We purchased the LG G8 ThinQ so that our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and review it. Read on for our full product review.

LG has a history of innovation in the smartphone space and of delivering premium, high-quality devices, but the company has struggled to maintain that reputation in recent years. This is best exemplified by LG’s G ThinQ series of flagship phones, which have been consistently outclassed and overshadowed by increasingly diverse and compelling competition.

The LG G8 ThinQ is the latest example of a top-end smartphone that can’t quite compete with the best phones available today. Visually, it’s a near-carbon copy of last year’s disappointing LG G7 ThinQ, with the expected year-on-year spec boost and some top-end components, but the overall package fails to stand out from the crowd. And the “innovative” new features don’t do much to move the needle in its favor.

Oddly enough, LG has opted to stick with much the same design as the LG G7 ThinQ, which already looked anonymous last time around. It’s polished and rounded, with reinforced Gorilla Glass on the front and back and aluminum for the frame. The overall aesthetic of the phone is like a hybrid of an iPhone with a medium-sized notch above the display, though it has more bezel above the screen than a phone with a notch would need.