These 6 LG phones were too weird to survive, but we finally have the tech to do them right
LG exited the smartphone market five years ago, but before it did, 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 was only focusing on fairly modern Android phones from 2011 onward.
While many of these designs were gimmicky, I can honestly see the vision behind them, and I think some of these ideas deserve to be revisited and given a second chance with today’s technology and engineering knowledge.
The LG Optimus 3D tried to make 3D smartphones a thing, and it deserves another chance
LG was onto something
The LG Optimus 3D came from the height of an era when we were all obsessed with 3D everything (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 to do it but LG, one of the biggest display manufacturers in the world?
However, aside from 3D never really catching on the way everyone thought it would, there just wasn’t that much 3D content you could enjoy on the Optimus 3D. The interface was in 3D, and there were a few 3D apps and games, as well as a 3D YouTube app with extremely limited content that acted as a showcase for the technology.
The biggest source of 3D content was the user, who could take photos using the dual 5MP camera array on the back to shoot 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 large part of why this technology never lived up to the hype.
That being said, it’s now been 15 full years since this phone was released, and spatial displays (which is what we call them now) are more impressive than ever. While fitting the technology into a phone and making it work is a massive engineering challenge, I’m hopeful that 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-shaped when every other phone was going tall
Wider phones deserve another chance
The LG Optimus Vu came out when Samsung was popularizing large “phablet” phones, but instead of offering more vertical screen space, the Optimus Vu opted for a much wider 4:3 aspect ratio that gave the phone a unique square look.
Phones have since gone even higher in aspect ratios, with many coming in at around 20:9, but when you think about it, a wider phone does make sense. Many phones today are too wide to hold in one hand, but just too narrow to type comfortably using two fingers.
It’s no wonder folding phones are coming back, but foldables come with some other drawbacks, like an easily scratched screen, which alone is enough to throw people off when a phone costs thousands of dollars.
If a phone used the LG Optimus Vu’s aspect ratio and just filled the whole space with screen instead of those old-school bezels, it would be a pretty unique device. The best part? You could finally watch Nolan’s movies the way he intended, as the 4:3 aspect ratio is a lot closer to the IMAX 70mm film format than traditional smartphones.
The LG G Flex brought flexible displays to smartphones long before foldables
Curved screens before foldables
The LG G Flex came out in 2013, when the brand wanted to showcase how thin and bendable its OLED screens were, so they made a phone with a vertically curved display that was shockingly resistant to bending.
It was a gimmick, sure, but it looked incredibly unique when it was released—and I suppose it made for a slightly nicer movie-watching experience.
This alone would make it one of my favorite smartphones, except this phone had another cool gimmick—a self-healing back cover.
It was made from a special elastic polymer that deformed from light pressure from your fingernail or scratches, and after a while, the polymers would “massage” out these gaps to once again create a uniform look.
Perhaps the curved display had more downsides than functionality, but at the very least, I wish all phones shipped with this instead of glass backs!
The LG G5 had a removable battery design that modern smartphones could learn from
A battery you could replace in seconds
The LG G5 was one of LG’s craziest shifts, happening right in its flagship G line, which typically featured more traditional smartphone designs. While most brands were moving toward completely sealed phones, LG released a phone with a bottom plastic chin that could slide out together with the battery.
This alone would give it a massive advantage in today’s era of phones, where the battery fails long before the rest of the phone becomes obsolete. It was a simple drop-in replacement that a person with zero technical knowledge could do at home in 20 seconds.
But that’s only the start of this removable part—the real magic came with the various modules called “Friends,” like the Hi-Fi Plus module for high-resolution audio and the Cam Plus camera module, which gave you a DSLR-style grip, physical shutter buttons, a mechanical zoom dial, and extra battery life. At least some of this phone’s spirit is coming back today in the form of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which has a Photography Kit that you can slap on the back.
The LG AKA gave smartphones googly eyes
The eyes, Chico, they never lie
The LG AKA is one of the weirdest phones you’ve probably never heard of. I’ve been following the Android space closely for years, and I 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 intended to bring personality to phones in a highly unique way by giving the phone animated eyes that appeared on the screen when you had the plastic cover on.
The eyes would react to your inputs—getting dizzy when you shook the phone, looking down when you had a notification, and so on, each with their own personality.
Now contrast that to phones today, which have practically zero personality.
If I placed 10 phones next to each other, could you really tell them apart from the front, and even from the back if the logos were hidden? I wish more phones came out with literal personalities baked in. Nothing is sort of doing that with its phones, but it’s far from the Tamagotchi smartphone that the LG AKA was.
The Nothing Phone (3) is a bold new flagship that mixes unique design, strong performance, and some handy new features, though not without compromise. It boasts a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip, triple 50MP cameras, a sharp 1.5K AMOLED display, and the new Glyph Matrix for notifications and mini-games. The $799 starting price places it in flagship territory, but it lacks LTPO display tech and a top-tier chipset, which may put off spec-focused buyers. Still, with solid battery life, fast charging, and standout design, the Phone (3) offers a different take on what a modern flagship can be.
The LG Wing’s rotating display could make a comeback as a creator-focused phone
A second screen with a twist
The LG Wing was one of LG’s last phones to ever hit the market, releasing in 2020, so the fact that it might just be the craziest LG phone kind of speaks volumes about the brand and its dedication to quirky smartphones.
The idea was pretty bonkers—the phone had a 6.8-inch display on the front that rotated a full 90 degrees to sit horizontally, revealing a smaller display underneath it. The phone came out in an era when foldable phones were first coming to market, and LG’s idea was to make a more practical and affordable alternative that enabled multitasking in a unique dual-display configuration. The only problem?
The main display was now sitting in a horizontal position, and the smaller display underneath it was tiny. You could watch YouTube on the main display while using the bottom one for things like social media and texting, and you could also potentially get a more enhanced gaming experience by using virtual buttons at the bottom while keeping the screen unobstructed at the top (a problem that a mobile gaming controller can solve and improve on any device).
It was also useful when using Google Maps for navigation because the secondary display could continue to be used normally, though Android Auto has effectively replaced that use case inside the car.
If we’re being completely honest, there were few benefits to this crazy design compared to all the drawbacks that are typically associated with rotating parts. It introduced potential mechanical and hardware failure points caused by the ribbon cable getting pinched, pocket lint and dust jamming the mechanism, and just overall structural fragility.
That being said, we’ve become much better at manufacturing swivel and rotating mechanisms in phones, and I could see a phone with the same layout as the LG Wing making a comeback as a dedicated content creator/live-streaming rig.
The smartphone industry desperately misses LG’s creativity
It’s been years since LG exited the smartphone industry, and we’re all worse off for it. While I’m glad to see brands like Nothing trying to craft a unique identity for themselves, there’s never going to be another brand as big as LG willing to try so many wild things with its phones, and frankly speaking, looking back at this list, it’s a miracle that LG even lasted as long as it did given how many gimmicky phones the brand released over the years.
