The LG Optimus G is a weird kind of device for me, even with the current superphones the HTC One and the Galaxy S4 even the Xperia Z out on the market, I still like the Optimus G, so it’s no surprise to me, that I am really looking forward to what LG can do with a sequel and it looks like LG are gearing up to launch one very soon.
Last week, LG released a statement advising that the next iteration of their G Series phones will include the Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) SOC. This was shortly after they showed off the Snapdragon 800 SOC, with some benchmarks that were pretty eye opening. They’ve previously advised that they will continue to use Qualcomm CPUs but the addition of the Snapdragon 800 into their next flagship could be pretty compelling.
On Friday last week, sites in the US began receiving ‘save the date’ style emails from LG, with regards to an ‘International’ launch to be held on August 7th in New York City, but this being a PR move, they have not announced any further details than that and it’s now up to speculation. The original Optimus G was announced in Korea on September 19, 2012, so we’re almost at the first birthday for the Optimus G, making it a very viable contender to be replaced. It’s also not likely they would hold an event of this magnitude for their F, L or even V series phones, which despite seeing solid sales are not viewed as their premium brand unlike the G series.
Overnight, Techtastic also got their hands on some screenshots from what they’ve been told is the Optimus G2. As shown in the screenshots in the gallery below are definite on-screen buttons.
LG has previously eschewed the on-screen buttons first introduced in Ice Cream Sandwich, indeed Google has found little traction for their on-screen button choice, with OEMs tending to prefer the capacative button setups with the occasional physical home key. In talks with LG, they have advised that the extra screen real estate taken up by the on-screen buttons is too large and they would stick with the capacative buttons, so this is a new trend.
Stay tuned, official invites for the event – which may show further clues as to what will be launched – should be coming out very soon and hopefully there will be a live stream of the event included.
Are you excited for an Optimus G successor?
Liking LG’s line ups, great specs, always seem to be current generation hardware, but I’ll admit, they bloat the hell out of these things.
What’s with the button arrangement? When the phone is rotated to the side, the back and menu button swap places.
Looks fake.
Just bought the LG Optimus G nearly a month ago and loving the screen and the performance. Hopefully this phone will last me two years or more so while I’m interested in the successor, I won’t be getting it.