LG G7 offers well-rounded smartphone experience
In the ongoing fierce smartphone business battle, LG Electronics has remained behind its strong competitors such as Samsung and Apple. Failing to establish a premium position, LG is also losing its share to emerging Chinese phone makers ZTE and Huawei.
Whenever LG releases what it calls a “flagship smartphone,” the company claims it is a masterpiece never seen before, but the firm has failed to attract consumer interest.
Amid such a situation, LG recently rolled out its new high-end smartphone G7, with a high expectation that it would make a positive change.
For consumers looking to buy a new smartphone, the LG G7 ThinQ is worth considering as the new LG smartphone is equipped with everything the latest smartphone should have.
The biggest difference from its G6 predecessor is enhanced artificial intelligent (AI) technology called ThinQ. Starting with the V30S ThinQ smartphone, LG began labeling ThinQ after its model’s title in order to provide more convenience to users as well as better connectivity with other LG devices.
As seen in the Bixby button of Samsung Galaxy phones, the G7 has an AI button on the left side that lets consumers interact with Google Assistant.
While LG has put the power button on the back starting from the G2 phone, the G7 brings the power button back to the right side.
Another difference is adopting a notch. The little cutout at the top of the screen houses the front-facing camera and earpiece. Thanks to the cutout, the G7 fills almost entire front screen with its 6.1-inch LCD screen. The small chin bezel and all-rounded metal frame also makes consumers feel neat and clean first impression.
Featuring Qualcomm’s top Snapdragon 845 chipset, the G7 allows users to experience fast and stress-free performance. It comes with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage while the G7 ThinQ Plus version comes with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.
Acknowledging issues regarding LG’s weak performance in the smartphone business, the company’s new smartphone chief Hwang Jeong-hwan said the company has highlighted “ABCD” of the device, which stands for audio, battery, camera and display. As Hwang stated, LG G7 ThinQ satisfies customer needs in every aspect of the smartphone.
LG has been putting strong emphasis on the audio part with its smartphone. Its previous high-end phones like the V20, the V30 and the G6 were equipped with Hi-Fi Quad DAC (digital to analog converter) technology.
LG G7 ThinQ goes one step further. Not does only it come with the same Quad Dac technology and headphone jack on the bottom but also it supports DTS:X 3D sound technology, a surround sound technology similar to the popular Dolby Atmos, so that users can enjoy theater-like sound with a headset.
LG G7 ThinQ has another highlight in its audio, featuring Boombox speakers. Though it doesn’t have a stereo speaker which Samsung’s new high-end Galaxy S9 smartphone has, G7’s Boombox speaker enables users to enjoy music with louder and richer sound.
Battery-wise, the LG G7 ThinQ has a 3,000 mAh battery, which is smaller than the 3,300 mAh of its predecessor G6. But it is hard to feel the difference in battery life as the LG G7 ThinQ consumes 30 percent less power than the G6 by using its new low-power algorithm. LG G7 ThinQ also supports wireless charging and Quick Charge 3.0 technology that can charge up the device in a little under an hour.
The G7 shows why LG comes with a somewhat strange title ThinQ after its model’s title. The G7 phone comes with AI software that the camera automatically identifies objects and recommends 19 different shooting modes for quality photos.
The G7 also has a Super Bright Camera mode that automatically detects low-light situation and pumps up the brightness by four times compared to conventional pictures.
LG G7 ThinQ features dual lenses on the back — a standard 16-megapixel camera and another 16-megapixel wide-angle camera. It has an 8-megapixel selfie camera as well. Users can capture more of what’s in front of them using a wide-angle camera that boasts a 107 degree field-of-view.
The G7 uses a 6.1-inch Super Bright Display LCD screen. Given that the G6 users have complained about the poor outdoor brightness of their phone screens, the G7 offers a brighter screen with a brightness of 1,000 nits. One nit is as bright as one candle and lights up one square-meter, and average brightness of other smartphones are at between 500 and 600 nits.
Of course, the G7 still features the “knock-on” function, LG’s feature that allows users to tap twice on a locked screen to wake it up and tap twice to lock it when using the phone.
LG pins rebound hopes with aggressive sales promotion
LG announced the price of the G7 is 898,700 won ($831.30), or 1,100 won lower than the G6. The price of the plus model is tagged at 976,800 won.
To make a change in sluggish smartphone sales, LG came with an aggressive sales promotion after it launched G7 ThinQ here on May 18.
LG said consumers who are currently using smartphones made by Samsung, Apple and LG from 2011 to 2016 can earn cash rewards.
For instance, a user of an LG G5 smartphone which was released in 2016 can earn a cash reward of 160,000 won when purchasing LG G7 ThinQ; user of Apple iPhone 6S Plus with 128 GB storage option can earn a cash reward of 185,000 won given the factory price of the Apple smartphone was 1,261,700 here; and user of Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge can earn 170,000 won.
For those who are worrying about the leakage of personal information, LG said it is coopering with a security firm specializing in destroying personal data. When someone’s data is leaked, the person will be covered with insurance with a warranty up to 100 million won. Customers can check details about the rewards plan at www.lgcare.co.kr.