and even a manual video mode. However, LG also offered many unusual solutions that could not gain popularity. I propose to recall the most notable of them.
Smartphone with a square screen
In 2012, phablets became a real boom – smartphones with a huge screen. LG hastened to refine the original format and showed Optimus Vu with a “square” screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3 and a stylus. A kind of electronic notebook in your pocket with extremely ambiguous ergonomics. At short intervals, the next two generations were shown, but these smartphones did not find popularity in our country. I propose to quickly turn this page of history.
Volume and power buttons on the back
Fast forward to 2013, when it was decided to make a frameless smartphone. This is how the company explained the transfer of the LG G2 keys from the sidewalls to the back cover. The goal was achieved: the thickness of the side frames of the flagship equals a record at that time of 2.65 mm, and the 5.2-inch screen was able to fit into the dimensions of a typical 5-inch smartphone. As a user of the LG G2, I note that the index finger always rests on the keys, and it is also much more convenient to adjust the volume right in your pocket.
Unfortunately, the solution has remained a proprietary feature of LG smartphones. The company used it in flagships and mid-range devices up to the LG G5. In this 2016 device and the next LG G6, the volume control was moved to the sidewall, but the power button, already with a built-in fingerprint scanner, was still on the back. The final rejection of its own business card occurred with the advent of the LG G7. Please note that the frameless trend was born in 2013 with the LG G2 and continues to this day!
Double tap to wake up and Knock Code
The LG G2 brought in another idea – double-tap the screen to wake and lock, or simply Knock ON, as LG called it. It is unnecessary to explain the essence of this option, many are familiar with it. The following year, 2014, LG went further and showed Knock Code. This method of blocking consisted of successively touching certain areas of the screen. For example: top right corner, then bottom left corner and finally two knocks on the top left corner – voila, the smartphone is unlocked. Interesting, especially given the ability to enter such a password when the screen is off. In a short video, an exhaustive demonstration, I recommend it for review.
Knock Code debuted with the LG G3, and since then the feature has spread to many smartphones with software updates. Knock Code was out of work immediately after the appearance of fingerprint scanners. Nevertheless, the method of blocking can be called successful, taking into account the non-proliferation at that time. But double-tap to wake up has become really popular and is still found in most smartphones as an option to this day.
concave screen
At the moment when the diagonals of the displays began to grow exorbitantly, the idea arose to curve the screen. Not just to bend the side edges, as is done now, but to create a screen that is completely concave horizontally. So, at the end of 2013, LG G Flex appeared with a unique OLED screen under polymer protection. For durability, the smartphone was truly flexible and straightened by squeezing in the palms without any consequences. In parallel, Samsung experimented with a horizontally concave screen in the Galaxy Round model. However, none of these approaches became widespread: Samsung immediately abandoned the idea, and LG still managed to release the G Flex 2 and G4, after which they also cooled down to the technology.
Self-healing back cover
The flagship phablet LG G Flex was also notable for its unusual back cover, on which small scratches were tightened. A full recovery took no more than 3 minutes, and the G Flex 2 reduced the time to 30 seconds. Just watch a short video, it fully reflects the essence of the technology.
The secret lies in a special polymer that covers the case back. The quality of scratch tightening depends on the ambient temperature. The best result is achieved at 27°C, it is in such conditions that the commercial was filmed. In real life, there are still traces of damage, but they can hardly be seen with the naked eye. Of course, over time, the polymer wears out, as a result of which it ceases to “spread” and fill in scratches.
Leather case back
LG G4 has incorporated all the chips listed above, except for a self-healing back cover. Instead, the 2015 flagship got a heel counter made of genuine leather in different colors – softer or rougher to choose from. The tactile impressions were great, I personally liked the characteristic stitching in the center. At a long distance, the material also did not disappoint, noble aging is about the LG G4. And after some time, the cover could be changed to a new one, because it is removable.
Second screen
The LG V10 has a tiny second screen mounted above the main one. It has been adapted to display notifications, calendar events and quick shortcuts. Even then, this option seemed very strange, but this did not stop the world from revealing a follower of the LG V20. With the release of the LG G6, which for the first time on the market offered an elongated screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9, the concept has finally lost its relevance.
The next experiment took place already in the days of the LG V50. Its second screen was inside an optional case. And this is no longer a tiny addition, but a colossus with a diagonal, like that of the main screen. Approximately the same concept is exploited by Microsoft Surface Duo. Similar cases were received by LG V60 and LG G8X, but this idea was not settled either. The latest attempt to tame two screens happened in 2020, with the extremely unusual LG Wings with a swivel screen becoming the swan song of the mobile division.
Modularity
By 2016, sales of LG smartphones had been sagging for more than a year, interesting solutions were urgently needed. And to create the LG G5, they turned to the long-held idea of a modular smartphone, but implemented it in their own way. Instead of interchangeable components, like the Fairphone, or magnetic modules, like the Moto, the Koreans came up with the idea of integrating add-ons into a removable chin.
Amplifier and DAC for good sound, a handle for comfortable shooting and a 360-degree camera with a VR helmet – the LG G5 starter kit, to which the development of modules was limited. A little later, a simplified LG G5 SE appeared in exactly the same case for compatibility with modules, but the idea did not develop further. The concept was let down by weak sales, due to obvious ergonomic miscalculations. The main one: together with the chin, the removable battery is turned off, that is, it is impossible to change the module without rebooting.
Built-in 4-channel DAC for Hi-Fi sound
The idea to provide a smartphone with Hi-Fi level sound turned out to be successful and was continued in 2016. The LG V20 debuted a built-in quad-channel DAC, with which a regular smartphone could effortlessly drive high-impedance professional headphones while delivering great signal detail and power. High-quality sound has become a feature of many of the company’s flagships up to the LG V60. Then the need for a built-in amplifier disappeared, because the wireless headphones that have become popular do not need it.
Powerful Boombox Speaker
Following the headphones, the engineers worked on the speaker and the Boombox technology was created for the LG G7. With its help, the back cover begins to resonate, and the sound from the smartphone lying on the table spreads over the entire surface. Remembering my impressions of the G7 Fit, it gives a feeling of volume and low frequencies unprecedented for a portable. The sound remains clear and rich, no worse than some small external speakers. To complete the experience, there is not enough stereo effect. It’s a pity, because it was a pair of speakers that won the flagships, and the promising Boombox never received significant distribution.
Hand ID Authentication
Every year, the design of LG’s flagships has become more and more ordinary, and special chips are less noticeable. The degradation and crisis of ideas is confirmed by the idea to recognize the Hand ID palm pattern to unlock the LG G8. An original attempt to respond to Apple’s chic Face ID face recognition and Samsung’s experiments with iris input failed hopelessly. The very idea of holding your palm in front of your smartphone while waiting for a long scan that may fail is insane. According to statistics, Hand ID works only in 20% of cases.
The article was created based on the materials of Android Authority.
Source: Trash Box
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