Hot off the heels of the V50 launch, LG is bringing another new high-end smartphone to Australia: the LG G8S ThinQ. The phone is available exclusively through Telstra from today and has a bit of a nifty to promo to go with it. If you're one of the first 1,000 customers to pick up the G8S on a Telstra plan, you'll get a bonus 43-inch 4K LG TV (43UK6540PTD) valued at $1,199.
To get your bonus TV, you'll need to register a claim within 10 days of purchasing your G8S. The promo runs until August 6, and TV deliveries will start from August 22. It may take up to six weeks to get your TV.
Telstra's LG G8S plans are as follows:
In terms of the phone itself, the LG G8S looks pretty similar to last year's G7, but there are a couple of key differences. The most important of these is a depth-sensing time-of-flight (ToF) camera that sits right next to the selfie cam.
This can be used for facial recognition, but LG is dreaming bigger. Weirder, at the least. Working in conjunction with an infrared sensor, the G8 ToF camera can recognise the veins in your palm as a way to unlock your phone. LG calls this Hand ID.
The same tech enables "Air Motion" gesture controls. These let you answer a call, adjust volume, and launch apps without actually touching the G8S' screen. To do so, you wave your hand at the phone, pull it back into a pinching motion, and then flick left or right (or turn your wrist if you want to adjust volume).
We love that LG is trying something new, but these features didn't work too well in practice when we tried the phone out at Mobile World Congress back in February. During a demo, the G8S struggled to even recognise my palm, and was very inconsistent when it came to the "pinch" gesture. Hopefully these were just pre-production issues that have now been resolved.
Other key specifications for the LG G8S include a 6.1-inch 1080p+ display, a Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of expandable storage, and a 3,550mAh battery. It runs Android Pie. In terms of rear-facing cameras, the G8S has a 16MP wide-angle lens, a 12MP standard lens, and a 12MP zoom lens.
Unlike the LG V50, the LG G8S isn't a 5G smartphone. You'll only get 4G connectivity with it.
Alex Choros
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