LG Teams Up with Platform Partners and Industry Innovators to Develop Unique Smartphones That Behave Like No Other
LG Electronics (LG) is kicking off the Explorer Project with a 30-second invitation video hinting at the first smartphone under this new lineup. Explorer Project is both an initiative and a category and will include devices that deliver distinctive and yet unexplored usability experiences, a strategy that tackles uncharted territory in the industry. Details of the Explorer Project will be officially announced September 14 at 10:00 (EDT) on LG Mobile’s official YouTube channel and Facebook page.
LG created the Explorer Project in response to the diverse usage needs of today’s smartphone customers and to deliver much-needed curiosity and excitement to the mobile sector. The initiative aims to “explore” and inject new life into untapped areas and reshape and expand the current user experience, with assistance from its trusted platform partners.
Explorer Project also marks a new direction in the alignment strategy of LG’s smartphones. The Explorer Project will focus solely on new usability that is discovered with innovative designs while LG’s new Universal Line will be the company’s lineup of competitive devices that focus on consumer lifestyles, such as LG VELVET.
LG is collaborating with industry partners Rave, Ficto, Tubi and NAVER to develop unique features that will elevate the mobile viewing experience on Explorer Project devices. Qualcomm Technologies is again contributing its industry-leading processing technology and knowhow to drive the outstanding performance of LG’s differentiated lineup.
Rave gives users wherever they may be the ability to communicate and enjoy streaming content together while Ficto, which pioneered revenue sharing for mobile content, aligned the global launch of its streaming service with the Explorer Project. Tubi, the largest ad-supported free streaming service is also an early partner of the Explorer Project. South Korean search leader NAVER, which worked in close partnership with LG on the LG Dual Screen, is developing a version of its Whale browser with unique browsing features for Explorer Project devices.
“LG and platform partners feel it is vitally important to demonstrate to consumers new and differentiated user experiences in the smartphone space,” said Morris Lee, president of LG’s Mobile Communications Company. “LG has always been a pioneer in pushing the envelope of smartphone form factors, the only way to bring about much needed innovation in the mobile market.”
LG is finally releasing a G-series phone with the latest Snapdragon – yay! Regardless whether we have some supply chain optimization or LG’s product planning to thank, the fact of the matter is the G7 ThinQ is now available internationally and it’s a proper high-end device.
True, the G7 is a trend-follower this time around rather than a trend-setter. But LG didn’t feel the need to experiment with this one and are going the Vseries route by delivering a device with just looks and features mix which is trendy these days.
The highlights of the G7 are the notched 6.1″ FullVision display with 19.5:9 aspect and bright RGBW matrix, and the latest Snapdragon 845 SoC, of course. LG is keeping the regular+wide dual-camera, which we are fans of, but brings a new selfie snapper.
The season’s buzzword is AI and in LG’s universe that translates to ThinQ. The futuristic name is here to stay, though, we’re hardly fans. This all started with the LG V30S ThinQ, which was an updated version of the V30 bringing AI camera features. It also aligns LG’s ThinQ appliance branding with the mobile lineup. But let’s agree to call this flagship the LG G7 and spare all of us the headache.
One thing we always liked in the LG headliners is the shock resistance that comes in addition to the water-proofing. And the G7 is MIL-STD-810G compliant for shock endurance, just like previous G and V models, but we’ll get to that in a bit. First, here’s a primer on the LG G7 key specs.
LG G7 ThinQ specs
Body: Aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass 5 on front and rear; MIL-STD-810G compliant; IP 68 water-resistant
Screen: 6.1″ QHD+ FullVision MLCD+ RGBW; 19.5:9 aspect ratio with notch, 564ppi; HDR 10 supported; brightness up to 1000 nits
Camera: 16MP (f/1.6) primary camera with OIS, Phase detection + Laser autofocus; secondary wide camera with 107-degree FOV, no OIS, fixed focus; Max 2160p @ 60fps video recording for both.
Connectivity: Single-SIM, Dual-SIM available in certain markets; LTE-A, 3-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.16/13 (1Gbps/150Mbps); USB Type-C; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; GPS; Bluetooth 5.0; FM radio
Yes, LG went all-in with the trends and that meant a notch cut-out for the camera/sensor/speaker cluster. Ironically enough, just a month before announcement, LG went to Reddit to ask the users of the /r/Android subreddit what it thought about the whole notch business. Needless to say, many opinions were expressed against the controversial notch, only for LG to release the notched phone anyway.
LG’s G7 has the same dual-camera setup from previous G flagships: a super-wide and regular camera. This time around, the two cameras are calibrated to support portrait mode shots. We are glad that LG kept the ultra-wide camera as it differentiates LG’s phones from other smartphone makers. They’ve also borrowed the powerful video recording features that debuted on the V30, so it’s a well-stocked camera setup.
Another thing that sets LG apart from other OEMs is the headphone jack with Quad DAC, which is targeted at audiophiles. But are a wide camera and Quad DAC going to be enough to make the LG G7 ThinQ a desirable smartphone among other contenders? We’re not sure just yet, so let’s find out together.
LG G7 ThinQ Unboxing
The LG G7‘s paper box contains a fast charger and a USB Type-C cable. You are also getting two USB adapters – A-to-C and micro-to-C for all kinds of purposes. There is a handy cleaning cloth, too.
Depending on the market some G7 bundles will also include a tangle-free in-ear headphones. The Korean boxes have those, but for other markets you’ll have to check with your local LG website.
Design
The LG G7 comes hot on the V30S ThinQ’s heels, and comparisons are inevitable. The G7 is as reminiscent of the V30S as it gets – same footprint and bill of materials, same look, and cool paint jobs. The notch is new, of course, and the dual-camera is now vertically oriented, but that’s about it.
LG G7 ThinQ next to the LG V30S ThinQ
With the new big screen and solid build, it makes us wonder if the G7 is a successor to the G6 or the V30, but that’s up for interpretations, we guess. Only time will tell if we need both series alive.
So, the design may have been passed for upgrades, but there are some major boosts in performance and camera, and we’ll get into those in a bit.
The LG G7 looks like any other glass-sandwich phone with a metal frame and won’t impress with the shape as it keeps it basic (but stylish!). LG did try to make up for that with some eye-catchy paint jobs and those hues are indeed stunning. LG has carried over the V30S original colors – New Moroccan Blue, New Platinum Gray, and Raspberry Rose – plus a brand new one – New Aurora Black.
LG V30S ThinQ next to the LG G7 ThinQ
The G7 offers more than meets the eye, as we said, and it starts with the design. The phone is not only water-resistant but also MIL-STD compliant for shock resistance. Its magnesium frame has I-beam construction, which should dissipate any sudden shock from drops throughout the chassis.
And the frame is much thinner on the G7 than it was on the G6. This year it’s not flat with chamfered edges, instead it slightly curves towards the front and rear glass panels.
Having a display with a notch might be a first for LG, but it’s one of the many on the market already. It’s an ordinary-looking LCD screen but it a few things to show off.
For one, 19.5:9 is the tallest aspect ratio we’ve seen so far. Then there is a Gorilla Glass 5 to keep the screen safe (with an ever so slight 2.5D curve along the edge). And finally, it has RGBW pixel arrangement, which should allow it get very bright.
One thing that might be bothersome is the offset earpiece. The selfie camera is what rules the center of the notch, flanked by a couple of sensors and a blinking LED on the left, and the earpiece grille on the right. Those are just aesthetic nibbles – as far as usability is concerned – it works perfectly fine.
The back is made of a 4D-curved Gorilla Glass 5. This means a flush center and four curves towards each edge. This curvy shape is what makes the G7 look thinner than it actually is, and arguably – prettier. It may compromise the grip a bit, but it as a fair deal.
LG was the first to put the power button on the back of a smartphone with the LG G2 but it’s now gone with the G7. For a change, LG has put the power key on the right-hand side. Only the fingerprint reader remains at the back.
Another first for the G series is the vertical alignment of the camera. The cameras employ two similar 16MP sensors but with different focal lengths. One has a normal focal length and f/1.6 aperture, while the other has an ultra wide-angle focal length and f/1.9 aperture. The resolution of the cameras has increased since the V30 and V30S, but we are yet to see if this was for the better.
The G7 features a new Boombox loudspeaker that sits behind the three-dotted grille at the bottom. But there is a lot more to it. LG uses the empty space in the G7‘s hull as a chamber to amplify the sound and promises room-filling loud audio. It surely sounded loud, but we are yet to test its loudness. We have high expectations though.
