LG G7 ThinQ vs LG G6: Here’s what’s new

LG is taking a big leap forward with its new G7 ThinQ smartphone. The company is betting big on its Artificial Intelligence platform, ThinQ, which is now powering most of its devices including smart TVs, speakers and recently launched V30S ThinQ smartphone. Along with a big focus on the AI, LG G7 ThinQ comes as a big upgrade over the predecessor, LG G6, in terms of features, design and overall specifications.

LG G7 ThinQ also marks a big change in the company's strategy for product upgrade cycle. Traditionally, LG launches its new flagship phones at the annual Mobile World Congress in February, but this time around the company launched V30S ThinQ - premium phone with AI features. LG G7 ThinQ is a refined version of V30S ThinQ rather an incremental upgrade over the predecessor.

Let's compare LG's latest smartphone with last year's flagship smartphone, the LG G6.

Price and availability
LG hasn't announced price of G7 ThinQ yet. The smartphone will be first rolled out to South Korea followed by major markets in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. LG G6 had launched in India with a price tag of ₹51,990. The smartphone, however, is currently available at a starting price of ₹28,000 approximately.

Design, display
While there are a number of changes under the hood, the most noticeable one is the inclusion of the notch screen. Clearly inspired by Apple's iPhone X, LG G7 ThinQ seems to have a slimmer and more contemporary design. The smartphone has a higher resolution 6.1-inch QHD+ FullVision display with 3120 x 1440 pixels resolution and 564ppi pixel density whereas LG G6 has 5.7-inch QHD+ (1440x2880 pixels) FullVision display with an 18:9 (or 2:1) aspect ratio. The company says LG G7 ThinQ is nearly half an inch larger than its predecessor but "not a hair wider."

Artificial Intelligence
As mentioned earlier, LG is betting big on AI with its newer products. LG G7 ThinQ comes with a host of AI features such as Vision AI for smarter image recognition. The Vision AI itself has three elements - AI CAM, QLens and Bright Mode. These are focused on improving mobile photography.

"LG has further enhanced the AI features of the camera that first debuted in the LG V30S ThinQ. AI CAM now offers 19 shooting modes, up from eight, for even more intelligence-optimized shots. And users can improve their photos further by choosing among three other effect options if the one recommended by AI CAM doesn't suit their tastes," said the company in a release.

Similarly, it has a dedicated voice AI that allows users to access core features of the smartphone through voice commands. The AI is quite similar to Samsung's Bixby AI. While LG's G7 ThinQ has top-end AI features, last year's model didn't come with any of these.

Camera
As mentioned earlier, the LG G7 ThinQ thrives on the AI features built into its camera. But, in terms of specifications, the smartphone looks like an incremental upgrade. It comes with a dual-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 16-megapixel sensor (super wide angle) and a 16-megapixel sensor (standard). On the front, it has an 8-megapixel camera with f/1.9 aperture and 80-degree wide angle.

Last year's LG G6 also has dual-cameras on the back, featuring two 13-megapixel sensors. While one handles wide-angle shots with 125-degree lens and f/2.4 aperture, the other takes standard shots with 71-degree lens. On the front, it has a 5-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture and 100-degree lens.

Performance
As expected from a flagship smartphone in 2018, the LG G7 ThinQ has top-of-the-line specifications such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor along with 4GB and 6GB RAM variants. LG is also doing away with the 32GB model, offering the G7 ThinQ 64GB 64GB and 128GB variants with support up to 2TB for expandable storage via microSD card.

In comparison, the LG G6 runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM. The phone comes in 32GB and 64GB storage variants (additional storage of up to 2TB via microSD).

The LG G7 ThinQ is powered by a 3,000mAh battery, whereas the older LG G6 came with a larger 3,300mAh battery. The reduction in battery size could be the reason for the slimness of the newer model.

Sound
The LG G7 ThinQ has a Boombox speaker that reportedly cranks up the audio output by 6 decibels. LG G7 ThinQ also features DTS:X 3D Surround Sound for 3D surround sound via headphones. LG G6 comes with a Dolby Vision-based 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC (digital to analogue converter) for superior audio playback.