LG G6 Ditches Removable Battery for Water-Resistant Body; Likely to Come With Google Assistant: Report

After LG's dismal quarterly results where it reported worst mobile performance, the South Korean company has its eyes set on the G6 flagship. A new report claims that LG G6 flagship will be the only other non-Pixel smartphone to feature Google Assistant out-of-the-box.

Recent reports have dropped hints that the company may opt for metal design which will be a departure from the company's current plastic body in the LG G5, which sports a modular design. CNET reports that the company has gone for the metal build to include waterproof capabilities. The report cites a person familiar with the company's plans and adds that LG's next flagship will ditch the removable battery to give way to water resistance.

Though, one of the compromises LG is being reported to have made is to opt for a dated Snapdragon 821 processor. CNET again citing the person familiar with LG's plans adds that LG decision to launch the G6 smartphone with Snapdragon 821 as it's in no mood to "hold up the launch of the device." This way LG will also get to release the LG G6 flagship ahead of Samsung's much-anticipated Galaxy S8 smartphone.

A recent report had claimed that Samsung's Galaxy S8 will be the first to feature the Snapdragon 835 chipset and this means that other manufacturers have to either compromise with an older SoC or delay the launches of the devices. The report further added that "Samsung has first dibs."

The report adds that LG's G6 will be the next smartphone featuring Google Assistant which means it will be the only one apart from the Google Pixel and Pixel XL to flaunt the feature. It however adds that LG may not stick with Google for coming years. The report says LG has strong relationship with Amazon and this will mean that smartphones from the company will pack the Alexa digital assistant instead of Google's Assistant feature. "Alexa will likely arrive in LG phones later this year," the report adds.

In a separate leak from South Korea, LG's G6 smartphone has been leaked in another image showing the metal design once again. Similar to previous render, the new leak shows metallic bezels on the LG G6.

The new image claimed to be from the LG G6 shows the top half of the smartphone with smaller bezels compared to its predecessor. The leaked image also shows antenna bands running on the side panel of the alleged LG G6. The new image shows the possible SIM slot on the right side of the handset.

With Samsung's absence at MWC, we can expect LG to take centre stage at the MWC event in Barcelona. The event will begin on February 26 at 4.30pm IST (12.00pm CET).