LG plans to release a high-end smartphone above the G-series

LG had all but confirmed in advance, that it won't be unveiling the G4 at MWC and indeed, we didn't get to see the next-gen flagship in Barcelona. Instead, the company showed us four smartphones spanning the entire midrange, as well as the LG Watch Urbane and Urbane LTE.

That should in no way lead you to believe the South Korean
corporation isn't working on a sequel and LG Electronics mobile chief Cho Juno was quick to shed some light on the company's plans.

For starters, as previously reported,
an in-house chipset is in the works, with LG seeking to declare
independence from Qualcomm in the years to come. While it's unlikely to
be ready to actually make it to the G4, LG intends to implement it in
future smartphones.

Additionally, the LG G4 will be running an updated version of the
company's UX Android skin. In its 4.0 iteration it will bring a major
redesign and offer marked improvements in user experience, Juno was keen
to point out. The UX 4.0 will be treated to its own dedicated launch,
which will take place before the unveiling of the smartphone.

Speaking of, the LG G4 is expected to see the light of day some time
in April. LG wanted to distance itself from the craze of MWC and hold
its own press event, with all of the attention focused on the G4. The
new top-tier smartphone will bring improvements in build quality, where
polycarbonate is said to be replaced by a metal-mixtured body.

Even so, the G4 is going to lose its flagship status in the second
half of this year, when the company plans to release an even
higher-spec'd top-end smartphone. Industry pundits speculate the new
model will command a 10% premium over the G4, for an end-user price of
around 1M KRW ($900+). Little else was revealed about the said device,
though.

It's shaping up to be an eventful year for LG, one that will see the
company try to catch up with arch-rivals Samsung and Apple, while in the
meantime attempt to regain the third place in number of smartphones
shipped, a position Xiaomi snatched last year.

 - GSMArena.com news