Friends+Design
- Looks quite attractive from the back - features a Mirror Finish glass which gives it a striking look
- Dedicated Google Assistant button
- Water & dust resistant (IP68 rated)
- Super-wide notch is almost a bezel in itself, and makes the front of the phone look a bit old-school
Display
- Very good OLED display, overall
- The display tends to be a bit dull in strong sunlight though - so sunlight legibility is not particularly good
Software
- LG's custom launcher is relatively simple
- Having said that, the custom UI hasn't substantially changed in quite some time - it makes for an ok, 'nothing-special' software experience
- The key USPs of the LG G8s Thinq - HandID (unlocking the phone by waving your palm in front of the front camera), and Air Gestures (shortcuts that work again on the same principle) don't work too well - they look like they need a lot more work before they are ready for prime time
Performance
- Flagship grade performance with the speed beast Snapdragon 855 at the core - everything from daily use to complex games, is a breeze
Camera
- Good triple rear camera setup (12MP f/1.8 standard lens, 12MP f/2.6 telephoto lens and 13MP f/2.4 136 degree ultrawide lens) - offers plenty of flexibility for shot framing, and reasonably good quality for the price bracket
- Apart from the selfie camera in the front, you have an additional ToF camera - the kind of controls the LG G8S ThinQ offers with the front camera are insane - there is a full studio mode along with the regular portrait mode - where the studio mode goes one step beyond others is in its ability to move the light source in the photo around to suit your mood - overall the G8S ThinQ selfie experience is one of the best on any smartphone
- Low-light performance could have been better
Audio
- Excellent stereo speakers - you get solid sound with more stereo separation than you'd think possible on a device this size - it's really very good
Battery
- Decent battery life with a 3500mAh battery - you will get a full day of use (though many competitors do better in this regard)
- Support for fast charging, wireless charging
Verdict
- Overall, the G8s ThinQ is a decent phone, but not a very good one - it especially fails to deliver on it's key 'Air motion' USPs - in a market with many great 'budget flagships' (Redmi K20 Pro, Asus 6Z, OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7T), it will find it very tough to compete
