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The LG G7 ThinQ will be a feature-rich smartphone, powered by AI
Following this week’s reveal of an official LG G7 ThinQ render, AndroidHeadlines can now share significantly more details on LG’s upcoming smartphone. These details have been provided by a reliable source and verified by internal LG documentation seen by AndroidHeadlines. To protect the identity of the source, we will not be publishing any images of the documentation. Although some of these details have already been suggested before, all of the information presented here has been taken directly from the seen documents and is not based on other rumors or reports.
A notch for everyone
Let’s start with what is likely to be one of the most contentious issues with the G7 – the notch. LG is acutely aware notches are not for everyone and the company will look to circumvent this issue through software as the LG G7 will come with the ability for users to choose whether to make use of more of an edge-to-edge design or opt to hide the notch. To clarify this, hiding the notch will result in less display space as a bar will be artificially generated along the top of the display emulating a bezel, and in doing so, blacking out the notch. Naturally, it will still be there as that is where the front-facing camera and earpiece speaker are located but the artificial bar will mask the visibility of the notch. In other words, while LG will market the notch as an optional feature – it is not. This is a notch-equipped smartphone in every sense of the word.
AI, AI, and more AI
LG is positioning artificial intelligence (AI) at the core of the G7. This is, in fact, why the company has opted to use the ThinQ moniker. While it might not be the most attractive name, it is one which has been specifically chosen to reflect the intelligence underlying the LG G7. As that intelligence goes well beyond just what the smartphone can do for you — in terms of the provision of contextual information — with the AI experience having been very tightly integrated with other elements on the G7 such as the camera, another major selling point of the upcoming Android flagship.
AI + Camera = AI Cam
As was the case with the recently released V30S ThinQ, LG will market the tight AI and camera integration on the G7 as “AI Cam.” With LG focusing on how the G7 can process what it sees and offer recommendations to get the most out of photos captured with the phone. Specifically, AI Cam will offer four “enhanced filter options” which will provide different levels of optimization based on aspects such as color, contrast, and saturation. The LG G7 will also offer the ability to offset against direct sunlight by adjusting the exposure, as well as the easy ability to switch to wide-angle mode when needed. The last two points are effectively an extension of the first as the phone will know when it is better to adjust the exposure or use the wide-angle mode, and will provide those recommendations to the user. Likewise, the level of recommendation smarts will also make the LG G7 capable of identifying the subject in view (person, animal, landscape, and so on) and determine the best settings and provide recommendations based on those findings. On a related note, LG will also promote the included Google Lens support during the G7 launch.
Forget pixels, the LG G7 is all about ‘superpixels’
Sticking with the cameras, a “superpixel” selling point will be used by LG to promote the ability of the G7 to see better in low-light conditions. This will be encountered at the user level through the G7’s “Bright Mode,” which once again is an intelligence-based solution that automatically identifies when an environment is dark and reacts by combining pixels together to form a superpixel. According to LG, this will result in the G7 being far more capable in extreme low-light conditions compared to the LG G6, as well as the V30 and V30+. In fact, the G7 will be marketed as capable of capturing four times brighter images and videos compared to the G6 and V30 lineups.
LG’s best dual-camera setup to date
Speaking of “pixels,” AndroidHeadlines can confirm the LG G7 will feature two 16-megapixel cameras on its rear plate. This marks a step up from the twin 13-megapixel camera setup included on the LG G6, as well as an improvement compared to the V30 line’s 16-megapixel and 13-megapixel camera combo. Like those previous options, however, the dual-camera setup will be broken down to include one standard camera and one wide-angle module. As mentioned already, users will be able to switch between the two with ease and even have the system recommend which is the better option to use. The wide-angle camera will feature a 107-degree field-of-view, while the standard camera features a glass lens with an f/1.6 aperture. The standard camera will also feature 10-bit HDR compatibility for greater color capturing – just like the LG V30. Speaking of HDR compatibility, the G7 is a wholly HDR10-compatible phone, meaning it not only records HDR10-quality video but can also play back HDR10 videos on its display.
