LG G7 ThinQ review

Display

The LG G7 ThinQ features a 6.1" IPS LCD screen - an improvement over the 5.7" screen on the G6 and the 6.0" unit on the V30S. It has a resolution of 1,440 x 3,120 pixels (564ppi) and the tallest aspect ratio on a smartphone yet at 19.5:9. The previous LG flagships had the screen resolution of 1,440 x 2,880 pixels, but the LG G6 was the one with 564 ppi density and the G7 is keeping it just as pixel dense.

Fitting such a tall screen while keeping a relatively similar footprint means tiny bezels, while its underlying RGBW pentile matrix promises high brightness and OLED-like sunlight legibility with up to 1000 nits with the outdoor boost mode.

The G7 boasts spectacular contrast for an LCD - upwards of 2000:1. It has impressively deep blacks and a very good maximum brightness of 460 nits. That is if you opt for the default Auto mode.

When we triggered the outdoor brightness, which can last for up to three minutes, we measured a maximum brightness of 920 nits. That's close to the promised 1000 nits by the manufacturer.

Minimum brightness is 3.3nits, so it'll be easy on the eyes if you're using it in a dark setting.

Display test	100% brightness
	Black, cd/m2	White, cd/m2	Contrast ratio
LG G7 ThinQ	0.225	460	2044
LG G7 ThinQ (outdoor)	0.499	920	1844
LG G6	0.228	468	2053
LG G6 max auto	0.277	564	2036
LG G5	0.17	306	1855
LG G5 max auto	0.20	378	1881
LG V30	0.002	414	207000
LG V30 (Max Auto)	0.032	616	19250
Samsung Galaxy S9	0	370	∞
Samsung Galaxy S9 (Max Auto)	0	658	∞
HTC U12+	0.2	366	1830
HTC U12+ (Max Auto)	0.214	389	1818
Apple iPhone X	0	679	∞
Sony Xperia XZ2	0.431	618	1434
Huawei P20 Pro	0	412	∞
Huawei P20 Pro (Max Auto)	0	582	∞