LG G7 ThinQ
Unnecessary elsewhere, it’s a must for the LG G7 – yes, we are talking about the audio jack, the latest victim of the smartphone “innovation.” The G7 is among the few flagships to keep it alive, and even better – it connects to a high-end 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC from ESS and is complete with DTS-X codec. The latter can simulate 7.1 surround sound – a first in a smartphone.
As we established, ThinQ means AI in LG speak and LG is dead serious into pushing this anyway it can. ThinQ has already made it to the phone’s model name, but the G7 is also getting a dedicated hardware key on the left. It summons the Google Assistant, but if you hoped for an option to reassign its purpose – it’s impossible, at least not yet. This may change later on, though.
LG G7 ThinQ
And to make it really easy to summon and talk with the Assistant, LG has added a so-called super far-field voice recognition. The tech comes courtesy of the combo of a new chipset, a few mics, and Google’s AI. The G7 can recognize your voice from up to 5 meters distance in noisy environments and launch Google’s assistance in an instant.
Indeed, the LG G7 looks a lot like its competitors. But it seems LG went above and beyond to make it better – the G7 has the sturdiest of glass builds, the loudest of speakers, the farthest sound capturing, the widest of cameras, and the audio jack is here to stay.
Display
The LG G7 ThinQ features a 6.1″ IPS LCD screen – an improvement over the 5.7″ screen on the G6 and the 6.0″ unit on the V30S. It has a resolution of 1,440 x 3,120 pixels (564ppi) and the tallest aspect ratio on a smartphone yet at 19.5:9. The previous LG flagships had the screen resolution of 1,440 x 2,880 pixels, but the LG G6 was the one with 564 ppi density and the G7 is keeping it just as pixel dense.
Fitting such a tall screen while keeping a relatively similar footprint means tiny bezels, while its underlying RGBW pentile matrix promises high brightness and OLED-like sunlight legibility with up to 1000 nits with the outdoor boost mode.
The G7 boasts spectacular contrast for an LCD – upwards of 2000:1. It has impressively deep blacks and a very good maximum brightness of 460 nits. That is if you opt for the default Auto mode.
When we triggered the outdoor brightness, which can last for up to three minutes, we measured a maximum brightness of 920 nits. That’s close to the promised 1000 nits by the manufacturer.
Minimum brightness is 3.3nits, so it’ll be easy on the eyes if you’re using it in a dark setting.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
LG G7 ThinQ
0.225
460
2044
LG G7 ThinQ (outdoor)
0.499
920
1844
LG G6
0.228
468
2053
LG G6 max auto
0.277
564
2036
LG G5
0.17
306
1855
LG G5 max auto
0.20
378
1881
LG V30
0.002
414
207000
LG V30 (Max Auto)
0.032
616
19250
Samsung Galaxy S9
0
370
∞
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Max Auto)
0
658
∞
HTC U12+
0.2
366
1830
HTC U12+ (Max Auto)
0.214
389
1818
Apple iPhone X
0
679
∞
Sony Xperia XZ2
0.431
618
1434
Huawei P20 Pro
0
412
∞
Huawei P20 Pro (Max Auto)
0
582
∞
Sunlight legibility is very good without the outdoor boost. Activating this mode will help for an OLED-like sunlight contrast with excellent visibility and colors.
LG promises a complete DCI-P3 color space support for the G7 display and we confirm the display covers all those colors. The reproduction is far from accurate though with an average DeltaE of 7.5 and maximum deviation of 13 at point white. There is a noticeable bluish tint over the white and grays, while the rest of the base hues look over-saturated.
If you want more accurate presentation, you can drag the slider for color temperature all the way to Warm. Then you’ll get a fairly accurate screen with an average DeltaE of 6.
On the subject of colors, the G7 is compliant with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 video formats. Among other things, the former means the G7 is capable of displaying 12-bit color (or 68 billion colors). Of course, this won’t make much difference without the right HDR10 video content.
Battery life
The LG G7 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery – that’s some 300 mAh less than last year’s G6. The G7 has a larger display, but it also has a new chipset that in theory should be more power efficient.
Just before we were ready to publish this review, a new OTA update arrived on our South Korean unit (ver. V10p),, and it had a long changelog. One of the improvements it claimed was improved battery life. And indeed, upon retesting, the standby endurance improved noticeably post-update. The Endurance rating below reflects that.
The individual tests, the LG G7 scored somewhat similar scores to the G6’s (the call test and video test), and did better on web browsing.
That is with the always-on display turned off. Switch on AOD and you’ll be looking at a significantly lower number (52h). Of course, this is with the visualisation always turned on. As a middle ground, you can always have it on during specific hours of the day.
LG states that the G7 is Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 compatible and bundles a charger to do the job. It’s rated at 9V/1.8A and a 30min charging session gets the G7 from flat to 40%. LG has also optimized its charging algorithms to fine-tune the charging process depending on the battery’s age and current temperature thus improving the battery’s long-term life. We get the feeling it might be something along the lines of Qnovo tech implemented in Sony Xperia phones.
The LG G7 also has wireless charging support built-in. We tried it with the Samsung Fast Wireless Charging Pad (rated 9V/1.67A) and it takes a few minutes north of three hours for a full charge. Not bad, all things considered.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the LG G7 ThinQ for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We’ve established this usage pattern, so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you’re interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we’ve tested will compare under your own typical use.
Speaker test (old, new one below)
The new Boombox speaker is firing at the bottom of the phone. It uses the empty space in the G7‘s hull as speaker chamber and thus it amplifies the sound by some extent. We won’t call it exactly ‘room-filling’ audio (unless it’s a really small room we’re talking about), but it definitely sounds and feels louder than the current competitors we’ve tested.
Naturally, we’ve put the speaker through our loudspeaker test and we measured some quite high numbers. And mind you, we’ve excluded the occasional peaks which went beyond 90db.
As expected, the LG G7 scored one of the loudest numbers in our database and received an Excellent mark for that. The sound is crisp and deep. We would have preferred a stereo speaker setup, but we sure do acknowledge LG’s efforts as the results are quite satisfactory.
Speakerphone test
Voice, dB
Pink noise/ Music, dB
Ringing phone, dB
Overall score
LG G6
66.8
68.8
74.5
Good
LG G5
68.7
70.9
73.5
Good
OnePlus 6
70.2
74.7
70.0
Good
Sony Xperia XZ2
66.1
71.8
78.1
Good
Apple iPhone X
68.9
74.0
76.2
Very Good
Xiaomi Mi 8
68.1
72.3
82.2
Very Good
LG V30
66.9
72.3
84.5
Very Good
Samsung Galaxy S9
68.5
74.3
81.1
Very Good
Huawei P20 Pro
71.8
69.2
91.0
Excellent
LG G7 ThinQ
78.3
76.4
82.3
Excellent
HTC U12+ (Music)
76.0
73.6
88.5
Excellent
Audio quality
The LG G7 ThinQ impressed in the active external amplifier part of our audio test through the jack. It delivered high loudness matched with perfect clarity, wrapping up a performance as good as they come.
Plugging in the headphones brought the volume down significantly – the G7 ThinQ was actually below average in this case which was surprising and means bigger headphones might not be as loud as we would like.
The good news is clarity was barely affected and even the usual increase in stereo crosstalk was very minor. So unless you have very high impedance headphones, which the G7 might struggle to drive at sufficient loudness, its performance is really exemplary.
