LG to Rebrand the G-Series Smartphone Lineup

BY Evan Selleck

Published 3 Jan 2018

The G-series of smartphones have proven pretty popular more often than not through the years, starting with the LG G2 back in 2013.

And while there have certainly been some bumps in the road, the LG G6 was well-received last year, and there were plenty of high hopes for the follow up, which was, up until now, expected to be called the G7. But it looks like LG sees 2018 as the perfect year to rebrand the G-series lineup.

According to a report from Digital Daily, and confirmed by The Investor, the Life’s Good company plans on rebranding the G-series lineup in the early stages of 2018, with the upcoming follow-up to last year’s G6. At the time of publication, LG hasn’t decided on a name just yet, but it is apparently deciding between a two-digit numbering scheme, or simply going with an entirely different name rather than a single letter.

In their confirmation, LG’s spokesperson said that rebranding smartphones isn’t anything new, and points out that Apple and Samsung have both done the same thing.

“Rebranding flagship models is nothing new, and Samsung and Apple have done so for their own flagships,” an LG official told The Investor, adding that the naming of the upcoming LG smartphone has not yet been decided.”

As for the reason why this is happening, the report indicates that some folks believe LG doesn’t want the G7 to seem inferior to competing flagship smartphones on the market. Why that might happen, according to these people, is the lower number compared to the competition. The G7 would go on sale when devices like the Galaxy S8/S8+/Note 8 are on sale, or HTC’s U11, for example, all of which have higher numbers and could indicate to perusing consumers that LG’s offering isn’t as good as those other options.

Of course, it gets worse when you consider that HTC will have a follow-up to the U11 this year, and Samsung is going to launch the Galaxy S9/S9+ as early as February. The G7 would certainly stand out, and potentially for the wrong reasons at first glance.

So, we will see a new flagship brand for LG probably in February, during Mobile World Congress. What do you think LG’s new branding scheme should look like? Two digits or a different name (and also two digits?)

[via The Investor]