LG Delays G7 Debut As Samsung Readies Galaxy S9 MWC Launch

Following last February’s LG G6 unveiling, the South Korean tech giant was previously expected to debut the G7 next month at Mobile World Congress. Unfortunately, some things got in the way recently and pushed LG to delay the introduction of the G6’s successor to a later date.

On Monday, South Korean media outlet The Investor reported that instead of unveiling the G7 at next month’s MWC, LG has apparently delayed the unveiling of the next flagship device to March. This means there’s going to be a month-long delay compared to the G6’s launch last year.

Although LG has moved the debut of the G7, sources maintained that the device will still be released within the same period as last year’s flagship device. It can be noted that after LG showcased the G6 at MWC 2017, the device went on sale in the United States on April 7, 2017.

A ranking official from one of South Korea’s top telecom carriers revealed on condition of anonymity that LG is also releasing the G6’s successor in the month of April. “We have agreed with LG to launch the G7 in April,” the official was quoted as saying. Then, an industry source leaked that LG has scheduled the release of the G7 on April 20 without further elaborating.

Another local telecom company official disclosed to news outlets that because LG is unlikely to introduce the G7 at MWC, fans should look forward to the official introduction of the smartphone in mid-March, which is weeks prior its release.

An LG spokesperson declined to address the statements from the sources. If true though, this would mean that LG would break its tradition of unveiling its G branded series handsets at the MWC trade show in Barcelona this year.

There was no detailed explanation on the delayed debut of the device. If anything, the announcement of the new mobile chief just this past December may have been one of the reasons behind this. Hwang Jeong-hwan took office last month after LG decided to replace the top position following years of sluggish phone sales under the tutelage of the previous chief.

The LG G7 is rumored to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chipset. It is also believed to be sporting a bezel-less design and an OLED display. There are also rumors claiming the handset is going to come with an iris recognition biometric system.

Meanwhile, LG’s crosstown rival Samsung is busy preparing for the launch of the Galaxy S8’s successor at next month’s MWC. Aside from sporting the same design language as its predecessor, the S9 is expected to be the first S series phone to rock a dual-camera setup on its back.