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A rare look at LG quality testing the G6 in a South Korean factory

Smartphone makers are rightly pretty hush-hush about how their phones are made. However we were in South Korea with LG in February to see the production of the LG G6. Here are some exclusive photos of the company quality testing the durability of the phone and its battery.

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  • battery penetration test 03 Pierce it
  • battery penetration test 01 Inspect it
  • drop test 01 Drop it
  • continuous drop test 01 Tumble it
  • impact test 01 Dent it
  • g6 production line 01 Check it
  • g6 shipping 01 Ship it
  • More stories
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Pierce it

We watched with horror as some lovely LG employees told us that if they pierce this battery, it could well explode.

Unperturbed by our reaction, they did it anyway. Reckon it blew up?

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Next Prev battery penetration test 03

We watched with horror as some lovely LG employees told us that if they pierce this battery, it could well explode.

Unperturbed by our reaction, they did it anyway. Reckon it blew up?

Inspect it

Of course it didn't (boo).

Here, an LG engineer checks out the results of the penetration test. It's a good thing it didn't explode - LG has been conducting tests like this for years, and prides itself on the G6's safety in the pockets of consumers.

Drop it

This guy was on top form. As soon as the G6 hit the ground, he checked for damage, and recorded any impact damage or loss of function. 

Then he did it again. And again. For what it's worth, it didn't look very broken, which bodes well for the final retail unit. 

Tumble it

Not content with just dropping it from a small height, LG also tumbles its phones in this huge plastic spinner. Made quite the racket.

The idea here is to speed up the stress cycle that general jangling about in your bag and pocket may do to the phone over time.

Dent it

As if that wasn't enough, the engineers then showed us a piston smack into a battery at high speed. Again, risk of explosion. Again, the battery came out verified safe.

They can't use this one again though, as you can see.

Check it

After all that stress testing, we also saw the more recognisable, calmer side of the G6 in production.

Here, factory workers check units for consistency in software operation, SIM slot function and quality of final unit and more.

Ship it

Then what else to do but ship it out to the world? 

The LG G6 is already out in Korea, and it'll hit US stores on 7 April. The UK shouldn't be too far behind that.

We were able to check out the G6 for an extended period pre-launch. Here is our review.

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