The Korean smartphone manufacturer has launched a new Q series smartphone in its home country. The LG Q8 2018 has been unveiled in Korea and is a mid-range smartphone with good specifications.
LG had released a Q8 in 2017 as well, but that has nothing to do with this version. The new LG Q8 is not really the successor or an upgrade to the previous one. In fact, this phone is more likely, a cheaper variant of the flagship LG V35 ThinQ. In May this year, the company had launched the Q7 Series, which was the cheaper variant of the G7 ThinQ. It has used the same strategy here.
It has a large display but lacks in the processor and camera department. You do get some audio features, and a built-in stylus, but that’s about it. This is strictly for those who are looking for a mid-range device with a large screen.
LG Q8 2018: Price in India
As of now, the phone has only been announced in Korea, and LG has priced the Q8 2018 at 539,000 won. That is about Rs. 32,000 in India, and a bit too much for a mid-range device. Yes, it does come with a built-in Stylus, and it does get some high safety certifications such as MIL-STD 810G. It is also rated IP68 against dust and water.
LG hasn’t revealed any date for when the phone will go on sale in Korea, but it won’t be too long. We are also not sure when the phone would be released in India. The company did not mention any details about India. When available, you can choose between two color options; Aurora Black and Moroccan Blue.
LG Q8 2018: Specifications and Features
Alright, so let us talk about the specifications and some of the features of the new LG Q8 2018. As we mentioned earlier, the phone comes with a large display, and there is no ugly notch.
It has a 6.2-inch Full HD+ FullVision LCD display, which has an aspect ratio of 18:9. Design wise, the phone looks somewhat similar to the LG V35 ThinQ, except for the camera set up at the back. Coming to the hardware, the phone has a rather boring Snapdragon 450 system on a chip. For the price tag, that is a very low-end chipset, and probably the worst thing about the phone. LG could have included a 6-series chipset at the very least.
The Snapdragon 450 processor is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. You do get a microSD slot for memory expansion, which supports cards up to 2TB. It only comes in one variant, which is also pretty sad.
In the camera department, the LG Q8 has a single 16MP camera at the back, with PDAF and LED flash. It isn’t a wide angle lens though, which is another let-down when you’re paying so much. Smartphones in this price range in 2018 feature a dual rear camera setup. Not sure why LG skipped on that for the Q8 2018. At the front, there is a 5MP camera which has a portrait mode and an ultra-wide field of view.
LG has included a feature called Q Lens, which allows you to point at an object, or scan a QR code, to get more information. The included stylus comes with some productivity features such as pop-memo, picture, and GIF editing, among others.
The rear also sports the fingerprint sensor, placed below the camera setup. The phone also gets a 32bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, a headphone jack, DTS: X 3D Surround Sound, and a 3300mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 3.0. As for the software, it will run Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box, with LG’s UX on top of it.
