LG trademarks ‘Icon’ smartphone and ‘Iconic’ smartwatch, could launch in 2019
Looks like LG’s next-generation devices could be launched under a new name. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), LG has filed trademarks for a smartphone under the following names: LG Icon, LG Aicon and LG Aiconn. Interestingly, it also trademarked the name ‘Iconic’ for a smartwatch. The information was first revealed by VentureBeat’s Evan Blass on Twitter.
Companies often trademark product names in different regions to protect the intellectual property rights of the design, as well as to clarify that these are original ideas. LG Icon and the Iconic could be part of the company’s next-generation of devices, but this is merely a speculation at this point. However, since LG is revamping its strategy to make its smartphone business profitable, there is also a possibility to see these new devices arriving to the market sometime next year.
Unlike Samsung, LG’s smartphone business is losing money. Its past few smartphones, be it the G5 or the G6 have failed to live up to consumers’ expectations. During this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company’s Vice Chairman Cho Sung-jin clarified that new smartphone models will arrive only when needed, rather than chasing a fixed timeline. In responding to a question regarding the launch of the G7, Cho said (via The Korea Herald): “We will unveil new smartphones when it is needed. But we will not launch it just because other rivals do.”We plan to retain existing models longer by, for instance, unveiling more variant models of the G series or V series”.
We still don’t know if LG brings a new variant of the G6 or its successor in March this year. Given the company’s global market share in the smartphone market, it’s clear that LG will launch fewer phones in the near future.
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