LG G6

On the other side of South Korea is a similarly tall handset (5,7-inch screen and 18:9 aspect ratio) running on 2016’s tried-and-tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 powerhouse processor and 4 GB RAM. LG was first out the gates for 2017 flagship smartphones with a well-attended launch in Barcelona on the eve of MWC. That afternoon it was all cinematic display, announcing Netflix and Temple Run 2 partnerships.

With S8 in the wild a lot of attention will be drawn to the specification sheets, a battle which the Samsung handset will win quite easily, but not one that tells the true story. The G6’s improvements to the camera (dual 13 MP rear sensors, one with a wide angle lens) over the G5 are quite significant and keep the LG standard bearer near the top of the camera phone pile with the most useful dual-sensor array in the market.

Another point of differentiation is LG’S intimate relationship with Google, with the company inviting a Google executive on stage during the press conference. The Korean company even boasted that it’s the first phone outside of the Pixel to come with the Google Assistant on board. It’s a different approach to creating a 2017 Android device that tries to push its own ideas as well as the Google strategy. Only time will tell which one wins.

R14 630, lg.com