Sunlight legibility is very good without the outdoor boost. Activating this mode will help for an OLED-like sunlight contrast with excellent visibility and colors.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Apple iPhone X
  5.013
• OnePlus 5T
  4.789
• Samsung Galaxy S8
  4.768
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  4.658
• Samsung Galaxy S9
  4.63
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S9+
  4.537
• Motorola Moto Z2 Play
  4.459
• Oppo R11
  4.454
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• OnePlus 6
  4.321
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Oppo R15 Pro
  4.251
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• Nokia 8
  4.239
• Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
  4.234
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy Note8
  4.148
• Meizu Pro 7 Plus
  4.147
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  4.124
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
  4.096
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei P20 Pro
  4.087
• Xiaomi Mi 8
  4.086
• Nokia 6 (2018)
  4.052
• Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
  4.023
• LG V30
  4.022
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• vivo NEX S
  4.012
• Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
  3.998
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• LG G7 ThinQ (outdoor)
  3.978
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
  3.957
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Meizu Pro 6 Plus
  3.935
• Lenovo Moto Z
  3.931
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• OnePlus 5
  3.914
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Motorola Moto G6 Plus
  3.865
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  3.842
• Sony Xperia XZs
  3.818
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
  3.812
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  3.804
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  3.767
• Sony Xperia XZ1
  3.765
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Nokia 8 Sirocco
  3.745
• Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
  3.729
• Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
  3.725
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.688
• Huawei P20
  3.683
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
  3.675
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
  3.597
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• Sony Xperia XZ2
  3.58
• LG G6
  3.556
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• Nokia 7 plus
  3.479
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• Huawei P10 Plus
  3.456
• HTC U Ultra
  3.453
• Motorola Moto G6
  3.448
• Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
  3.445
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Motorola Moto G6 Play
  3.419
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
  3.397
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera
  3.393
• LG G7 ThinQ
  3.39
• Huawei P10
  3.379
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  3.378
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Honor 8 Pro
  3.341
• Oppo F7
  3.333
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Lenovo P2
  3.316
• Archos Diamond Omega
  3.305
• Honor 9
  3.289
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Nokia 5
  3.261
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  3.244
• Nokia 6 (Global version)
  3.238
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Oppo F3 Plus
  3.218
• BlackBerry KEY2
  3.212
• Huawei Mate 9 Pro
  3.206
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
  3.19
• ZTE Nubia Z17
  3.159
• Oppo R11s
  3.153
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• HTC U11 Life
  3.108
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• HTC U11
  3.089
• HTC U12+
  3.085
• Xiaomi Redmi S2 (Y2)
  3.077
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3.023
• Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
  3.019
• Sony Xperia XA1
  3.012
• Motorola Moto X4
  3.012
• Sony Xperia L1
  2.994
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• LG Q6
  2.987
• Huawei P10 Lite
  2.974
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Huawei P20 Lite
  2.952
• Xiaomi Redmi 5
  2.951
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Sony Xperia XA2
  2.938
• Oppo Realme 1
  2.932
• Xiaomi Redmi 4
  2.92
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• Huawei Honor View 10
  2.896
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  2.877
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
  2.877
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Nokia 3
  2.871
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Lenovo Moto M
  2.813
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Honor 10 (Vivid)
  2.757
• Nokia 2
  2.752
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
  2.742
• Motorola Moto G5S Plus
  2.737
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Huawei Honor 7X
  2.734
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  2.714
• Meizu M5
  2.71
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  2.689
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• vivo V7+
  2.671
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Huawei Mate 10 Lite
  2.654
• Oppo F5
  2.653
• Doogee Mix
  2.642
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Xiaomi Redmi 4a
  2.635
• Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
  2.616
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Meizu M5s
  2.58
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Huawei P Smart
  2.563
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2
  2.561
• HTC U11+
  2.556
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
  2.556
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.544
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• BlackBerry Motion
  2.494
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• Xiaomi Mi 4
  2.424
• Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
  2.417
• HTC 10 evo
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Vivo V7
  2.404
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Oppo F3
  2.376
• vivo V5 Plus
  2.371
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• Razer Phone
  2.328
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Sony Xperia L2
  2.266
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• HTC U11+ (EU)
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Meizu M5 Note
  2.189
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
  2.145
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Xiaomi Mi 4S
  2.095
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• vivo V5
  2.059
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi 3
  2.001
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1.944
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

LG promises a complete DCI-P3 color space support for the G7 display and we confirm the display covers all those colors. The reproduction is far from accurate though with an average DeltaE of 7.5 and maximum deviation of 13 at point white. There is a noticeable bluish tint over the white and grays, while the rest of the base hues look over-saturated.

If you want more accurate presentation, you can drag the slider for color temperature all the way to Warm. Then you'll get a fairly accurate screen with an average DeltaE of 6.

On the subject of colors, the G7 is compliant with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 video formats. Among other things, the former means the G7 is capable of displaying 12-bit color (or 68 billion colors). Of course, this won't make much difference without the right HDR10 video content.

Battery life

The LG G7 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery - that's some 300 mAh less than last year's G6. The G7 has a larger display, but it also has a new chipset that in theory should be more power efficient.

Just before we were ready to publish this review, a new OTA update arrived on our South Korean unit (ver. V10p),, and it had a long changelog. One of the improvements it claimed was improved battery life. And indeed, upon retesting, the standby endurance improved noticeably post-update. The Endurance rating below reflects that.

The individual tests, the LG G7 scored somewhat similar scores to the G6's (the call test and video test), and did better on web browsing.

That is with the always-on display turned off. Switch on AOD and you'll be looking at a significantly lower number (52h). Of course, this is with the visualisation always turned on. As a middle ground, you can always have it on during specific hours of the day.

