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LG's next flagship phone (LG G7) could be released this April
- LG’s next flagship may be unveiled this March and officially released in April
- The handset would miss out on MWC 2018, and potentially lose ground to rival Samsung’s Galaxy S9
- This will be the first flagship to be released under LG’s new mobile chief, Hwang Jeong-hwan
Speculation last week suggested that LG may take a new approach with its flagship phone series in 2018. The company is expected to rebrand the long-standing “G” line, following a string of poor sales for the range. Until we learn the new naming convention, the LG G7 will remain our own title for the next flagship LG phone, and today, we’ve learned that its release date could be penned for this April.
The news arrives from ET News (via The Investor), which suggested that the device would be unveiled in March, putting it a month behind the LG G6 in terms of the yearly release cycle (that handset launched last February and went on sale in March).
ET News cites “a ranking official” at one of the top three carriers in South Korea (which are SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus) as the source of the information, while another industry insider told the website that the official release date would be April 20.
This is also expected to rule out a launch at MWC 2018 (LG likely wouldn’t unveil a new flagship on the last day of the conference, which ends March 1) in Barcelona — the setting for the announcement of both the LG G6 last year and LG G5 in 2016.
The LG G7 would be the first flagship LG phone to be released under the company’s new mobile boss Hwang Jeong-hwan, who assumed the role of “LG Mobile Communications CEO” last month. Given the mobile division’s recent losses, the pressure will be on for LG’s next flagship to be a hit.
Current specs rumors suggest that the handset will feature a Snapdragon 845 chip, as well as a bezel-less design and dual camera setup on the rear like the LG V30 (pictured above).
Meanwhile, the latest speculation regarding rival company Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S9, indicates it could be launched at MWC 2018 and released in March; with Samsung getting the jump on LG — and with the more popular smartphone series — LG might struggle to regain ground.
For more on what we expect from LG in 2018, hit the link.