LG G6 review: well designed, which allows for a big screen, but OS updates will be slow, it's expensive, and will likely be outclassed by the Galaxy S8
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica :
Context & Ripple Effects
The full Ars Technica verdict lands a month after the MWC hands-on, which flagged the same trade-offs now confirmed in review: a sleek 18:9 body built on the older Snapdragon 821, water resistance bought by dropping the removable battery, and apps that hadn't yet adapted to the tall screen. The spec sheet behind those impressions — thin bezels, dual 13MP cameras, IP68 — is detailed in the launch specifications.
The review's core tension is timing: LG shipped its flagship weeks before Samsung's Galaxy S8, so every strength here is priced against a rival not yet on shelves. It also extends a familiar arc — the G4 review dinged LG's software two years earlier, and the complaint resurfaces verbatim in the G8 ThinQ review — making slow OS updates the recurring asterisk on otherwise competent LG hardware.
First-order effects
- Buyers deciding between the G6 and the imminent Galaxy S8 face a clear trade: LG's one-handed 18:9 design versus a newer chipset, faster update cadence, and Samsung's launch momentum.
- LG's premium pricing puts the G6 at flagship cost while running last year's Snapdragon 821, weakening its negotiating position with carriers and early adopters.
Second-order effects
- Samsung's S8 launch becomes the de facto comparison benchmark for every G6 sale, forcing LG to compete on price or promotions rather than specification parity.
- LG's own roadmap absorbs the criticism: the later V30 hands-on positions that device as 'the phone the G6 should have been,' effectively cannibalizing the G6 within LG's lineup months after launch.
Third-order effects
- The pattern holding from the G4 through the G6 to the G8 — strong industrial design undermined by software polish and update lag — points to a structural weakness in how LG ships flagships, one that repeatedly cedes the premium tier to Samsung regardless of hardware quality.
The trend: LG's flagship line keeps proving that hardware design alone can't close the gap with Samsung when software support and chip timing lag a release cycle behind.