LG G7 ThinQ Climbs Only One Step Higher On The DxOMark Ladder

LG has just unveiled the LG V40 ThinQ, boasting of its first triple camera smartphone. Naturally, there will be no small amount of curiosity how these three cameras will fare against Huawei high-end as well as Samsung's new mid-range Galaxy A7 and A9 phones. If LG's performance on DxOMark will be taken into account, however, it might not be so encouraging. The digital photography specialists have just review the LGG7 ThinQ and while it does score higher than the previous V30 ThinQ, it isn't much to push LG near the top.

On paper, the G7 ThinQ's dual cameras sound great. Both have 16 megapixel 1/.3.1-inch sensors with one of them bearing an f/1.6 aperture whlie the other has super wide angle f/1.9 lens. The main camera, naturally, gets all the goodies like PDAF, OIS, and LG's once-famous Laser AF. In practice, however, they have been found to be wanting.

In one of its shortest smartphone camera reviews ever, DxOMark gives LG's early 2018 flagship a score of 83. That's not far above the LG V30 ThinQ from last year which got an 82. Counting ties, that puts the LG G7 way below the top 20 of the list, rubbing shoulders only with last year's smartphones, like the Apple iPhone 7.

So where did things go wrong? DxOMark basically rates the G7 ThinQ's performance as "OK" but not good enough to fight at the top. Exposure and Color are good but autofocus, one of LG's previous strengths, was noted to be sluggish. The review also notes that the G7 ThinQ uses simulated bokeh that works well enough at first glance but not when you try to look closer.

Of the major smartphone makers, LG and HTC have traditionally lagged behind its competitors. HTC, however, has leaped into the front of the line, actually now in second place, with the HTC U12+. That sadly leaves LG near the bottom where it rubs shoulders with the former smartphone camera king Sony.