The mention of LG does not necessarily trigger thoughts of some sleek smartphones that one can walk into a random shop in Kenya and buy. Yet, the Korean company, constantly overshadowed locally in the mobile device market by compatriot Samsung, maintains a presence in the mobile arena.
As it will become apparent to attendees of the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, LG, despite dwindling fortunes in its mobile business, hasn’t given up, yet.
The company will be showcasing several devices at the annual trade show.
LG has already confirmed that it will be revealing its new flagship smartphone, the LG G8 ThinQ (when are they going to drop that moniker?), will be launched at the weeklong event in Catalonia.
Today, the company has also announced that it will be showcasing three other smartphones meant for those who won’t be able to pay a premium fee for the G8.
The devices, LG K40, LG K50 and LGQ60, all arrive with what LG is calling “FullVision” displays – the company’s own take at the now popular 18:9/19:9 aspect ratio – as well as “AI functions typically found in flagship smartphones”.
“AI CAM magically recognizes objects it sees and recommends the ideal shooting mode for the best results,” notes LG in a statement announcing the trio. If that sounds familiar then it’s because it’s also the same exact thing that Huawei is doing with its budget Y series smartphones like the recently-launched Huawei Y7 Prime 2019.
Comparisons can be made between Huawei’s Y series and LG’s K-series. While the former are easily accessible in the country, the latter are not easy to come by thanks to LG giving the local mobile market a wide berth and concentrating its efforts elsewhere.
“To maximize everyday usability of the Q and K series, LG engineers focused on maximizing the two basics features that today’s smartphone customers covet the most: battery life and camera performance.”
All the 3 devices have dedicated buttons to trigger the Google Assistant, “the most widely-used virtual assistant on smartphones today”. They also have 3D surround sound to appeal to all the audiophiles operating on a budget, something that we have come to expect from LG for quite some time now and something that none of its rivals in the market bother to implement on their budget smartphones.
As you can note from the specs listed below, information about the operating system version have been left out so it’s still anyone’s guess if these devices arrive running Android Pie or the dated Android Oreo. If it’s the latter then that’s quite a bummer given that they are unlikely to be prioritized for future updates.
Specifications
| LG K40 | LG K50 | LG Q60 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 153.0 x 71.9 x 8.3mm | 161.3 x 77 x 8.7mm | Same (as K50) |
| Display | 5.7-inch 18:9 HD+ FullVision Display | 6.26-inch 19.5:9 HD+ FullVision Display | 6.26-inch 19:9 HD+ FullVision Display |
| Memory | 2GB RAM / 32GB ROM / microSD (up to 2TB) | 3GB RAM / 32GB ROM / microSD (up to 2TB) | 3GB RAM / 64GB ROM / microSD (up to 2TB) |
| Chipset | 2.0 GHz Octa-Core | Same | Same |
| Camera | Rear: 16MP with PDAF Front: 8MP (LED Flash) | Rear: 13MP with PDAF / 2MP with Depth Sensor Front: 13MP | Rear: 16MP with PDAF / 2MP with Depth Sensor / 5MP with Super Wide Angle Front: 13MP |
| Battery | 3,000mAh | 3,500mAh | Same (as K50) |
| Network | LTE / 3G / 2G | Same | Same |
| Others | DTS:X 3D Surround Sound / AI CAM / MIL-STD 810G Compliance / Fingerprint Sensor / Google Assistant Button | Same | Same |
While pricing and availability information is unknown at this point, one thing is given: you’re unlikely to see the 3 devices selling locally, at least in an official capacity. However, if you are looking to directly import a device, these may be worth looking at in the near future.
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