Global Smartphone Sales Fall

[SteelCrysis]

https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/26448...-time-ever

Gartner reports smartphone sales fell 5.8 percent in Q4 2017 compared with Q4 2016. It’s tempting to write this off as ordinary variance, but when the market has shown no such variation in the past 51 quarters, it’s harder to hand-wave the figure. It’s especially more difficult because, in theory, we should still be seeing robust growth given that there are huge untapped markets for devices across India and China. Here’s Gartner’s explanation, per research director Anshul Gupta:
...
That’s problematic for phone vendors, but not particularly surprising. Smartphone benchmark performance continues to rise year after year, but newer phones have more problems with throttling than older models did, and often can’t maintain their top frequencies for very long.
...
Smartphone sales still rose on the full year, up 2 percent, but that’s a tiny gain compared with what we used to see. Investors and analysts will be watching to see if the Q4 2017 drop becomes a trend or if the market stabilizes. I imagine there’s a bit of schadenfreude from the PC market, given that manufacturers in that space have been struggling with exactly the same problem — how do you build features compelling enough to drive upgrade cycles when raw performance has largely stalled out?

[RolloTheGreat]

I used to be big into the phone craze, but upgrades are getting more and more incremental.

Use S8+ now, but it's hard for me to get excited about new phones these days. Personally I think the last thing that REALLY excited me was this:

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/Moto-ATRIX-...-9620.html

[SickBeast]

I love phones and I use mine so much that I figure I might as well have a good one. I get the LG phones cheap here in Canada. I currently have a G6. I can't wait for the G7, codenamed "Judy". It will have a 6.1" display. I expect it to have a full body display like the iPhone X. I have a feeling LG is going to hit this one out of the part and finally outdo Samsung.

[dmcowen674]

They priced themselves out into insanity, $800 to $1,000 is just nuts for a phone.

[RolloTheGreat]

I love phones and I use mine so much that I figure I might as well have a good one.  I get the LG phones cheap here in Canada.  I currently have a G6.  I can't wait for the G7, codenamed "Judy".  It will have a 6.1" display.  I expect it to have a full body display like the iPhone X.  I have a feeling LG is going to hit this one out of the part and finally outdo Samsung.

My phone is my primary device as well, used for most of my internet, text, phone, and GPS needs as well. I'm just saying that going from the Note 5 to the S8+ was not a "Ooohh! Wow!" moment, and going from whatever LG phone I had to the Note 5 wasn't that either. The changes are becoming very incremental.

I do like using Google Maps through Android Auto/Infotainment more than the strange navigation system in my last truck, Google Maps is the best GPS in my opinion.

[SickBeast]

I love phones and I use mine so much that I figure I might as well have a good one.  I get the LG phones cheap here in Canada.  I currently have a G6.  I can't wait for the G7, codenamed "Judy".  It will have a 6.1" display.  I expect it to have a full body display like the iPhone X.  I have a feeling LG is going to hit this one out of the part and finally outdo Samsung.

My phone is my primary device as well, used for most of my internet, text, phone, and GPS needs as well. I'm just saying that going from the Note 5 to the S8+ was not a "Ooohh! Wow!" moment, and going from whatever LG phone I had to the Note 5 wasn't that either. The changes are becoming very incremental.

I do like using Google Maps through Android Auto/Infotainment more than the strange navigation system in my last truck, Google Maps is the best GPS in my opinion.

What I find is that there are so many incremental upgrades with the newest device that it makes a big difference overall. I just went from a G5 to a G6. The processor is pretty much the same, the G6 has a Snapdragon 821 instead of the 820 on the G5. So the CPU is about 10% faster. However the phone also has drastically better build quality. I have never owned a device this premium and IMO it has the best industrial design of any device on the market. LG has also upgraded the battery life and they included wireless charging, plus the phone is waterproof, shock proof, and dust proof. I really like it. The screen is also bigger on a similar sized device that feels better in your hand.

The G7 codenamed "Judy" is supposedly going to have a 6.1" display which I assume will be a full body display like the iPhone X. It will also have the Snapdragon 845 processor. I will be buying one. What has been happening here is that every year on Black Friday the LG flagship phones go on sale for ridiculously cheap. I got my G6 for $270CAD. That's insane. It's their flagship phone and it only came out ~6 months before that. The G7 has been delayed so I will probably have to wait until Boxing Day or else 2019.

I think this could be the year that LG dethrones Samsung. I am hearing that the S9 has practically the same design and the same screen size as the S8. If the G7 packs in the 6.1" full body display I can see a lot of people going that route instead. However the S8 should be coming out very soon. A lot of people will buy them before the G7 even comes out.

[SickBeast]

Wow the Galaxy S9 looks like a total flop:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/new-sams...-1.3818255

It has the same design as the S8 with a higher price. People aren't going to buy this. The phone updates were incremental enough already.

iPhone X sales have been brutal for Apple because of the high price. I'm kind of shocked to see Samsung doing this.

[RolloTheGreat]

I still say "meh" on those upgrades.

That Motorola had a Tegra 2 (badass at the time, the Tegra in my Shield tablet is STILL bad ass) and the docking station turned it into a Tegra 2 powered Android laptop....that recharged the phone while you used it.

THAT is impressive and really brought the phone close to "one device" status. Even the 6" plus screens a touch small, the docking station gave you a decent size screen plus the keyboard for ultimate versatility.

That was just cool tech. Wide angle lenses, dustproof, a little faster, waterproof are all nice, but that stuff was huge.

[SickBeast]

Now here is a leak that claims this could be the G7 "Neo" project that LG recently scrapped in favor of "Judy":

https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/02/28...lay-notch/

It looks pretty cool actually. I wonder why LG decided to get rid of it.

[RolloTheGreat]

Now here is a leak that claims this could be the G7 "Neo" project that LG recently scrapped in favor of "Judy":

https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/02/28...lay-notch/

It looks pretty cool actually.  I wonder why LG decided to get rid of it.

I agree with you that LG phones are pretty nice and a great deal, but everyone buys Samsung and Apple:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/7556...-by-model/

Even Moto beats them in sales.

They have an uphill battle for mindshare here, if they were smart they would give me one and have me pimp them. Right, GStan?

[SickBeast]

LG certainly needs to do something. I'm not sure if hiring you, Rollo, is the answer.

As it turns out that LG G7 "Neo" link I posted above is actually in fact the G7. I don't like it, personally, and my own prediction for LG is that their mobile division is going to go through a major shakeup. Why they would copy Apple is beyond me. And if they were going to do it, at least get it right.

I love the G6 design personally and I would have rathered they tweak it and enhance it instead of the monstrosity they have created which will be the G7.

Hopefully they will improve it for the final version. I really don't like the notch and I don't like the bottom bezel.

[RolloTheGreat]

Now here is a leak that claims this could be the G7 "Neo" project that LG recently scrapped in favor of "Judy":

https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/02/28...lay-notch/

It looks pretty cool actually.  I wonder why LG decided to get rid of it.

I agree with you that LG phones are pretty nice and a great deal, but everyone buys Samsung and Apple:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/7556...-by-model/

Even Moto beats them in sales.

They have an uphill battle for mindshare here, if they were smart they would give me one and have me pimp them. Right, GStan?

Given the reputation you gave nvidia with your shilling and your efforts here with XBONE I'd run the opposite direction as fast as I could if I were LG and saw you approaching offering "help"...

I'm not offering anyone help GStan. Don't worry, the internet is safe.

[SickBeast]

I would say LG could use all the help they can get, Rollo or not.