Test
Frequency response
Noise level
Dynamic range
THD
IMD + Noise
Stereo crosstalk
LG G7 ThinQ
+0.01, -0.02
-94.0
93.6
0.0011
0.0066
-93.0
LG G7 ThinQ (headphones)
+0.04, -0.03
-93.7
93.2
0.0017
0.046
-73.0
LG V30
+0.02, -0.01
-93.2
93.1
0.0008
0.0069
-94.2
LG V30 (headphones)
+0.03, -0.02
-92.9
92.9
0.0057
0.051
-68.1
vivo NEX S
+0.01, -0.02
-93.6
93.7
0.0009
0.0069
-93.8
vivo NEX S (headphones)
+0.17, -0.10
-92.9
93.2
0.0043
0.158
-61.3
HTC U12+
+0.02, -0.15
-94.3
94.3
0.0021
0.0069
-94.3
HTC U12+ (headphones)
+0.18, -0.13
-93.7
93.6
0.0024
0.104
-52.7
Nokia 8 Sirocco
+0.44, -0.12
-90.1
90.2
0.0056
0.016
-88.7
Nokia 8 Sirocco (headphones)
+0.51, -0.12
-89.8
89.9
0.0097
0.043
-39.9
Samsung Galaxy S9+
+0.01, -0.03
-92.6
92.5
0.0012
0.0076
-93.4
Samsung Galaxy S9+ (headphones)
+0.03, -0.03
-92.2
92.2
0.0017
0.042
-76.3
Android Oreo with LG UX
The LG G7 runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. LG’s own UX is the default launcher and it comes with its own take on the skin, settings, and default apps. The AI Pack 2.0 is onboard powered by Google’s Assistant, while some regions could also benefit from Q Voice. LG promises that Android P is coming soon, as the firmware update is already in development.
The G7 has an always-on display, just like the V30, even though the screen is not an OLED one. You can have one out six designs in total, notifications from all apps can be shown, and you can also set up a period when the feature will be turned off – pretty much the usual AOD stuff.
The G7 features a notch, but LG calls it a New Second Screen and claims this is an enhanced version of the second screen from the V10 and V20. But no matter the name, the notch is there and thus it splits the top of the screen. It still fits the usual stuff – notification icons, status items, the clock and network bars. You can assign custom colors to the horns, or just use black to make it less, well, irritating.
The G7 ThinQ lockscreen stays true to recent LG designs. You get two shortcuts in the bottom corners by default – to the dialer and the camera. You can, however, have up to 5 shortcuts there, to apps of your own choosing.
You have multiple options for a secure unlock – the usual PIN, pattern or password, fingerprint (the sensor is always on), face (fast but less secure, or slow but more secure), and even voice. For the latter you can pick a phrase of your own – you don’t have to use a pre-set one. You say it out loud to the phone 4 times, so it can learn the specifics of your voice, and you’re all set. The phone is constantly listening too, you don’t need to wake it up. It works most of the time, but seems less secure than fingerprints.
The nice tghing is that these work simultaneously, and the phone will unlock with the first successful option.
The G7 ThinQ lockscreen stays true to recent LG designs. You get two shortcuts in the bottom corners by default – to the dialer and the camera. You can, however, have up to 5 shortcuts there, to apps of your own choosing.
You have multiple options for a secure unlock – the usual PIN, pattern or password, fingerprint (the sensor is always on), face (fast but less secure, or slow but more secure), and even voice. For the latter you can pick a phrase of your own – you don’t have to use a pre-set one. You say it out loud to the phone 4 times, so it can learn the specifics of your voice, and you’re all set. The phone is constantly listening too, you don’t need to wake it up. It works most of the time, but seems less secure than fingerprints.
The nice tighing is that these work simultaneously, and the phone will unlock with the first successful option.
Past the lockscreen is the homescreen which LG insists should be done the Apple way – without an app drawer. That’s the default setting though, but you do get an option to switch back to the stock Android way.
Smart Bulletin is your leftmost pane with various widgets to help you organize your day.
The task switcher has a ‘clear all’ button, plus a pin you can tap on each app if you want it to remain after you’ve killed the rest. That’s different from screen pinning (needs to be enabled in settings), where you can, um, pin a single app to stay on the display regardless of the user’s attempts to tap away from it. You go out of this with a simple press-and-hold of the back button, but you can also set it up to require unlocking so it could be used as a privacy measure or a kid’s mode of sorts.
There’s, of course, split-screen multitasking, though not all apps support it. You can use it in either portrait and landscape. You can change this from the Developers options – there you can force Android to enable split-screen multitasking for all apps. There are no guarantees they will work properly, though. Also from here, you can make all apps movable to the microSD card.
In split screen view, the Home button shows your homescreen but does not dismiss the apps – the app switcher button shows the split screen icon and double tapping it brings back the two. This is great since normally you can only pick apps from the app switcher rolodex for split screen use, but in this state, any app you launch from the homescreen goes straight into split screen mode.
QSlide, LG’s floating app implementation, is still available in some places – the Phone, and the video player. But those are the exception rather than the rule.
The notification area followed what custom skins have been doing for ages and put some quick toggles on the top row. LG added to that a brightness slider with an Auto checkbox.
The search (swipe down anywhere on your homescreen) does what it says – sifts through your apps, contacts, and settings for the search term you input. You can specify where exactly it looks into, so it doesn’t have access to sensitive apps like instant messengers (or whatever it is that you prefer to stay private).
LG acknowledges that not all apps may be willing to play nice with the 19.5:9 display, so it’s included a compatibility mode for those that don’t. This makes the navigation bar taller (2:9, instead of the usual 1.3:9), so the apps can treat the screen like a 16:9 one with no navigation bar.
Finally, there is a dedicated hardware key to summon the Google Assistant. The G7 doesn’t have the option to assign a different functionality to this key at launch, but LG is considering allowing this with an update. If you are keen on using the Assistant, you’ll be happy with this key. Otherwise, let’s hope an update will allow for customization.
Q Voice is available in some regions, and while it’s not among the well-established AI helpers, it may be worth giving it a try.
Performance and benchmarks
The LG G7 ThinQ is powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset. It’s the same SoC found in many flagships – the US Galaxy S9, HTC U12, OnePlus 6, or the Xiaomi Mi 8. It’s a been a while since LG managed to secure the most current Qualcomm chip for its G series.
So, the Snapdragon 845 should be quite familiar to our regular readers – it has an octa-core Kryo CPU, and a powerful Adreno 630 GPU. The G7 is available with either 4 or 6 GB of RAM, depending on the storage capacity – 64 or 128 GB. Ours has 4 gigs.
Now let’s run some benchmarks.
Geekbench is what we usually fire up first. Samsung’s and Apple’s custom cores have more oomph per unit as evidenced by the results in single-core GeekBench. Here, the LG G7 posts numbers virtually identical to the other Snapdragon 845 phones we’ve tested, except the Snapdragon Galaxy S9+, which underdelivers a bit.
We can only praise the LG G7 performance. The LG UX is well optimized and doesn’t bog down Android since it is lean and snappy. Running a benchmark repeatedly slows the phone a bit. But the difference in the scores was minor, while the glass body didn’t heat up to worrisome levels. And if it weren’t for the minor difference in the tests’ scores, we wouldn’t have noticed the throttling at all.
So, the LG G7 has the fastest chip available to an Android smartphone, runs smooth and lag-free, the LG UX is greatly optimized, and no one will be able to notice throttling. That’s a win by our books.
Dual 16MP main camera
The LG G7 ThinQ has a similar setup to the LG V30S ThinQ – a regular camera plus an ultra wide one. The main one is 16MP with a f/1.6 lens and OIS – same as on the V30S. The secondary one has been upgraded since the V30S and is now 16MP instead of 13MP. It has a f/1.9 aperture but it’s still fixed focus and it doesn’t share the OIS of the main camera. Not that it needs any OIS at this focal length.
Both sensors are 1/3.1″ big with 1.0µm pixels (not especially big). The front camera is an 8MP unit with f/1.9 aperture.
The G7‘s main camera is capable of rich scene recognition thanks to the power of AI which was introduced with the V30S. LG says there is no need for internet connection for it to work. A small text pops up on the screen upon recognizing different subjects and in a second or so, the camera will have adjusted the parameters according to the stuff it recognized.
While this sounds cool on paper, the regular auto mode is just as good. We found those popups more irritating than helpful and it took one or two extra seconds for successful parameter tuning. As we said, the auto mode is just as good, so we really didn’t find any use for the AI Cam.
The camera comes with a new mode called Super Bright Camera. It’s a dedicated night mode, which produces well-exposed photos in pitch dark conditions. This is done by pixel binning – the light gathered by four pixels is combined into one when trying to take a photo in 2 lux or less. The result is a much brighter, 4MP photo.
The mode doesn’t kick in automatically (for now), but a notification tells you to switch if it detects suitable conditions.
There is portrait mode available, and it uses the wide-angle camera as a depth sensor. The effect preview is visible in real-time, and you can edit the photo even after it’s taken.
