This idea started here: https://forums.androidcentral.com/s...l-real-king-arrives-lg-v30-9.html#post5954136
Long story short, LG for a couple generations now has been marketing some of it's devices as using "military grade" materials, implying that they are more durable than other products. Unfortunately, "military grade", in the context of civilian products, is a meaningless term.
This is from the other thread, '..."military grade", when being used as a term that is not part of the spec requirements for a piece of military equipment, doesn't actually mean anything. It is a marketing term. One thing it might mean is that they are using the same materials as used in a piece of military equipment, but unless they disclose which piece of equipment, there's no way of knowing what exactly it is, if anything. Example, if they were saying the aluminum part of the body was military grade, that could mean it's the same aluminum used in fences, or in forks or in some parts of an Abrams or it could mean it's the same aluminum specs used for the eyelets of hooded t-shirts available in the Exchange.
TLDR: "military" grade DOES NOT mean ANYTHING, at all, in the context of smartphones'.
So here's a good example of how Mil Spec or military grade works:
Mil Spec or military grade 440 steel, used in many products, including some knives, etc. is... 440 steel. It's the exact same product you can pick up at the Home Depot or wherever you choose to buy steel in bulk. If you're not in the military, you call it 440 steel. Is it military grade? Sure. But only because there are products that the military uses that material in. The product is exactly the same.
So the "mil" part of it, doesn't tell you a thing about it. It doesn't provide any information about the strength, durability or intended uses, in any context.
Mil Spec materials are simply materials that have been adopted to be used in at least one product that is used by or purchased on behalf of the military and the types of materials are thus labeled as to make them interchangeable between production units. So mil spec cotton is... cotton. Mil spec applesauce is applesauce. You get the idea.
Another example, if you take your car apart, down to components. Nuts, bolts, sheets of metal and glass, plastic things and some rubber... more than 90% of the materials you have in front of you will likely be, in some degree, mil-spec or 'aircraft grade'. Yet your car is not rated for any theater on earth as a defensive tool. That theater bit is important, because if LG was instead stating that their devices were meeting 'military performance specifications' and specified in which theaters it is so rated, that'd be an interesting conversation. Because that would mean that the device was designed for and tested in conditions similar to anticipated military conditions. In general, we could assume that there is some implied durability or reliability standards being met. Sadly, that's not the case.
Phones are made out of plastic, silicon, gold, aluminum, glass, etc. Some have ceramic and titanium, some have sapphire, some even have glue. If any of the materials used are also used in any product commissioned for or produced by the military, then that phone maker could label their device as using "military grade" products, and it's not a lie. But it's definitely misleading. Because it's implying that it is more durable than, or better performing than other devices... and that's simply not the case. Or at least it's not anything that can be learned from using those materials and/or that term.
Finally, LG states that their device exceeds minimum standards for the MIL-STD-810G, and for this they are ONLY referring to the drop test, not the rest of the spec, which would protect against intense temperatures, pressure, etc. So here's the test: The device is dropped on each of it's 6 sides, 12 edges and 8 corners from a height of between 2.5 and 4.0 feet (30 to 48 inches) onto a surface that is 2 inches of plywood covering concrete. After each drop it is inspected for damage and at the end of the 26 drops, if it still works then the device passes. So let's ask an obvious question... do you know of a recent device that can't pass that test? Also, the drops can be divided, at the manufacturer's request, among up to 5 identical units. So it's not 26 drops to 1 device, it's 5 drops each to 4 devices and 6 drops to the remaining 1 device. Also, let's think about what "works" means. "Works" does not mean "has no perceivable cracks or blemishes". "Works" means that the touch screen still works, you can make calls, etc. The display can be mostly destroyed and the device can generally pass as still "works".
TLDR part 2: LG is intentionally using a marketing term, "military grade" to imply superiority in build quality or build materials or durability, etc. over their competitors. Doing so is not lying, so long as some of their materials actually are MIL-SPEC materials. Yet, it is definitely not honest, because all of their competitors can do exactly the same thing. This term means literally nothing in the context of smartphones and the implications that LG wants to project are intentionally misleading and we should all agree to stop using this term as if it were a benefit to buying their devices which other devices lack.
