LG G8 ThinQ

Great design, premium materials and stunning color options.

The big notch is out of sync with 2019 trends.

Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and roses. The Crystal Sound OLED panel's sound quality isn't the best we've seen. The 3D ToF-enabled features, except for the excellent portrait selfies and the Face Unlock, feels downright gimmicky. The Hand ID...

Sleek design ; Bright 6.1-inch display ; Sounds great with headphones ; Solid performance

US model has two instead of three cameras ; Lackluster speaker ; Hand ID is finicky ; Air Motion gestures aren’t very useful

Solid performance. Powerful audio. Gorgeous display.

Steep learning curve for Air Motion gestures. Unpredictable software update cycle. Relatively expensive.

The LG G8 ThinQ is everything you look for in a flagship phone. It has a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, plenty of RAM, great build quality, and a stunning display. It's a strong choice for smartphone photography enthusiasts, particularly...

Comfortable to hold ; Quad DAC yields great sound quality ; Face Unlock is fast and easy ; Improved battery capacity

Piezoelectric earpiece replacement isn’t loud enough ; May not receive timely software updates ; Hand ID and Air Motion are gimmicky and don’t always work

LG usually overhauls its G-series each year, but comparing it to Apple’s smartphone naming conventions, the G8 is more of an “S” upgrade to the G7 ThinQ. Many things about it are the same, but there are a few improvements that might interest you. Most...

Innovative Crystal OLED Sound ; Vast audio features ; Punchy, high-contrast OLED screen

Seemingly temperamental motion gestures ; All-too-familiar physical design

Design and build is safe ; 3.5mm headphone socket ; Some fun camera features ; Can make big sound ; Face Unlock is slick

Limited battery life ; Camera can't keep pace with the best ; Software additions mostly unnecessary ; Air Motion gesture control feels niche

Ultimately, for all of LG's efforts, the LG G8 struggles to be class-leading in any area. That results in a phone that's just, well, fine - but also not special.

Very good value for the price ; Excellent dual-camera ; Blazing-Fast Performance ; More compact design

Battery capacity lower than competitors ; Less competitive aesthetics

Slick design with pebble-like smoothness ; Performance and battery life mostly on par with the competition ; Extensive feature list

Awkward availability in the UK ; Camera picture quality a step behind big-name rivals ; Speaker tech is clever, but doesn’t sound all that great ; Gesture controls are pure gimmick

The G8 should be a tempting piece of forbidden fruit, but a few gimmicks just aren’t enough to make importing one worth the effort for UK buyers