LG G7, Forget About The Brand Buy The Technology

The new $1,099 LG G7 ThinQ is struggling to find air in Australia with only JB Hi Fi ranging what is a seriously okay smartphone.

While the price is steep and needs to drop at least $100 the device itself is pure quality and above all highly functional and this is a reason to invest in this device.

One of the first if not the first to put the control button on the back of the device where your finger actually rests when holding a smartphone this device is a step up from the G6 with improved artificial intelligence and a faster processor.

When it comes to aesthetics LG stayed to the basics the same way Samsung did with their Galaxy S9. Among these staple LG features is the return, of their KnockOn capability that allows one to quickly wake the device with a double-tap, as the reliable face unlock features from the V30. What is outstanding is the impressive wide-angle camera, and a new AI capability expands the shooting modes. This is very similar to the AI technology first seen in the LG V30.

The rear camera has a 16-megapixel sensor with 1-micron pixels, behind an f/1.6 lens, with optical stabilization. The wide camera uses the same 16-megapixel sensor; however, the wide-angle camera has been reduced to 107 degrees from the V30’s 120.

Another big plus that is new with the G7 in the inclusion of a Google assist key. A bit like the Bixby button on the S9.

All you have to do is press the AI hot key once on the side of the G7 and if you double tap Google Lens is opened. This allows you to scan images to find information. A single tap launches Assistant, or you can hold it down for a walkie-talkie mode. In addition, it has a 24bit audio system and a headphone jack which when headphones are plugged in respond to the built in Quad DAC, there is also a boombox speaker system which is very effective when watching a movie or accessing YouTube along with wireless charging.

This is the best speaker setup in any smartphone and the new boombox setup is the loudest and bestsounding smartphone speaker I have ever come across. This has been achieved because the entire body of the phone has been turned into speaker chamber. You even feel the vibrations similar to what happens when you crank up a big boombox.

New SFV technology allows your voice to be heard from up to 5 metres away, The Super Far Voice Recognition technology works well in a car or other noisy environment.

What I really like about the device is the way it fits perfectly in the hand due to the curved edges and the thickness of the device. It’s actually slim but fractionally smaller than the iPhone or S8.

LG’s super-tall 19.5:9 display panel is a major improvement upon the G6’s LCD, it also comes with an extra white subpixel for extra brightness, it also appears that this does not impact on the 3,000mAh battery life.

Despite t being a relatively small battery, I was able to get between 16 and 18 hours per charge even on a heavy use day.

This was better than the HTC U11 or the Nokia 8 Sirocco or the Galaxy S9+ and the Pixel 2 XL.

The backlight can go all the way up to 1000 units in its boosted brightness mode, but you will have to operate this feature manually.

This device has a screen notch that is subtly built into the top end of the device. The 16mp front facing camera built into the notch is the same pixel as the rear camera.

The rest of the spec sheet is standard 2018 flagship stuff, with a Snapdragon 845 processor plus 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage in most markets, plus microSD. And it’s water resistant too, rated IP68.

CONCLUSION

LG has introduced a lot of great new camera features which makes this an ideal smartphone to travel with. The wide angle camera is the best there is in a smartphone and the quality of the captured images is also up there with top end smartphones.

As for sound there is no better smartphone though I do suspect that the Galaxy Note 9 will see some new Harman or AKG 24bit audio technology built into the device.

There are two ways to consider this device. Firstly, ignore the brand because in the phone market LG lacks clout, you are buying a smartphone not a brand.

Think technology and features, as the technology under the bonnet is up there with the latest iPhone, the camera the processor the sound output so what you are actually paying for is what I think is important in a device.

An easy rationalisation is to simply finance this device as this is an ideal investment that will deliver you, all you need in a top end smartphone.