Shunning the hype on unconventionally bendable fondable phones to be launched by rivals, LG Electronics is seeking to make a mark through practical innovations for its eight edition of G8 ThinQ series.

The South Korean tech giant has announced that it will start preorders for its latest G series phone starting Friday at a retail price tag of 897,000 won ($791) here.

It is slightly cheaper than rival Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S10e model at 899.800 won and Galaxy S10 at 1.29 million won.

The LG G8 phones will officially hit the market on March 22. 


“Amid the rising prices of premium smartphones, LG is offering affordable prices with practical design aspects and features,” the company said.

With LG Display’s proprietary “under-glass” technology, the phone manufacturer installed the triple camera module under the rear glass of the phone, while embedding the main stereo speaker within the front-facing glass.

Starting with the Galaxy S10 series, the premium smartphone market is entering a new phase of growth after a setback last year.

Expectations for the new Samsung and LG phones are high in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and India during the first half of the year.

The company’s dual-screen phone V50 ThinQ -- instead of a foldable display phone -- will be released in the market in April.

The two flagship phones are expected to have an impact on LG’s smartphone business that posted a deficit for 15 consecutive quarters until the final quarter of last year, according to market watchers.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)