If you think two cameras are not good enough for you, how about five? We’re not kidding. LG’s fourth smartphone flagship for 2018, the LG V40 ThinQ, comes with five cameras. It isn’t much different form its predecessors such as the V30S ThinQ, the V35 ThinQ, and the LG G7 ThinQ, except that it has a camera system composed of five versatile lenses, which you don’t often see on a smartphone.
LG has beaten everyone in the race for having the most number of cameras on a smartphone. LG’s quintuple-camera design is the first of its kind, and each lens isn’t just for show. Let’s take a look at each of them one by one.
The first phone with 5 Cameras
Back: There is a total of three cameras that make up the rear camera system. It includes a 16-megapixel lens for ultra-wide-angle views, a 12-megapixel camera perfect for 2x zoomed-in shots, and another 12-megapixel, f/1.5 camera for rectangular-angle photos. These three cameras let you shoot more versatile and creative photos that can’t be achieved using other smartphones.
Front: The other two cameras are found at the front. This includes a 5-megapixel wide-angle lens and an 8-megapixel regular camera.
These quintuple camera system allows you to take pictures that are not usually possible with 2-camera and 3-camera designs.
However, even though the camera hardware is astonishing, some LG V40 ThinQ reviews have shown that the image quality is not perfect enough. So before the phone even hit the market, the manufacturer, LG had already released two updates to improve the quality of the shots.
The first update was designed to improve low-light HDR shots, low-light photo quality, and image quality when using the AI Camera. The update also delivers improved auto-focus performance, as well as better white balance and brightness in outdoor shots. It is not clear whether the update was meant for all cameras or for some specific shooters only. But tech experts feel that the telephoto shooter should receive special attention since it’s quality is really quite a let-down. Some reviews said that Triple Shot mode resulted in blurry images captured by the zoom-enabled camera.
Because of these issues, the company released another update recently that brings better HDR performance, enhanced sharpness and color in outdoor shots, and improves the black phenomenon of video recording. Most importantly, the update also addressed the auto-focus issue when using the Triple Shot mode. This means that LG is actually reading the reviews and taking the steps to improve its product.
LG V40 ThinQ Specs
But it’s not only the cameras that make the LG V40 ThinQ stand out. The V40 ThinQ also has amazing features that make it one of the best LG flagship phones ever.
As with previous LG phones, the V40 ThinQ has an indented fingerprint sensor that is fast to react. However, it no longer doubles as a power button, which was the case with other LG phones.
The back is clean and simple, and the curved edges make the phone easy to hold. Plus, it is so light at just 5.96 ounces (iPhone XS weighs around 6.24 ounces). The lightness of the phone, however, makes people wander how the phone would fare when subjected to a drop test.
The AI key from G7 makes a return in V40 ThinQ, making conversations with Google Assistant easier. All you have to do is press the button to call upon Google Assistant. You can turn off the key if you don’t want to use the key, but that would make it useless.
The V40 ThinQ has a big 6.4-inch OLED screen with a 3120×1440 resolution. The screen supports HDR10, making the images sharp and colorful. Although the display is not quite on the level of iPhone XS or Galaxy Note 9, but its quality is good enough compared to other smartphones within its price range.
Like most smartphones released this year, the V40 ThinQ is powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor with 6GB of RAM. The performance and speed of this device is on par with most flagship phones in the market today. Apps are quick to open, and navigating throughout the system feels fluid. Multitasking poses no problems, and the device can run graphics-heavy games without a hitch. But if you want to squeeze out every bit of performance potential of your device, you can use an app such as Android cleaning tool. It optimizes your RAM and improves speed, ensuring that your device is performing at its best at all times.
The disappointing fact about the LG V40 ThinQ is that these phones ship out with Android 8.1 Oreo instead of the Android 9 Pie, which was released last August. LG was once the first manufacturer to launch a flagship phone (V20) with a new Android version (Android 7.0 Nougat) before anyone else, so it’s a bit surprising that they’re launching with an older version of Android.
When it comes to battery life, V40 ThinQ’s 3,300mAh battery pack can last about a full day of use and four hours of screen-on time. You can go about your social media, photo capture, online games, and video streaming for a day without worrying about running out of juice. The phone is wireless-charging capable and is equipped with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging technology. Reviews show that a device with 20% remaining battery can hit 100% in less than 2 hours.
V is for Video
The V in V40 stands for video, but there’s really not much improvement in the V40’s video capture functionality. The difference however is in the new feature called Cine Shot that lets you take cinemagraphs.
A cinemagraph is a hybrid between a photo and a video —there’s a part of the photo that includes motion. We’ve seen this feature in some phones before, such as Moto Z3, and it is indeed an interesting new format. When capturing something, you need to keep really still to avoid blurs in the video part of the cinemagraph. You’ll have to mark the area of the video which you want to keep in motion.
LG V40 ThinQ Launch
The LG V40 ThinQ was released this month and is now available for sale at $900. It is also available via carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular. The phone is available in Aurora Black and Moroccan Blue (for Verizon only).