Last month LG Electronics revealed that it will no longer be releasing new smartphone models on a regular schedule as has been the case in previous years.
This comes as competitors such as Samsung and Apple are throwing accusations at one another over copying each other’s design features and technologies.
It seems that LG’s changing approach to innovation by not releasing new models regularly is an indicator that the South Korean tech giant has come to terms with a market reality that others are still struggling to embrace — smartphone hardware innovation has reached a plateau.
Instead, LG has opted to tweak the models that are already on the market and give them strategic updates that conform to the personalized needs of consumers.
Judging by recent comments from Moses Marji, LG Marketing General Manager, the tide is turning towards conforming to lifestyle needs of smartphone users.
“LG’s 2018 K Series range of smartphones is focused on delivering even more value to consumers looking for the right device that fits their lifestyle and needs,” said Mr. Marji.
In the early years of cellphone design and manufacturing, smartphone companies prided themselves in their ability to create a smartphone that looked different from competitors, had a unique operating system and could even compete on things like screen resolution and camera strength.
But today, almost every leading smartphone brand looks and feels the same and can carry its weight in the race for speed, size, and camera resolution. For instance, on screen size, many smartphones have peaked at around 6 inches, and anything bigger might as well be a tablet.
Same goes for processor speed. Long gone are the days when you could not do some things because your phone RAM was too slow to execute the task. Apart from a few gaming enthusiasts, few people ever utilize the full processing capabilities of their phone.
The video viewing experience on smartphones displays is superb and the user-friendly nature of the touchscreen interface is no longer something to highlight during marketing.
So when LG revealed that they have decided to drop the model of releasing new phones at regular intervals, it came as a telling sign for the entire industry.
perhaps it is the time that the technology world, especially in the smartphone sector, started thinking of the next phase of innovation. Bigger screens, brighter displays, and thinner handsets are no longer impressive.
The time has come for the players in the smartphone industry to either evolve into something revolutionary or disappear into the sea of irrelevance.