Rumoured to come out in October at a dedicated event, the V40 will be the latest phone to feature a triple rear-camera lens
If you’re struggling to keep up with phone releases, don’t worry, so am I. LG is among a gaggle of manufacturers that seem hell-bent on releasing a new phone every couple of months, and it’s now rumoured that there will be a new LG phone coming later this year: the LG V40 ThinQ.
That makes four new phones the manufacturer has announced in just under a year. First, we had the LG V30, announced in August 2017 and released in September 2017, then the V30S ThinQ, announced in February 2018 and released in March. The LG V35 and LG G7 ThinQ were both announced in May and released in May and June, respectively.
The V40 ThinQ will be the fifth and final instalment for the 2018 calendar. Here’s everything you need to know on LG’s upcoming flagship phone.
LG V40 ThinQ: Name
The first thing I’d like to clear up the naming. If you’re accustomed to LG’s line of UK and European releases, you’ll know the company likes to stick to the G-line, while on an international scale the company likes to also release its V-line of phones to the masses.
Here, the G7 ThinQ was released at the same time as the V35 ThinQ, and yet despite their differences, the V35 didn’t come to the UK, nor did the V30S ThinQ. Oddly, the V30 did, but only after a few months of deliberation.
Oh, and the ThinQ naming is LG’s way of branding a device that has AI (Artificial Intelligence) built-in. Announced at CES 2018, ThinQ isn’t just limited to phones; you’ll find it in TVs and even air conditioners, too.
As for its codename, according to Evan Blass, a renowned tipster, it’s called ‘Storm’.
LG V40 ThinQ: UK release date and price
Nothing has been confirmed, but there’s plenty of speculation around the V40 ThinQ’s price. Currently, the LG G7 ThinQ can be found for around £600. I’d hope for the V40 ThinQ to be around the same price tag, however, given the V35 and V30S ThinQ are between £700 and £900, expect the V40 ThinQ to cost more than the current flagship.
Current speculation puts the release date after IFA 2018, which takes place in September 2018. Some anticipate the phone will be announced at the tech show in Berlin, but a release in October 2018 seems realistic – as a senior LG official, who goes by the name of Myung-bak Lee, mentioned it to ETNews.
If it doesn’t come in September or October 2018, then it’s likely to come in Q1 2019.
LG V40 ThinQ: Camera
The biggest, most anticipated feature to come to the new V40 ThinQ is its triple-camera rear-lens. I’m hoping we’ll get a 20-megapixel primary (up from the 16MP on the V35 ThinQ), and two 16-megapixel secondary and tertiary cameras.
By comparison, the Huawei P20 Pro, which also features a triple-camera lens, has a 40- RGB, 20- monochrome and an 8-megapixel 3x telephoto lens. Given the V40’s competition, I’d like to see LG step up to the plate and prove me wrong by providing an even more impressive set of cameras.
As for the front-facing camera, I’m hoping to see a high-resolution camera with Facial Recognition. See, in recent years, LG has been playing catch up with the rest of the market, and I’d like to see them change that in the V40. So, expect a radical spec bump in the camera department.
LG V40 ThinQ: Display
The V40 ThinQ’s display will be an interesting one to look out for. Again, there’s very little known about the size and type of the display, so take what you read with a pinch of salt.
The current LG G7 ThinQ has an IPS 6.1in 1,440 x 3,120 display with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 – that’s thanks to its notch. The V35 ThinQ on the other hand, has a P-OLED 6.1in 18:9 screen instead, that runs at a resolution of 1,440 x 2,880.
I’d not be surprised to see LG maintain the G7 ThinQ’s notch and near-4K resolution while carrying the V35 ThinQ’s P-OLED display over to the V40.
This will bring out the best of both worlds – a good screen-to-body ratio, coupled with an impressive panel. Might we even see a full-screen display, like I did on the Vivo Nex S? Only time will tell.
LG V40 ThinQ: Specs
The phone is likely to come with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 845 chip. However, we might see an even faster chip housed inside, such as the Snapdragon 855.
I’d expect 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with a more expensive 128GB model, too; both models will hopefully have expandable memory with up to 512GB of additional storage available through a microSD card slot.
It’s likely the phone will be IP68 dust and waterproof (up to a depth of 1.5m for 30 mins) and be MIL-STD-810G compliant. I’d also expect Android 8 Oreo to be available out-the-box, with Android 9 P to come through an OTA update.
As for connectivity, expect dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB 3.1 Type-C port with fast-charging capabilities.
Finally, the fingerprint sensor is expected to stay around the back. However, given that a few phones now have it built-into the display, I’d not be surprised to see LG adopt a dual-fingerprint approach – meaning you can unlock with either the rear-mounted sensor or the in-display one.