LG’s S9-rival, the G7 ThinQ, has arrived in the US and is now available at various retailers and major carriers. The G7 ThinQ is one of the Korean phonemaker’s latest premium devices that comes infused with AI features — there’s also the V30S ThinQ and the V35 ThinQ, which shares many of the G7’s characteristics and could make LG’s lineup a bit confusing. It boasts the first dedicated Google Assistant button found on an Android phone, so you don’t need to say “OK, Google” to summon the voice assistant. That button can also conjure up Google Lens, which can detect text, landmarks, media and other real-life objects, giving you a way to quickly translate foreign signs or to look for info on various objects.
The device’s star features, however, are its AI-powered cameras: it has one wide-angle and one standard 16-megapixel cameras on the back, as well as a 5-megapixel front cam. If you switch on the shooters’ AI capabilities, they’ll be able to recognize what they’re taking a photo of and to adjust the image based on what they think will produce the best results.
For instance, if the AI detects people in the photo, it could switch to “person” mode that highlights facial features and skin tone or to “portrait” mode that makes faces stand out with bokeh. If the AI detects food, it amps up color and saturation, but if it thinks you’re taking photos of the city, it focuses on the contrast between lights and shadows. The AI Cam was still unfortunately hit or miss when we tested it out, but LG says it will improve over time and future updates.
A G7 ThinQ will set you back at least $ 749. You can get one from Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers, from Google’s Project Fi page and from more traditional mobile carriers (Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon.)
