LG has no plans to release the V10 in Canada

LG has been making some major news in the past week; let’s try to recount some of it: A canceled Urbane 2, a flagship campaign, a major management restructuring, a new mobile processor, and even a massive monetary investment.

The news we are now reporting on however, is sure to sound somber to some. LG Canada, via a reply on Facebook, has now confirmed that the new V10 will not be released in the country.

Here is the original post that user Jason Schabler asked LG Canada:

LG are you going to update the status of when the V10 is coming to Canada , before xmass or ? By not responding I assume you want people to look elsewhere for their cell phone fixes and needs. I know for one if the V10 does not come to Canada soon Samsung wants my business. Cheers. J

And here is the reply:

Hello Jason, Thanks for your excitement and interest in LG and our products! Unfortunately, there aren’t any plans to bring the V10 to Canada. We encourage you to check out some of other amazing phones, like our flagship LG G4. It boasts a highly-reviewed camera, quad-HD screen and offers an incredible visual experience. Thanks again, Anna, LG Canada Social Media Team.

What to think…

While this news will no doubt disappoint those, like Mr Schabler, who were holding out in hope, do note that there have been times in the past when social media teams have posted inaccurate information. One such example, earlier this year, saw a Sony Twitter account proclaiming only Z-series devices would be updated to Lollipop, something that was quickly rendered inaccurate as other lettered models began to receive it.

Still, given that this is the only official answer that has been given from LG about the matter, it should be taken as the company’s official stance until proven otherwise.

…and why to think it

Released last month, the LG V10 packs some of the same advanced hardware seen in the spring’s G4, but adds in new features like a metal frame along the sides of the device and a secondary ticker display. It is also extremely resistant to damage from drops, as we found out first hand. Given that it’s the company’s secondary flagship of the year, and in some ways higher than the G line itself, one might think a glorified global roll-out would be a proper priority.

While this is just speculation, it’s quite possible that the phone has not been faring as favorably as some might have foreseen. Reports had already came out of Korea shortly after launch there that suggested this was happening. Perhaps more telling though, LG itself has not released any PR statements to make prominent proclamations of people purchasing the product. The restructuring details alluded to at the opening of this piece would further this belief, as sales of the phone are arguably not significant enough as to calm the nerves of the smartphone segment’s performance and viability.

Wrap Up

What do you think about this news? Are our Canadian readers upset by it? Were you planning to get the V10, or had you already set your sights on something else? For that matter, are customers in other countries bothered by this development, given that Samsung also decided to deny availability of one of its most proper products to an entire part of the world’s population?

Perhaps the larger, looming and lingering question though: for those in Canada who wanted the device, will you now take to importing it if you haven’t done so already?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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LG announces substantial investment in next gen OLED production

LG Display is one of the major players in the growing OLED display panel business and the company has just announced a major investment to boost future production. LG is to spend KRW 1.84 trillion ($1.59 billion) to begin building a new plant in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, with production expected to commence in the first half of 2018.

The new manufacturing facility will be known as the P10 plant and will be the size of 14 football fields, reaching 100 meters tall. The P10 plant is expected to cover manufacturing of a wide range of panel sizes and is stated to be used for the production of large OLED panels for the TV market, along with smaller flexible OLED displays for the smartwatch and automotive markets. The first KRW 1.84 trillion covers the basic building of the plant, while LG’s total investment in the new facility is expected to reach more than KRW 10 trillion ($8.71 billion) as production scales up.

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OLED is seen as a key investment for LG going forward, as the company looks for ways to continue to differentiate its products from the competition and moves to make its technology more price competitive with rival LCD products. OLED benefits and improvements over LCD displays when it comes to color gamut and power efficiency are expected to fuel growing demand over the next decade. The market is estimated to be worth $29.1 billion by 2022, according to market research firm IHS.

LG had previously announced other notable investments to increase its OLED production capabilities, including KRW 1.05 trillion ($0.91 billion) into a 6^th generation flexible OLED display production line at the Gumi Plant in Gyeongbuk Province. Rival OLED manufacturer Samsung has also announced its own plans to boost OLED manufacturing this year and recently sold off LCD manufacturing assets to make room for additional OLED production.

Report: LG Electronics working on its second mobile processor

LG is gearing up to go up against Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung with its second mobile application processor, according to industry sources. LG’s Nuclun 2 SoC, as the chip is known, could make an appearance in a future flagship LG smartphone.

According to the source, the Nuclun 2 will be an octa-core design based on ARM’s Cortex-A72 and Cortex-A53 CPU cores, with clock speeds set at 2.1GHz and 1.5GHz respectively. LG Electronics is said to be working with Intel’s 14nm FinFET manufacturing process and TSMC’s similar 16nm technology, either of which would be a notable improvement over the 28nm process used for its first chip.

LG launched its first application processor, the octa-core Nuclun 1, back in 2014. The SoC made its début inside LG’s G3 Screen smartphone and was designed to make the most of high speed LTE-A networks in South Korea. Although the processor didn’t quite compete with other chips in terms of performance at the time, LG is said to be targeting its Nuclun 2 at its premium smartphones.

LG is most likely continuing to develop its own application processors so that it can reduce its dependency on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon series. This would afford LG greater flexibility with its design and performance optimizations, while also potentially allowing the company to generate additional revenue per smartphone in the long run.

Furthermore, as Qualcomm is expected to use Samsung’s FinFET production line with its Snapdragon 820, LG is unlikely to want to rely on one of its main electronics rivals. Speaking of which, Samsung has similarly managed to reduce its dependency on Qualcomm with its Exynos series of mobile processors and can also leverage its cutting edge manufacturing facilities.

It’s not clear if LG will opt for Intel’s or TSMC’s process. The decision will likely boil down to which company offers the most stable design and the highest performance.