LG states that the G7 is Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 compatible and bundles a charger to do the job. It's rated at 9V/1.8A and a 30min charging session gets the G7 from flat to 40%. LG has also optimized its charging algorithms to fine-tune the charging process depending on the battery's age and current temperature thus improving the battery's long-term life. We get the feeling it might be something along the lines of Qnovo tech implemented in Sony Xperia phones.

The LG G7 also has wireless charging support built-in. We tried it with the Samsung Fast Wireless Charging Pad (rated 9V/1.67A) and it takes a few minutes north of three hours for a full charge. Not bad, all things considered.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the LG G7 ThinQ for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern, so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Speaker test (old, new one below)

The new Boombox speaker is firing at the bottom of the phone. It uses the empty space in the G7's hull as speaker chamber and thus it amplifies the sound by some extent. We won't call it exactly 'room-filling' audio (unless it's a really small room we're talking about), but it definitely sounds and feels louder than the current competitors we've tested.

Naturally, we've put the speaker through our loudspeaker test and we measured some quite high numbers. And mind you, we've excluded the occasional peaks which went beyond 90db.

As expected, the LG G7 scored one of the loudest numbers in our database and received an Excellent mark for that. The sound is crisp and deep. We would have preferred a stereo speaker setup, but we sure do acknowledge LG's efforts as the results are quite satisfactory.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
LG G6	66.8	68.8	74.5	Good
LG G5	68.7	70.9	73.5	Good
OnePlus 6	70.2	74.7	70.0	Good
Sony Xperia XZ2	66.1	71.8	78.1	Good
Apple iPhone X	68.9	74.0	76.2	Very Good
Xiaomi Mi 8	68.1	72.3	82.2	Very Good
LG V30	66.9	72.3	84.5	Very Good
Samsung Galaxy S9	68.5	74.3	81.1	Very Good
Huawei P20 Pro	71.8	69.2	91.0	Excellent
LG G7 ThinQ	78.3	76.4	82.3	Excellent
HTC U12+ (Music)	76.0	73.6	88.5	Excellent

Speaker test (new)

Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.

Audio quality

The LG G7 ThinQ impressed in the active external amplifier part of our audio test through the jack. It delivered high loudness matched with perfect clarity, wrapping up a performance as good as they come.

Plugging in the headphones brought the volume down significantly - the G7 ThinQ was actually below average in this case which was surprising and means bigger headphones might not be as loud as we would like.

The good news is clarity was barely affected and even the usual increase in stereo crosstalk was very minor. So unless you have very high impedance headphones, which the G7 might struggle to drive at sufficient loudness, its performance is really exemplary.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
LG G7 ThinQ	+0.01, -0.02	-94.0	93.6	0.0011	0.0066	-93.0
LG G7 ThinQ (headphones)	+0.04, -0.03	-93.7	93.2	0.0017	0.046	-73.0
LG V30	+0.02, -0.01	-93.2	93.1	0.0008	0.0069	-94.2
LG V30 (headphones)	+0.03, -0.02	-92.9	92.9	0.0057	0.051	-68.1
vivo NEX S	+0.01, -0.02	-93.6	93.7	0.0009	0.0069	-93.8
vivo NEX S (headphones)	+0.17, -0.10	-92.9	93.2	0.0043	0.158	-61.3
HTC U12+	+0.02, -0.15	-94.3	94.3	0.0021	0.0069	-94.3
HTC U12+ (headphones)	+0.18, -0.13	-93.7	93.6	0.0024	0.104	-52.7
Nokia 8 Sirocco	+0.44, -0.12	-90.1	90.2	0.0056	0.016	-88.7
Nokia 8 Sirocco (headphones)	+0.51, -0.12	-89.8	89.9	0.0097	0.043	-39.9
Samsung Galaxy S9+	+0.01, -0.03	-92.6	92.5	0.0012	0.0076	-93.4
Samsung Galaxy S9+ (headphones)	+0.03, -0.03	-92.2	92.2	0.0017	0.042	-76.3

LG G7 ThinQ frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.