LG V40 ThinQ goes official w/ 6.4-inch notched display, thinner bezels, five cameras

Ben Schoon | Oct 3 2018 - 2:16 pm PT

While LG’s most recent releases haven’t exactly been the most popular options out there, the company has managed to put out some solid smartphones. Now, the LG V40 ThinQ has been officially announced with some welcome design changes, some new camera features, and more.

One of the biggest highlights on the LG V40 ThinQ is the display. It measures in at 6.4-inches, a pretty sizeable increase over the LG V30 from last year. The bezels this time around are also thinner, leading to a device with a futuristic looking design. The screen is another P-OLED panel which has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio at 3120×1440. Of course, it also supports HDR. Notably, though, LG has included a notch on the V40’s OLED panel. That notch contains the front-facing cameras as well as the typical sensors and an earpiece.

As for the specs powering this phone, it’s a pretty similar package to the G7 ThinQ. The LG V40 ThinQ packs a Snapdragon 845 at its core which is paired with 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. There’s also a 3,300 mAh battery packed inside, the same size as the V30, and both wireless charging (fast supported) and USB-C. Notably, it also launches with Android 8.1 Oreo instead of Android 9 Pie (boo).

The LG V40 ThinQ also includes a Quad-DAC on its 3.5mm headphone jack, a rarity these days, as well as LG’s “Boombox” speaker. This speaker takes advantage of the phone’s design to use the full size as a resonance chamber, resulting in much louder, fuller audio. There’s also a fingerprint sensor on the rear, face unlock, a dedicated Google Assistant button which can also access Lens, and IP68 protection from water and dust.

The biggest change on LG’s latest, though, is the addition of a couple of extra camera sensors. The LG V40 ThinQ backs a whopping five cameras in total with three on the rear and two on the front. The rear setup is headlined by a standard 12MP f/1.5 lens, but it’s backed up by a 16MP super-wide-angle f/1.9 lens and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto lens. That third lens enables 2x optical zoom.

To let customers take full advantage of this camera array, LG has included a bunch of goodies. There’s a new “Cine Shot” mode that lets you produce short clips to share as GIFs. There’s also a “Triple Preview” mode which lets users see all three camera views at the same time to easily pick the right one for the shot.

Up front, the LG V40 ThinQ adds a secondary camera sensor. The standard shooter is an 8MP sensor, but it’s backed up by a 5MP wide-angle sensor. This gives users the option to fit a bit more in the frame and should prove handy for group shots. LG has also included an AR Emoji feature as well as “Makeup Pro.”

As for pricing, it varies by carrier. The US Cellular model will sell for $900, T-Mobile at $920, AT&T at $950, and Verizon at a whopping $980. The phone will go on sale October 18th in Aurora Black, Platinum Grey, Carmine Red, and Moroccan Blue. Pre-orders are available with a free DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal and a SanDisk 256GB microSD card.