At the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2019 event, LG Electronics unveiled the LG G8 ThinQ as the successor to the LG G7 ThinQ from last year. The phone has a number of upgrades over its predecessor, led by the all-new Crystal Sound OLED display screen, a new ToF camera sensor, and similar to the LG V50 ThinQ 5G, you get a tri-lens camera on the back, although the U.S. market gets a dual-lens variant.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the LG G8 ThinQ is the OLED panel. For starters, it’s the first time an OLED panel is appearing on a G series device. Also, this is the first time a sound-emitting display panel has appeared on any smartphone, not just an LG phone.
Yes, the G8 doesn’t come with an earpiece nor does it have a front-facing speaker. Instead, the OLED panel is turned into a speaker acting as a headphone during calls.
Another interesting bit about the LG G8 is the ToF camera that takes the gestures introduced on Android Pie to the next level. Dubbed Air Motion, these gesture controls allow users to unlock the G8, open apps, or even control certain aspects of apps without touching the handset. Cool huh!
When compared to the LG G7 ThinQ, the G8 looks like a mere incremental upgrade, where you are getting the same screen size, a bigger battery, a new OLED panel, 2019 hardware specs, the latest Android OS, and mostly the same extras as those found on the 2018 model.
Here are the rest of the LG G8 ThinQ specs
- 6.1-inch 19.5:9 QHD+ (3120×1440) OLED FullVision display screen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB expandable storage, up to 2TB
- Dual-lens main camera: 16MP (wide-angle lens, f/1.9 aperture + 12MP (standard lens, f/1.5 aperture)
- Dual-lens front camera: 8MP (standard lens, f/1.7 aperture) + ToF sensor (Z Camera)
- 3500mAh battery
- Android 9 Pie
- Extras: Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack, IP68, MIL-STD 810G, NFC, Rear-mounted FPS, Crystal Sound OLED stereo speaker, Boombox Speaker, 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, DTS:X 3D Surround Sound, AI CAM, HDR10, Quick Charge 3.0, FM Radio, etc.
In terms of availability and pricing, the LG G8 ThinQ will be open for pre-orders in the U.S. through Verizon Wireless very soon, but the carrier has said nothing regarding the price. T-Mobile and AT&T have also confirmed to carry the G8 later soon, but like the Big Red, pricing info remains unknown. We still don’t know what plans Sprint has for the G8.
Still, we do know that the G8 is a flagship phone, so expect a pricing strategy similar to the G7.
There is an LG G8 ThinQ variant with a tri-lens camera
Outside the U.S., the LG G8 ThinQ will get a tri-lens camera on the back in some markets. The two lenses on the U.S. variant keep their place, but a third 12MP telephoto lens is introduced on the global model, providing up to 2x optical zoom and OIS.
Besides the camera module, everything else about the global G8 ThinQ remains unchanged compared to the U.S. model.
