LG has been out of the smartphone business for years, but look at the phone market in 2026 and something feels strangely familiar.
Foldables are mainstream. Manufacturers are experimenting with thinner designs, unusual displays and AI-powered interfaces. Premium phones increasingly need something distinctive to separate themselves from dozens of nearly identical glass rectangles.
LG was experimenting with many of those ideas before leaving the industry.
The company officially announced its withdrawal from the mobile-phone business in April 2021, saying it would focus resources on areas including connected devices, smart homes, robotics and electric-vehicle components.
That ended an unusually creative chapter in smartphone history.
LG produced plenty of ordinary phones, but its most memorable devices rarely played it safe. Some introduced features that eventually became normal. Others were wonderfully strange.
If LG suddenly announced a smartphone comeback in 2026, these are five models that deserve another chance.
1. LG Wing: The Weird Phone That Makes More Sense Now
Few smartphones have ever produced the same reaction as the LG Wing.
At first glance, it looked like a conventional 6.8-inch smartphone.
Then the main display rotated sideways.
Underneath was another 3.9-inch screen, transforming the device into a T-shaped dual-display phone. LG designed the unusual layout around multitasking, allowing different applications or controls to occupy each display.
In 2020, that seemed bizarre.
In 2026, it almost seems logical.
People are now comfortable with foldable phones that transform into tablets. Dual-screen productivity is easier to understand, and mobile applications have become more sophisticated.
A modern Wing could use the main horizontal display for video while comments, playback controls or messaging occupy the smaller screen.
Navigation could remain on one display while music controls appear on the other.
A camera application could place the viewfinder above and professional controls below.
That was always the Wing’s appeal.
It did not merely give someone a larger display.
It rearranged the interface.
The Wing Wasn’t Weird Just for Attention
LG actually built software around the swiveling mechanism.
Certain applications could divide their interface between the two screens. The camera also included a gimbal-style mode designed to take advantage of the unusual shape.
Its hidden front-facing camera made the main display uninterrupted by a notch or punch-hole.
The problem was timing.
The Wing launched when consumers were still deciding whether foldable phones themselves made sense. Asking them to understand an entirely different form factor was difficult.
It was also relatively heavy and expensive.
But imagine the concept with modern OLED panels, a thinner chassis, today’s processors and six additional years of software development.
The Wing might finally have the ecosystem its hardware deserved.
2. LG V60 ThinQ: Bring Back the Practical Powerhouse
The V60 was almost the opposite of the Wing.
It was unusual without being impractical.
Released in 2020, the LG V60 ThinQ offered a large OLED display, Snapdragon 865 processor, 5G connectivity, a substantial 5,000mAh battery and support for LG’s optional Dual Screen accessory.
But one feature has become particularly nostalgic in 2026.
The headphone jack.
Not merely any headphone jack either.
LG became famous among audio enthusiasts for incorporating a Hi-Fi Quad DAC into several flagship phones, allowing compatible wired headphones to take advantage of higher-quality audio hardware.
While competitors were removing 3.5mm connections, LG kept asking a different question:
What if the headphone jack became better instead?
That philosophy deserves a comeback.
A 2026 V-Series Could Target People Flagships Have Forgotten
Modern flagship smartphones are extraordinarily capable.
They are also increasingly similar.
A revived V-series could target power users who care about features manufacturers have gradually removed.
Give it expandable storage.
Bring back excellent wired audio.
Include a large battery.
Add strong manual video controls.
Provide desktop-style external-display support.
Then offer a second-screen accessory for people who want multitasking without committing to a fragile foldable display.
Would that become the world’s best-selling phone?
Probably not.
But LG’s mistake may have been trying to compete with everyone rather than owning a specific enthusiast niche.
A 2026 V60 successor could be the smartphone equivalent of professional audio equipment: deliberately specialized and unapologetically practical.
3. LG G5: Modular Phones Deserve Another Attempt
The LG G5 was one of the company’s most ambitious failures.
That sounds harsh, but it is also why the phone deserves another look.
Released in 2016, the G5 used a removable lower section that allowed accessories called “Friends” to connect to the phone. LG offered modules including a camera grip and an audio accessory developed with Bang & Olufsen.
The concept was exciting.
Execution was the problem.
Users had to power down the phone and physically remove the bottom section to swap modules.
The accessory ecosystem never became large enough.
And when consumers buy into a modular platform, they need confidence that modules purchased today will work with future devices.
LG never established that confidence.
But modularity itself was not necessarily a bad idea.
The EU Has Made Repairability More Relevant
Smartphone design priorities have changed since 2016.
European rules are pushing manufacturers toward greater durability, repairability and longer software support for smartphones and tablets sold in the EU. The European Commission’s rules applying from June 2025 include requirements related to batteries, spare parts, operating-system updates and repair information.
That does not mean manufacturers need to resurrect the G5.
But it does make the philosophy behind it more interesting.
A modern modular LG phone could focus less on novelty accessories and more on useful replaceable components.
Imagine easily replacing the battery.
Or attaching a serious camera grip with additional physical controls.
Or adding specialized audio hardware.
Or swapping a damaged USB-C assembly without replacing half the phone.
The original G5 tried to make smartphones modular before the industry had decided what modularity was actually useful for.
A 2026 version could make a much stronger case.
