LG mobile chief shrugs off impact of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall

[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics mobile chief Cho Juno shrugged off the impact of its cross-town rival  Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 recall on the sales of the company’s new big-screen phone V20.

“I’m not sure whether the Galaxy Note 7 recall is a boon for us or not. What’s important is how our product is recognized by consumers,” he said at the phone’s launch event held in Seoul on Sept. 7. 

The V series phablet debuted last year to comprise LG’s premium smartphone lineup together with the flagship G series.

The V20, the first smartphone to run on the latest Android OS Nougat, has drastically upgraded audio and camera functions, the company said.

The phone, among other things, has a removable battery, a unique feature now when most handset makers like Samsung and Apple are embedding non-removable batteries into their flagship models.

“We had planned a bigger-screen smartphone with slim design. Considering a huge battery drain while watching videos, we have decided to adopt a removable battery,” he said.

“But I don’t think battery type is directly linked to safety.”

Samsung recalled about 2.5 million Note phones globally due to faulty batteries that caught fire while charging.

The latest LG smartphone comes after the dismal failure of the flagship G5, the first modular smartphone. Especially, the company failed to meet demand in the early days of the launch due to production constraints.

“For the V20, we poured resources to increase the yield rate. Unlike the G5 that was launched globally, the V20 will be launched in some key markets for big-screen phones such as the US, Korea and Hong Kong,” he said.

He added the company had no immediate plan to launch the phone in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, citing supply issues.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)