LG G6 vs LG G7 ThinQ: a powerful leap to AI

The G6 has a unique design and the G7 is more like a V30S

In case you haven't noticed, I'm quite a fan of the old LG flagships. I miss the back button panel, I loved it. The G6 has something of that. I think it’s more of a free spirit. The G7 is new to the G series, but it looks like it’s taken a small step forward the V series.

The G7 is longer than the G6, but retains the same width and thickness and is almost identical in weight. It’s more comfortable in your hand than its predecessor, which has a flat frame and more touch-sensitive edges.

The back of the G7 is much more aesthetically-pleasing. The new position of the camera also helps. The two lenses with the flash separating them in between have a somewhat strange effect. The headphone jack has moved to the bottom, which I find most practical. One thing I don’t like about the G7 is the two additional buttons it has on the body: there’s one to turn on the device and one for Google Assistant and Google Lens.

18:9 screen or a display with the notch

There are people who like the notch, people who don’t care, and people like me, who don’t even notice it. I don’t think it’s bad that Apple set this trend, but manufacturers need to use their best judgement. There are other ways to go about design. A very good example is the Mi MIX 2S, which nobody copies but should.

The G7 has a long display. It went from 18:9 in the G6 to 19.5:9 in the G7. This has led to a longer diagonal and the display covers more than 82% of the frame (just a little less than the iPhone X). The number of pixels has increased for the vertical dimensions, but the pixel density has remained the same. The glass protection has been upgraded from Gorilla Glass 3 in the G6 to Gorilla Glass 5 in the G7.

There’s better performance but what about updates?

The G6 introduced in 2017 had the best processor from the year before, the Snapdragon 821. This was a point of considerable criticism. I guess that’s why the 2018 LG G7 ThinQ has the latest processor available, the powerful Snapdragon 845. The amount of RAM has been kept at 4 GB, although in some markets the G7 will also be available with 6 GB. Whatever the case, top-level performance is assured and with at least 64 GB of internal storage, you’ll have more than enough space because the device also has a microSD slot.

It’s no secret, that despite the price drop, the LG G6 has not sold well. This factor may have greatly influenced how long it took the manufacturer to update the device. This has had negative consequences for LG’s reputation. Until recently, LG was one of the manufacturers that took upgrades most seriously, but in the last two years it has lagged behind. Let's hope that the G7 Android P upgrade will be faster and regain a little more credibility with users.

The camera has improved, but the battery has not

Substantial improvements were made from the G6 to the G7 camera, including the implementation of artificial intelligence to improve camera performance and results. So far so good, but the G7 has a surprise that we weren’t very fond of. The battery power has been reduced by 300 mAh to 3000 mAh. Even though the processor is more efficient, I’m sure this shows. In the G6, the battery life was dismal and in the V30 (with the same capacity but a faster processor), it was a little better.

LG G6 vs. LG G7 ThinQ: Conclusion

First of all, let’s take a look at the prices. The G6 currently costs around $420 while the G7 has a starting price of $750 in the US. From the price and the improvements that the G7 offers, it seems to me that the V30S ThinQ is its biggest competitor. The G6 is not much of an alternative to compete, but at least it’s cheap and you get the quality of a flagship.