The LG G6 is slated to be announced this month, and it is the anticipated follow-up to last year's G5 and its mostly-miss modular parts.
This will be LG's best chance to take on Samsung, after Samsung's premium Galaxy Note 7 went down in infamy for its exploding battery woes. Because Samsung recently wrapped up its Note 7 investigation, the company is likely to delay its Galaxy S8 phone launch, giving LG the opportunity to jump on its South Korean rival.
After sending out save-the-dates for February 26, LG officially called out the G6 in a follow-up invite for the enormous Mobile World Congress, held each year in Spain. The company also teased the attributes of the phone, implying that it's the "ideal smartphone" in a YouTube video.
So far, here's what is true/likely true about the
- It'll be unveiled on February 26 in Barcelona
- Feature a bezel-less display and rounder edges than the G5
- Waterproof design (rumored up to IP68 rating)
- One-handed usability
- Won't be modular or have modular accessories
- Will have Google Assistant AI software built in
- May have a 5.7-inch display or smaller with an 18x9 aspect ratio
- Preorders may begin March 9 and ship out in US on April 7
- In addition to Google Assistant, it may run Alexa too
- May have Snapdragon 821 processor (according to sources close to LG's plans, it's because Qualcomm's latest 835 processor won't be largely available until after the Galaxy S8 launches)
- Google Daydream-ready (given the G6's anticipated top-tier specs)
The phone's water resistance is also interesting. LG has never made a waterproof flagship before, and went as far to say that it was "not that useful" in a 2014 interview with Trusted Reviews.But as both Apple and Samsung made their headlining phones splashproof (not to mention Sony doing it for years prior), it comes as no surprise that LG is changing its tune and following suit.
At this point, it's still anyone's guess. CNET will be on the ground at MWC 2017 and for LG's keynote event, so check back as we update this piece with more details as they roll out.
On that note, it's still a question whether the G6 will have a removable battery or not. LG's flagships usually have a swappable battery, and it's often cited by users as their favorite feature. But because of speculation that the G6 will be waterproof, it'd make sense that LG would limit the number of seams and seal off the battery for a unibody design.
However, one teaser from LG noted that the G6 will have "more juice to go." On one hand this could just mean the battery is big enough to keep you "going" throughout your day. But on the other, it could mean that the battery is removable and you can take it "to go."