LG V40 ThinQ, with five-camera set-up, OLED screen announced: Details here

The LG V40 ThinQ has a bigger screen with narrow bezels, new camera module on the back and front, enhanced multimedia capabilities and a stronger profile to survive water, dust and accidental drops

South Korean electronics giant LG on October 4 announced the LG V40 ThinQ smartphone, featuring a total of five cameras – three on the rear and two on the front. The new member in the company’s premium V-series portfolio targets content producers and multimedia enthusiasts. Compared with its predecessor, the LG V30, the V40 ThinQ has a bigger screen with narrow bezels, a new camera module on the back and front, enhanced multimedia capabilities. and a stronger profile to survive water, dust and even accidental drops.

Though the LG V40 ThinQ retains the V-series design philosophy, it now has an improved 6.4-inch FullVision OLED display. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip, paired with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB or 128 GB of internal storage. Though most of the new upgrades are incremental, it is the new camera set-up of three shooters on the back and two on the front that put it ahead in the premium smartphone segment.

Camera

The rear-camera module in the V40 ThinQ has three lenses: a 16-megapixel super wide-angle one, a 12MP standard angle and a 12MP telephoto lens. These lenses allow content producers to frame different shots without changing their position in relation to the subject. The wide-angle lens' 107-degree frame of view (FoV) enables the phone to capture more subjects in a single frame. The telephoto lens enables a 2x optical zoom, allowing the phone to take shots from distance without amy loss in image quality.

On the front, the phone sports a 5MP wide-angle lens and an 8MP standard lens. Both these lenses work in tandem to create portrait shots with enhanced bokeh effect, and an on-screen slider to adjust the amount of background blur adds to the overall ease. The phone’s camera interface is also loaded with selfie lighting and special-effect features, allowing selfie enthusiasts to personalise their photos.

In terms of camera specifications, the pixel size of the 12MP standard rear camera sensor has been improved by about 40 per cent over the LG V30, increasing from 1micron to 1.4micron, and the image sensor is now more than 18 per cent larger than that in the LG V30. In addition, this lens has a faster f/1.5 aperture size that reduces the shutter lag to half and increases the burst mode capture compared to the LG V30.

With a dual PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) technology, the rear cameras fix focus by up to 50 per cent faster when compared with the predecessor. The advanced HDR feature analyses and determines the right exposure settings to create well-lit shots, eliminating overexposed backgrounds or underexposed subjects.

Speaking of the camera interface, the LG V40 ThinQ has an AI Composition feature in the AI CAM mode that allows the phone to use artificial intelligence to frame, capture and recommend an alternative shot to the one taken by the user. The AI auto white balance (AI AWB) feature automatically adjusts the colour temperature across different lighting situations while the AI Shutter selects the right shutter speed, especially useful when trying to capture fast-moving subjects.

Other new features added to the V40 ThinQ includes a cine shot, 3D light effect, makeup pro, custom backdrop, my avatar and AR emoji.

Audio capabilities

LG is one of the few smartphone makers that has been offering signature audio experience in its smartphones. The new LG V40 ThinQ is no exception, being the first LG phone to carry the Audio Tuned by Meridian label. The phone has a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad digital-analog convertor (DAC) that produces a balanced sound signature that comes close to the quality of an original recording. The phone also gets a boombox speaker, originally introduced on the LG G7 ThinQ; that doubles the bass of conventional smartphone speakers by utilising the internal space of the device as a resonance chamber. When placed on a solid surface or hollow box, the LG V40 ThinQ acts like a woofer to amplify the bass even more.

Key specifications

• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
• Display: 6.4-inch 19.5:9 QHD+ OLED FullVision Display (3120 x 1440 / 538ppi)
• Memory: 6GB LPDDR4x RAM / 64GB or 128GB UFS 2.1 ROM / microSD (up to 2TB)
• Rear Camera: 16MP super wide (F1.9 / 1.0micron pixel size / 107-degree FoV) + 12MP Standard (F1.5 / 1.4micron pixel size / 78-degree FoV) + 12MP Telephoto (F2.4 / 1.0micron pixel size/ 45-degree FoV)
• Front Camera: 8MP Standard (F1.9 / 1.12micron pixel size / 80-degree FoV) + 5MP Wide (F2.2 / 1.12micron pixel size/ 90-degree FoV)
• Battery: 3,300mAh
• Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo
• Size: 158.7 x 75.8 x 7.7mm
• Weight: 169g
• Network: LTE-A 4 Band CA
• Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 5.0 BLE / NFC / USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible)
• Colours: Aurora black, platinum gray, moroccan blue and carmine red
• Other: Cine Shot / Triple Preview / Triple Shot / AI CAM / AI Composition / Boombox Speaker / Google Assistant / Google Lens / AI Haptic / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC / DTS:X 3D Surround Sound / Super Far Field Voice Recognition / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Face Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Technology (Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 Compatible) / Wireless Charging / MIL-STD 810G Compliance / FM Radio