3D Camera stickers, Live Photo, Portrait Mode, and a new version of Graphy
If the typical intelligence features on offer with the cameras are not for you, then this is only the start of what the cameras offer, as the G7 is going to be packed to the brim with additional camera software tweaks. For starters, 2D and 3D camera stickers will be available, allowing the user to paste over photos with various animated stickers. Following on from the V30’s introduction of Graphy, the G7 will boast an updated version of the service in the form of Graphy 2.0. At present, it is not quite clear how the new version will fundamentally differ from the previous one, although like with the V30, G7 owners will be able to choose from a selection of images and have many of the settings (ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and so on) ported over to the G7 camera when in Manual Camera mode. Adding to its feature-rich repertoire, “Live Photo” will be offered on the G7 so users can capture additional photos both before and after the main photo is captured. The result of which can then be viewed and/or shared as a short video, or just used as a means to select the ‘best shot’ from a variety of shots. With this being a dual rear camera phone, Portrait Mode is also included for good measure. This one likely needs little introduction as it is where the background of an image can be blurred to help isolate the focus on the subject. Although LG’s implementation will not only allow the user to activate the feature before taking a shot but will also offer the option to blur the background of a photo after it has been taken – à la Samsung. LG will look to differentiate its option by drawing on the wider field-of-view offered through the G7’s rear camera setup. Lastly, Portrait Mode is not only resigned to the rear cameras, as like the Pixel 2 line, the G7’s front-facing camera also supports Portrait Mode.
A display that is brighter, more colorful, consumes less power
The two things LG will want consumers to know about the cameras (besides the AI) is that they can capture more color and brighter images. These will also be the two main points used to promote the LG G7’s display. Although unlike the cameras where each of these aspects (color and brightness) are the result of different underlying improvements, the display’s improvements in these areas stem from the same single change – more white pixels. LG explains the G7 includes significantly more white pixels than its previous phones, which results in a display that is twice as bright as the LG G6 and significantly more colorful. In spite of these clear improvements, they do not come at the expense of power consumption due to the G7 making use of the company’s M+ technology. This is a feature typically found on new LG TVs and one which looks to provide the same ‘greater white pixel count’ offered with the G7. Most of this occurs through the use of a “unique algorithm” which once again highlights LG’s continued use of intelligence-based revisions on the G7.
LG wants you to hear the G7 and the G7 to hear you
LG has included what it refers to as a “Boombox Speaker” to the G7. On a more technical level, this means the G7 is capable of acting in the same way as a resonance chamber — LG actually claims it is one — and this means the G7 bounces audio signals internally before the signal is outputted to the listener, with the end result being a more booming sound overall. This is even more apparent as LG has outfitted the G7 with a larger speaker than what was included with the G6. So sound is not only louder through the construction of the phone but also through the physics associated with a larger driver in general. The takeaway – the LG G7 is built for bass.
When it comes to the G7 hearing you, LG has equipped the G7 with far-field voice recognition. This will mainly apply to voice assistant usage and means the G7 will be capable of hearing the user from a further distance than what was offered with the G6. According to LG, the G7 will now be able to pick up voice commands (and comply with them) from as far as seventeen feet (5.18 meters) away from where a command is given.
Google Assistant but not quite as we know it
The LG G7 will feature Google Assistant. This in itself is unlikely to be much of a surprise. However, the documents seen by AndroidHeadlines clearly detail the Assistant experience on the G7 will be more integrated than it is on other phones equipped with the same voice assistant. This is due to LG seemingly having struck a deal with Google to include “LG-exclusive device-specific tasks” on the G7. The documents do not specifically go into detail on these tasks, although it is stated there will be 32 available in total. While it would seem likely a number of these might be more relevant to the ThinQ ecosystem — considering the name of the device — they all won’t be. With two examples of the G7-exclusive actions including the ability for Google Assistant to perform a “visual search” and take a “wide-angle selfie.”
Summary
The LG G7 ThinQ is going to arrive as an all-singing, all-dancing smartphone. AI, cameras, and the two together are going to be some of the primary selling points, although even with the AI elements removed from the equation, the G7 will remain a feature-packed phone. Audio will also be a factor more catered to with the G7 and this seems to suggest the G and V lines are becoming much closer to one another – with both now focusing on photography and audio above other aspects. The LG G7 will include a notch which can be hidden from one’s view when needed, will boast two 16-megapixel cameras, and will support Portrait Mode with both the front and rear cameras. On one last note, AndroidHeadlines can confirm the LG G7 will launch running on Android 8.0 (Oreo).