The camera app has been improved since the V30 with a reworked interface. It has the regular and wide switch on the viewfinder. On the left are the settings, mode, filter, selfie and flash shortcuts. At the opposite side are Google Lens, Portrait, and AI Cam toggles. Yes, this time around, you can choose whether you would like LG’s proprietary Q Lens to help you with recognizing objects in your viewfinder or you can do that via Google Lens. Google Lens lets you search for products like the ones in your frame, copy text or phone numbers, scan barcodes, and recognize landmarks and pieces of fine art.
As additional modes you get Manual for images and video, cinemagraph, food, slow-mo, panorama (60MP), GIF, AR stickers – all pretty self-explanatory. The settings menu is a bit of a mess, but once you spot where the video settings are (on the right), you’ll get the handle on it.
As additional modes you get Manual for images and video, cinemagraph, food, slow-mo, panorama (60MP), GIF, AR stickers – all pretty self-explanatory. The settings menu is a bit of a mess, but once you spot where the video settings are (on the right), you’ll get the handle on it.
The samples we took with the wide-angle camera are on par with the regular ones in terms of image quality. Just don’t expect to shoot objects from up close with this camera as the focus is fixed.
Now that we established the G7 takes good pictures, but not among the best we’ve seen, we should mention something peculiar. Among the samples we snapped, we found a few that looked different. Those were not as sharpened, and a little bit noisier, but they had a lot more resolved detail and looked more natural. We suspect those photos survived the heavy-handed processing because they were part of a series shot at rapid succession. In any case, we didn’t find a way to capture them intentionally.
The LG G7 offers HDR Auto mode, which is smart enough to know when HDR should be used and the HDR effect is quite good without being too aggressive. But if you like to pixel peep, the drop in quality is noticeable due to the oil painting effect which we discussed earlier.
At least, for the very first time, LG’s camera app can show the HDR effect straight in the camera viewfinder before you’ve taken the photo – something Samsung phones and iPhones have been capable of for quite a while. Also, capturing HDR shots no longer takes extra time like it did on the V30.
Low-light Image Quality
In low light the G7 output is softer than what you could get out of previous LG phones – here the bias is towards heavier noise reduction, hence less noise, but also less detail. The bright lens wasn’t enough to compensate for the tiny sensor pixels this time around.
For near pitch-dark conditions the G7 will offer you to use the so-called Super Bright Camera. It uses pixel binning – the light gathered by four pixels is combined into one when trying to take a photo in 2 lux or less of light. The goal is to get one well-exposed 4MP photo.
And indeed, you will. The 4MP shots taken in pitch dark conditions are well-exposed, but the noise reduction smeared most of the fine detail. So those will do for Facebook on those rare dark occasions but don’t expect something as striking as Huawei’s Night Mode on the P20 and P20 Pro.
Portrait Mode
The Portrait Mode has finally made it to the LG G series. It uses the wide-angle camera for depth information, and you can choose the strength of the background defocusing before or after taking the photo.
The Portraits turned out pretty good. Subject separation works well, there aren’t abrupt transitions from sharp to blurred, the bokeh is nice, and overall – those are among the better portrait photos we’ve seen.
Selfies
The selfie camera has been upgraded on the LG G7 with an 8MP unit behind an f/1.9 aperture lens. The wide-angle mode is gone for good, though, but you get portraits, which is more than fair.
The captured detail on the selfies is enough, and those came with good colors and contrast. The dynamic range is about the average, and the noise is kept mostly low.
The G7 may lack a secondary selfie sensor for depth information, but it still does mostly fine in detecting and separating the person from the background. Sure, you can notice the processing tries to mask the borders with some forced blur, or the lack of it, but those are still some good samples nevertheless.
Finally, HDR is available for the selfie snapper, but there is no Auto mode. Still, if you need it, you’ll get some detail in the blown areas.
Video recording
The LG G7 records videos up to 2160p resolution with up to 60 fps (via update) with both rear cameras. While the optical stabilization is always there for you on the main cam, digital stabilization is only available in 1080p/30fps. Other makers now offer stabilized videos all the way up to 4K, and it’s not like the G7 is lacking in processing power.
Footage from the LG G7‘s normal cam is excellent and definitely flagship-worthy. There is plenty of detail, the dynamic range is high, and the contrast is excellent. The color rendition is not exactly accurate as the G7 videos are a touch warmer but they sure do look lively. The oil painting effect is barely visible here, if at all, so you won’t have to worry about that.
The 4K at 60fps clips are captured at 64Mbps bitrate while the 30fps – at 48Mbps, both with 156 Kbps stereo audio.
The 1080p clips at 30fps (17Mbps bitrate) are equally great as the 4K in terms of video quality – in their own class, of course. The 1080p at 60fps videos, on the other hand, are very soft, which is odd – the phone records 4K videos at 60fps just fine but not at 1080p?
There is optical stabilization active all the time for the main camera, but the 1080p at 30fps videos can also benefit from digital one. And while the OIS does great at keeping the picture steady, EIS is what works excellently for removing the camera shake when walking and recording.
The 4K at 60fps videos from the wide-angle camera are softer than the ones we took with the regular one, but other than that – they share the same high dynamic range, excellent contrast, and punchy colors.
The wide-angle 4K and 1080p ones captured at 30fps are on par with the regular samples in quality, while the 1080p at 60fps are just as equally bad.
The LG G7 has HDR 10 video recording mode at 4K or 1080p resolution at 30fps. The HDR video benefits are visible on the G7‘s HDR display and the video looks truer to life, with a lot more discernible shades and better contrast. We are providing an HDR video sample for you, but unless you have an HDR10-compatible display, it will likely look washed-out without revealing its true colors.
Finally, in Manual Video mode you can also enable 24-bit Hi-Fi sound recording. The PCM audio bitrate is 2304 Kbps, and you can fine tune it by your liking. A wind-cancelling shortcut is available for when you are shooting in windy environment. Just like the HDR video clips, the Hi-Fi ones won’t be compatible with every hardware, but they should be easier to play as the PCM audio-compatibility is more common.
You can download short untouched samples of all the video modes we tested – 4K at 60fps (10s, 80MB), 4K at 30fps (10s, 60MB), 4K HDR (10s, 63MB), 4K Hi-Fi (10s, 69MB), 1080p at 30fps (10s, 21MB), and 1080p at 60fps (10s, 30MB).
You can also grab the untouched samples from the wide-angle camera – 4K at 60fps (10s, 80MB), 4K at 30fps (10s, 60MB), 1080p at 30fps (10s, 21MB), and 1080p at 60fps (11s, 32MB).
The Competition
LG G7 ThinQ joins the flagship race a bit later, and without the bang many others enjoyed at launch. The G7 doesn’t introduce anything that we haven’t already seen from LG or its competitors, it just tries to make use of most new trends and make the best out of them.
And it works for the most part – the LG G7 is as beautiful, as snappy, and as capable as any other current droid. Yet, it has the sturdiest of designs, the tallest and brightest of screens, the loudest of speakers, the widest of cameras. Tiny bits that make up for a great all-around package. And with a price of €650, it’s not as expensive as its rivals were at launch.
Today, however, the Galaxy S9+ already costs as much as the LG G7. The other Korean beast offers a curved AMOLED that has no notch, variable aperture on its camera and the best super slow-mo videos on a phone. It may lack the G7‘s shock resistance but does impress with stereo speakers and better photo and video quality.
The OnePlus 6 is way cheaper, yet it has a similar screen, chipset, and battery. This one, however, is still not properly water-resistant. Its camera experience is an even bigger mess. Still, the unmatched bang-for-buck ratio is what attracts people to OnePlus.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 costs as much as the OnePlus 6, which means cheaper than the G7, if available in your market, that is. The Mi 8 has a Super AMOLED screen (but of lower 1080p resolution); the same Snapdragon 845 chip (but prone to throttling), a capable main camera (but takes noisy photos). There is also a stellar 20MP selfie snapper. The Mi 8 is also a very good iPhone X lookalike. If you can forgive the lack of water and shock resistance, it goes for €200 less than the G7.
Huawei P20 Pro price has also dropped to the LG G7 levels. The Pro enjoyed a massive PR campaign for its triple Leica camera that has secured millions of sales worldwide. It has the screen, the looks, and the speed, but when it comes to the camera – the P20 Pro is a king in what it does. If camera skill is what you are after – look no further than the P20 Pro. If not, maybe the G7 could be a slightly better all-rounder.
