We’ve already mentioned our goodbyes to LG after it shuttered its Cell divison in 2021. However whereas time might heal all wounds, for me, there nonetheless exists a boring ache in my coronary heart the place LG’s smartphones used to sit down. And that ache has solely grow to be extra acute with the ultimate peal of the bell for LG Cell — on June 30, LG’s cell replace servers will stop functioning, finally consigning even essentially the most loyal of LG’s followers to a different model of smartphone.
See, LG was no widespread smartphone producer. Whereas it made some wonderful (however regular) smartphones, LG’s actual expertize lay within the weird. For each Google Nexus 5, there existed one other smartphone with a totally off-the-wall idea. And whereas different producers would create one thing revolutionary and weird each now-and-again, it really turned what LG was identified for. From telephones that existed earlier than their time, these with two screens, and the really bonkers LG Wing, listed below are 5 of the craziest smartphones LG made.
Goodbye LG Cell, I’ll miss you.
Forward of its time: LG Optimus Vu
I’ll begin this listing with a cellphone that’s much less loopy and extra forward of its time: The LG Optimus Vu.
Take a look at the Optimus Vu with trendy eyes and also you may surprise what’s unsuitable with it. One of many first “phablets” to bridge the hole between customary smartphones and tablets, the LG Optimus Vu’s 5-inch show was ludicrously massive for the time. That will appear bizarre to us now, with our 6-inch plus telephones as customary, however the iPhone from the identical yr, the iPhone 5, had a 4-inch show, and as such, this cellphone appeared monumental.
To be truthful, it was monumental, and that’s due to the scale. Reasonably than the extra customary slim rectangle we’re used to, LG determined to squish the cellphone right into a 4:3 facet ratio. And you may see why it might need labored: That’s the facet ratio for many paper sizes, and non-widescreen TVs. However on a cellphone? It makes for a unusually squat determine, with critiques of the time complaining of how troublesome it might be to succeed in the opposite finish of the show. And so they have a degree — at over 90mm extensive, the Optimus Vu’s wideness dwarfs even the iPhone 16 Professional Max‘s 77.6mm width. To these historic peoples of 2012, it will need to have appeared like a huge monolith of a cellphone.
The LG Optimus Vu had its followers, and it bought over 1 million items in LG’s homeland of Korea, and had sequels, however its most enduring legacy is displaying that LG’s transfer from dumb telephones to smartphones hadn’t slaked its artistic juices within the slightest. And actually, we hadn’t seen something but.
Adaptable however flawed: LG G5
Transferring into crazier territory, now we have the LG G5. By itself, the LG G5 isn’t notably odd. By the requirements of the time, the G5 was a stable flagship smartphone that took on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S. It lacked in battery energy, however when it comes to pure efficiency, beauty, and powerful digicam, it was a winner. So why is it on this listing? It’s as a result of LG couldn’t resist including a little bit of bizarre into the combo, and like many people, LG G5 has a really unusual household.
Press a button on the backside of the cellphone and the bottom part of the cellphone would slip proper off, together with the battery module. And albeit, that looks like a horrible factor to occur to your cellphone — however don’t fear, these mad individuals at LG did this on objective. The G5 Household was a sequence of modules you may clip onto the underside of your cellphone to boost and alter its capabilities on the fly. There was a beefy speaker module created with Bang & Olufsen, a digital actuality digicam, and the (truly fairly good) CamPlus module, which added one other battery pack, hand-grip, and digicam controls to your cellphone.
It’s an extremely revolutionary concept, however one which sadly didn’t catch on. The issues with the on-the-fly swapping had been apparent from the beginning — the battery sliding out each time you needed to alter modules was a ache, and people equipment had been an extra expense on prime of getting simply spent $600 in your new cellphone. That’s a midrnage cellphone at this time, however in 2016, that sum bought you a top-of-the-line flagship, and having to pay further to get essentially the most out of your cellphone did sting.
So it’s not likely a large shock that the LG G5’s weirdness ended with it. Besides, I adore it. The LG G5 was the primary of LG’s creations to essentially catch my eye, and I actually remorse not grabbing one after I had the prospect.
However now we have even weirder to go, as a result of as soon as once more, LG went forward and simply straight-up predicted the longer term.
A imaginative and prescient of the longer term: LG G Flex
Bounce again in time to 2013, and whoa, LG predicted the longer term! However in typical LG trend, it went and predicted it barely unsuitable. Curved shows had been the longer term sure, however not like this. However irrespective of, as a result of the LG G Flex remains to be one of many coolest smartphones round, and largely unparalleled even at this time.
