Tech Transformers

LG launches G6 smartphone to make up for G5 flop

An image showing the top half of the LG G6 set to be released on February 26 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The image was obtained by CNBC.

LG unveiled the LG G6 smartphone on Sunday, a flagship device the struggling electronics giant hopes can put it back into a position where it can challenge the likes of Apple and fierce rival Samsung.

Key features include:

  • A 5.7 inch display with the screen taking up just over 80 percent of the front of the phone
  • A 2K display, meaning double the resolution of high definition
  • A Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
  • Can play high dynamic range (HDR) content. HDR is an image which makes the whites brighter and black colors darker. Currently Amazon and Netflix have some shows filmed in HDR, which will be able to be played on the G6
  • Fingerprint sensor on back
  • Front-facing 5 megapixel selfie camera with a 100 degree wide angle lens. This allows for group pictures. There is a dual lense camera on the back of the phone.
  • Runs Android 7, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. This means it also has Google Assistant - the U.S. search giant's voice assistant - built in.

The launch of the LG G6 comes after the previous flagship, the G5 released last year, failed to boost performance of the mobile division. The G5 was a "modular" smartphone, meaning parts of the device could be replaced and accessories could be added.

LG

Nonetheless, losses in the South Korean firm's mobile division continue to widen. In the fourth quarter of 2016, LG's mobile division reported a 467 billion won ($412.9 million) loss, which widened from 60.9 billion won in the same period in 2016.

LG admitted that the G5 failed to appeal to the mass market, and it hopes the G6 can deliver.

"We are proud of what we bought to market with the G5. What it didn't do was appeal to the masses," Jeremy Daniels, head of operator sales at LG Electronics U.K., told CNBC in an interview.

"With the G6, it was Important to make a product this time with mass appeal and to make sure we had strong aesthetics."