LG left the smartphone market five years ago, but before that the brand released a frankly shocking number of cool, wild, and uniquely weird phones that helped it stand out from the competition. In fact, the list of weird LG phones is so long that I couldn’t fit them all into one article, and I only focused on fairly modern Android phones from 2011 onwards.
While many of these designs are gimmicky, I can honestly see the vision behind them and think some of these ideas deserve to be revisited and given a second chance with today’s technology and engineering knowledge.
LG Optimus 3D tried to make 3D smartphones something and it deserves another chance
LG was onto something
The LG Optimus 3D came from the high point of an era when we were all obsessed with all things 3D (thanks, Avatar), so it was only a matter of time before someone came out with a phone with a stereoscopic 3D display – and of course, who else but LG, one of the world’s biggest display manufacturers?
However, aside from the fact that 3D never really caught on like everyone thought it would, the Optimus 3D didn’t have that much 3D content to enjoy. The interface was in 3D, and there were several 3D apps and games, as well as a 3D YouTube app with extremely limited content that acted as a demonstration of the technology.
The biggest source of 3D content was the user who could take photos using the dual 5MP cameras on the back to capture photos and videos and create 3D content. Unfortunately, like the Nintendo 3DS, the 3D effect only looked impressive from the right angle, which is a big part of why this technology never lived up to the hype.
That being said, it’s been 15 years since this phone was released, and spatial displays (as we now call them) are more impressive than ever. While getting the technology into a phone and making it work is a huge engineering challenge, hopefully it’s only a matter of time before we see a spiritual successor to the LG Optimus 3D.
The LG Optimus Vu was unusually square, while all other phones were tall
Wider phones deserve another chance
LG Optimus Vu came out when Samsung was gaining huge popularity “phablet” phones, but instead of offering a more vertical display area, the Optimus Vu opted for a wider 4:3 aspect ratio, giving the phone a uniquely square look.
Phones have gotten even higher in aspect ratio since then, with many coming in around 20:9, but when you think about it, a wider phone makes sense. Many phones today are too wide to hold in one hand, but too narrow to comfortably type using two fingers.
It’s no surprise that foldable phones are making a comeback, but foldable phones come with a number of other drawbacks, such as an easily scratched screen, which is enough to put people off when the phone costs thousands of dollars.
If the phone used the LG Optimus Vu’s aspect ratio and simply filled the entire space with a screen instead of those old-school bezels, it would be a pretty unique device. The best part? Finally, you can see Nolan’s films the way he intended, as the 4:3 aspect ratio is closer to the IMAX 70mm film format. traditional smartphones.
The LG G Flex brought flexible displays to smartphones long before foldables
Curved screens before folding ones
The LG G Flex came out in 2013 when the brand wanted to show off how thin and bendable OLED screens can be, so they made a phone with a vertically curved display that’s amazingly bend-resistant.
It was definitely a gimmick, but it looked incredibly unique when it was released – and I think it made for a slightly nicer movie-watching experience.
That alone would make it one of my favorite smartphones, but this phone had another neat trick – a self-healing back cover.
It’s made of a special flexible polymer that deforms under light pressure from your fingernails or scratches, and after a while, the polymers “massage” these gaps back into a cohesive look.
Maybe the curved screen had more downsides than functionality, but at least I wish all phones shipped with that instead of glass backs!
The LG G5 featured a removable battery design that modern smartphones can learn from
A battery that you can replace in seconds
The LG G5 was one of LG’s craziest changes to its flagship G line, which has typically featured more traditional smartphone designs. While most brands are moving towards completely sealed phones, LG has released a phone with a bottom plastic chin that slides out along with the battery.
That alone would give it a huge advantage in today’s phone age where the battery dies long before the rest of the phone wears out. It was a simple replacement that a person with zero technical knowledge could do at home in 20 seconds.
But this is only the beginning of the removable part – the real magic came with it different modules called “Friends” like the Hi-Fi Plus module for high-quality audio and the Cam Plus camera module, which gives you a DSLR-style grip, physical shutter buttons, a mechanical zoom button and extra battery life. At least some of that phone’s spirit returns today in the form of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which has a Photography Kit you can slap on its back.
LG AKA has given smartphones beautiful eyes
Eyes, Chico, never lie
The LG AKA is probably one of the weirdest phones you’ve ever heard of. I’ve been following the Android space closely for years and love reading about nostalgic smartphone pieces, but I still didn’t know about it until I started researching for this article.
They came in four unique colors/personality types (Yoyo, Soul, Wooky and Eggy) and they were meant to bring a highly unique personality to the phones by giving the phone animated eyes that appear on the screen when you put on the plastic cover.
The eyes would react to your input—dizziness when you shake the phone, looking down when you receive a notification, and so on. each has its own character.
Now compare that to today’s phones, which have practically zero personality.
If I put 10 phones side by side, would you be able to tell them apart from the front, or even from the back if the logos are hidden? I wish more phones would come out with literal personalities. Nothing can do that with their phonesbut it’s far from the Tamagotchi smartphone that the LG AKA is.
The Nothing Phone (3) is a bold new flagship that combines a unique design, powerful performance and some welcome new features, but without compromise. It has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, a triple 50MP camera, a sharp 1.5K AMOLED display and a new Glyph Matrix for notifications and mini-games. The $799 starting price puts it in flagship territory, but it lacks LTPO display technology and a high-end chipset, which may put off spec-oriented buyers. However, with its solid battery life, fast charging and eye-catching design, the Phone (3) offers a different vision of what a modern flagship can be.
The LG Wing’s rotating display could make a comeback as a creative-centric phone
Second screen with a twist
The LG Wing was one of LG’s last phones to hit the market in 2020, so the fact that it might be the craziest LG phone says a lot about the brand and its commitment to unusual smartphones.
The idea was pretty stupid— on the front of the phone was a 6.8-inch display that rotated a full 90 degrees to sit horizontally, revealing a smaller display underneath. The phone came out at a time when foldable phones first hit the market, and LG’s idea was to create a more practical and affordable alternative that allowed multitasking in a unique dual-display configuration. The only problem?
The main display now sat horizontally, and the smaller display below it was smaller. You can watch YouTube on the main display while using the bottom screen for things like social media and messaging, and you can potentially get a more advanced gaming experience by using the virtual buttons below, keeping the screen unobstructed above (a problem that a mobile game controller can solve and improve on any device).
This also came in handy when using Google Maps for navigation, as the secondary display could continue to be used normally, although Android Auto effectively replaced that use case inside the car.
To be perfectly honest, this crazy design had little benefit compared to all the drawbacks usually associated with rotating parts. This introduced potential mechanical and hardware failure points caused by ribbon cable compression, pocket lint and dust clogging the mechanism, and just general structural fragility.
However, we’ve gotten better at making twist and turn mechanisms in phones, and I could see a phone with the same build as the LG Wing making a comeback as a dedicated content creator/live streaming device.
The smartphone industry is desperately missing LG’s creativity
It happened The years since LG left the smartphone industryand we are all worse off for it. While I’m happy to see brands like Nothing try to create a unique identity for themselves, another brand as big as LG wouldn’t be willing to try such wild things with their phones, and honestly, looking at this list, it’s a wonder LG has lasted as long as they’ve released some gimmicky phones over the years.
