[Update: More renders] These LG G8 renders may look boring, but an absent earpiece hints at big audio changes
LG's recent entrants into the flagship mobile space haven't been the most exciting phones — though it was funny seeing LG launch the V30 three times. Now a series of renders and a 360-degree video from @OnLeaks and 91mobiles have given our first potential glimpse at LG's upcoming G8. And if you've seen the G7, then this new phone will look pretty familiar, though it has a pretty big twist: There's no earpiece. Allegedly, the upcoming phone vibrates the display to produce sound instead.
LG's industrial design may have become so iterative that it feels dated — gone are the days of grand experiments like the V10 and V20 — but at least the company is continuing to include a headphone jack. And though aspects like the screen and port/bottom speaker configuration seem like straight rips from the previous G7, there are a few visible hardware changes: the rear camera now has the "surprised robot" horizontal configuration more similar to the V-series phones, and the earpiece has been replaced by another selfie-cam.
Two front-facing cameras are also present in the notch of a 6.1" display, and overall dimensions are set at 152 x 72 x 8.4mm. Like the G7, it has a dedicated Google Assistant button — at least it isn't Bixby? — paired with the volume rocker on the left side. The power button and SIM tray are on the right.
Look, ma, no earpiece.
The most curious feature, by far, is the alleged "sound on display" technology, which one of @OnLeaks' sources confirms is present on the phone, and which the lack of an earpiece would seem to confirm. Although some are bound to be disappointed that the phone skips an earpiece but continues to include a notch, it's still pretty interesting to see the LG decided to include it here. The technology that powers it has been around for a while — Google even picked up a startup that was working on the concept in late 2017 — but this is the first time we've heard it might land in a mainstream flagship phone. (Though Sharp has had the tech in some of its phones going back to 2014.)
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