LG Electronics was showcasing the prototype of the G6 successor at Mobile World Congress 2018, having displayed the device behind closed doors as the “LG G7 Neo,” as revealed by one Israeli tech publication who managed to leak the handset yesterday. Industry insider Evan Blass suggests the moniker in question is the old name of the project that’s also being referred to as “Judy” and is planned for a June launch. The handset in question has a screen with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and features a display notch, the leak reveals. Some LG employees are said to be “complaining that it’s copying the iPhone X,” presumably due to the overall design of its front panel. The previously reported Boombox speakers will be able to amplify their audio output when placed on a flat surface, the leak suggests.
The LG G7 Neo may not be the official name of the handset, with LG reportedly being adamant to at least partially rebrand its Android flagship lineup by either skipping several version numbers or doing away with the “G” moniker altogether. LG’s mobile chief Hwang Jeong-hwan is said to have canceled the old G7 Neo project shortly after taking over the firm’s struggling smartphone division late last year but despite being presented under the same name, the newly leaked prototype isn’t representative of the scrapped design and is instead an accurate depiction of the handset LG is seeking to commercialize this spring, Blass claims. The showcased smartphone boasts an indigo finish with a glass back panel and a dual-camera setup entailing two vertically arranged sensors centered near the top of its back panel, sitting immediately above a circular fingerprint reader.
The phablet is expected to debut with a 6.0-inch display panel featuring a resolution of 3,120 by 1,440 pixels. While the Judy was initially said to be sporting an MLCD screen, the prototype shown at MWC 2018 included an OLED panel. The leaked unit was equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip and listed as being planned to launch in two variants, one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal flash memory, and another one with twice the storage space and 6GB of RAM. The rear cameras of the handset are said to be of the 16-megapixel variety, mounted behind f/1.6 lenses. Besides the LG G7 Neo, the South Korean tech giant’s private MWC 2018 showing also featured the Q7, V35, and an unnamed smartwatch powered by Google’s Android Wear, Blass reported yesterday.