At its keynote event a day before MWC formally kicked off in Barcelona, LG announced two flagships for 2019 — The LG G8 ThinQ and the LG V50 ThinQ. The latter offers 5G connectivity and a second screen, while the former offers a ToF-sensor-based gesture navigation.
Highlights:
- LG G7 ThinQ and G7s ThinQ launched with ToF sensor on the front.
- LG also announced the V50 ThinQ with a detachable second screen and 5G.
- The phones will be availble in selct markets by the end of this year.
At its keynote event a day before MWC formally kicked off in Barcelona, LG announced two flagships for 2019 — The LG G8 ThinQ and the LG V50 ThinQ. The latter offers 5G connectivity and a second screen, while the former offers a ToF-sensor based gesture navigation. Over the years, LG has taken the center stage at MWC to announce its G-series flagship while the V-series flagship is slated for second half of the year. But in 2019, the company deviated from the norm and announced both the flagships in one go.
The LG G8 ThinQ and the LG V50 ThinQ are both powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC. The V50 ThinQ also has the Snapdragon X50 5G modem integrated for 5G connectivity. It’s the company’s first smartphone with 5G capability and will only be launched in select markets. Let’s talk about the LG G8 ThinQ first —
LG G8 ThinQ price and specs
The LG G8 ThinQ comes with a wide notch on top of the display, but this time, the notch has more reason to be there than before. The notch houses a ToF or a time-of-flight sensor that can accurately measure an objects distance by measuring the time taken by a ray of infra-red light to reflect back to the sensor. Using the ToF sensor, LG allows one to unlock the phone using just one’s hand. It’s called Hand ID and works by detecting unique vein patterns of one’s hand. LG calls the ToF sensor the Z camera. Furthermore, the Z camera can be used to offer Air Motion. It’s LG’s version of contactless gestures that lets you hover your hand over the camera to issue commands like answering calls, adjusting volume, snapping screenshots and switching between apps. It does sound cool, but just how well it works remains to be seen.
The LG G8 ThinQ houses a 6.1-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1440×3120 pixels and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It’s a departure from the bright LCD panels LG used to put in the G-series flagships, but the OLED panel on the G8, LG claims can deliver 600 nits of brightness. It’s also HDR10 certified like last time. Notably, the LG G8 ThinQ also offers what it calls Crystal Sound OLED (CSO) which uses the screen as a sound amplifier. The display has tiny actuators that make the panel vibrate to produce sound. LG claims this, along with the boombox speaker combine to provide stereo sound. The phone is powered by a 3,500mAh battery.
There’s 6GB of RAM alongside the Snapdragon 855 and will be available in 128GB storage along with support for memory expansion up to 2TB. Furthermore, there’s a 2-channel audio setup, DTS: X 3D Surround Sound and even the Hi-Fi DAC that was there on the predecessor.
On the back, the LG G8 ThinQ has two cameras — A 16MP primary camera with a 107-degree field-of-view along with a 12MP secondary sensor with a more standard field of view. The camera offers a video portrait mode for the first time.
Interestingly, LG also announced the LG G8s ThinQ for select markets. The smartphone comes with an additional 12MP telephoto sensor on the back with f/2.4 aperture. The phone also houses a slightly larger 6.2-inch FullHD+ OLED display with a weird aspect ratio of 18.7:9. The G8s will also come in a 64GB storage variant and will house a larger 3,550mAh battery. On the front, the phone has a 8MP selfie shooter.
Both the LG G8 ThinQ and the G8s ThinQ are IP68 water and dust resistant. It’s also MIL-STD810G certified meaning it can survive drops from shoulder height on concrete surfaces.
LG has not revealed the pricing of the LG G8 ThinQ and the G8s ThinQ or the availability as of filing this article.
LG V50 ThinQ price and specs
The LG V50 ThinQ sports a larger 6.4-inch OLED display with QHD+ resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio which is also HDR10 certified. The phone is 5G-enabled and houses the Snapdragon X50 5G modem inside along with the Snapdragon 855. It even has a 5G logo on the back. There’s 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage which can be increased further by a microSD card. The phone is also IP68 and MIL-STD810G certified.
LG also housed a pogo pin on the phone that connects to a secondary display that’s sold separately as a case. It’s an independent display that draws power from the phone and can be used to run two apps at the same time. LG showcased a use-case where the second screen is used as the viewing screen while the phone screen is used as a gamepad for gaming. The second display is a 6.2-inch OLED panel with FullHD+ resolution
On the back, the LG V50 ThinQ has three cameras — A 16MP f/1.9 aperture wide-angle sensor, a 12MP f/1.5 primary sensor and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto camera. On the front, is an 8MP standard sensor with f/1.9 aperture and a 5MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture. The V50 ThinQ also has the video portrait feature as well as the AI Cam that was there on the V40 and the G7 last year.
The battery is now much larger at 4,000mAh with support for Quick Charge 3.
Stay updated with the latest news about new smartphone launches in our MWC 2019 section.
Follow Us
Digit NewsDesk
Digit News Desk writes news stories across a range of topics. Getting you news updates on the latest in the world of tech. View Full Profile