Long story short, LG for a couple generations now has been marketing some of it's devices as using "military grade" materials, implying that they are more durable than other products. Unfortunately, "military grade", in the context of civilian products, is a meaningless term.
This is from the other thread, '..."military grade", when being used as a term that is not part of the spec requirements for a piece of military equipment, doesn't actually mean anything. It is a marketing term. One thing it might mean is that they are using the same materials as used in a piece of military equipment, but unless they disclose which piece of equipment, there's no way of knowing what exactly it is, if anything. Example, if they were saying the aluminum part of the body was military grade, that could mean it's the same aluminum used in fences, or in forks or in some parts of an Abrams or it could mean it's the same aluminum specs used for the eyelets of hooded t-shirts available in the Exchange.
TLDR: "military" grade DOES NOT mean ANYTHING, at all, in the context of smartphones'.
So here's a good example of how Mil Spec or military grade works:
Mil Spec or military grade 440 steel, used in many products, including some knives, etc. is... 440 steel. It's the exact same product you can pick up at the Home Depot or wherever you choose to buy steel in bulk. If you're not in the military, you call it 440 steel. Is it military grade? Sure. But only because there are products that the military uses that material in. The product is exactly the same.
So the "mil" part of it, doesn't tell you a thing about it. It doesn't provide any information about the strength, durability or intended uses, in any context.
Mil Spec materials are simply materials that have been adopted to be used in at least one product that is used by or purchased on behalf of the military and the types of materials are thus labeled as to make them interchangeable between production units. So mil spec cotton is... cotton. Mil spec applesauce is applesauce. You get the idea.
Another example, if you take your car apart, down to components. Nuts, bolts, sheets of metal and glass, plastic things and some rubber... more than 90% of the materials you have in front of you will likely be, in some degree, mil-spec or 'aircraft grade'. Yet your car is not rated for any theater on earth as a defensive tool. That theater bit is important, because if LG was instead stating that their devices were meeting 'military performance specifications' and specified in which theaters it is so rated, that'd be an interesting conversation. Because that would mean that the device was designed for and tested in conditions similar to anticipated military conditions. In general, we could assume that there is some implied durability or reliability standards being met. Sadly, that's not the case.
Phones are made out of plastic, silicon, gold, aluminum, glass, etc. Some have ceramic and titanium, some have sapphire, some even have glue. If any of the materials used are also used in any product commissioned for or produced by the military, then that phone maker could label their device as using "military grade" products, and it's not a lie. But it's definitely misleading. Because it's implying that it is more durable than, or better performing than other devices... and that's simply not the case. Or at least it's not anything that can be learned from using those materials and/or that term.
Finally, LG states that their device exceeds minimum standards for the MIL-STD-810G, and for this they are ONLY referring to the drop test, not the rest of the spec, which would protect against intense temperatures, pressure, etc. So here's the test: The device is dropped on each of it's 6 sides, 12 edges and 8 corners from a height of between 2.5 and 4.0 feet (30 to 48 inches) onto a surface that is 2 inches of plywood covering concrete. After each drop it is inspected for damage and at the end of the 26 drops, if it still works then the device passes. So let's ask an obvious question... do you know of a recent device that can't pass that test? Also, the drops can be divided, at the manufacturer's request, among up to 5 identical units. So it's not 26 drops to 1 device, it's 5 drops each to 4 devices and 6 drops to the remaining 1 device. Also, let's think about what "works" means. "Works" does not mean "has no perceivable cracks or blemishes". "Works" means that the touch screen still works, you can make calls, etc. The display can be mostly destroyed and the device can generally pass as still "works".
TLDR part 2: LG is intentionally using a marketing term, "military grade" to imply superiority in build quality or build materials or durability, etc. over their competitors. Doing so is not lying, so long as some of their materials actually are MIL-SPEC materials. Yet, it is definitely not honest, because all of their competitors can do exactly the same thing. This term means literally nothing in the context of smartphones and the implications that LG wants to project are intentionally misleading and we should all agree to stop using this term as if it were a benefit to buying their devices which other devices lack.
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