The LG G6 and other perfectly fine LG phones mostly suffer from the fact that today's best phones list is stacked by Samsung, Google and Apple.
It's hard to get noticed, so today LG announced it's bringing in a colossal reinforcement: Amazon. The two will start selling four of LG's smartphones in November through the ever-popular Amazon Prime service and offer deep discounts on each phone in the US.
It'll work like other Amazon Prime Exclusive phones by manufacturers like Motorola, Alcatel, Nokia and Blu. Phones will be unlocked and see a significant price drop. In exchange, "personalized ads" will display on the lockscreen.
While the Amazon Prime Exclusive phones program isn't available outside of the US at the moment (Amazon already offers many UK's SIM-free phones), it could have global implications on how LG sells its phones worldwide.
It also offers an alternate path for LG to escape Samsung and Apple's shadow –
just a little bit. US carrier have purposefully complicated device payment plans. Amazon Prime, on the other hand, offers a straightforward way to purchase a smartphone – without paying full price and with free two-day shipping.
Here's the deal on LG's four Amazon Prime phones
This could be a game changer for both LG and Amazon. LG is the most widely known phone maker among the budding Prime Exclusive phones list. That's great for Amazon. And everyone loves ordering from Amazon, even if its ideas are creepy sometimes. That's great for LG.
What's in it for you? Well, the price drop for being forced to glance at Amazon deals on your lockscreen is tremendous. You'll going from paying $672 for an LG G6 from Verizon to doling out just $399 on Amazon.
That payoff is worth it for people looking for solid phone deals in the US.
Here are LG's four Amazon Prime phones (coming in for November)
- LG G6 $399.99 on Amazon (currently $672 at Verizon)
- LG G6+ $499.99 on Amazon (not available in the US normally)
- LG Q6 $229.99 on Amazon ($70.00 off the retail price)
- LG X Charge $149.99 on Amazon (normally $199.99)
Saving as much as $273 on a smartphone does come with one string attached: There's no way to make monthly device payments like US carriers do.
Amazon hasn't gotten into the phone financing game. You'll save a heap on the full price of the phone, but it isn't broken down over 24 months like a lot of people are used to. It's simply a money saver in the long run.
That said, you can get more money for selling your phone through Amazon than any US carrier will offer you via a trade-in program. Those tend to be a rip-off.
It seems like win, win, win news for LG, Amazon and consumers – especially if it forces carriers to quit using complicated and expensive phone contracts.
The LG V30 isn't part of the Amazon Prime Phone program just yet, so we've reached out to LG and Amazon to find out if it's in the offing (after what we suspect is a carrier-exclusive time period). We'll update this story when we hear back.
