Samsung and LG, two tech giants from South Korea, have a healthy rivalry in many markets – this includes early phones, until LG pulls the plug in 2021. Today we want to go back two years before that for the story. The last of the G-series.
LG G8 ThinQ It marks the end of an influential and popular series of smartphones that started with the Optimus G in 2012. The G family also includes innovative phones like the LG G3 and LG G5. But by the time the G8 arrived, things were falling apart.
LG G8 ThinQ
First, you may have noticed the change in naming. The “Optimus” brand didn’t get Samsung’s “Galaxy” recognition, so the phones quickly switched to the short and sweet “LG G” naming scheme.
This is until the year In early 2018, “ThinQ” was added to the LG V30S ThinQ, a refresh of the existing LG V30. ThinQ (pronounced “think-cue”) is LG’s branding for premium TVs and home appliances.
The first thing introduced was the all-in-one smart fridge, a fridge with an LCD that helps you manage food – it keeps track of what’s in the fridge, when it’s out of date, etc., so you can see it on your smartphone when you’re shopping at the grocery store. People may hate Bixbi, but at least talk about it. The response to ThinQ on mobile has been indifferent.
Anyone remember ThinQ?
Brand aside, LG was lagging behind the competition in terms of design as well. Just look at the size of that step – it was out of fashion before 2019. Compare the G8 to the Galaxy S10, which launched around the same time.
The S10 used a punch hole instead of a notch, had a fingerprint reader under the display and a telephoto camera on the back. These were (and still are) common features of Android flagships.
LG G8 ThinQ • LG G8 ThinQ • Galaxy S10
Here the story gets a little confusing. The LG G8 had a telephoto camera… in some places. The South Korean model features a 12MP module with a 52mm lens (2x zoom) and OIS. However, we only got the global version for review so we never got to test that. That one had just two cameras – a 12MP wide and a 16MP ultra-wide.
The LG G8 ThinQ starts at $820 in the US, although there is an early bird discount of $150. The Korean model was KRW 897,600. The Galaxy S10 was $900 instead, so it was more expensive, but it looked like it. And prices have leveled off pretty quickly anyway.
There was a more affordable version of the G8, the LG G8S ThinQ. It had a 6.21-inch FHD+ OLED display, a lower resolution than the 6.1-inch QHD+ panel on the G8. However, it used the same Snapdragon 855 chipset as the G8 (and some S10 units) and had a telephoto camera, a 12MP 49mm unit. What was it like to open a very similar phone? LG should have put those telephoto cameras on the global model and done it.
LG G8S ThinQ
There was yet another model, the LG G8X ThinQ. It comes with a meaningfully large display, a 6.4-inch OLED panel with FHD+ resolution. And this one uses the Snapdragon 855 despite skipping the telephoto camera. The battery capacity has increased to 4,000mAh (from 3,500mAh in the standard G8), which gives it much better endurance. Still, this was no LG G8+ or LG G8 Lite.
LG G8X ThinQ
Samsung, on the other hand, had a well-structured lineup. It launched the Galaxy S10 and S10+, expecting them to be the best sellers of the year (and eclipsed the S9 series). He also tried something different with the smaller Galaxy S10e. It then released its first 5G phone, the Galaxy S10 5G. Samsung’s first foldable, the original Galaxy Fold, also arrived in early 2019.
Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e and S10 5G
Samsung had a backbone of vanilla and Plus models to carry the year while making tentative first steps towards future 5G and flexible devices. Meanwhile, LG has left us scratching our heads with the G8, G8S and G8X. They were similar enough to confuse people about which one to get. And although there are three models, the series felt that they do not have a phone for those who know that they want something different.
When all the dust settled, we felt that the LG G-series had lost its luster. The V-series still has a lot of promise, but it looks like LG hasn’t figured out which direction to go. This was evident with phones like the LG Wing, which was crazy cool (or maybe it’s crazy), but it’s just a footnote in mobile history. Meanwhile, every brand is rushing to launch its own foldable phone.