South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. has decided to unveil its new strategic, premium smartphone ahead of the world’s leading consumer electronics tradeshow IFA 2017 in Berlin, Germany. It is the first time for LG Electronics struggling in the premium league to showcase its V series smartphone at the IFA.

The Korean electronics maker sent out invitation to media around the world on Thursday, saying that it will hold a media event for the new premium V series on August 31, a day before the opening of the IFA 2017. The invitation offers the preview image of V30 with 18:9 aspect ratio - screen’s width compared to the height.

The decision to introduce the new flagship at the IFA presumably comes as part of effort to expand its presence in European smartphone market. The company had released predecessor V20 in select European countries on top of Korea and some other markets. Its share in the smartphone market in western Europe was less than 5 percent last year.

LG Electronics earlier this year launched another flagship premium smartphone G6 in hopes of reviving its money-losing smartphone business. Despite its much-hyped launch, market’s response to the new high-end phone remained lukewarm and its sales are estimated to have fallen short of the target of 2 million units. In an attempt to bolster its smartphone sales, the company has also decided to launch the Q6 phones, affordable version of the premium G6 model, in Korea in August and expand out to other regions including Europe afterward.

The company has not officially released detailed specifications on the V30 yet, but industry watchers expected the latest flagship smartphone may come with a 6-inch or 6.2-inch display, larger than the 5.7-inch screen installed in its predecessor V20. If the new phone, in fact, comes with a 6.2-inch display, the V30 will be the biggest smartphone in LG Electronics smartphone lineup. Also, the phone reportedly will be topped up with plastic organic light-emitting diode (POLED) display for the first time among its V series phones.

By Oh Chan-jong

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]