Forget dual cameras, LG’s latest flagship smartphone packs five. It’s called the LG V40 ThinQ, and it’s a direct successor to LG’s V30 and V35 ThinQ, while also bringing a few features from the LG G7 ThinQ. If you’ve been waiting to break with an older phone and get your hands on a new LG phone, then now might be the time.
With five cameras, the ability to create cinemagraphs, and an extremely good-looking display, here’s everything you need to know about the new LG V40 ThinQ. Check out our review for our in-depth impressions of the phone.
Updates
Verizon’s deals have been released
If you’ve not already pre-ordered your LG V40 ThinQ, then Verizon has released details for a few deals that might tempt you to part with some green.
First off, new and existing customers will get $200 off their LG V40 when purchased as a part of a Verizon device payment. Trade in your old phone as well, and you can increase that discount by up to an incredible $300 — giving top-level customers the chance to receive $500 off their brand new LG V40 ThinQ.
As with other carriers, anyone pre-ordering the LG V40 before October 17 will also receive some free gifts: A SanDisk Ultra 256GB MicroSDXC card and a DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal, along with enrolment in LG’s Second-year Promise program. Check this deal and others in our LG V40 ThinQ purchasing guide.
Design and display
First thing’s first — let’s talk about that display. It’s a massive 6.4-inch QuadHD+ OLED panel, running a 3,120 x 1,440 resolution in a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and a pixels-per-inch measurement of 537. It offers deep, inky blacks and vibrant colors, though it won’t get as bright as the LCD screen on the G7 ThinQ. A notch cut into the top of the display houses the two front-facing cameras, but the screen is capable of getting so dark that you’ll probably forget it’s there.
Take a look at the design of the phone and you’d be forgiven for mistaking this for the LG V35 ThinQ or LG V30 at first glance. Indeed, slap an extra camera lens on the back of either of those phones and a notch in the display, and you’ve got a dead-ringer for the LG V40 ThinQ. That’s no bad thing though, and we’ve praised the design of LG’s phones in the past. The edge-to-edge display curves gracefully into the phone’s body, and there’s an extremely slim bottom bezel. It’s packing water-resistance too, with an IP68-rating — the same as the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S9.
Flip the phone over and you’ll find the headline feature — three rear-facing camera lenses. There’s a fingerprint sensor underneath the horizontally arranged lenses, with LG’s logo and the phone’s name underneath. The LG V40 ThinQ comes in two colors to begin with — Aurora Black and Moroccan Blue. There were previous mentions of new colors including platinum gray and carmine red — and it’s possible these colors will follow at a later date. Only the Aurora Black will come to the U.S.
Specs and battery
The LG’s V-series dedication to top flagship specs hasn’t disappointed us in the past, and it seems that LG isn’t planning on doing so yet — the LG V40 ThinQ is packed to the brim with some top specs.
Key Specs
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
- Memory: 6GB
- Storage: 64GB
- MicroSD storage: Up to 2TB
- Screen size: 6.4-inches
- Resolution: 3,120 x 1,440
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5, NFC
- Battery: 3,300mAh
- Size: 158.8 x 75.7 x 7.62 mm
- Weight: 169g (5.96oz)
- Operating system: Android 8.1 Oreo
The mighty Snapdragon 845 serves as the LG V40 ThinQ’s main brainpower — the same processor we’ve seen on other top-level flagships this year, including the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and OnePlus 6. That powerful processor is backed up by 6GB of RAM, and 64GB of onboard storage — though that storage can be expanded by up to 2TB, thanks to the inclusion of a MicroSD card slot.
The 3,300mAh battery is unchanged, and you should expect to see a day’s usage. Should your battery run lower though, there’s support for QuickCharge 3.0 and fast wireless charging built in.
Software and special features
The LG V40 ThinQ will launch with Android 8.1 Oreo, with LG’s UX skin laid over the top. There are a few useful features like LG’s Floating Bar that can replace the traditional navigation bar, and there are some LG-branded apps that duplicate some of Android’s base apps. While the phone doesn’t launch with Android 9.0 Pie, you should expect to see the V40 be one of the first LG phones to get the upgrade.
The V40 is packed to the brim with some great special features. Audio lovers will benefit from a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC and DTS:X 3D Surround Sound, as well as the Boombox Speaker originally seen in the G7 ThinQ that dramatically increases the device’s volume by creating a sound chamber inside the phone. Google Assistant is well entwined into LG’s software too thanks to a dedicated hardware key, and you’ll be able to access Google Lens directly from the camera app. You’ll also get face recognition unlocking options, as well as voice recognition.
Camera
Mobile photography has never been more impressive, but most phones ask users to pick between having a telephoto lens or a wide-angle lens. Why not have both? That’s what the LG V40 ThinQ is suggesting, with a huge array of five camera lenses that gives users an amazing suite of camera options.
The back of the LG V40 ThinQ is graced with three camera lenses, arranged horizontally in the center line of the phone. The main lens is a 12-megapixel lens with an f/1.5 aperture, optical image stabilization, and Dual Phase Detection Autofocus. The second lens is a 16-megapixel wide-angle lens with a 107-degree field of view and an f/1.9 aperture. The final lens is another 12-megapixel lens, but with a smaller f/2.4 aperture and a 2x optical zoom.
Flip the phone over and there are two camera lenses on the front. The main lens is an 8-megapixel lens, and it’s backed up a secondary 5-megapixel 90-degree wide-angle lens. The second lens is primarily used in portrait-style photos, as well as for wide-angle selfies or groupies.
LG has often leaned heavily into video for its V-series and the V40 is no exception. The LG V40 ThinQ will be able to capture full 4K video at 60 frames-per-second, or 240 fps slow-motion video at 1080p H. There’s also digital image stabilization available on each lens.
There are also some fun new features available in the LG V40 ThinQ — most notably the Cine Shot mode.
Cine Shot
Cine Shot is a new mode in the LG V40’s camera app that lets you take photographs with some motion in them, otherwise known as cinemagraphs. This type of medium has been around for quite some time, and LG is hardly the first manufacturer to add it to a phone. Motorola most recently included it in the Moto Z3.
You can take Cine Shots with all three cameras on the back. It’s best to find an area with a lot of movement, with one subject in the foreground. When you tap the shutter button, the camera takes about three seconds of video, stabilizes it, and then you need to paint over the area you want to keep in motion. You can pinch and zoom to make sure it’s precise, and an eraser is present if you mess up — that’s important because once you save, you can’t edit the area of motion again. When you hit save, you will get a final result where whatever you painted over is in motion, and the rest is frozen like a photograph. It’s a short MP4 file, so you can share it on any social media platform.
To get a better idea of what these Cine Shots look like, here are a few examples we’ve captured:
It’s a little gimmicky, but it’s fun to play around with this mode. The video resolution is 1920 x 1080, but videos sometimes aren’t as detailed as we’d like.
Release date and price
The LG V40 ThinQ is now available, and prices start at $900. It is available from Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and US Cellular. Check out our buying guide for all the best deals and pricing details.
There are some great deals out there right now, and anyone buying the V40 at the moment will also be rewarded with the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal and a SanDisk 256 GB MicroSD Card with adapter, saving $258 off the retail price.
Updated on October 18, 2018: We’ve updated the availability of the LG V40 ThinQ.
