TechTheDay

LG G7 ThinQ is just a few days away and leaks about LG’s new flagship have popped up thanks to the usual leaks. Evan Blass (@evleaks on Twitter, image above) leaks what might the new phone look like, which sheds a lot of detail regarding the new phone’s possible looks and functions. The most exciting thing about this is that it’s part of LG’s ThinQ initiative and this might mean that the new phone can function as a centralized remote for all the LG products via the IoT (Internet of Things). This means that you don’t have to actually use the controls on the appliance, now you just use your phone to control them all. And what’s interesting here is that LG partnered up with their industry partners to develop this technology and it promises that, through ThinQ, you may also control other IoT devices from those LG partners. This turns your LG phone into an all-in-one universal remote. With the A.I. capability built into the appliances you may also just talk and using your voice you can command the ThinQ devices to do their task.

What We Know

The image leak from Evan Blas that shows what the phone is supposed to look like just adds up to what is currently known by those who are waiting for the big reveal on May 2. There’s the notch on top of the phone, which has been a big rumor and an annoyance to a few people, appears in the leaks. Whether this can be hidden, like in Huawei’s P20 is still unknown.

There’s also what can be assumed as the Google Assistant button (the third button on the left side), there ‘s the headphone jack at the bottom of the phone, which is good because using the USB-C port for headphones is still a niche in many countries and people still favor the old 3.5-millimeter. There’s also the fingerprint reader, which sits below the camera array at the back. From the looks of the image, it might also be a button for something.

Other details, such as the usage of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chipset and 5G compatibility, is already expected. Another thing that people may expect are camera upgrades, which follow the trend set by Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. People expect the phone to be at least less than the Galaxy S9, around maybe $800, but it won’t be equal or more than the Galaxy S.

The Phone Wars so Far

If you count Apple’s X as part of this generation then they’re pretty much out. Two other companies have already followed their gimmick and their sales are pretty much dismal by the end of last year But if you don’t then you’ll have to wait until the next new phone from Apple to be revealed to decide, which is usually during the last quarter of the year. Samsung’s Galaxy S9 is most likely the best we have this year and we’ll have to wait till May 2 to see if LG might upset the current positions in the rankings, and Huawei will probably stop being available to the US by next year because of the paranoia spread by the US Department of Defense.

Let’s be real here though, Huawei (and ZTE) doesn’t need the US market to become the number one in the world: The rest of the world is happy to be their customers. The biggest smartphone tech show even happens in Barcelona, not in Las Vegas, so who cares about the US? The US market isn’t the whole world, even if we all use dollars as the global currency. If Huawei and ZTE, and other non-USA phone manufacturers find a way to still provide customers with the best devices in the world without relying on Qualcomm and other USA semiconductor companies then they don’t need the US market.

As for Nokia? Well Nokia used an older generation chipset while attaching a price tag on the Sirocco as if it was using the 845 chipset. Too expensive, so that one is out of the race too.