Samsung Galaxy S9+ • OnePlus 6 • Xiaomi Mi 8 • Huawei P20 Pro
The Verdict
It’s not like LG didn’t try to compete with the rest. It made the LG G7 best at what it’s advertised for – the design, durability, speaker, display, chipset, and camera. It pretty much has it all, even if with the few small caveats.
The LG G7 is a bit late for the party, yes, but LG has put a solid effort into making a nice device. However, they stopped at that. Unlike other makers, LG didn’t put the G7 in your face via PR campaigns, it didn’t even try to make a proper press event. Worse – LG chose an awkward long name for it. It’s like the company is only relying on loyal fans and word of mouth for selling the G7, which is not how the market works today, not for smartphones at least.
So, even though we think the G7 deserves a solid recomendation, we would have a hard time convincing the world to give it a try.
Pros
Beautiful and shock-resistant body
The latest Snapdragon chip
Flagship screen with unmatched aspect, brightness and resolution
Top-notch connectivity package
Very loud speaker
Great all-round camera experience, with some oil painting-like inconsistencies
Excellent 4K videos, both 30 and 60fps, both normal and wide-angle
HDR and Hi-Fi video recording, lots of manual options
Cons
The battery life is just about average
The low-light image quality isn’t flagship worthy, issues with HDR photos
4K videos are not further stabilized by EIS
There are so many little things done right in the G7, but it’s up to you to discover them as our review is about to end. If you can live with the small setbacks the still camera has, then you most definitely have to try the G7 for a size.
LG Electronics (LG) is bringing the exceptional user experience of the G series to customers in more regions with the introduction of the LG G8SThinQ. The LG G8SThinQ is the perfect choice for consumers seeking a premium smartphone, offering many of the stand-out features and technologies applied to the flagship LG G8ThinQ with unique touches that are popular with target consumers. The latest LTE addition to the G series will be available starting this month in select markets in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, among others.
Introduced for the first time on the LG G8ThinQ, the Z Camera utilizes Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor technology to bring LG G8SThinQ users a choice of convenient and secure biometric recognition options. Hand ID uses the Z Camera’s ability to scan a user’s unique circulatory pattern using infrared light making unlocking the phone in the dark just as accurate as during the day. The same technology comes into play in Face Unlock, which is also extremely accurate and fast due to the Z Camera’s use of infrared light and 3D point clouds to accurately trace the contours and features of the face. The third new feature that utilizes Z Camera is Air Motion, a touchless command interface that allow users to perform various actions without touching the screen.
As the first smartphone manufacturer to offer a triple-lens camera setup with a wide angle lens, LG continues this now widely emulated design with the LG G8SThinQ. The improved camera – with the widest field of view to date at 137˚ – allows users to enjoy continuous zoom capability without any lag or color distortion. The exception camera performance of the G8SThinQ was even recognized by VCX-Forum, a Germany-based ratings organization, which ranked the LG device best among the industry’s current smartphones. On the front the device sports a standard lens and the Z Camera, which supports features such as Portrait and Spotlight to help users raise their selfie game. The addition of the Z Camera’s ability to quickly measure distances helps produce portraits with more depth and feel. Spotlight detects the user’s facial curvature and simulates studio lighting to bring a professional quality and dramatic edge to selfies. With Video Depth Control, videos shot on the LG G8SThinQ benefit from a beautiful bokeh effect that puts the subject in sharp focus against a soft, blurred background. And for users tired of shaky video footage, LG G8SThinQ comes ready with Steady Cam which delivers smooth, clear videos without the use of a gimbal.
Equipped with Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform and a vivid 6.2-inch FHD+ FullVision OLED display (2248 x 1080), the LG G8SThinQ is a multimedia powerhouse. The handset also continues LG’s legacy of superior mobile audio, fitted with stereo speakers that deliver a rich, textured performance and immersive surround sound. The LG G8SThinQ continues the company’s tradition of audio excellence with the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack and DAC.
The design of the LG G8SThinQ is all about the user: the stylish, ergonomic smartphone provides easy one-handed operation and oozes understated elegance, features popular with customers in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Complete with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass, it has a polished, seamless finish that is both strong and sophisticated and guarantees a comfortable grip. Standard out of the box are 6G RAM, 128GB storage, MIL-STD 810G compliance and IP68 water and dust resistance. The LG G8SThinQwill be available in three compelling colors: sleek and modern Mirror Black, eye-catching Mirror Teal, and alluring Mirror White.
Pricing and details of availability of the LG G8SThinQ will be announced locally.
Key Specifications:
Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform
Display: 6.2-inch 18.7:9 FHD+ OLED FullVision (2248 x 1080)
Memory: 6GB RAM / 128GB
Camera:
– Rear: 13MP Super Wide (F2.4 / 1.0μm / 137˚) / 12MP Standard (F1.8 / 1.4μm / 78˚) / 12MP Telephoto (F2.6 / 1.0μm / 48˚)
– Front: 8MP Standard (F1.9 / 1.12μm / 80˚) / Z Camera (ToF Technology)
Battery: 3550mAh
Operating System: Android 9.0 Pie
Size: 155.3 x 76.6 x 7.99mm
Weight: 181g
Network: 3G / 4G LTE-A
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 5 / NFC / USB Type-C (USB 3.1 Compatible)
Biometrics: Hand ID / Face Unlock / Fingerprint Sensor
Colors: Mirror Black, Mirror Teal, Mirror White
Other: Air Motion / Stereo Speakers / AI CAM / Google Lens / Google Assistant / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ 3.0 Technology / MIL-STD 810G Compliance
A notch too far. The LG G8S ThinQ has arrived late to the party, but it still brings a flagship SoC, a large OLED display, a ToF camera and a 3,550 mAh battery. The G8S ThinQ may have fancy camera tech, but it is otherwise a fairly run-of-the-mill flagship. However, read on to find out why we still think highly of LG’s latest attempt to disrupt the established order.
LG announced the G8S ThinQ alongside the G8 ThinQ at MWC 2019 in Barcelona back in February. The two devices initially caused a stir because of their innovative time of flight (ToF) cameras, which use infrared to analyse and collect depth-of-field information from a scene before relaying it to the main camera. This can help create more accurate augmented reality (AR) and potentially richer photos. Inexplicably, LG decided against releasing the G8 ThinQ in Europe and has taken until now to bring the G8S ThinQ to market, almost five months after it was originally announced.
So here it is; LG’s flagship G series device for 2019 in Europe. The G8S ThinQ ticks all the basics for a 2019 flagship with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, 6.2-inch OLED screen, several cameras, current LTE and Wi-Fi standards, along with stereo speakers. Oh, and a notch. A huge notch.
The G8S ThinQ is comparatively reasonably priced at launch, with an MSRP of 769 Euros (~US$867). This is more expensive than the Huawei P30, the entry-level OnePlus 7 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S10e. The latter is pitched as an affordable flagship, underlining just how good value for money the G8S ThinQ is in 2019. Apple’s cheapest smartphone of last year, the iPhone XR, is more expensive than the G8S ThinQ though, as is the Sony Xperia 1. Prices have already started dropping just a few weeks after launch, making the G8S ThinQ even better value for money. We shall compare our review unit against all those devices and its predecessor, the G7 ThinQ.
Case
One of the first things that you may notice about the G8S ThinQ is its huge notch. It is not as thick as the one Google opted for with the Pixel 3 XL, but it makes the G8S ThinQ look antiquated next to something like the OnePlus 7 Pro. The notch houses the ToF camera though, so it is not all for show, and the G8S ThinQ still manages an over 80% screen-to-body ratio. It has narrow side bezels too.
The back of the device has a glossy glass design like many modern flagships, which does not impede the various antennas like a metal back would. The G8S ThinQ does not distinguish itself from other flagships in regard to design, with it being a metal and glass sandwich, but it still looks nice. Currently, LG only sells the device in what it calls Mirror Black, which looks more like a bluish grey than black to our eyes. It will eventually start selling a white version too.
The footprint and weight of the G8S ThinQ puts the device squarely in the middle of our comparison devices. It is not especially compact, thin or light, but it is a nice compromise if you want a phone with a large display but without being as long as the Xperia 1.
Our review unit is well-built, with it withstanding all attempts at bending or twisting. The device is IP68-certified too, meaning that it is dust-tight and water-resistant. It is also MIL-STD-810 compliant, which means it must have successfully passed 14 environmental and climatic tests. However, no independent organisation or agency certifies MIL-STD-810 compliance, so the conditions under which LG tested it are unclear.
