Skip to main content

LG epically trolls Samsung with a scathing removable-battery joke

Considering that all but one of the top-selling smartphones in the second half of 2015 had a non-removable battery (the LG G4 being the exception), you’d be forgiven for thinking that snap-on back covers and pocketable power packs were passe. But try telling that to LG. The company’s U.S. Twitter account went on an all-out blitz against Samsung. The flashpoint? Removable batteries, predictably.

Samsung instigated the exchange, when its Samsung Mobile account touted the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus’ ability to recharge quickly — boasting of a 90-minute zero-to-full charge, to be exact. That’s not new information, as Samsung’s been advertising that stat since the handset’s release date in August, but LG felt compelled to offer a snippy retort. The LG V10, it tweeted, can go from zero to full “instantly” with a removable battery. Zing!

Recommended Videos

This might be considered a banal exchange in the grand scheme of things, except for its conspicuous timing. LG’s upcoming flagship, the G5, is rumored to sport a retooled metal design with a slide-out tray engineered expressly to accommodate a 2,800mAh removable battery. Samsung, meanwhile, is expected to stick to a non-removable, fast-charging (zero to full in 30 minutes) 3,000mAh battery for the upcoming Galaxy S7.

These rumors beg the question: Just how desirable are non-removable smartphones batteries these days? It’s a well established fact that making phone batteries user-accessible precludes a seamless design — basic physics dictates that a point of separation exist between the phone case and battery compartment/cover/tray — and in some cases slimness and durability will suffer as well. The clearance between removable batteries and their covers, however tiny, create nooks and pockets of air that both contribute to thickness and deform on impact.

But removable batteries have their benefits. Carry another charged one around, and you never have to worry about finding a wall outlet. Aftermarket batteries sometimes extend capacity beyond the manufacturer-supplied model. And restarting a misbehaving smartphone that uses a removable battery couldn’t be simpler: Take out the battery and slot it back in.

The mass market may have established a preference for phones with non-removable batteries, but a vocal niche continues to promote the alternative’s little conveniences. It’s a niche on which LG has capitalized, and one that it’ll seemingly bend over backwards to promote in the future. The radical new design of the G5 is reportedly in response to weaker-than-expected mobile sales this past year.

Time will tell if LG’s bet on a removable future is a wise one.

Kyle Wiggers
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
If you like Samsung’s Edge Panels, you may not like the One UI 7 update
Galaxy S23 back in hand.

You probably have at least 50 apps installed on your phone, if not significantly more — but you likely only use maybe 10 or so of those apps on a routine basis. Samsung's Edge Panels feature made it easy to access your most-used apps, but that feature is starting to go the way of the Dodo with the upcoming One UI 7 launch.

Samsung sent an email to users alerting them that Edge Panels will no longer work with the launch of One UI 7, and those users took to X to share the email. That said, it's not quite as straightforward as it might seem.

Read more
Here’s every color we expect for the Samsung Galaxy S25 series
Side profile of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

A few weeks ago, we found out what colors to expect from the Galaxy S25 lineup when it launches in January. While those were all welcome choices, we didn't learn what the online-exclusive options would be. A leak from a well-known insider gives us an idea of what those might be.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ross Young said he had found more colors. For the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, those are Coral Red, Pink Gold, and Blue/Black. For the S25 Ultimate, the choices are Titanium Blue/Black, Titanium Jade Green, and Titanium Pink/Silver.

Read more
Samsung’s One UI 7 update has been significantly delayed
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung fans have been waiting with bated breath for the One UI 7 update, but we have bad news: it's been delayed until next year, according to the keynote speech at Samsung's developer conference.

One UI 7 will be released with the Galaxy S25 series, which will launch in January at the earliest. It's a relatively safe assumption that updates will roll out to older devices after that.

Read more