After the underwhelming public reception of the LG G5, the company will be releasing a new flagship device next year. The LG G6 is rumored to be released either March or April, probably the same month as Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8. It might cost slightly more than its predecessor since it will have several new features. If the reports are also true, LG might have learned from the commercial failure of the LG G5.

Though there have been a number of rumors on the LG G6, nothing has been confirmed yet. However, LG might opt to launch its next flagship smartphone at the 2017 Mobile World Congress in February next year. According to the Phone Arena, it will also likely follow the release date of the LG G5 in April. This means that it will come close to the release date of the anticipated Galaxy S8.

This will be disadvantageous for LG since it also went against Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge this year. Both these Samsung flagship devices are actually well received. This is why there has been excitement over the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Edge. It will likely hurt LG if it will release the LG G6 within a month after the said smartphones. Samsung will definitely not make the adjustment.

LG might stick with a price around $650. It actually depends on how better of a device it is than the G5. But it will probably not cost more than $700 since this will make it more affordable than Samsung’s Galaxy S series.
As for the LG G6’s specs, it is expected to be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 830 processor that will be released next year. It makes a lot more sense that it will have a better 6GB or 8GB of RAM to go against the Galaxy S8. Though it might still have a 32GB of storage and a USB Type-C port as the LG G5.

According to the Trusted Reviews, the LG G6 should be running on at least an Android 7.0 Nougat. It should be noted that the LG V20 is among the limited Android smartphones that are already using the latest Android version.

According to the source of Android Police journalist David Ruddock, the G6's design will have a “highly reflective metallic material on the rear”. He also added that the “headphone jack is a go”. According to a report by another Korean news site ChosunBiz, LG will do away with the rumored curved OLED display. Instead, it will have the usual flat-screen LCD display.

Furthermore, the G6 will likely have a screen size within the 5-inch to 5.5-inches range. LG might want to upgrade the G6 to a resolution decent enough for mobile virtual reality. A 4K display would make it suitable for Google’s Daydream View.

The G6 features will include improvements from the G5. That means the company might ditch the modular concept that made the G5 unique. This is based on a report by the Korean website ETNews back on Dec. 5. Instead, the G6 might be capable of wireless charging. The Investor added that it will be integrated with a mobile payment system akin to the Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. It is also possible that LG will adapt Apple’s iPhone 7 waterproofing adhesives. This is contrary to the tapes Samsung are using for the Galaxy S7 and the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7. If this is the case, the LG G6 might deviate from the G5’s removable battery.

Given that Samsung and Apple are tight-lipped about their upcoming flagship smartphones, LG will follow suit. There’s no way to confirm these reports until the device is unveiled next year.