LG G7 ThinQ

LG brings its new flagship phone G7 ThinQ, sticking an innovative moniker ‘ThinQ’ that says everything about the phone’s selling point – it is loaded with smart features. Don’t expect much from its moderate looks. Set your hopes on this device’s functionality and you won’t be disappointed. Boasting a Super Bright LCD, ThinQ comes with an AI-assisted dual-lens camera and an astonishing speaker that makes the other competing flagship phones fall flat. Priced at Rs. 40,000, it’s far cheaper than the competing Samsung S9. Unlike OnePlus 6, LG G7 ThinQ gets it right by including wireless charging and waterproofing – which are at par with most flagship phones available today.

LG G7 ThinQ scores its best marks on their efforts to innovate and blend AI into the system – a progression made in line with the recent drive towards AI technology of most flagship phones. With some shortcomings in battery and performance, it has encapsulated enough features in an affordable price range. On top of that, Google-integration is at your service with the click of a button – in case you had been envious of Samsung’s Bixby.

LG ThinQ is not a flashy phone. So don’t expect to get wowed. It looks like a cross between iPhone X and Galaxy S9. Neither does it have flagship designs like the curved OLED screen of Samsung Galaxy S9 or the triple camera-set of P20 Pro. But it does have a headphone jack, which is a saving grace. Covered with Gorilla Glass 5, this device has very thin bezels but retains the controversial notch. With this design, it’s clear that LG has played it safe. Fortunately, it has kept the wireless charging feature from last year’s G6.

With a 6.9-inch LCD screen, LG boasts of a feature which it calls Super Bright Display. While normal phones tend to peak around 500-600 nits, LG goes up to a whopping 1,000 nits making the bright screen easy to go through under direct sunlight. Unlike the previous G6, LG promises 30% energy efficiency. However, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus has entered the race and goes past the 1000 nits of LG, giving it some real competition.

The G7 ThinQ arrives with the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 which can handles multitasking easily . The phone functions are mostly buttery smooth and even in case of high-end games, the phone keeps its functions high and smooth. Gaming is a wonderful experience on this set.

LG G7 ThinQ comes with an impressive set of 16MP dual-lens cameras of a f/1.9 wide-angle lens and a pretty fast f/1.6 normal lens. It is coupled with a pair of Sony IMX 351 camera sensors, which are smaller than average, measuring about 1/3.1 inches. Comparatively, S9 has a 1/2.55-inch sensor. While LG claimed that it did not require larger sensors to get great results, in the actual field, the pictures came out poorer than expected. A definite loss, despite having a great camera.

But the major advancement is the Smart AI that enters into guessing mode and categorizes subjects into the pre-fitted 19 shooting modes, including tweaking of brightness and colour. The Intelligent AI tries to understand the subject, sometimes going down to the specifics. However, the guesses are not always accurate.

You can get a much better accuracy with Super Bright Camera that offers automatic detection of low-light and is actually quite precise at that. It can get the brightness up to FOUR TIMES than conventional pictures in low-light! That’s twice than what the Bright Mode of LGV30S provides. However, there is a problem – the photos go down to 4MP and 4K UHD videos will be down to 1080p. This is similar to Huawei P20 Pro which brings 40MP images down to 10MP.

G7 has also upgraded its front-facing camera. It’s 8MP now and can take pictures in portrait mode too. You just need to adjust your poses a little.

The LG G7 ThinQ with a Li-Po 3000 which is quite adequate and can keep the phone chugging for an entire day with light to moderate use. However, if you push it too much with intensive tasks, it might struggle to end the day without going dead.

For a moderate price, LG G7 ThinQ is a good phone to go for. However, it hasn’t upgraded much from its previous model in terms of looks. While it has introduced an AI-assisted camera, it is far from perfect. Due to lack of innovation, it falls behind the competitor Samsung Galaxy S9. But it is economical, which is a bonus. The booming audio stands out and makes it a great pick for audiophiles.