The G3's metal-effect body isn't fooling anyone
The LG G3 was officially unveiled earlier this week, with the QHD display packing smartphone leaving some disappointed with its metal-effect plastic body.
With the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy S5 rival having widely been expected to feature a premium metal build, the Korean manufacturer has instead opted to produce a plastic bodied smartphone with a metal-effect finish.
Now, however, the company’s lead smartphone designer has revealed how the newly announced flagship offering was never originally intended to be finished in the cheating faux metal.
“At the beginning it was not designed to look like metal,” Chul Bae Lee, Vice President of the LG Mobile Communications Design Lab said speaking with TrustedReviews.
Lee told us: “At the beginning, [we looked at] our G2 which has a glossy surface but the trend for glossy phones was fading away. I also did the design for the Nexus 5 which is a completely matt material, but this is too extreme, it doesn’t look premium to consumers.
He added: “I wanted something in the middle, like a half glossy.”
Discussing how this metal effect was settled on Lee stated: “When I was looking at what half glossy materials there were I thought ceramics and metal. Through some consumer research and discussions internally we decided to go for the metal look.”
Despite the rival iPhone 5S and HTC One M8 both sporting full metal bodied, Lee has suggested that LG had to avoid an actual metal build and instead persist with plastic for the G3.
“If I had applied metal to the G3 is would be much bulkier in the bezels and in all four directions. It would be very big and very heavy,” Lee said.
“To maintain the compactness of this phone, there is no other choice than this material.
“I decided to simulate the metallic material. We ordered a special, very thin metallic film that is laid inside a mould and injected.”
Read More: LG G3 vs LG G2
