Table of Contents
amazon LG G8 ThinQ reviews
Design and assembly
LG G8 ThinQ doesn’t change much compared to ThinQ 2017: the surrounding aluminum frame encapsulates two glass surfaces both before and after, combined with a compact 6.1-inch screen that feels solid.
The front bezel is not much improved, the size is large. Selfie camera cluster and speaker phone in the middle of the rabbit ears have the appearance of 3D ToF sensor technology.
LG decided to keep the Gorilla Glass 5 (GG5) coating on the front and GG6 on the back.
This version of ThinQ has anti-dust, military-standard water and IP68 standard. We tested dropping this G8 26 times from a height of 1.2 m. And it still works normally!
LG G8 ThinQ has two Carmine Red color versions and Moroccan Blue, two flashy but elegant gradient colors.
The G8 camera module is horizontal, aligned with the control panel, not protruding, only slightly concave around the LED flash, different from the G7. The reason is because the G8’s size is quite thick (8.4mm) allowing the G8 to set up such a camera, as well as being able to hold large capacity batteries.
Fingerprint sensor is placed in a convenient, sensitive, high-precision position.
Button position is identical to G7: a right power button, volume buttons on the left with a Google Assistant button – convenient. Above is the noise canceling microphone, below is the main microphone, 3.5mm jack, USB Type-C port and speakers. The SIM / microSD memory card slot is on the right.
There is not much to complain about design except that the thickness of 8.4mm is a bit thick compared to the tendency to design thin endings like the present. Or is the border of benzel or rabbit ears slightly wide, in general it is not a big minus point in the design.
Screen
Bright, slightly curved OLED QHD + display, the function is always displayed. 2K standard resolution supports watching HDR movies. Also supports True View color mode to adjust the screen color temperature to match the surroundings. Maximum screen brightness reaches 391 nit.
User interface and performance
G8 ThinQ uses Android 9.0 Pie operating system with LG’s own interface.
In terms of hardware, the G8 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of memory capacity, expandable with microSD cards, promising optimal performance and efficiency.
It can be seen that LG G8 ThinQ has a pretty high score when running multi-core, ranking 3rd after Apple iPhone and Xiaomi Mi 9. Apple iPhone XR remarkably reduced performance when running single-core. Perhaps LG should seek to improve this asynchrony.
The G8’s performance is strong enough to handle any heavy task (gaming). There is a bit of inconsistency in multi-core and single-core performance but not much.
Camera
Design
LG continues the tradition of super wide-angle cameras. In addition to the 12MP main camera aperture f / 1.5 and OIS, the G8 also has an ultra-wide 16MP wide-angle camera with f / 1.9, no vibration and autofocus (which is not needed with wide-angle camera).
It is also possible that the G8 will be equipped with a 12MP telephoto camera with 52mm focal length, f / 2.4 aperture OIS, PDAF and 2x optical zoom if the market responds positively.
The front selfie camera has an 8MP resolution of f / 1.7 aperture – greatly improved compared to the f / 1.9 of last year’s version. In addition, it has a built-in 3D ToF sensor that helps to unlock by the face and improve portraits.
Image quality
Compared to LG G7 ThinQ or even LG V40 ThinQ, the overall quality of the G8 camera has improved significantly. Shooting with daylight provides detailed images, excellent color reproduction and when HDR is turned on, colors become outstanding with perfect color balance.
However, high-contrast images, along with loss of detail when shooting in low-light environments due to the tendency to retain the highlights.
When AI is turned on, the contrast is even higher, creating more noise, causing excessive sharpening. You should not use it during daytime shooting.
In terms of wide-angle cameras, colors and images are generally handled well, while the dynamic range works well when HDR is not turned on. Compared to wide-angle lenses on other smartphones, LG G8’s lens has beautiful colors, full details and image distortion almost none. It can be said that LG invests heavily in this wide-angle lens.
Low light shooting
Good night vision of LG G8 ThinQ with excellent dynamic range, lots of detail and bright colors. You should note that HDR will automatically turn on when shooting at night if you set it to Auto.
With night photos, we recommend using AI to get more details but in exchange for noise of the image will be even more.
Night View mode is no better than AI. It reduces noise but also reduces the color of the image. You should still use AI for more night photography.
G7’s Super Bright Camera mode is removed on the G8.
On the other hand, the G8’s ultra-wide-angle camera is always trying to get the most detail possible despite its graininess, but in general its image quality remains good even in low-light environments.
Portraits
Depending on the lighting conditions, sometimes the subject will be underexposed, but the skin color will still look natural, detailed and separate from the environment. There is also a slider in Portrait mode that allows you to adjust the blur to make the bokeh look more natural.
Selfie
LG has improved the G8’s selfie camera quite a lot: the larger f / 1.7 aperture allows for more light, the autofocus does not slide. Artificially sharpened, self-corrected skin selfies and automatic face structure. Noise is pretty much the same as the rear camera.
The 3D ToF camera (or the Z camera like LG calls itself) allows to handle excellent bokeh effects in Selfie Portrait mode. G8 is capable of separating background background and font removal effect of the best row thanks to advanced frame depth map.
Speaker
LG uses the Crystal Sound OLED Speaker technology to combine Boombox effect to create sound.
The speaker is located underneath, utilizing the space inside the phone to make the speaker case, creating a loud, full sound. The back vibrated with music, but the front only had treble sound.
When DTS: X 3D Surround is turned on, the sound quality is significantly improved, the sound is more vivid and detailed.
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Sound quality
The volume is not impressive. However, the QuadDAC option can provide a bit of power, improving stereo sound quality for headphones.
Battery life
Battery capacity reaches 3,500 mAh, more than G7’s 3000 mAh battery.
Fast charger is not too impressive, only charge 42% in 30 minutes. Results do not change when the “Optimize charging” feature is turned on.
Lock and Security
LG G8 ThinQ has up to 3 biometric unlock options, including: new fingerprint reader, Face Unlock and Hand ID.
Hand ID also has the same working principle with Face Unlock: 3D ToF camera analyzes your hand model and even scans both the vascular system under the skin and the unique veins of your hand. LG says it is safer than fingerprint recognition.
But the Hand ID experience is not as great as it was advertised. First, it’s complicated, time-consuming to open with your palm. Secondly, it does not have a high practical application, it is much more convenient to unlock with fingerprint or face. Overall, Hand ID needs much improvement if LG really wants to make it a trend in smartphone design.
Referring to the new technology, the technology of Air Motion gestures is no different from Hand ID. Thanks to the front 3D camera, this technology allows you to control some functions with the palm of your hand without touching the phone. You can play, pause, skip or increase the volume in some multimedia applications, such as YouTube. Gesture increases volume like turning volume.
And if your finger is dirty or you are wearing gloves, you can even answer and end calls with gestures, similar to timers and alarms. Although Air Motion works smoothly but still like Hand ID, you don’t have too many reasons to use it, so it’s simply feature for advertising.
Advantages
– Excellent design, premium materials, luxurious colors
– Good overall camera experience even in low light conditions
– Super wide lens super impressive
– The OLED Crystal Sound loudspeaker is good for listening
Disadvantages
– Notch big, not aesthetic
– Hand ID and Air Motion just for advertising, not practical
– Noise is not handled well when taking photos