New LG V30 Debuting At MWC 2018 Instead Of G7?

In what seems to be an attempt to steal the show from Samsung’s Galaxy S9 at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, LG is reportedly introducing an upgraded version of last year’s V30 phablet at the Barcelona exhibition.

Industry sources told Korea Herald Friday that LG Electronics is gearing up for the unveiling of its upgraded V30 smartphone at MWC this February. The new version is said to be named “V30+‘α’” and it features improved artificial intelligence features.

Since LG is not launching its G6 successor, the LG G7, at MWC, it has reportedly decided to grab this opportunity to introduce a new handset at the event. The company will also reportedly announce and explain all of the new technologies and functions that it added to the V30 flagship smartphone next month.

Rumor has it that the LG V30+‘α’ could feature Google Assistant-based AI functions. This is because LG and Google have become closer in the recent years, and even the original V30 featured Google Assistant’s Korean language service.

An LG public relations official has been reached out for comment, and he confirmed that the South Korean tech giant would indeed present new features at MWC. However, he did not say which product will make use of the new features.

The news comes a week after LG Vice Chairman Cho Sun-jin announced during a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 that the company will no longer follow its traditional schedule for its new smartphone releases.

“We will unveil new smartphones when it is needed. But we will not launch it just because other rivals do,” Cho said. At the time he also noted that LG plans to retain and support existing premium models for a longer period. “We plan to retain existing models longer by, for instance, unveiling more variant models of the G series or V series,” he explained.

It appears LG is now keeping its word starting with the launch of a new variant for the V30 flagship. With this new strategy, LG is hoping to revitalize its smartphone business, which has been struggling for some time now.

Meanwhile, LG is believed to be launching its G7 flagship in April after its mobile chief ordered for a revision of the flagship handset earlier this week. According to an LG official who disclosed the matter on condition of anonymity, a revision was ordered after the higher-ups realized that the G7 didn’t have “a strong selling point.”