The versatile manufacturer LG has long been a household name. In the kitchen, the LG logo can be found on fridges, freezers, vacuum cleaners and microwaves. The brand is now also available in a more manageable format: namely as a smartphone for your pocket. This article provides an overview of some selected smartphone models.

The G model series in comparison

More elegant, more ergonomic and more versatile - this is how the manufacturer advertises its G series, of which the LG4, LG5 and LG6 models are currently still listed directly by the manufacturer. This table shows a comparison of the technical data:

Conclusion: In technical terms, the LG smartphone generation is comparable to other smartphone giants. What also unites the models presented here is the possibility of using them with these customizable cell phone cases and protect the device itself. The only catch is that all LG models run the Android operating system.

Digression: Android vs. iOS vs. Windows vs. OS. Two are almost gone from the market
Stiftung Warentest regularly puts smartphones under the microscope and tests them with regard to durability, battery, special effects, etc. A constant companion of these tests is the Battle of the operating systems:

• Who has a Android-operating system on your smartphone, you can get the additional programs you want from the PlayStore. The list of available cell phone models with this operating system is extremely long.
• iOS on the other hand, is the operating system for Apple products. Accessories are available in the corresponding Apple App Store. The selection of devices is correspondingly limited.
• Those who use the operating system Windows on the smartphone is using a Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile.
• OS is Blackberry's operating system, which is primarily used in business circles.

Figure 2: The idea of bringing Windows into the mobile world seems to be crumbling massively. No more Lumia phones have been produced since May 2016. There is now no more support for the older Windows generation.

Further details on the leading program providers can be found here. There are clear doubts in the press that these four programs will be successful in the long term: "Now the Windows Phone operating system is finally dead"on the other hand, it says in the star. What lies behind this is the official end of updates for Windows Phones. There are no more updates for the 7, 8 and 8.1 models, and there is no more support for users. Windows 10, on the other hand, mainly offered new features with the desktop version, while the mobile update was rather sparsely equipped with these.

The first indication of this development became clear back in May 2016, when the discontinuation of the Nokia Lumia phone was announced. The basic technical design of the Lumia models was certainly not bad, but users lacked the lifeblood of a smartphone - the apps. And it was precisely at this point that the vicious circle became apparent, which could no longer be mended: due to insufficient market share, no more investment was to be made in app development. But it was precisely because of this lack of offerings in the app sector that the Windows Phone to a historic low in the favor of users.

Windows retains market share outside the smartphone sector
In the smartphone sector, the Windows market share was limited to three percent. Outside the smartphone generation, however, the Windows operating system, above all Win7 and Win10, is the winner in the comparison of market shares. This is also shown by these statistics:

Figure 3: Even if those who have a Windows Phone currently have to do without system updates, Windows remains the leading system for Internet use - but not in the world of smartphones.

Even if the scenario predicted by the press comes true and there are fewer and fewer smartphone models with the Windows system in the future, there is a clear upward trend for Windows, particularly in the hardware sector. At IFA, Microsoft presented a forward-looking mix of reality, the world of gaming, creativity and mobile working. The Windows Mixed Reality platform was joined by the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact and the LG V30 flagship smartphone. Lenovo notebooks are now available in the Star Wars edition, Acer is enticing interested parties with a gaming tablet and Medions is presenting an affordable Alexa alternative.

Figure 1: pixabay.com © hawk (Creative Commons CC0)

Figure 2: pixabay.com © kaboompics (Creative Commons CC0)

Figure 3: Market shares of the leading operating system versions worldwide from January 2009 to July 2017, source: statista.com