But don’t forget about the good times — The best thing about LG is also the worst: an unchecked fervor for innovation (yes, bloatware is up there too). Plucky upstarts like OnePlus have blossomed, but as their market share grows, the phones all start to look alike again.
Even though the G5’s modular system never caught on, it was the first smartphone with a wide-angle lens. The LG V40 was the first to use a telephoto, wide-angle, and standard trio of lenses — which immediately became the table stakes configuration before some brands eventually graduated to quad lenses.
LG’s relatively new “Explorer Project” is still trying to push the boundaries of what a smartphone can be, from the swiveling Wing to its upcoming rollable phone. While it’s not the first company to show off a prototype of a rollable phone, LG may be the first to market. The company doubled down on the phone being released later this year while also suggesting it might be LG’s last one. It looks like it’s not choosing between going big and going home.