Connectivity
The G8S ThinQ comes with 128 GB of UFS 2.1 flash storage and 6 GB of RAM, although you can add up to a 2 TB microSD card should you need more space. The device supports all modern file systems including exFAT, meaning that it can read files that are larger than 4 GB. The G8S ThinQ is a dual-SIM device too, but its second card slot is a hybrid one, forcing you to choose between dual-SIM functionality and microSD card expansion. Moreover, microSD cards can only be formatted as external storage, restricting apps and data to only the 128 GB of internal storage.
Naturally, the G8S ThinQ supports Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. The 3.5 mm headphone jack makes a return too, calling into question why other OEMs have chosen to omit it from their recent flagship devices.
Software
The G8S ThinQ ships with Android 9.0 Pie, atop of which LG adds its skin. The company has made a few minor UI adjustments compared to stock Android and included a few additional settings. We like that LG has put a brightness slider in Quick Settings by default, allowing you to manually adjust the brightness without diving into the settings menu. Incidentally, LG has done a good job at organising Settings, having added some practical options like display colour options.
The G8S ThinQ comes with the standard set of Google apps along with several in-house ones like Smart Doctor and Games Launcher. Unfortunately, we can only disable and not uninstall the preinstalled Amazon Assistant app.
LG had pushed out the May 2019 security patch to our review unit at the time of testing, which was relatively up to date. However, we hope that the company rolls out a new one soon.
Software information
Display colour options
Default home screen
Communication & GPS
The G8S ThinQ supports all modern Wi-Fi standards up to 802.11ac, although some flagships like the Galaxy S10 series support the newer ax standard, also known as Wi-Fi 6. Our review unit fell short of its predecessor in our iperf3 Client Wi-Fi tests with our Linksys EA8500 reference router, but it still averaged over 500 Mb/s with a few fluctuations.
The G8S ThinQ supports plenty of LTE bands too, making it capable of being used on intercontinental trips. The device supports LTE Cat. 20 for up to 2 Gb/s download speeds and 75 Mb/s upload speeds. The former is mighty impressive, although few carriers currently support these speeds. The G8S ThinQ’s upload speeds are rather slow by modern flagship standards though. Our review unit also maintained decent network reception during our tests in a built-up urban area.
The G8S ThinQ uses BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS and GPS, including A-GPS navigation for location services. Our review unit can maintain a satellite fix with up to four metres accuracy outdoors, which is on par with other modern flagships. Disappointingly, it could not find us indoors even when we stood next to a window, something that even some midrange devices can do.
We also took the G8S ThinQ on a bike ride to compare its location accuracy against our reference bike computer, the Garmin Edge 520. Impressively, our review unit proved more accurate than the Garmin in certain sections of our 14 km bike ride, with it plotting one of the most accurate routes we have ever seen. In short, the G8S ThinQ could replace most consumer-grade navigation devices; it is that accurate.
Telephone Features & Call Quality
LG preinstalls its in-house suite of telephony apps. The apps work well and function like the endless alternatives, although the Phone app opens to the dialler rather than your call history as the Google app does. The Phone app divides call history, contacts and favourites into tabs though, with it also being possible to create contact groups should you wish to do so.
Our review unit has decent, albeit not outstanding call quality. Our test calls never sounded crystal clear, with our call partner sounding better over speakerphone than using just the earpiece. The microphone transmitted our voice well though.
Cameras
LG equips the G8S ThinQ with three rear-facing cameras, with a 12 MP main sensor being supported by a 13 MP wide-angle sensor and a 12 MP telephoto lens. The latter supports optical zoom, while the default camera software allows you to combine shots from all three sensors into one GIF, should you find that useful.
The main rear-facing camera has an f/1.8 aperture and a large pixel diameter of 1.4 microns, theoretically allowing it to process plenty of light even in poorly lit scenes. Our test shots are richly detailed and look excellent in good light, with the 12 MP sensor able to keep up with the flagships like the iPhone XS Max. The main sensor lacks the light sensitivity of its peers though, with bright sunlight looking overexposed and the roof edges in scene 2 coming out a little overshadowed. Overall, the iPhone XS Max takes a much more rounded picture, in our opinion. The sensor retains plenty of details in low light too, while objects also look sharp. However, the scene looks noticeably underexposed, which is a shame. Incidentally, the telephoto and wide-angle lenses also take good pictures.
These cameras are complemented by an unspectacular 8 MP front-facing sensor and a ToF camera, the latter of which being one of the biggest selling points of the G8S ThinQ. As mentioned earlier, the ToF camera uses infrared to create a 3D model of a scene and capture more depth-of-field information than a conventional camera sensor can. Apple uses a different technology for its face recognition and AR emojis, but companies like Tesla use ToF to allow their self-driving cars to map out their surrounding environment. By contrast, the G8S ThinQ uses its ToF camera to help create more accurate bokeh effects, although the differences between the ones captured by our review unit and something like the Pixel 3 XL are minimal. We will also cover the other applications of the ToF camera in the Input Devices & Operation section of this review.
The G8S ThinQ can also record videos in up to 4K at 60 FPS, although the device cannot use its optical image stabilisation (OIS) at these settings. Unfortunately, you must drop the frame rate to 30 FPS if you want to shoot in 4K. The image quality of videos is just as good as photos, and we like that the default camera app can switch between focal lengths while recording. Unfortunately, this looks rather abrupt in recordings, with there being no smooth transition between cameras.
Accessories & Warranty
The G8S ThinQ comes with a pair of headphones, a charger, charging cable and a SIM tool. There is also a silicone case and a cleaning cloth. Currently, LG does not sell any G8S ThinQ specific accessories, but you can buy screen protectors and cases from third-party retailers.
The G8S ThinQ comes with a 24-month limited manufacturer’s warranty. Please see Guarantees, Return Policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information. LG preinstalls a remote access app too, which allows its support teams to analyse your device before sending it in for a warranty repair. You must enable this before you can use it though, as it does not come enabled by default.
Input Devices & Operation
The G8S ThinQ comes with an accurate touchscreen, with there also being hardware buttons for volume control and power like almost every smartphone. LG has also included a dedicated Google Assistant button, which cannot be assigned to a different app or command.
The ToF camera can be used to perform air-motion gestures, examples of which you may have seen in G8 ThinQ reviews. We found them intuitive and innovative, but they can be tricky to get right. Basically, you hold your hand a little away from the camera, with a small illuminated bar appearing once the ToF camera has detected your hand. You can then switch tracks, change the volume and take photos, all of which sound great in theory. While it offers a glimpse into the future, the area within which the ToF camera recognises gestures is small, often leading to the device not recognising the movement that you have performed. In short, air-motion gestures are currently a gimmick, but they could eventually revolutionise how people interact with their smartphones.
LG has included a fingerprint sensor on the back of the G8S ThinQ too, which reliably and quickly unlocks our review unit. You can even use the pattern of your veins in your hand to unlock your device, but this does not work as well as the fingerprint scanner does. The G8S ThinQ has facial authentication too, which works better than the vein recognition does. However, it is also slower than the fingerprint scanner at unlocking the device, leaving the latter as the fastest and most reliable way of unlocking the G8S ThinQ.
Display
A major leap for the LG G series is the transition from IPS to OLED screens. The G8S ThinQ has an OLED panel like many modern flagships, which offers better colour accuracy and contrast than the IPS equivalent in the G7 ThinQ.
The change in display technology does have its downsides though. The G8S ThinQ operates natively at 2248×1080, a lower resolution than the 3120×1440 display in the G7 ThinQ. Moreover, our review unit has an average maximum luminosity of 556 cd/m² and is 88% evenly lit, both of which fall far short of the G7 ThinQ. The G8S ThinQ still gets bright by modern flagship standards, but it cannot compete with the G7 ThinQ and its 975 cd/m² bright display.
Another downside of OLED panels is that they use pulse-width modulation (PWM) to regulate their brightness, which can cause eye strain and headaches for some people. The display in our review unit flickers at 235 Hz, a frequency that is low enough to cause health issues for those who are PWM sensitive.
OLED panels can switch off pixels individually though, giving devices like the G8S ThinQ a theoretically infinite contrast ratio and a 0 cd/m² black value. LG has included various presets for adjusting the colour reproduction of the display too, which is a nice touch. You can even set the white balance manually too, should you wish to tinker with how colours look. We included a screenshot of the display options in the Software section of this review, of which Cinema mode is the most colour accurate. CalMAN is not completely reliable at measuring colour spaces, but it does show that the G8S ThinQ comfortably covers all of sRGB and a large portion of DCI-P3.
