LG's L Series II phones to get premium "Knock" feature via maintenance update in January

posted by Alan F.

Dec 28, 2013, 10:59 PM

LG's L Series II phones to get premium "Knock" feature via maintenance update in January

LG announced on Sunday morning in Korea that its premium feature "Knock", once known as "KnockON," will be standard on future models. LG's L Series II handsets will receive the feature through a maintenance update scheduled for next month. "KnockON" was developed as a way to quickly turn on a sleeping LG G2 handset. With the flagship's power button on the back of the phone, users can more easily awaken the unit with a double tap to the screen.

Following its debut on the LG G2, "Knock" made its way to the LG G Pad 8.3 tablet, and the LG G Flex. The latter, featuring a curved screen, also has its power and volume buttons located on the back of the device.

Because those using the three LG devices with "Knock" were so enthralled with the feature, the South Korean based OEM decided to whip up a version for the LG L Series II models so that as many LG customers as possible can experience it.

"Knock is distinctively an LG UX and a great example of what happens when you marry the latest in mobile technology with consumer-centric insights. No one ever thought that a power button needed to be improved until our engineers wondered why they couldn’t turn the entire screen into a power button."-Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO, LG Electronics’ Mobile Communications Company

source: LG

SEOUL, Dec. 29, 2013 — LG Electronics (LG) announced that its popular Knock feature (formerly known as KnockON) will be included as a standard feature in the company’s key mobile devices in the future while its line of L Series II smartphones will receive Knock through a global Maintenance Release upgrade starting in January 2014.

Knock was first introduced in LG G2 as a convenient way to turn the smartphone on and off by tapping twice on the display since the power button was located on the back of the phone. Then Knock was featured in a tablet for the first time with the LG G Pad 8.3 followed by the G Flex curved smartphone which also shared the rear button design of the G2. The reaction of audiences to this new feature was so positive that a version for LG’s best-selling L Series II was developed to offer the feature to as many customers as possible.

“Knock is distinctively an LG UX and a great example of what happens when you marry the latest in mobile technology with consumer-centric insights,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics’ Mobile Communications Company, “No one ever thought that a power button needed to be improved until our engineers wondered why they couldn’t turn the entire screen into a power button.”

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16 Comments

17. TheRiseAgainst

Posts: 5; Member since: Dec 23, 2013

Any news regarding the update?

posted on Jan 21, 2014, 5:00 AM 0

13. mianhae445

Posts: 9; Member since: Sep 01, 2013

Nice to see that LG is turning over a new leaf and providing its customers with the newest features - who cares about OS version, it's the user experience that counts! :) Now here's a tip for LG: Don't forget the Optimus F series, G and G Pro! >

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 10:36 AM 1

12. npaladin2000

Posts: 165; Member since: Nov 06, 2011

Smart feature, especially with rear buttons, The way LG is going, they're really managing to develop their own unique identity instead of being a "Me too" copy of Samsung.

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 7:54 AM 0

11. addicted2088

Posts: 58; Member since: Sep 25, 2012

"No one ever thought that a power button needed to be improved until our engineers wondered why they couldn’t turn the entire screen into a power button."-Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO, LG Electronics’ Mobile Communications Company" They mean until they decided to take the feature straight from MeeGo. Nice way to put a spin on it, but yeah, it's great they did copy it, as it's extremely useful.

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 6:55 AM 1

9. tenzin

Posts: 111; Member since: Dec 20, 2013

Copy of jolla sailfish and bb10

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 6:15 AM 0

10. addicted2088

Or rather, copy of MeeGo, which originally employed it. But it's a great feature, one that every manufacturer should copy. :D

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 6:45 AM 2

8. Thehamster

Posts: 19; Member since: Dec 04, 2013

Kudos to lg. I like that feature a lot on my 920... and somehow it's not the same to press the home button on my note 3..

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 5:43 AM 0

7. Ezio2000

Posts: 14; Member since: Dec 11, 2013

What about optimus g and g pro do you forget them lg?

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 4:10 AM 3

4. fireblade

Posts: 717; Member since: Dec 27, 2013

There is an app called Tap Tap App that can wake your phone up by tapping the proximity sensor of the phone. I've been using it for months.

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 12:43 AM 0

5. ihavenoname

Posts: 1693; Member since: Aug 18, 2013

Thanks for the tip.

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 12:56 AM 0

6. iqjumpuw

Posts: 62; Member since: Nov 09, 2013

not really the same thing. you can only tap the proximity sensor with that app. G2's knock on feature does come very handy. I'm sure others will implement it soon.

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 3:31 AM 2

3. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

Cool, but what about the Android Kitkat update?

posted on Dec 29, 2013, 12:31 AM 1

2. Ashoaib

Posts: 3309; Member since: Nov 15, 2013

Good feature but not as exciting as simultaneous shot and dual videos were, first inroduced by samsung... I wonder why sammy didnt get patents for it

posted on Dec 28, 2013, 11:37 PM 1

14. papss unregistered

I disagree on that. Knock is a great feature of this phone. With everything else that LG has done in terms of features they are in a good position. I'd even argue they have the most customizable version of android available. Now if LG could work on their build quality an we would have a hit. I also think the knock feature on lumias work better with working everytime.