LG G8: what we want to see and what we've heard so far
The LG G8 – or LG G8 ThinQ as it might be called – probably won’t land for quite a while yet, but early rumors are already emerging, suggesting it could be a significant upgrade.
So it’s worth getting excited about, and to help with that you’ll find all the news and rumors about the phone below.
We’ve also taken the liberty of listing the things that we most want from the LG G8, so read on and see if you agree.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next flagship in the LG G range
- When is it out? Probably mid-2019
- What will it cost? A lot
LG G8 release date and price
There’s no news yet on when the LG G8 might launch, but the LG G7 ThinQ was announced in May 2018, so we probably won’t see the LG G8 until around mid-2019.
There’s no guarantee that it will be announced in May though, especially as the LG G6 was announced in February 2016 during MWC (Mobile World Congress). MWC 2019 takes place from 25-28 February, so that’s a possible time frame for the announcement.
We don’t yet know what the LG G8 will cost either, but the LG G7 ThinQ launched for $749 / £619 / AU$1,099, so prices for the G8 may be similar.
We probably won't see the LG G8 before February 2019 at the earliest
LG G8 news and rumors
Although the LG G8 is probably a long way off, we’ve already heard some things about it. For one thing, a source claims that LG will be ready to use ‘sound-emitting displays’ in its phones from early 2019, essentially allowing the earpiece to be built into the screen.
Currently, the earpiece is one of the main components that prevents a truly bezel-free phone, so with this solved it’s possible that the LG G8 will have no bezel and no notch, though that’s just speculation for now.
We’ve also heard from leaker @UniverseIce that the LG G8 will have a 4K LCD, screen. That’s up from a 1440 x 3120 LCD screen on the LG G7 ThinQ and would be more in line with the likes of the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium if true.
While the resolution boost would be appreciated it’s unlikely to be that noticeable outside of VR – which may therefore be a focus for the G8.
However, it’s disappointing that the phone is apparently sticking with LCD, given that OLED is generally considered to be better and is increasingly being used by high-end phones, including the LG V35 ThinQ.
What we want to see
While we wait for more rumors about the LG G8 to roll in, here’s a list of what we hope the phone will offer.
1. Exciting innovations
The LG G7 ThinQ played things a bit too safe
More than anything, we hope that the LG G8 will have some innovative features that we’ve not seen before.
LG has done this in the past with the likes of its rear keys on older handsets and the modules it launched for the LG G5, but the LG G7 ThinQ is fairly safe and ordinary in comparison.
It gets many of the basics rights, but for the LG G8 to stand out from the crowd it’s going to need to do more than that, so we want LG to surprise us.
2. A big battery
One disappointing aspect of the LG G7 is its small 3,000mAh battery, a battery which can last the day but won’t go beyond that for most users.
That’s roughly in line with many other phones, but they in many cases have much bigger batteries so we’d love to see what LG could do with a big one of say around 4,000mAh.
3. Stereo speakers
Two speakers are better than one
The LG G7 already has a very good speaker, but the key word there is ‘speaker’, not ‘speakers’. For the LG G8 we’d like to see all the fancy Boombox tech return, but for it to be used in a pair of speakers rather than one, so it can offer stereo sound and is less in danger of being accidentally covered.
4. A lower price
The LG G7 ThinQ is an expensive phone, but oddly in the US, it’s a very expensive phone, launching at a higher price than even the Samsung Galaxy S9.
That’s a tricky position for LG to be in because it’s not as big a name in phones as Samsung, so it can’t really afford to price its handsets higher, at least, not unless they offer a drastically better experience, which the LG G7 ThinQ doesn’t.
So for the LG G8 we want a lower starting price, particularly in the US, but keeping it as low as possible everywhere will make it more widely appealing.
5. No notch
We see notches as something of a stopgap before phones eliminate bezels altogether. But some handsets, such as the Vivo Nex and Oppo Find X, are already getting very close to doing that, and with LG rumored to be building the earpiece into the screen for the G8, it’s not out of the question that the phone could have no notch and virtually no bezels.
6. A braver design
The LG G7 ThinQ is a fairly plain phone
The LG G7 ThinQ has a premium but slightly plain build, lacking the curves of the Galaxy S9 or the striking finish of the Huawei P20 Pro or HTC U12 Plus.
We’d like to see a bolder, braver look from the LG G8, making it a phone that can stand out even at first glance.
If the Honor 10 can pack a color-changing back that light dances across for half the cost of most flagships then LG should be able to come up with something.
7. OLED rather than LCD
Early rumors suggest the LG G8 will have an LCD screen, with the company likely keeping OLED for the V range, but we hope that’s not the case, as with OLED offering superior contrast among other benefits it’s something we’d like to see offered by all flagship phones.
- The G8 will have the Samsung Galaxy S10 to compete with
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