Hands-On LG's G7 ThinQ: AI-Infused With A Super-Bright Display And Big Sound

After much anticipation, the LG G7 ThinQ has finally been fully revealed for all to see. Sure, there have been plenty of leaks along the way, but nothing beats getting a chance to have some hands-on time with a device, which is exactly what we were able to do at an LG event held in New York City last week.

Needless to say, we think that LG has a winner here with their new 6.1-inch flagship. The G7 ThinQ is powered by Qualcomm's newest high-end SoC: the Snapdragon 845. As we saw in leaked benchmarks, the smartphone is going to be a real screamer among Android handsets. On board the G7 ThinQ, the Snapdragon chip is paired with 4GB of RAM. Internal storage is also plentiful at 64GB, it comes with an integrated 3,000 mAh battery, and it will be running Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. There's even a dedicated button on the side of the phone that summons Google Assistant when needed, but it cannot be remapped. 

The star of the show, however, will arguably be the 6.1-inch QHD+ display, which has a resolution of 3120x1440. The display boasts a brightness rating of 1000 nits, which should make it highly readable even when outdoors. LG has really worked its magic here and claims that the G7 ThinQ's display is 30 percent more power efficient than its predecessor (at the same brightness levels). The display, which has an aspect ratio of 19.5:1, features a 50 percent slimmer bezel at the bottom, and covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space. 

However, all of that display goodness can't hide that fact that the G7 ThinQ has the notch on board. Yes, the display notch that was so prominently featured in the iPhone X has begun to permeate the Android world as well and LG is on board. However, if you don't like the design feature, LG is providing a setting that will effectively allow you to hide it from view by blacking out the display areas to the left and right of the notch. It’s good to see that LG has been proactive with this measure, and that should help cut down on any potential backlash. 

The other note here is that LG went a step further to provide a very thin contiguous bezel representation when the notch is not displayed, along with a couple of different bezel shapes, one with less rounded corners. In reality, the notch really does make more efficient use of screen real estate in portrait mode, which is what the average mainstream user operates in the majority of the time. In terms of general aesthetics, the phone feels great in the hand with a very premium build quality that's also super thin and light, especially when you consider its larger 3000 mAh battery.

As for the cameras, the G7 ThinQ makes use of two 16MP sensors on the rear. The primary camera offers up an f/1.6 aperture, while the other has an aperture of f/1.9. The smartphone  can quickly analyze the scene and give you recommendations on how to improve your photo. The camera will also automatically brighten dark scenes to pick up subtle details, and of course supports portrait mode and depth of field effects. For selfie duties, there’s a front-mounted camera that rings in at 8MP (f/1.9 aperture).

On the audio front, LG has outfitted the G7 ThinQ with a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, which it says will ensure crisp and clear audio playback. It is augmented by DTS: X 3D Surround Sound (a first for a smartphone) which provides virtual 7.1 channel playback. However, the highlight of the audio show is the Boombox Speaker, which LG says increases base sound levels by 6dB over its predecessor and doubles the amount of bass delivered. Check out our video above, where we demonstrate this feature. In a word, it's "loud." In addition, the G7 ThinQ has 10 times the resonance space that you would find in a typical smartphone. LG has also thrown in super far field voice recognition into the mix, which leverages AI to answer your queries even in noisy environments or when music is playing.

The G7 ThinQ will be available in four colors at launch: Platinum Gray, Aurora Black, Moroccan Blue and Raspberry Rose. Pricing is not yet available, but we will update this piece when that information is handed down.