South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. that is going all out to expand its presence in the smartphone market will launch two new variations of its flagship premium smartphone G6 early next month.

The new versions - the G6 Plus and the G6 Pro - will offer a broader set of options for consumers who seek different memory sizes and device colors that are not available in the original G6 series.

The G6 Plus will bump up the internal storage to 128 gigabyte (GB), double that of the original, to accommodate a wider range of games and applications, according to the company. It also supports Qi wireless charging that allows users to charge their phone by simply placing it on top of a wireless pad. The new variant will come in three colors - Optical Astro Black, Optical Terra Gold, and Optical Marine Blue, the company said.

The G6 Pro will target frugal users by offering half the storage capacity of the original, at 32GB, with a price tag that is 100,000 won ($88.3) lower than the currently available series. It will come with two additional color options, Terra Gold and Marine Blue, on top of its existing Mystic White.

The company’s decision to release the variants of the G6 comes after its latest flagship phone fared well since its launch early this year. With the new options, the company seems to be trying to extend a long-waited success of its premium smartphone series, a move that would help its money-losing mobile and communication (MC) division turn around this year.

In conjunction with the new release, the tech giant will also update the operating system of its G6 phones to include several new specifications. Gesture recognition will be added to the facial recognition feature so that even with the screen turned off, users can unlock the device simply by holding the phone up and fitting their faces inside the screen. A low-power algorithm has been applied to save power during idle mode, with automatic recording of a call with a preset individual and volume micro-adjustment functions also made available.

The new G6 variants are designed to appeal to diverse consumer demands, said Cho Jun-ho, president of LG Electronics and head of the Mobile Communciations (MC) division.

By Seo Dong-cheol

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