The G8S ThinQ is easy to use outdoors, with its brightness sensor reacting quickly to changing lighting conditions. The display has a highly reflective finish though, which can impede readability in bright sunlight. Positively, the OLED panel has stable viewing angles, with there being only minor colour distortions at acute angles.
Performance
The G8S ThinQ features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, a staple of 2019 flagships. Our review unit falls short of the OnePlus 7 Pro and Xperia 1 in synthetic benchmarks, but it still holds its own against the Galaxy S10e, the Huawei P30, and its predecessor, the G7 ThinQ. We shall cover why the G8S ThinQ performs worse than its Snapdragon 855-powered contemporaries in the Emissions section of this review.
Overall, the G8S ThinQ has flagship-level performance, and you shouldn’t notice any slowdowns in daily use. System benchmark results like PCMark for Android underline this, with the G8S ThinQ finishing second to the OnePlus 7 Pro in our comparison table.
LG equips the G8S ThinQ with UFS 2.1 flash storage, another staple of modern flagships. Some OEMs like OnePlus have moved onto the faster UFS 3.0 standard, but you will probably only notice the difference in synthetic benchmarks. Our review unit boots and loads apps quickly, with there being no obvious delays or lags in daily use.
The G8S ThinQ has a comparatively slow microSD card reader though, with our Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference card only able to average 67.53 MB/s read speeds and 46.7 MB/s write speeds. Only the Xperia 1 has a slower card reader of our comparison devices, with the others averaging at least 60 MB/s in read and write benchmarks.
Games
The Adreno 640 is a capable gaming GPU, as we have covered in our OnePlus 7 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 9 and Xperia 1 reviews. The G8S ThinQ can play most modern games at 60 FPS on high graphics, with Arena of Valor fluctuating between 53 FPS and 61 FPS during our gaming tests. Asphalt 9: Legends only runs at 30 FPS, with our review unit averaging 27.9 FPS on graphics. In short, the Adreno 640 should be sufficiently future-proof for the next few years, especially as it supports a slew of modern APIs.
We also encountered no issues with the touch screen or accelerometer during our gaming tests. Fast-paced games like Temple Run 2 ran smoothly, with there being no input delays even during challenging sections.
Emissions
Temperature
The G8S ThinQ will never feel cool to the touch, with surface temperature on our review unit averaging around 32 °C at idle. However, the device only heats up to 35 °C under load, with only two areas reaching 38 °C.
In short, the G8S ThinQ should not feel uncomfortable in your pocket after a prolonged gaming session.
The low surface temperatures come with their costs though, namely SoC throttling. Frame rates quickly dropped by almost a third during a GFXBench 3.1 battery benchmark, which is extreme throttling by Snapdragon 855 standards.
Speakers
LG equips the G8S ThinQ with true stereo speakers, with the device using its earpiece as a secondary speaker. The speakers reached a maximum of 83.6 dB(A) during our tests, although trebles sound over-emphasised at this volume. Audio sounded noticeably more balanced when we lowered the volume slightly. The G8S ThinQ manages to reproduce a wider range of deep mid tones than its predecessor and even some bass frequencies, which make audio sound pleasantly warm.
The G8S ThinQ also has a 3.5 mm headphone jack, something which sets the device apart from other modern flagships. You could connect external audio equipment via Bluetooth too, with the G8S ThinQ supporting the modern 5.0 standard. Both worked perfectly during our tests and delivered clean-sounding audio.
Power Management
Power Consumption
There are more economical devices than the G8S ThinQ, but our review unit does not embarrass itself compared to its peers. The device consumes between 1.2 W and 2 W at idle, which is not especially concerning. However, we measured the G8S ThinQ consuming between 5 W and 10 W under load, which is about 10% more than we would have expected from a Snapdragon 855-powered device. Only the Galaxy S10e consumes more of our comparison devices, with the G8S ThinQ consuming between 15% and 43% more than its contemporaries.
Battery Life
One saving grace of the G8S ThinQ here may be its battery capacity, which is larger than all but that of the OnePlus 7 Pro and Huawei P30 of our comparison devices. Its 3,550 mAh battery does not last long under sustained load, with the iPhone XR and G7 ThinQ offering over an hour longer between charges if you are pushing the devices hard.
The G8S ThinQ still managed a respectable 11:33 hours in our practical Wi-Fi tests, which suggests that it should easily survive a workday of intensive use and perhaps even two if you use it sparingly. Its quick-charging functionality means that you should need less than 2 hours before having 100% charge again too.
Delivering AI Capabilities and High Performance in a Competitively-Priced Package
Consumers in key markets will be able to take ownership of LG’s newest smartphone, the LG G7 Fit, starting this week. Originally unveiled at IFA 2018 in Berlin, the LG G7 Fit was developed for customers interested specifically in high-end camera, display and audio features at a more competitive price point than current flagship offerings.
The concept behind the LG G7 Fit was to offer the most popular advanced features from the LG G7 ThinQwithout the price. With the same premium all-glass and polished metal rim of the LG G7 ThinQ, the G7 Fit is as tough as it looks with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance as an added bonus.
Powered by the proven Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and paired with 4GB of RAM and up to 64GB of internal storage, the smartphone is powerful enough for gaming, viewing or listening without any hiccups. The 6.1-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440) FullVision display sporting 19.5:9 aspect ratio features Super Bright Display LCD technology turbocharged to a maximum 1,000 nits for visibility under even the brightest sun.
A host of intelligent camera features highlighted by AI CAM lets LG G7 Fit owners choose from 8 shooting modes optimized by the built-in artificial intelligence. If the AI CAM-recommended image doesn’t meet the user’s expectations, additional effect options can be manually applied in post-processing.
And because the LG G7 Fit was designed to deliver LG’s most advanced audio capabilities in one exceptional package, it is the perfect device for the music lover. Featuring LG’s unanimously-lauded 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC for high-quality sound when paired with quality earphones, the G7 Fit also delivers incredible bass with Boombox Speaker as well as virtual 3D sound up to 7.1 channel audio with DTS:X 3D Surround Sound.
“The LG G7 Fit plays an important role in our global lineup which is very focused on introducing meaningful smartphone technology and innovation to a new and wider audience,” said Ha Jeung-uk, senior vice president and head of LG’s mobile business division. “LG’s strategy to include our best technologies across our entire G series portfolio is to make it easier for more consumers to experience LG mobile innovation.”
Beginning this month and continuing throughout the fourth quarter, customers in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East will be able to add the G7 Fit to their shortlist of phones to consider.
Key Specifications:*
Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 821 Mobile Platform
Display: 6.1-inch QHD+ 19.5:9 FullVision Super Bright Display (3120 x 1440)
Memory: 4GB RAM / 32GB or 64GB ROM / MicroSD (up to 2TB)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.2 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
Color: New Aurora Black / New Platinum Gray
Other: New Second Screen / AI CAM / Boombox Speaker / Google Lens / QLens / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC / DTS: X 3D Surround Sound / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Face Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / Qualcomm Quick Charge™ 3.0 / MIL-STD 810G Compliant / FM Radio
* Specifications, features and accessories may vary depending on the particular market.
LG has been a major part of Google’s Android Wear and Wear OS ecosystem, launching several smartwatch models over the years. Today the folks at LG introduced its latest Wear OS model, and it’s got an interesting twist.
The LG Watch W7 is a “hybrid smartwatch” that includes high-precision quartz movement and physical watch hands. LG is harnessing those features to give you an option for super-long battery life, bundling in a mechanical watch-only mode that’ll give the Watch W7 up to 100 days of battery life on a single charge.
If you hear “physical watch hands” and think that they could get in the way of viewing notifications, LG has included a feature for that. If you press the top right button on the watch, the hands will move out of the way to help you better see your alerts.
LG is enabling the physical watch hands to display additional information beyond just the time. They can also show info related to the altimeter, barometer, stopwatch, timer, and compass directions.
Of course, the LG Watch W7 is also a smartwatch, and there are smart features included like a round 1.2-inch 360×360 LCD screen, 768MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. LG has included the Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, not the new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset, and there’s a 240mAh battery powering the whole package. All those features are packed into a stainless steel case that’s IP68 water resistant.
