LG G7 ThinQ Review

The LG G7 ThinQ is fine. Well, the name isn't, so for the sake of brevity, we're just going to call it LG G7 going forward. There's no single feature that makes the LG G7 more exciting than the competition, but there's no deal breaking flaws. There's even a few little differences that - for the right person - could make it an appealing alternative to other top Android flagships.

Cookie cutter

The LG G7 is cut from the same mould as so many other 2018 smartphones. You get a glass back and an extra-tall notched display. It looks and feels nice enough, but it's more of the same. The specs are par the course for a high-end phone too: the top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and IP68 water-resistance.

Where the LG G7 becomes more interesting is with the kind of features you might not think about. It's display is one of the brightest around: an eye-searing 1,000 nits. When cranked to the max, the G7's screen will cut through even the sharpest sunlight. It's overkill if you're inside, but it's nice to have for those super sunny days.

Much like the rest of the flagship crowd, the LG G7 has two rear-facing cameras. However, the secondary lens is wide-angle, rather than the more common zoom. It's an interesting point of difference, and can get you some stunning results when shooting landscapes (with slight fish-eye). Both cameras are pretty good for the most part, but aren't reliable in lowlight. You can still get a decent shot after dark, but it might take a few attempts to get a sharp, clear photo, and even then, the low dynamic range will lead to blowout. There's a dedicated lowlight mode too, but this costs you a lot of detail in exchange for a brighter image.

While we're not a fan of LG's clunky ThinQ branding, the moniker refers to two "artificial intelligence" features you'll find on board.

The first is a "smarter" camera that can detect your subject - for example, a person, an animal, a flower, or food - and adjust image settings to get you a "better picture". While the AI CAM is reasonably accurate in working out what you're shooting, it's hard to tell how much work it's actually putting in. On the whole, the main difference between shooting with the standard camera and and the AI-assisted mode appeared to be an ever-so-slightly different colour balance.  

The second AI feature is a dedicated button for calling up Google Assistant. It's nice to have if you use Assistant, but you can't remap the button to do anything else if you're not a fan. If you find yourself hitting the button too much accidentally, you can disable it.

You're also able to disable to the notch. Kind of. If you're part of the "no notches" club, you're able to black out to the notch, although it will continue to display the time, notification icons, and your battery life. Oddly, this only works for LG apps. If you open any app not made by LG (including any preloaded Google app), the area surrounding the notch will spring back to life.

Smack DAC

LG's enduring commitment to the headphone jack is arguably the G7's most interesting feature. Other phone manufacturers might be killing off the humble 3.5mm connector, but LG has held strong and really wants you to keep on using wired buds or cans. Part of this is "Quad DAC", which is to say the phone has four digital-to-analogue converters. A DAC is the circuitry that converts digital music into an analogue signal that can be played back by headphone or speakers. This isn't a simple process, so the quality of a DAC will affect the quality of your music.

It's worth noting that this functionality is designed for use with wired headphones. Bluetooth headphones have their own internal DAC, so the LG G7's high-end hardware won't matter if you've gone wireless. Your sound quality will be determined by your wireless headphones, not your phone.

Fortunately, the buds you get in the box alongside the LG G7 aren't bad. We'd go as far to go call them pretty good. The difference between the G7 and its bundled headphones and iPhone X and its bundled headphones is like day and night. Sure, the iPhone X and its bundled headphones are okay, but you get a richer, clearer, and bassier audio experience out of the box with the LG G7. And if you own a high-end pair of wired headphones, the G7's high-end audio hardware should deliver even further benefits.

Other audio features include a couple of software equaliser presets which give you extra control of how your music sounds. For example, if you want to dial up the bass.

This functionality showed up in last years' LG V30+, but one new addition you'll find in the G7 is a surprisingly loud speaker. If you put it on a flat surface - like the box the phone comes in - the it gets even louder. While the LG G7 could a fill a space in a pinch, it won't replace a dedicated Bluetooth speaker for most. After all, it's still a smartphone speaker: tinny and hollow.

Who is the LG G7 ThinQ for?

The LG G7 might look like every other phone, but there's enough little differences that it could make an interesting alternative to likes of Samsung and Huawei. LG's commitment to high-end audio might seem a little niche, but it's a genuine point of difference in a post-headphone jack world. It doesn't hurt that the G7 comes in at $1,099, which is a little cheaper than the likes of the Galaxy S9 and iPhone X; you won't find it on a contract though.

While it's nice to see LG focus on interesting features, the G7's camera quality lags behind the competition. The cheaper outright price would normally make this more forgivable, but Huawei's P20 Pro - the best camera smartphone at time of writing - is available outright for exactly the same RRP. And has a better battery too.

The LG G7 is a fine phone. The battery life and the camera could be better, but there's no real deal breakers. It's definitely worth considering if you're interested in its audio features, but the comparative strength of the competition makes it hard to give the LG G7 ThinQ an unequivocal recommendation.

LG G7 ThinQ camera samples

I don't want an LG G7 ThinQ, what else can I buy?

Huawei P20 Pro

Huawei's P20 Pro is the same price as the LG G7, and looks almost identical (from the front, at the least). The P20 Pro's battery is more robust, you get twice as much storage, and you'll end up with the best camera smartphone on the market. You do miss out on a headphone jack, though.

OPPO R15 Pro

OPPO's R15 Pro is another smartphone cut from a similar mould, but it's a cheaper outright, coming in at $779. You get twice as much storage and a heartier battery than what you'll find in the LG G7, but the processor isn't quite as fast and the secondary lens isn't as useful.

Google Pixel 2

The smaller Google Pixel 2 undercuts the LG G7 by about $20 and it's a solid all-round device. It's a great choice if you want a top notch camera, no notch, and pure Android.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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