Today, telephones with curved screens are nothing odd. Heck, we’ve even moved on to folding telephones with completely foldable shows — however in 2013, a curved display screen was one thing fairly unimaginable, and the LG G Flex stood largely alone due to this. Whereas telephones just like the Galaxy Nexus had used curved screens earlier than, we’d seen nothing on the extent of the dimensions and curve of the G Flex.
It was truly an excellent cellphone consequently. On the time, a 6-inch show was one thing massive and unwieldy, and telephones just like the Galaxy Notice 3 had been seen as virtually too-big. The G Flex sidestepped that with its curve, which helps it sit comfortably in your hand even helps when it’s being held by your face. Oddly, LG additionally determined to maneuver the cellphone’s buttons to the rear of the system, a wild concept even now.
Finally, the LG G Flex was a very good cellphone, because it packed in top-tier energy (for the time) and two to a few days of battery life, which might be spectacular even at this time.
However strap your self in, as a result of right here’s the place issues begin to get actually bizarre.
Two screens for the value of 1: LG G8X ThinQ Twin Display screen
In LG’s protection, the LG G8X packed so much into it to deserve the hyper-appellation (so long as you ignore the “ThinQ” half, anyway). Not solely was it a stable flagship cellphone in its personal proper, however the G8X got here with a second show. This second show clipped onto the facet of the particular cellphone utilizing a case, and functioned as a proto-folding cellphone of types. And it labored too — whereas it didn’t have an enormous quantity of help, it did supply some precise advantages, and on the worth of $700, it was virtually three-times lower than its chief competitors, the primary technology Samsung Galaxy Fold.
So what went unsuitable? Nicely, together with arriving in direction of the tip of LG’s time as a cell producer, the LG G8X merely didn’t supply sufficient. By itself the G8X was a bit boring, and whereas the Twin Display screen may hardly be accused of such, it was large and didn’t do sufficient to justify all that further heft and displaced house. Plus, whereas the Galaxy Fold might have been a bit bit garbage, it was a technological marvel that confirmed the place the longer term was going, and consequently, the Twin Display screen already appeared obselete shortly after launch.
However don’t fear, LG nonetheless had one ace up its sleeve — and whereas it could not have been wherever near sufficient to save lots of the division, it was a fittingly insane swansong for LG Cell.
Nonetheless bonkers: LG Wing
Simply take a look at it. Take a look at it. The LG Wing is a very and impressively bonkers piece of package. The fruits of LG Cell’s many years of design expertise, the Wing attracts closely from LG’s previous expertise with sliding dumb telephones, whereas additionally being unwilling to let go of the concept of getting a couple of display screen.
The LG Wing seemed similar to an everyday cellphone; till you pushed barely on the underside of the show, and all the panel swivelled round to sit down in a T form and reveal a smaller show beneath. It was extremely effectively constructed, and the mechanism felt implausible, however in the end, there wasn’t truly all that a lot to do with the show as soon as it was out. Not like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, most content material didn’t adapt to the T-shaped show, and it meant its makes use of had been sadly few.
To LG’s credit score, the Wing fastened plenty of the issues with the LG G8X ThinQ Twin Display screen. For one, the title was a lot smaller, a aid for tech writers in every single place, however extra importantly, the majority was diminished. It was nonetheless noticeably completely different from a normal cellphone although, being over 10mm thick and 260 grams in weight. Sure, it wasn’t as thick or heavy because the Galaxy Z Fold 2, nevertheless it wasn’t that far off, which ought to have been a warning for LG from the start.
The LG Wing was revolutionary, technologically superior, and intensely effectively constructed. However was it cellphone? Sadly not, which in plenty of methods, makes it stand out even farther from the opposite telephones on this listing. Maybe it might be mentioned that the LG Wing was an LG too far, however sadly, the writing was already on the wall for LG even earlier than the Wing was launched, and the corporate didn’t final for much longer.
Was I shocked when LG Cell shut down? Completely not, it was clear it wasn’t doing all that effectively for years earlier than it lastly shut down. However I nonetheless miss it, purely as a producer that’s prepared to create some really weird smartphones. Whereas innovation hasn’t stalled by any means, most main producers like Apple and Samsung are comfortable to launch similar-looking smartphones year-after-year. Yeah, they’re virtually at all times higher, and the software program and {hardware} improves on a regular basis, however the place’s the enjoyment, the place’s the madness? At any time when LG launched a brand new cellphone you knew you had been about to come back throughout one thing extremely boring, or extremely weird, with seemingly nothing in between. And I miss that dedication to the extremes.
The smartphone world feels a bit boring with out LG, and I’ll miss it terribly for that cause.