Rounding things out is the Wear OS software. This is LG’s first wearable with the new Wear OS platform, which offers swipe-based navigation from the watch face to help you more quickly get to important parts of the software. Swiping up will get you to your notifications, swiping down will go to Quick Settings, swiping right will go to Google Assistant, and swiping left will send you to Google Fit.
The LG Watch W7 will be available in the U.S. from Best Buy. Pricing will be set at $449.99. If you want an LG Watch W7 on your wrist, you’ll be able to pre-order a unit on October 7th, and the full launch will happen on October 14th.
LG V40 ThinQ press renders confirm triple rear and dual front cameras
Since LG has moved to release two flagship smartphones a year, a lot of people have begun to ignore the LG G series. The LG V series had originally used its secondary display as a way to differentiate itself from the G series (and the rest of the smartphone market). However, that ended with the LG V30, making a lot of people upset, but gave LG a chance to use the LG V series as a device optimized for taking photographs and recording videos. It’s hard to show more focus on the camera than by including 5 cameras, and the latest press render for the LG V40 ThinQ shows that’s the direction they’re going in.
To show that LG is committed to the video market, the company has partnered with actor and director Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the LG V10, LG V20, and the LG V30. It was the pre-launch of the LG V30 when the actor used the online collaborative production company he founded, HitRecord, to produce some promotional material for the smartphone. We’re not sure if this partnership will continue this year with the launch of the LG V40 ThinQ (LG may not be able to afford the partnership), but details of the phone show they are still focusing on photos and videos.
It was three months ago when we first heard that the LG V40 might be launching with as many as 5 cameras, a display notch, and a dedicated button for Google Assistant. When people first heard that, many assumed they would all be put on the back of the phone, but a leaked render showed it was going to be three on the back and two selfie sensors. That leaked render also confirmed the notch (though it was hidden by a black status bar).
It did back up the initial rumor about a fourth dedicated button that presumably would be used to launch Google Assistant. It only took a handful of days later before another leaked render was released that did show there would be a fourth dedicated hardware button, and this one again showed it was going to have a notch at the top of the display.
This latest render comes from a highly reliable source, many who know of him as evleaks. The render from Evan Blass shows there are 4 hardware buttons and a very well hidden notch. LG appears to be trying very hard to hide the notch, as this has been a common theme in previous leaks. As with all leaked information, nothing is official until we see what the company releases to the public. But as of right now, the LG V40 ThinQ looks to be coming with a dedicated hardware button (again, presumably for Google Assistant) and no notch at the top of the device.
October is going to be a very busy month for smartphone reviewers. We are getting many new devices launched this upcoming month, and we have started receiving many images of them. The last one to show more of its design in images is the LG V40 ThinQ, and man does it look nice.
New leaked renders of the LG V40 ThinQ have appeared thanks to Evan Blass. These images show us the triple camera on the back panel of the device along with the fingerprint sensor. We are also getting a new Google Assistant Button and a true effort to make bezels disappear. The chin of the device has gone slimmer, and the notch is present again, in a smaller version that can also be hidden with software.
LG Electronics (LG) will offer beautiful 360-degree landscapes for free download so that LG customers can experience the power of 360-degree images on their G5 smartphones.
The 360 Wallpaper feature allows users to set spherical images as the background image on the LG G5 home screen. By moving the phone or swiping the display, the background takes on a life of its own, similar to the experience one would see in a virtual reality world. The 360-degree photos can also be viewed in Cinematic View while the LG 360 CAM captures spherical photos that can be used as wallpapers on the G5 or uploaded to Google Street View.
LG G5 users will have free access to stunning wallpapers taken by professional photographers, including breathtaking scenery of nature and famous cities around the world. Initially 12 photographs will be available on LG SmartWorld with four new images added each month from May to November.
“The G5 is designed to deliver a playful mobile experience to customers and 360-degree imagery is a key part of that experience,” said Chris Yie, vice president and head of marketing communications for LG Mobile Communications Company. “360-degree photography is still in its early stages but we believe it will drive adoption of VR innovation in the mobile space.”
The professionally photographed images will be available between April and November in all 69 countries where LG SmartWorld is available. LG G5 owners interested in experiencing 360-degree wallpapers on their smartphones are encouraged to log on to http://www.LGworld.com or to download the Android app for more information on wallpapers as well as the opportunity to win prizes and gifts.
LG Electronics (LG) announced the opening of the LG Friends Online Portal in the next phase to expand its open mobile ecosystem. Initially, LG Friends Online Portal will open for business in the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and South Korea and gradually expand to other target countries.
Once fully operational, certified third party developers will be able to set up shop directly in the LG Friends Online Portal to promote their ideas and products. This portal will also offer a community page where anyone interested in LG G5 and the future of modular smartphones can contribute to the discussion. Visitors will also be able to use the portal to find out where to buy LG Friend products and to receive information on special offers and sweepstakes in their respective locations.
As part of its effort to expand the G5 ecosystem, LG invited over 200 developers to a conference in San Francisco on April 15. At the event, developers were given the opportunity to experience LG G5 and Friends up close and personal and hear presentations from LG executive vice president Min Kyung-oh and vice president Dr. Woo Ram-chan as well as representatives from partners Google and Parrot.
“Our mobile ecosystem is an opportunity for common growth where LG, third party developers and consumers all participate and share in the benefits together,” said Juno Cho, president of LG Electronics and LG Mobile Communications Company. “Expanding the LG mobile ecosystem will be our top priority with G5 and Friends this year as we work earnestly toward delivering a playful mobile experience through a diverse collection of Friends.”
Starting this week, LG Electronics (LG) will begin reaching global markets with its highly anticipated LG G5 modular smartphone. The LG G5 will debut in South Korea on March 31 and the United States on April 1 to be followed by countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, among others. Approximately 200 carriers and operators worldwide have committed to offer the G5 in their local markets.
As demonstrated at its unveiling at Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona, LG G5 is a showcase of cutting-edge technologies and rich features thoughtfully designed deliver a more playful user experience. MWC attendees seemed to agree with the philosophy behind the G5 as the device walked away with a record 33 awards including Best New Smartphone at MWC 2016 from the GSMA’s Glomo Awards, the mobile industry’s longest established awards platform for innovation, excellence and achievement.
“Since MWC, LG G5 and Friends have captured the imagination of consumers everywhere with its engaging take on mobile technology,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Modularity has been talked about for years but no one was able to consumerize it until now and we’re happy to take on the mantle.”
Engagement comes in the form of dual 78- and 135-degree camera lenses for ultra wide angle shots, an Always-on Display that requires no button-pressing to get the latest information and Dolby Digital Plus and 7.1 channel audio for cinema-style sound that delivers dialogue and nuanced effects clearly even in loud environments. LG G5 also supports IFTTT (If This Then That), a smart solution that allows users to create a series of action programs called recipes to boost productivity and efficiency.
LG simplified the graphical user interface with a simple, flat look while applying a bright color combination and a semi-transparent blur effect to the GUI. In addition, animation and feedback effects are choreographed at the right moments to deliver a playful and enjoyable experience (https://youtu.be/WqJvMtkmyZI).
The following companion devices, or Friends, will be available in select markets at the time of the G5 rollout or soon after:
CAM Plus
LG Hi-Fi Plus with B&O PLAY (with pouch)
360 VR
360 CAM (with case)
Rolling Bot
TONE Platinum
H3 by B&O PLAY
Prices and exact date of availability will be announced separately in each local market.
While the G5 teaser GIF LG’s mobile division posted on Twitter doesn’t say much, it has enough info to tell us that the device will have an “Always On” display. According to Android Authority’s sources, the flagship phone will have a screen that is literally always on. Other phones with ambient screens like the Moto X and the Nexus 6P only show pertinent info on screen (only the pixels needed to show, say, a notification lights up) when you perform specific gestures.
The publication says the G5 won’t have an AMOLED display and will instead have a full screen version of the LG V10’s second, smaller screen. If you recall, the V10 has a small strip of display on top with app shortcuts. It’s unclear what elements the Always On screen will have, but as you can see above, it has the time, date and can show if you have calls, emails or texts.
Another thing we’d love to know is the device’s battery life, since the screen would obviously consume energy all the time. We’ll know more about the phone when it launches on February 21st, though the manufacturer might be calling the “Always On” function something else by then. Samsung has trademarked the term “Always on Display” for the Galaxy S7, which will presumably sport an ambient screen, as well.