4. LG G8 ThinQ: Its Strange Gesture Controls Could Actually Work With Modern AI
The G8 ThinQ is remembered for one of LG’s strangest experiments: Air Motion.
Its front-facing sensors could detect hand movements, allowing someone to control certain functions without touching the display.
Users could perform gestures to launch applications, control media or adjust volume.
LG also introduced Hand ID, which attempted to authenticate someone by recognizing vein patterns in the palm.
It sounded futuristic.
In everyday use, however, the gesture system could feel slower and less reliable than simply touching the screen.
So why bring it back?
Because the technology surrounding it has changed dramatically.
Touchless Controls Could Be Useful If They Were Actually Intelligent
A modern phone has vastly more powerful computer-vision and machine-learning capabilities than a 2019 handset.
Instead of forcing users to memorize rigid gestures, a 2026 version could interpret more natural movements.
That could be useful while cooking.
Working with gloves.
Following a workout.
Repairing something with dirty hands.
Driving with the phone mounted.
Accessibility could be another important application.
The original G8 demonstrated an interface before the underlying technology was mature enough to make it effortless.
Modern AI might finally solve that problem.
LG’s mistake was not necessarily believing that phones could understand gestures.
It was expecting people to tolerate awkward gestures until they did.
5. LG Rollable: The Phone We Barely Got to See
If there is one LG smartphone that most deserves resurrection, it is the one consumers never really received.
LG publicly teased the LG Rollable at CES 2021.
Instead of folding along a hinge, its display expanded outward, allowing a conventional-looking smartphone to transform into something closer to a small tablet. LG confirmed at the time that the Rollable was intended as a real commercial product rather than simply a concept.
Then LG shut down its smartphone division.
The Rollable disappeared with it.
That remains one of the industry’s biggest “what if?” devices.
Rollables Could Solve One of Foldables’ Biggest Compromises
Foldable phones are impressive, but their design introduces compromises.
There is a hinge.
There may be a visible crease.
Thickness can increase.
The outer display and inner display often require different layouts.
A rollable takes another approach.
Instead of opening the phone like a book, part of the display extends from inside the chassis.
Closed, it can behave like a normal smartphone.
Expanded, it becomes wider.
No book-style hinge is required across the middle of the display.
That concept remains compelling in 2026 because manufacturers are still trying to determine the ideal shape for a device that sits somewhere between smartphone and tablet.
LG was remarkably close to putting its answer on store shelves.
LG’s Smartphone Problem Wasn’t a Lack of Ideas
Looking back at these devices reveals something unusual.
LG correctly anticipated several directions the industry would eventually explore.
Multiple displays?
Now common through foldables.
Advanced smartphone photography?
Universal among flagships.
Large-screen multitasking?
A major selling point of modern foldable phones.
Repairability?
Increasingly important to regulators and consumers.
Alternative form factors?
Manufacturers are still experimenting with them.
AI-driven interfaces?
Arguably the biggest smartphone battleground of 2026.
LG often identified interesting ideas before it figured out how to package them into products people wanted to buy.
That distinction matters.
Innovation does not automatically create commercial success.
LG Also Helped Normalize Features We Now Take for Granted
It is easy to remember LG for strange experiments and forget its influence on conventional smartphones.
The LG G3 was an early major smartphone with a Quad HD display.
The G6 adopted an unusually tall 18:9 display before elongated screens became normal across the industry.
The V-series emphasized manual video controls and high-quality audio.
LG also pushed ultra-wide cameras years before multi-camera systems became standard on virtually every premium smartphone.
In other words, not every LG experiment failed.
Some simply became so normal that people stopped remembering who pushed them early.
That makes the company’s absence more noticeable in a market where differentiation has become increasingly difficult.
Could LG Actually Return to Smartphones?
There is no current indication that LG plans to restart a conventional smartphone business.
Its 2021 withdrawal was explicitly strategic. The company redirected resources toward growth areas including EV components, connected devices, robotics, AI and business-to-business technologies.
That decision also made economic sense.
LG’s mobile division had accumulated years of losses while competing against Samsung, Apple and increasingly aggressive Chinese manufacturers.
Returning would mean confronting an even tougher market.
Samsung remains enormously powerful.
Apple dominates the premium end in many markets.
Chinese manufacturers compete fiercely across almost every price segment.
A straightforward LG Android flagship would have little reason to exist.
That is precisely why a hypothetical comeback should not be straightforward.
Don’t Bring Back LG Phones—Bring Back LG’s Willingness to Be Weird
The smartphone market does not desperately need another conventional flagship.
It already has plenty.
What it could use is another company willing to experiment.
Bring back the Wing with modern software.
Bring back the V-series as an enthusiast phone with exceptional audio and expandable functionality.
Reimagine the G5 around repairability rather than gimmicky modules.
Use modern AI to make the G8’s touchless interaction genuinely useful.
And finally finish the Rollable.
LG’s smartphones were sometimes frustrating because the company seemed willing to ship an idea before completely answering why consumers needed it.
But that willingness also made its products memorable.
Years after LG left smartphones, people are still discussing the Wing, V60 and unreleased Rollable.
That says something.
The safest phones may sell better.
The strange ones are often the devices we remember.
And if LG ever decided to make one more smartphone in 2026, it shouldn’t try to imitate the industry’s biggest players.
It should do what old LG did best:
build something nobody else was brave or reckless enough to try.
