Waiting for LG G7? LG's V-series phones may come soon after
Mid-2018 could be chock-full of LG phone releases.
LG is making us wait a little bit longer for its LG G7 ThinQ phone, but once it arrives, the floodgates may open. LG is rumored to release two new V-series phones, the LG V35 ThinQ and LG V40 ThinQ, soon after the LG G7, according to mobile tipster Evan Blass.
Although the LG G-series can be viewed as the company's flagship phone, the LG V-series is more high-end. Besides better specs and hardware, LG's V-series phones tend to have more premium features -- like Google Daydream VR support on the LG V30 or the secondary screen on the LG V20. These premium features are what give LG V phones a leg up on the competition, and put them on an even playing field with Samsung's popular Galaxy S phones.
V35 ThinQ (Emma) is arriving around the same time as G7 ThinQ (Neo/Judy), while V40 ThinQ (Storm) is the late summer / early fall flagship. https://t.co/dDLeTYwKEf
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) April 20, 2018
LG will officially announce the LG G7 on May 2. According to Blass, the LG V35 ThinQ may arrive at the same time as the LG G7, which would mean a May or June release. A late summer or early fall release for the LG V40 ThinQ would mean it could get here in August or September. That would line up well with last year's V30 unveiling, which happened on Aug. 31.
It's important to note that timeline could put the LG V40 in direct competition with Samsung's next Galaxy Note (which is usually announced in August) or Apple's iPhone launch (usually in September).
The LG V40 is assumed to be the follow-up to the premium V30, but we haven't heard too much about it besides its rumored code name and ThinQ branding (pronounced "thin queue"). The LG V35 ThinQ remains a mystery too.
If you also include the LG V30S ThinQ, which was announced in February, that would total three different LG V-series phones for 2018 alone. But we know this isn't a typical year for LG. The Korean company revealed that it will switch up its mobile phone strategy this year, and not adhere to its usual annual launch schedule. Instead, LG said it would only launch new phones "as needed" and revisit current flagships with updated variants (thus the V30S ThinQ).
This is the reason we might see so many LG V phones, instead of a single flagship like past years.
The schedule shake up is also the reason we're seeing the LG G7 launch so late, compared to the LG G6 unveil in February 2017.
The LG G7 and new LG V phones will all sport LG's "ThinQ" branding, which represents the company's use of computer vision. On the LG V30S ThinQ we saw computer vision integrated into several features like the AI Cam, which changes camera settings based on the subject, and QLens, which can recognize objects and give you more information about them. The LG G7 ThinQ is also expected to include a dedicated Google Assistant button, akin to Samsung's Bixby button.
LG did not immediately respond to a request for comment.