[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics, a long-time underdog in the premium smartphone war, has got a chance to step up its game against its compatriot rival Samsung Electronics and US-based Apple.

Samsung has been reeling from a series of fire and explosion cases of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone that have made headlines around the world.

Despite its all-out efforts to minimize the impact of the battery crisis, such as the largest-scale smartphone recall in history, some consumers are still afraid of using the Note 7, even boycotting Samsung smartphones.

A loss of reputation and trust of consumers seems inevitable for Samsung now. 

Meanwhile, Apple faces problems of its own. Even before its latest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus went on sale on Sept. 19, many critics were skeptical about their success.

The US tech firm’s decision to ditch the headphone jack is pointed as its biggest blunder.

With no headphone jack in the new iPhones, users have to buy Apple’s wireless earbuds, dubbed AirPods, which come at a hefty price tag of US$159.

On the design front, the earbuds with a long rod protruding, have been criticized for being “atrocious”.

In addition, many worry that the tiny and wireless earphones can be easily lost, not to mention its mediocre sound quality.

iPhone 7 users also have to carry the charging dock to make sure the wireless earbuds do not run out of battery.

Kuo Ming-Chi, an analyst from research firm KGI, said in his report that Apple will not be able to sell as many handsets as it did with the iPhone 6S, anticipating that the sales volume will come in at around 70 million to 75 million units.

LG’s upcoming V20, on the other hand, mainly focuses on improving multimedia functions, including the audio system and the cameras.

The tech firm has teamed up with Bang & Olufsen to roll out quality earphones, not wireless, which will come with the handset for free.

The LG smartphone, running on the latest version of Google’s operating system Nougat, features a removable battery and a metal back cover, which could be appealing factors for many.

Park Hyung-woo, an analyst from SK Securities, said in an investment report that “The release of the V20 will help improve the profits of LG’s mobile business to some extent.”

“The sales performance of the V20, however, will be short of turning things around of the firm’s struggling mobile business,” he added.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)