[Courtesy of LG]
As the much-anticipated launch of LG's flagship G6 is just around the corner, consumer doubt is growing over specs, mainly on its processor using an outmoded chipset.
LG will release its new flagship G6 at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 26 while Samsung will introduce its Galaxy S8 at the end of March before selling globally a month later.
LG believes it's time to catch up with Samsung as the domestic rival is still reeling from the failure of its combustive Note 7 that has tarnished Samsung's image as the world's largest smartphone maker.
LG's new phone, however, is using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 chipset, prompting consumers to raise questions about performance. Snapdragon 821 is considered a generation behind Snapdragon 835 SoC to be installed in Samsung's Galaxy S8.
The 835 chipset is based on Samsung's new 10-nanometer node technology. The microchip giant started the mass production of 835 chipsets in October last year.
Expert rate the 14-nanometer node Snapdragon 821 as a decent chipset but Snapdragon 835 is about 27 percent faster and consumes less energy. The new chipset is also about 30 percent smaller in size, allowing more space for extra parts.
Experts speculated it's inevitable for LG to choose the 821 chipset due to stable supply because it would take at least six months for LG to install the 835 chipsets into G6.
Having a secure and stable supply of phone parts is crucial when a smartphone maker rolls out a huge amount of complete products ready for sale because many new phones are usually sold in the first week of their release.
"LG should have delayed the launching of G6," said "Kkumong", a user from an online IT community Clien. "LG should have installed the 835 into G6 to compete with Galaxy S8. But now, G6 will be no match for Samsung."
Another user "Sub_Sub" said: "G6 would be another tragedy for LG. Their only chance is to gain attention from light users, but G6 is priced at a similar level to Samsung's. So, people would probably wait one more month to buy new phones."
Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
