Yes the LG G7 is a long way off, but the rumours have already begun.
Let’s start with some hard truths. The LG G7 isn’t going to launch this year. The LG G6 launched at MWC in February and smartphones tend to launch in annual cycles. That said, there’s a bead or two of information starting to leak from LG HQ regarding the G7 – so think of this article as the sponge to mop up any G7 leaks from now until its launch.
LG G7 release date
As with the G6, the LG G7 will quite likely be revealed at Mobile World Congress, given LG’s reported trade schedules. The event should take place at around the same time as it does every year, so late February-March is a safe bet for the reveal.
However, LG isn’t always that punctual. Its phone launches have varied wildly in terms of timings. Looking back, the LG G and LG G2 were welcomed in September 2012 and 2013 respectively, but more recently, the LG G4 and G5 launched in April, and March has seemingly become the norm in the past couple of years.
LG G7 specs
The big news for a rumoured LG G7 handset – and we’re pretty sceptical about this – is that it will reportedly have 5G functionality. That’s right, the LG G7 is said to bolster 5G modems, meaning the potential for superfast data speeds should linger inside LG’s next flagship.
This report comes from Business Korea and goes as far to suggest 5G might be the unique selling point for the LG G7 when it launches. However, 5G is still very much a work in progress so this won’t mean much yet in the UK as we won’t have the infrastructure in place.
The same report also sheds light on the Samsung's Galaxy S9. Business Korea says the Samsung Galaxy S9 will similarly pack 5G connectivity, indicating the two South Korean companies will go head to head in this department.
There’s still a lot we don’t know much about the next LG flagship, including processing power. However, we’ve done some crawling on the web and can bring you two very dodgy sources that have made predictions about the sort of processor the LG G7 will have. First, the LGG6s blog suggests it might run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, but offers little explanation as to why other than the fact it’s new. The second thinly justified prediction comes from the equally unverified LGG7info, which suggests a Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 SoC processor is on the cards. Our advice is to take these with a pinch of salt until more info is revealed.
Business Korea’s claim is a little more thought out, stating that the 5G specs mean it will contain a Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem.
LG G7 display: A redesigned AMOLED screen?
Details regarding the display are just as dry. In May, LG revealed a fingerprint sensor set under glass, thus not needing its own dedicated button. For those wondering what the benefit of this will be, LG said it freed up space so the company can consider redesign.
Changing the fingerprint scanner meant LG could make its smartphone look a little nicer. We saw this with the nice design of the LG G6, which stands out in the cluttered oblong-smartphone crowd. While we currently don’t know much about the display, it’s safe to assume LG will continue with the full glass front.
That said, LG reshaping the screen is certainly a possibility. Samsung and LG are already leading the charge on bezel-less smartphones. Apple is also rumoured to be leaping aboard this bandwagon by totally removing the home button on the iPhone 8. It’s safe to assume LG will follow this trend and launch a LG G7 with as much glass and as little bezel on the front of the device as possible.
LG G7 price
High-end smartphones are packing ever-increasing RRPs. If the LG G7 does come with 5G, this will likely increase the manufacturing costs further.
Blog LGG6 claims a $750 price tag is on the cards for the US with next year’s LG G7 device. In the UK this works out at about £604 – which is optimistic at best. The LG G6 cost £699 with retailer MobileFun and there’s no reason to expect this price to come down next year.
A “finger in the air guess” from us would put the LG G7 in the region of £699 and £749.
We’ll update this article as more is known about the LG G7.