LG Electronics traditionally refreshes the flagship G series at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). But LG fans were fully aware that the LG G7 wouldn’t arrive at the MWC 2018. The company had delayed the release of LG G7 due to the lack of exciting new features on G7 prototypes. Now LG’s mobile business chief Hwang Jeong-hwan has indicated that LG G7 would launch in the first half of this year, most likely in June.
There have been consistent rumors that the Korean company was exploring the possibility of changing the new phone’s name and launch it under a new moniker. LG’s R&D team has also been asked to redesign the G7 (or whatever it’s called at launch) from scratch to make it stand out in the crowd of Android smartphones. The company is hoping that all these efforts would help it revive its ailing smartphone business. LG’s mobile division has been losing money for the last 11 quarters.
Hwang Jeong-hwan said during a press conference in Barcelona that the company would launch its new flagship in the first half of 2018. He did not confirm the new naming scheme, but added that LG executives had internally “discussed the alleged naming scheme.” Hwang Jeong-hwan told media that LG is focusing on improving core competitiveness. He was appointed the head of LG’s mobile business in November last year.
LG Electronics has said earlier that it won’t launch new phones just for the sake of chasing the competition. It will release new phones when it has something new to offer rather than sticking to a fixed release schedule. Hwang said LG would focus on four key aspects to regain consumer confidence. The four features are ABCD (audio, battery, camera, and display). These are the most commonly used features of a smartphone.
We wouldn’t be surprised if LG G7 is launched under a new name and with an entirely new design. Many have suggested that LG Electronics should change the brand name of its smartphones. “But we won’t act prematurely,” said Hwang. The mobile business chief aims to take the business in a new direction to establish a “structure that allows sustainable profits.”
We can expect the LG G7 to have a reasonable price tag. Hwang said the company won’t raise “prices because of unnecessary features” that customers don’t really use. Instead of claiming that its smartphones are innovative, LG will try to regain the trust of consumers by making devices that people can use “without inconvenience.”
Earlier this month, VentureBeat reported that LG was working on a smartphone code-named ‘Judy’ that would launch in June. The device is believed to be the LG G7. Judy is said to have an entirely new design with a 6.1-inch MLCD+ Full Vision display and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is larger than the LG G6’s 5.7-inch. The MLCD+ display will offer a brightness of above 800 nits while consuming 35% less power.
VentureBeat added that Judy aka LG G7 will be powered by the Snapdragon 845 and 4GB RAM. It would offer 64GB of internal storage. It would have a dual camera system on the back with an f/1.6 aperture. The device is rumored to offer military-grade durability and an IP68 rating for water- and dust-resistance. Other rumored features include wireless charging, high-dynamic range, and stereo speakers.
LG Electronics unveiled an upgraded LG V30S ThinQ instead of G7 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). The V30S ThinQ has the same screen size, battery, camera, and Snapdragon 835 processor as the LG V30. But it boasts of AI features along with minor spec upgrades and two new colors Platinum Gray and Moroccan Blue. The V30S ThinQ ships with Android Oreo out of the box.
The artificial intelligence features include a new AI Cam that analyzes the scene and recommends appropriate shooting modes based on lighting, color, and saturation levels. For instance, if you are taking pictures in low-light conditions, the Bright mode will double the brightness without increasing the noise. If you are taking pictures of food, it will use the Food mode. There is also a City mode.
LG’s Q-Lens scans QR codes to offer shopping recommendations based on photos you take. It is quite similar to the Google Lens. In terms of specifications, the V30S ThinQ sports a 6-inch QHD+ OLED display, 6GB RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. It also offers a microSD card slot to let you expand storage by up to 2TB. It packs a decent 3300mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 technology.
The V30S has facial recognition as well as a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The device has LG’s custom UX 6.0+ skin on top of Android Oreo. The V30S comes with an IP68 rating for water- and dust-resistance. However, the phone has a disappointing 5-megapixel camera on the front for selfies.
