LG kicked off the pre-MWC press conference marathon on Sunday in style: it announced the smartphone we already expected to see at the show, the G6. The handset has a massive display, and LG spent most of its press event talking about the various features of FullVision screens, ignoring other details that consumers might be interested in, such as availability details and pricing.
However, LG confirmed the release date and price for the G6. We have good and bad news for you.<!—more–>
Cho Juno, the head of LG’s mobile division talked to The Investor about the LG G6 handsets, revealing launch details in the process.
“The phone will hit the Korean market first on March 10,” Cho said when asked about the launch timeframe. “The price starts at 899,800 won (US$796.85)”
The good news here is that the phone is indeed launching in early March, just as previously rumored, At around $800, the phone’s price may seem rather steep, but the LG G6 will still be less expensive than the Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 8 coming out later this year.
It’s not clear when the LG G6 will arrive in other markets, and Cho wasn’t that forthcoming about this particular detail.
“We will make new investments for promotional activities in April and May before the phone’s full-scale shipment starts in the third quarter,” Cho said. “We need to see the spending and device sales during the period. Sales will be better than those of the G5 or V20. We cannot reveal the sales target.”
Let’s just hope that America, China, and the main European markets are going to get the phone as fast as humanly possible. We told you in our hands-on preview of the handset that the G6 has some 42 days to shine until the Galaxy S8 launches. It’s up to LG to take advantage of that massive lead.
Cho also explained that it faced various yield issues last year that made it impossible for the G5 to compete. That might be true, but the phone’s modular design was probably the reason why the G5 never stood a chance.
This year, LG may have fixed both problems. We already know the G6 is a beautiful handset, and it seems that LG has been getting ready for it accordingly. LG started “preparations for the G6 more than six months earlier than usual,” Cho said. “We have also secured enough products to sell this time.”
