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The LG G8 ThinQ is finally available to purchase, and it’s going to be next to the Samsung Galaxy S10 family in most retail and carrier stores. So what sets the LG G8 ThinQ apart? Why should you buy the G8 ThinQ over the Galaxy S10 or other phones that may be available from your carrier? Well we’ve got five reasons why the LG G8 ThinQ is the phone you should buy.
A Media Consumption Beast
This should come as no surprise. But when you group the incredible looking OLED display, LG’s BoomBox speakers, and the headphone jack with the Quad DAC, you get a great media experience. Whether you are watching content on the go with a pair of headphones, or at home.
LG has been well-known for its OLED display, when it comes to its TVs. But only recently has it started putting that OLED display technology into its smartphones. Previously, LG kept that for the more high-end V-series. The LG G8 ThinQ is the first in the G-series to get an OLED display, and it looks incredible. It’s not quite on the same level as the Galaxy S10, as Samsung has been the leader in the mobile OLED displays for many years. LG’s display looks vibrant with bright colors, and blacks actually look black. Instead of gray like an LED panel.
Then when it comes to audio, LG not only kept the headphone jack, but it kept the Quad DAC inside that headphone jack. What this means is that you’re going to get even better sounding audio out of the G8 ThinQ than you would from just a simple headphone jack. This really only matters to the audiophiles out there, but it’s still a big distinctive feature that users love.
LG actually has a front-facing speaker on the G8 ThinQ this year. Even though there is no earpiece on the phone. That is because the earpiece is now behind the screen. We’ve seen other smartphone makers do this before – Xiaomi did it with the Mi MIX a couple years ago. But LG seems to have done it the best, so far. It’s a technology that LG calls “Crystal Sound OLED”, it uses a piezoelectric speaker which sits underneath the display and works almost like bone conduction, but not quite.
The Crystal Sound OLED actually sounds really good. It is technically half of the display, so you are getting loads of sound out of that front-facing speaker. Another advantage this speaker has for LG, is the fact that it makes the G8 ThinQ a bit more waterproof than it was before. Since there are no holes for the earpiece at the top of the phone.
Finally, LG has DTS:X included, which really improves the audio coming out of the speakers on the LG G8 ThinQ. If you’re not an audiophile, you likely won’t notice a difference. But it will improve the mids and highs, while also giving the lows a more boomy bass sound. This is particularly good when you are watching action movies, where there is a lot of bass.
When you combine all of these features together, they provide a very unique media consumption experience. Whether you’re just watching a couple of short YouTube videos on the G8 ThinQ, or watching movies, it’s a great experience, and by far the biggest reason to buy this smartphone.
One of the best cameras around
It’s no surprise that the LG G8 ThinQ camera system is a big deal, and a big reason to buy the phone. LG has been improving its cameras pretty impressively in the past few years. The V40 ThinQ had a triple-camera setup last year, unfortunately that did not make its way down to the G8 ThinQ this year. Instead, there’s a wide-angle and your main sensor. No telephoto sensor this time around. But considering most telephoto sensors are proving to not be as good (or as necessary) as a wide-angle sensor, this is likely a good thing.
LG was the first to come out with a phone that has an aperture of f/1.5, and that was a couple of years ago. No other smartphone maker has gotten the aperture that high on a smartphone yet. And the G8 ThinQ’s main sensor has that f/1.5 aperture on a 12-megapixel sensor. Then the wide-angle sensor is a 16-megapixel one with a f/1.9 aperture. These will give you some pretty awesome shots, in daylight and at night.
Where the camera on the LG G8 ThinQ really shines is in the manual camera controls. Previously, these features were only available on the more expensive V-series smartphones. This makes the G8 ThinQ a great phone for content creators, as they are able to manually adjust things while shooting video. This includes the ISO, exposure, white balance and much more.
On the front, LG has a 8-megapixel sensor with a f/1.7 aperture. That doesn’t sound all that impressive. But thanks to the Time of Flight or ToF sensor that is also included on the front, the G8 ThinQ can take some really great looking portrait shots. This is because the ToF sensor works to make the Bokeh effect on these pictures even better. Typically, cameras use software to get this information, but LG is now using hardware to do this. And that provides a better looking shot, that looks more natural.
If you’re a big camera person, then the LG G8 ThinQ is a great smartphone to get – for both pictures and video.
The Design Looks Familiar, With A Few Subtle Changes
Leading up to the LG G8 ThinQ’s announcement, several leaks depicted the phone as looking very similar to the G7 ThinQ it released last year, and well, it is very similar. There are only a couple of changes really. Which includes the removal of the earpiece. But the other big change is the fact that the phone is a bit thicker (7.9mm thick vs 8.4mm thick). This makes the camera flush on the backside, something that LG is very proud of.
The flush camera on the back also means that LG was able to add in more battery capacity. Jumping from 3000mAh on the G7 ThinQ to 3500mAh capacity on the G8 ThinQ. That is a pretty big deal for a lot of people, that are looking to get better battery life out of their smartphone. And the G8 ThinQ does have pretty good battery life – though not quite at the level of the Galaxy S10+.
Android Pie the Way It Should Be
LG’s skin is pretty polarizing. Either you love it, or you hate it. In recent years, LG has done a lot to clean up the skin and make it a lot less heavy, on top of Android. But, it did a couple of things with Android Pie that Google should have done. First thing is the recents screen. LG stuck wit the pre-Pie version of recents, which is actually usable. Instead of it taking up the entire display. So you can actually see your recently used apps. That is another big deal for a lot of power users.
The OEM also cleaned up a few other areas on the G8 ThinQ, including the Quick Settings in the notification pull down. They are now circle icons, which looks pretty clean, compared to before. All in all, the software has gotten a much needed facelift, while it is still far from being stock Android, it’s better than it was in the past.
Cheaper Than Most Other Flagships In 2019
The MSRP for the LG G8 ThinQ is actually about $820, which is still cheaper than the likes of the Google Pixel 3 XL and the Galaxy S10/S10+. But it is already getting some pretty heavy discounts at many retailers. The unlocked version is already down to $649, and T-Mobile has dropped it down to just $619. If you can get it in the $600s or even cheaper, then this is the smartphone to get. It has all of the specs of those more expensive smartphones, but at a much cheaper price.
Of course, if you look at the history of LG smartphones, it will likely get even cheaper in the next month or two. As LG smartphones do typically drop pretty dramatically in the first couple of months after launch. If you are looking to get a LG G8 ThinQ right away, look around. Many carriers and retailers are offering some pretty sweet deals. Like Verizon giving you up to $1,000 to buy the $840 LG G8 ThinQ, or Sprint leasing it to you for $270 total. At these prices, it’s hard to overlook the G8 ThinQ.
Wrap Up
The LG G8 ThinQ may not be the most exciting smartphone on the market right now – it really is pretty boring compared to some other smartphones. But if you aren’t looking for something that’s flashy, and just gets the job done, then the LG G8 ThinQ is going to be a really good option for a lot of people. Especially since it is far cheaper than most other flagships in 2019, which are much closer to that $1,000 mark than LG’s flagship is.