LG Confirms Media Briefing to Introduce G7 ThinQ Android Smartphone

After months of speculation, LG finally revealed plans to unveil its next high-end handset, the LG G7 ThinQ, at a special media briefing in New York City on May 2. The company’s official statement only said when and where it will hold the event and the smartphone model’s name. The company also hinted that artificial intelligence could play a prominent role in its slate of features. Beyond that, market is left with the spate of rumors that have surfaced over the last few months, suggesting the LG G7 ThinQ will likely ship with a powerful late model Snapdragon processor, a large screen, and yes, a notch at the top of the display similar to the feature in the iPhone X that houses the earpiece and camera. LG has struggled to win market traction for its phones, particularly in the U.S., but if the rumors hold true, the LG G7 ThinQ could prove to be a legitimate contender in the smartphone market.

According to reports, LG had planned to offer a minor update for its G7 this year, but ultimately ditched that idea in favor of a complete redesign. Now, the company is expected to unveil a smartphone that follows the current design trend by slimming down the bezels around the screen to allow the glass display to cover nearly its entire face. The handset will likely feature dual rear-facing camera lenses on the back and rely on a virtual home button.

Like so many other smartphone vendors, LG has designed the G7 ThinQ with an iPhone X-like notch at the top of the display, according to reports. The feature will allow the company to bundle an earpiece and front-facing camera without requiring too many design changes that could push its price higher. However, a recently deleted Reddit post by LG’s support team suggested the company might also build a black bar into its software that would sit at the top of the screen to hide the notch. The move stands in stark contrast to Apple, which makes the notch readily apparent.

Like every other Android smartphone maker looking to offer a top-notch device, LG is expected to build the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 into the G7 ThinQ. Benchmarks that recently leaked suggest LG has done some tweaking under the hood to ensure the Snapdragon 845 offers performance in line with some of its competitors, including Samsung’s Galaxy S9.

In its announcement about the May 2 media briefing, LG indicated that the G7 ThinQ will come with several artificial intelligence features. The device will support Voice AI for voice commands and a Vision AI feature that will intelligently determine the best camera settings based on the subject matter. There have also been separate reports that LG could bundle a physical “AI button” that would activate some of those features.

Recently leaked renderings of that are purported to be the LG G7 ThinQ show a vertically aligned dual-lens camera array. Not much is known about the cameras, but they’re expected to have at least 8-megapixel sensors. Bolstered by LG’s Vision AI technology, they should also deliver impressive shots.

LG has been the sole outlier among tech giants in offering smartphones with removable batteries. It’s rumored that the company could do the same in 2018. LG is rumored to be planning a 3,300mAh battery pack in the handset and could offer both fast and wireless charging like its competitors.

LG is planning to bundle Android Oreo in this year’s G7 ThinQ, according to reports. The company is believed to be working on a new version of its LG UX operating system skin to run atop Android Oreo. The software skin will include a variety of add-ons, including more camera controls, such as 360-degree panorama. LG argues its user interface also makes it easier to use Android.

Like other tech giants, LG is planning to bundle biometric features into the G7 ThinQ. However, the company won’t be offering a 3D face scanner similar to Face ID in Apple’s iPhone X. Instead, reports say LG will build a fingerprint sensor into the ThinQ’s back panel just below the dual cameras. It’s unknown whether a 2D face scanner is in the works.

There’s some debate over exactly how much RAM and storage should be bundled in today’s smartphones. But LG is planning to offer 4GB of memory in its latest model, to reports. Customers will have the option of configuring their G7 ThinQ with either 64GB or 128GB of storage, the rumor mill says.

We’ll have to wait until the May 2 event to learn about pricing for the G7 ThinQ. While the company hasn’t said when the smartphone will be released, the smartphone will likely hit store shelves sometime in May. Pricing hasn’t been leaked yet, but given the G7 ThinQ’s features, it could be on the pricier side.