Huge opportunity for LG

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

I honestly hope LG can gain some momentum. HTC and Moto too. I don't want to see OEMs go away...far from it.

I would love to own a Motorola again. I had one back when the first Droid X came out. That phone was amazing at the time.

 

[Aquila]

The sales aren't good because simply they don't have the name SAMSUNG. It doesn't matter how good a phone the G6 is. LG was smart to use last year's processor as it probably saved them money.

You are right to a point if you are defining good as being the level of sales that Samsung has. It would take five or six years of steady momentum in order to come close to Samsung sales and most of those sales would have to come from Samsung customers. So that's something that has not really been happening so far and expecting anything to happen overnight is not realistic.

The other piece of it that you're somewhat right on is that when the majority of customers go into the store to buy a phone the sales person directs them to Apple and Samsung devices. Almost every time the consumer is going to buy what the salesperson tells them is the best device. The catch there is that a lot of times the sales person doesn't even know what is the best device. They are going on their own opinions and misconceptions and even miss information that's been given to them and then they are playing the role of expert.

That said within the US flagship market LG is still actually doing pretty well as a percentage of total sales. They are a strong third place in this market even though they are no longer in the top five globally.

 

[Aquila]

Yeah, at a certain point, the whole "marketing" and "namebrand" excuse gets old. Fact is, people like Samsung phones. They are good looking, high performing smartphones. Now there are other brands that are just as good if not better, but you need to be consistent, year after year of delivering what people want. which no one but Apple and Samsung has done the last 4 or 5 years. That's really how Samsung survived the Note disaster. They had already built up lots of customer loyalty.

I think LG now gets it.

I agree and disagree with you here. I agree that Samsung is making quality products that are displays of what they believe the market once and in a lot of ways they are exactly correct. They are selling phones that sell to people.

The part I disagree with is a little more subtle. LG could legitimately put out a device that is better than anything Samsung kicks out that year... and Samsung will still out sell them. And that plays on the momentum point that you were making but it's really important because LG could make a better device for more people for several years in a row and still not outsell Samsung if they cannot get past the reputation aspect. Because realistically Samsung's not about to start putting out bad phones and neither is Apple. So LG needs to develop a reputation for putting out quality devices and do so in a way that points out how much better their devices are than their competition.

But first they're going to actually have to put out devices that are better than their competition. And they're not there yet; they're not even top five.

 

[RaRa85]

I agree and disagree with you here. I agree that Samsung is making quality products that are displays of what they believe the market once and in a lot of ways they are exactly correct. They are selling phones that sell to people.

The part I disagree with is a little more subtle. LG could legitimately put out a device that is better than anything Samsung kicks out that year... and Samsung will still out sell them. And that plays on the momentum point that you were making but it's really important because LG could make a better device for more people for several years in a row and still not outsell Samsung if they cannot get past the reputation aspect. Because realistically Samsung's not about to start putting out bad phones and neither is Apple. So LG needs to develop a reputation for putting out quality devices and do so in a way that points out how much better their devices are than their competition.

But first they're going to actually have to put out devices that are better than their competition. And they're not there yet; they're not even top five.

Agree. LG probably has made the best phone this year and the result is I've already seen in comments on YouTube "but I'm still going to get the Note 8, Samsung Galaxy S8+." No definitive reason other than its made by Samsung. If you swapped the logos on the Galaxy S8 and the V30 it would be the same story.

 

[Almeuit]

Mod Note

I cleaned up some off-topic posts. This post is about LG and what they can do to be better. Not why Samsung is king and no one compares. This will be my last warning on off-topic discussion since I have already asked for this to be corrected before and it seems to have been disregarded.

If you have questions -- shoot me a PM.

Thanks.

 

[Aquila]

Mod Note

I cleaned up some off-topic posts. This post is about LG and what they can do to be better. Not why Samsung is king and no one compares. This will be my last warning on off-topic discussion since I have already asked for this to be corrected before and it seems to have been disregarded.

If you have questions -- shoot me a PM.

Thanks.

Copy that

 

[recDNA]

LG is not going to get there overnight. The G6 and the V30 both show a lot of improvement and intentionality that are much needed. There's still a long way to go.

It's really not rocket science. Instead of esoteric camera modifications just slap a 4000 mAh battery in the V30 and it might compete. Just make it a little thicker.

