Since the release the of LG’s G2 a couple of years ago, LG has focused on selling one or two high-end devices for the majority of the year. The strategy seems to have worked wonders for last year’s G3, as it was something of a quiet success for the South Korean giant, leading them to some of their best sales ever recorded in the smartphone market. LG also sells a good number of mid-range and low-end devices all over the world, and with the G3 they realized that users still enjoy the branding and design of their G-series devices, even if they can’t afford – or are unwilling – to spend the amount on a G3 or G4. The LG G4 S seems to be the latest in the line of more budget-minded G-series devices.
Russian site Hi-Tech Mail has shared what appears to be renders of the LG G4 S, a device rumored to feature a 5.2-inch 1080p display, a 1.5 Ghz octa-core CPU (which could be a Snapdragon 615) along with an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera said to have laser autofocus as well as a dual-LED flash. For all intents and purposes, this new G4 S sounds like LG’s answer to the mid-range of the market, while also offering users something a little extra in the form of the 1080p display as well as laser autofocus. Considering that new smartphones these days continue to cost a huge amount of money when new, it’s nice to see LG offer an alternative which, at least on paper, doesn’t seem like too big a compromise. Of course, the price will ultimately determine how much of a compromise it really is, as the G4 might be expensive, but is one hell of a phone.
With the LG G4c available as well, it would be appear that LG is content to push their G-series branding more than used to be. Whether or not the strategy is working for them remains to be seen, and figures from later in the year should be able to help us.