LG V40 ThinQ impressions – The 5 camera smartphone

Here is our initial take on the latest LG V40 ThinQ. And the strange nomenclature continues. Apart from the naming scheme, LG has worked wonders with V40 in terms of camera setup, mesmerizing resolution and bigger batteries. And this time of the year already has quite a few competition names to reckon with Samsung Galaxy S9 series, Galaxy Note 9, Google Pixel 3 series, Apple iPhone XS and OnePlus 6T.

LG V40 carries a lot from previous year’s predecessor LG G7 ThinQ. So the LG V40 ThinQ measures 158.8 x 75.7 x 7.6 mm, bigger and slightly heavier (169 grams) than the LG G7. Few of G7 ThinQ characteristics continued in V40 ThinQ are: Front & back glass body with Gorilla Glass 5 protection, an all-aluminum frame, IP68 dust & water resistance, Dolby Vision/HDR10 compliance, Always-on display, Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 chipset and Adreno 630 GPU. While it differs in CPU configuration i.e. Octa-core (4×2.7 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver).

The screen, as mentioned earliar is an absolute delight with the 6.4 inch P-OLED display. The resolution gets a big bump up at 1440 x 3120 pixels over the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 which has resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels. The LG V40 ThinQ has a notch display, which can be custom-tucked-away.

The camera is what sets LG V40 ThinQ apart, not only form its predecessor, but the competition as well. The rear side of the phone houses 3 cameras:

1. 12 MP, 27mm (Main lens), f/1.5 aperture and focal length of 1.4µm. It also has a 3-axis Optical stabilization capability with dual pixel PDAF
2. 12 MP, 52mm (Telephoto lens), f/2.4 aperture and focal length of 1.0µm. It also has 2x optical zoom and Optical Stabilization and PDAF
3. 16 MP, 16mm (Ultrawide lens), f/1.9 aperture and focal length of 1.0µm and no AF

This is a unique rear camera setup where all three cameras work independently and deliver totally different image perspectives of the same subject. The camera app is full of features and will be liked by DSLR users. You can shoot three photos – standard, telephoto zoom, and super wide-angle – with just one click using the Tripple Shot function. The Cine shot function lets your give motion to only selected objects in a still image. Although this function may not find much application, we were quite impressed with this. Also, same fingerprint positioning as the LG G7 ThinQ.

Front selfie camera setup has 2 cameras:

1. 8 MP, 26mm (Main lens), f/1.9 aperture and focal length of 1.4µm
2. 5 MP, 21mm (Wide angle lens), f/2.2 aperture and focal length of 1.4µm

Here again the two selfie cameras work separately and deliver quite an amazing image, although images may tend to suffer from low Mega Pixel specs.

The phone continues the LG design language with curved glass and tapered sides. Somehow just falls short of being a boxy shape. The Dolby DTS: X Surround Sound speaker setup is very loud and phone tends to tremble at high volumes thanks to the Boombox Speakers. The speaker setup is Tuned with Meridian Audio. The 3.5 mm headphone jack still survives in the V40 and has 32-bit Quad DAC for a high quality wired audio output.

The phone comes in only two color options : Aurora Black or Moroccan Blue.

Instead of going for squeeze function available in a few HTC and Google Pixel phones, LG has chosen to stick to have a dedicated Google Assistant button on the side. This button can not be customed.

LG will offer a free second year limited warranty on the V40, which ensures the longevity for the phone. Longevity is also implied with bigger Non-removable Li-Po 3300 mAh battery and it is suitably supported by wire-less charging.

Although LG G7 ThinQ was underrated (Probably due to the odd nomenclature), LG V40 ThinQ will definitely act a feather in hat among the LG fan following.