AT&T has a new exclusive, the LG V35 ThinQ without a notch and with an OLED display
LG has announced another smartphone for its 2018 lineup, which is the much rumored, V35 ThinQ. This smartphone is launching as an AT&T exclusive, but will work on Project Fi. The LG V35 ThinQ is basically what happens when the V30 and G7 ThinQ get together. It has the body of the V30 but the specs and features of the G7 ThinQ. And that’s going to make a lot of people happy, that were unhappy with the G7 ThinQ having a notch and going with an LCD panel over OLED. Neither of those are issues with the LG V35 ThinQ. But it is an AT&T exclusive, which is unfortunate for those on other carriers, but it is the smartphone that AT&T wanted.
LG V35 ThinQ Specs
The LG V35 ThinQ sports a 6-inch Quad HD+ OLED Display, with a resolution of 2880×1440. That means that this is a 18:9 aspect ratio display, and not a taller 19.5:9 aspect ratio like the LG G7 ThinQ. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on-board. LG has kept the micro SD card slot here, so you can still expand the storage, should you need to do so. This is all powered by a 3300mAh capacity battery.
LG is using two 16-megapixel sensors on the backside of the V35 ThinQ. There’s a 16-megapixel f/1.6 aperture lens which is the main sensor. While the secondary sensor is a 16-megapixel wide-angle lens with a f/1.9 aperture. The field of view on the wide-angle lens is 107-degrees, versus 71-degrees on the main sensor. Meanwhile, the front-facing camera is a 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor with a f/1.9 aperture. LG says the field of view here is 80-degrees, so just a tad wider than the main sensor on the back. AI Cam does come with the LG V35 ThinQ, and it is still on 1.0, so there’s not much different here versus the LG V30S ThinQ and G7 ThinQ also announced earlier this year. With AI Cam, the V35 ThinQ can do all sorts of things, like automatically detect what subjects are in the shot and adjust the settings to give you the best shot possible.
LG V35 ThinQ Hardware & Design
The design of the LG V35 ThinQ is going to look very familiar. On the outside, it’s the same body as the LG V30 and V30S ThinQ. Complete with a glass backside that is slightly curved, and a front that is almost all glass. There is essentially nothing on the V35 ThinQ that was borrowed from the G7 ThinQ. That includes the notch, the Google Assistant button, and even the slightly narrower display. It’s still the glass and metal sandwich that LG, and basically every other smartphone manufacturer, is doing right now. However, inside, it is basically all from the G7 ThinQ.
In lieu of a notch on the LG V35 ThinQ, the company has decided to go with actual bezels here. The bezels are pretty thin, so the front is still mostly display, which is nice to see here. Giving you plenty of screen real estate without a notch that can interfere with apps, like it does on the LG G7 ThinQ (though, that is really only the case when you try to hide the notch). The backside of the LG V35 ThinQ is going to look pretty familiar, with the dual cameras horizontal across the top, and a fingerprint sensor below it. The fingerprint sensor is a power button, similar to the V30, so you can press that to turn on the phone, even without a fingerprint set up. LG has kept the headphone jack as well, and has also kept the quad DAC. So those looking to pick up a smartphone that does still have a headphone jack, can take a look at the V35 ThinQ.
LG V35 ThinQ Cameras
LG has taken the G7 ThinQ cameras and put them here on the V35 ThinQ. That includes two 16-megapixel sensors with the main one featuring a f/1.6 aperture and the wide-angle sensor being a f/1.9 aperture with a 107-degree field of view. While the front-facing camera is a 8-megapixel sensor with a f/1.9 aperture here. The camera experience is much the same as the LG G7 ThinQ, and that is because it includes AI Cam. That is LG’s artificial intelligence mode that is able to detect different subjects and scenes and adjust the settings on the camera to get you the best image possible. That software is still on version 1.0, so there’s not much different here from the G7 ThinQ, especially since the hardware here is the same.
Google Lens is baked into the camera now, which is able to identify text and objects and search the web for it. So if you take a picture of another phone with Google Lens, it will search the web for you and tell you where you can buy it and for how much. Graphy 2.0 is also here. This was LG’s way of helping users in Manual Mode take better pictures. Though, it has really been replaced with AI Cam, as that does the same thing, but with less work from the user. As is the case with the LG G7 ThinQ, the V35 ThinQ also comes with Portrait Mode on both the front and rear cameras. So you can take selfies and get that blurred out background that everyone loves so much.
LG V35 ThinQ Software & AI
Out of the box, the LG V35 ThinQ comes with Android 8.0 Oreo and LG’s proprietary skin – LG UX 7.0. LG has said that it will get Android P eventually – though, Google has not yet put out the stable version of Android P, or even given it a name, so it’ll be a little bit before that happens. With Android Oreo, you get the latest version of Android here, as well as LG’s custom features. Like the Second Screen, not the “New Second Screen” on the G7 ThinQ though. The Second Screen here includes the ability to quickly pull up different apps like the calculator, calendar, and such without going home and opening the app drawer first.
All of the usual LG apps are included here, like QuickMemo, Capture+, Smart Cleaning, LG Health, QSlide and Dual Window. Now LG has included Google Assistant, but with the same integration as the LG G7 ThinQ – minus the dedicated button. This means you can use Google Assistant to do things on your device, like opening the camera and taking a selfie. There are about a dozen other commands you are able to do with Google Assistant with LG integration. Of course, Google Assistant can do the usual stuff like controlling your smart home products, giving you the weather and such.
LG V35 ThinQ Battery Life
There is a 3300mAh capacity battery here keeping the LG V35 ThinQ powered up throughout the day. That is the same capacity as the LG V30 that the company debuted last year, and should offer about the same battery life, if not slightly better – due to a newer, better processor in the Snapdragon 835. LG is quoting that the V35 ThinQ can last up to 20 hours of talk time, or 18 days of standby time. Qi Wireless Charging is still here, so you can put your phone down on a wireless charging pad and it’ll start charging up right away. Additionally, there is Quick Charge 3.0 support here, so if you prefer to charge your V35 ThinQ quickly, then Quick Charge 3.0 will help you out there.
LG V35 ThinQ Security
Like with previous LG smartphones, there are multiple ways to secure the V35 ThinQ. Of course, there’s the fingerprint sensor for unlocking your phone, which is also the power button. But LG has also included face unlock, so you can use facial recognition to unlock the device. As always, your fingerprint is going to be far more secure than your face, especially since the V35 ThinQ is only using the front-facing camera for face unlock, and not any other sensors, like Apple is with the iPhone X. LG also offers up voice recognition, so you can say a word or phrase to unlock the LG V35 ThinQ, obviously, this isn’t that secure either. Knock Code is still here, which has been a customer favorite on LG smartphones for quite a few years now. The company has created various ways for users to secure their smartphone, so that if it were to get stolen, no one would be able to get into the device and get to your information, which is definitely important.
LG V35 ThinQ Variants
At launch, the LG V35 ThinQ is going to be available for AT&T only. But there will be a model available on Project Fi. Though pricing and availability for Project Fi have not been announced. And, as far as LG has said, there won’t be any differences between the model on AT&T and the one on Project Fi, other than branding and apps that are pre-installed.
LG V35 ThinQ Availability
AT&T will begin pre-orders for the LG V35 ThinQ tomorrow on its website. With the device launching officially on June 8th. At this point, there is no price that has been confirmed. But expect it to be slightly more than what the LG G7 ThinQ is going for, which is around $750.
LG V35 ThinQ Gallery
