LG G7+ ThinQ First Impressions: Most feature packed Flagship smartphone in sub Rs. 40k price-point

Compact, durable and water-dust resistant

Like most of the flagship and even mid-range smartphones in 2018, LG G7+ ThinQ also comes in a glossy and highly reflective glass finish. However, it is one of the most durable handset you can buy today in the Indian market. The smartphone has Gorilla Glass 5 at both front and back. G7+ ThinQ has an aluminum frame and the handset is also IP68 water-dust resistant. Moreover, LG G7+ ThinQ is also MIL-STD-810G complaint to maintain high-level durability.

Despite a big display, LG G7 ThinQ+ is easy-to-use with one hand due to its sleek and compact form-factor. One of the most notable design changes is the addition of two new physical buttons. The left side has a dedicated button for Google Assistant, and you will also notice that the fingerprint scanner is now only usable for unlocking the device. There's a separate physical power button on the right side of the handset. The bottom of the device has Type-C port, 3.5 mm headphone, a speaker and a microphone. The top of the phone has SIM card slot and a microphone. There's a vertically stacked dual-lens camera module at the rear panel without a camera bump. The smartphone is very compact and can be easily used with one hand.

 

Brightest QHD+ LCD panel in town

LG is well-known for its OLED panels; however the G7+ ThinQ ships aith an LCD screen, but this display can go really bright and also offers vibrant colors. The smartphone features a 6.1-inch QHD+ FullVision display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen offers an amazing pixel density of 564ppi and has brightness levels of up to 1000 nits enabling comfortable viewing experience even in direct sunlight. The quad HD+ display also supports HDR 10 making G7+ an excellent device to watch videos and play games.

There's notch at the top to support front-facing camera and light sensor. We don't understand why LG calls it a second display as it is the same infamous notch, the necessary evil that troubled almost every smartphone in the year 2018. It seems LG is obsessed with second screen terminology derived from the LG V series devices. Nevertheless, this is one of the best LCD screen available in the market. The color reproduction and contrast levels are brilliant and viewing angles are also good making G7+ ThinQ a capable multimedia device. The display is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

Capture wide-angle shots and portrait shots

Coming onto the other major highlight, LG G7+ ThinQ features a capable camera hardware. The handset has a dual-lens camera at the rear panel that comprises of 16MP primary camera with Optical Image Stablization, Phase detection plus Laser autofocus. The 16MP secondary camera is LG's signature wide angle lens, which is a fixed focus lens without the OIS support. LG has reduced the field of view and this time you will get a 107-degree wide-angle lens. This is done to improve the lens distortion effect and I can say that the wide angle shots captured by G7+ look far better than the images captured by previous generation LG G series devices.

Interestingly, the dual-lens camera on LG G7+ ThinQ also allows you to capture portrait shots, a much awaited feature for LG G series smartphones. The wide-angle+ portrait mode is very rare to find in the market. The camera also uses machine learning algorithms to improve the image output. There are 19 different shooting modes that modify camera's settings for better overall output. The camera can also recognize low-light situations, and enable Super Bright Mode to capture bright photos and videos. The way AI works on G7+ ThinQ is rather interesting and visual. The use of machine learning in LG G7+ ThinQ is by far the most practical AI implementation I have seen to date. For selfies, you have an 8MP front-facing wide-angle camera with 90-degree field of view.

Snapdragon 845 CPU and 6GB RAM

Like most of the flagship smartphones in the year 2018, LG G7+ ThinQ also ships with the best-in-class Snapdragon 845 chipset. The octa-core CPU is paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory for smooth computing and multitasking. A 3,000mAh battery powers the internals from under the hood, which seems rather underpowered. We will evaluate the performance in our comprehensive review of LG G7+ ThinQ.

LG G7+ ThinQ is bound to please audiophiles as it is the first smartphone to feature DTS:X, the next-generation surround-sound format designed to compete against Dolby Atmos. Besides, you also get LG G series signature Hi-Fi Quad DAC to deliver a rich and immersive audio output. The company also ships high-impedance earphones in the package. The voice recording on this device is excellent. You can check out our unboxing and first impressions video of LG G7+ ThinQ where we have recorded the complete voiceover on LG G7+ without any external mic support.

Android 8.1 Oreo with the infamous LG UI

As far as software is concerned, the new lG G7+ ThinQ runs the latest Android 8.1 Oreo with LG's custom skin. The LG's custom skin is very colorful and comes loaded with a number of useful software features like floating bar, game centre, various display color modes, etc. However, if you have always used a stock Android device, you will find the LG's custom skin a bit overdone, especially the settings menu that may confuse anyone at first. There are just too many features and sub settings menu to explore.

Verdict

LG has got the pricing right this time and the new G7+ ThinQ seems like the most compelling package in sub Rs. 40,000 price-point. You get a Super bright QHD+ screen, brilliant audio performance, AI-enabled camera that can deliver both wide-angle shots and portrait shots making it a great camera smartphone for photography enthusiasts. Besides, the smartphone also offers a durable and water-dust resistant design and latest Snapdragon 845 CPU. At this price-point, LG G7+ ThinQ seems like a well-rounded value flagship smartphone. Stay tuned for our comprehensive review of the smartphone on Gizbot.com.