LG

LG is a South Korean conglomerate comprising many companies, each operating in a completely different sector. The best known is LG Electronics, which is responsible for all consumer electronics, including televisions, mobile phones, tablets and smartwatches.

History of LG Electronics

Believe it or not, LG Electronics has only existed in its current form since 1995. Before that, it was known as GoldStar. That company was founded in 1958 following the Korean War and merged with Lak Hui (pronounced ‘Lucky’) in 1983. In 1995, Lucky-Goldstar was renamed LG, and that’s when the slogan ‘Life’s Good’ was introduced. The LG logo consists of the letters ‘L’ and ‘G’ arranged in such a way that they form a smiling face.

LG series

Although LG has been manufacturing mobile phones for some time, it has only been releasing smartphones since 2010. LG uses Google’s Android operating system for its smartphones. LG has organised its product portfolio into the following series, which usually consist of a single letter followed by a number;

• V – Large premium and high-end flagship models
• G – High-end flagship models
• Q – Premium mid-range models
• K – Mid-range models

The company had previously phased out the X, L and F series. The Stylus series, which came with a stylus, has also not been produced for some time. LG briefly used the name Optimus from 2010 to 2013 but eventually dropped it. In the meantime, the company has introduced a new name: ThinQ. This designation is applied to products that feature the necessary AI (artificial intelligence).

Slow Android updates

LG is often criticised for being slow to release Android updates. It ranks number one when it comes to slow Android phone updates. This is despite changes made by Google to speed up the roll-out of Android updates and LG setting up a separate department for this purpose. Top-of-the-range models do usually receive an update, but there’s generally a long wait for it. Anyone considering an LG phone running Android who values fast updates should bear this in mind.

In-house displays

Because LG also manufactures its own displays (LG Display), it is sometimes able to release interesting phone models. Take, for example, the LG G Flex from 2013, which featured a curved display. It was also the first to feature a Quad HD screen in a mobile phone: the G3. Although widely criticised as ‘overkill’ at the time of its announcement, this resolution is now commonplace in high-end phones. LG is also one of the few manufacturers capable of producing OLED screens, which are renowned for their high contrast ratios.

LG Smartwatches

As well as phones, LG also produces its own range of smartwatches. The first one was actually released back in 2008: the GD910. At the time, it wasn’t particularly practical due to its short battery life. Since 2014, LG has been releasing a new range of smartwatches under the name G Watch. The ‘G’ was dropped as early as 2015. From then on, it was simply called the LG Watch.

The end of LG mobile phones

In early 2021, LG announced it would stop manufacturing and selling mobile phones. The reason cited was declining revenue. LG did, however, promise to continue upgrading existing phones and providing them with security updates. However, one might wonder how much priority it places on this. LG was active in the mobile phone market for many years and released some real gems that inspired the rest of the industry to make better phones.