While LG's new flagship G6 smartphone might not have graded out as a must-have on reviewers' scorecards, the company's earnings report for the first quarter indicates that it's not having much trouble moving the smartphones.
LG in the first quarter of 2017 generated revenue of $12.7 billion, a healthy increase of 9.7 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The company's mobile division shipped 14.8 million phones - 10 percent more than it moved during the same period a year ago - and was thus responsible for $2.61 billion of that $12.7 billion total, up two percent year-over-year and four percent versus the previous quarter.
LG credited solid sales in the Americas as a leading factor for increased phone shipments. It also didn't hurt that LG beat Samsung to market with its first-half flagship, the Galaxy S8. The G6 went on sale internationally on March 10 while the Galaxy S8 didn't arrive until just last week (April 21).
The company did caution, however, that price competition in the mass-tier segment and competition from other flagship models is expected to climb this year.
Indeed, with the Galaxy S8 now out and other flagships expected to litter the remainder of 2017, it'll be interesting to see if LG can maintain the momentum it has created with the aesthetically-pleasing G6.