 

[Mike Dee]

It's really not rocket science. Instead of esoteric camera modifications just slap a 4000 mAh battery in the V30 and it might compete. Just make it a little thicker.

I agree with what you want but I'm not sure that will sell everyone just because it's got a bigger battery. I also like some of the camera improvements. Need to see it hands on to be sure.

 

[recDNA]

I agree with what you want but I'm not sure that will sell everyone just because it's got a bigger battery. I also like some of the camera improvements. Need to see it hand on to be sure.

Nothing will sell everyone. Ads pushing 7 hour SOT would impress imo.

To get me they'd have to keep the ir blaster or add led notifications but I know my preferences are unusual.

 

[Joshua_Muldoon]

I agree personally. Thick and bit heavy don't bother me, but in-store consumers (especially ladies and Presidents with smaller hands) will love the current form factor.

LOL.

 

[Dark Pixels ll]

LG needs to be bold and target Samsung customers with aggressive marketing like they do in Korea.

 

[Aquila]

I think a lot of Samsung's and LGs fans would think the Pixel was a tough sell at full price. $2 billion in marketing and a hard push from a major carrier and they over double their sales expectations. If LG were to take that path, or one like it, and match the dollars with quality that blows their customers away, we'd see them turning heads.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

LG needs to be bold and target Samsung customers with aggressive marketing like they do in Korea.

They already are. They copied Samsung pretty heavy with the V30.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

I think a lot of Samsung's and LGs fans would think the Pixel was a tough sell at full price. $2 billion in marketing and a hard push from a major carrier and they over double their sales expectations. If LG were to take that path, or one like it, and match the dollars with quality that blows their customers away, we'd see them turning heads.

The Pixels filled the niche for pure Android fans and it had a strong camera with unlimited photo backup. LG doesn't fill any significant niche.

 

[Aquila]

The Pixels filled the niche for pure Android fans and it had a strong camera with unlimited photo backup.

That and was a gateway to Android for some iOS users as well. That was the intention between the obvious similarities. Same feel, same front, same storage options (except 256), same pricing, adapters and special software specially to transfer your iPhone stuff to your Pixel.

LG has a niche, but they need broader appeal. Find that set of gateway features and go wide talking them up. Get carrier backing, hell get Google backing. The only way for LG to explode is to make something everyone is talking about. I have people that don't know anything about phones (and don't care) ask about the Google phone. That's what marketing can do.

I'm not saying anything you don't know, just trying to write the whole point down. It is possible for LG to grow, but it's going to take time, more money and a whole lot more effort.

 

[Mike Dee]

That and was a gateway to Android for some iOS users as well. That was the intention between the obvious similarities. Same feel, same front, same storage options (except 256), same pricing, adapters and special software specially to transfer your iPhone stuff to your Pixel.

LG has a niche, but they need broader appeal. Find that set of gateway features and go wide talking them up. Get carrier backing, hell get Google backing. The only way for LG to explode is to make something everyone is talking about. I have people that don't know anything about phones (and don't care) ask about the Google phone. That's what marketing can do.

I'm not saying anything you don't know, just trying to write the whole point down. It is possible for LG to grow, but it's going to take time, more money and a whole lot more effort.

Well said as usual....

 

[jesskoh]

They already are. They copied Samsung pretty heavy with the V30.

I agree with that. But they also added in features that are unique to their V series.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

I agree with that. But they also added in features that are unique to their V series.

Features few people cared about before.

 

[EnemiesInTheEnd]

That and was a gateway to Android for some iOS users as well. That was the intention between the obvious similarities. Same feel, same front, same storage options (except 256), same pricing, adapters and special software specially to transfer your iPhone stuff to your Pixel.

LG has a niche, but they need broader appeal. Find that set of gateway features and go wide talking them up. Get carrier backing, hell get Google backing. The only way for LG to explode is to make something everyone is talking about. I have people that don't know anything about phones (and don't care) ask about the Google phone. That's what marketing can do.

I'm not saying anything you don't know, just trying to write the whole point down. It is possible for LG to grow, but it's going to take time, more money and a whole lot more effort.

LG's niche is tiny, as their sales have shown.

 

[jesskoh]

Features few people cared about before.

Actually they are targeting a very niche crowd but not the general public