The LG G8 that reads the palm tree has a unique vision of the future

Last year, LG launched the G7 ThinQ – it's certainly not a bad phone, but certainly a phone that has struggled to impose itself. At this year's MWC, LG announces its successor, the LG G8, which brings new features and upgrades to try to stand out where the G7 has taken a back seat.

It's hard to notice the changes on the outside, but LG has done a lot with the updated configuration of the forward-facing camera, which she calls the "Z-camera." This actually means that LG uses a ToF sensor that allows the G8 to sense the movement, gestures and depth in front of it.

And this camera system is used for a truly unique function called by LG: "Pulsed Hand": by emitting an infrared signal in the palm of the hand, the G8 can extract a card from your veins based on how it's done. Hemoglobin in your blood absorbs the infrared signal, allowing you to unlock your phone by showing it to your palm. LG says that these vein cards are extremely difficult to beat from a safety point of view.

And why would you use your palm to unlock your phone? This is another major feature. LG uses the Z camera for: Air Motion, or gestures that allow you to control your phone simply by waving your hand on it. The idea is that by combining hand IDs and Air Motion gestures, you'll have full control of your phone – from shortcuts to call answering, to music and video control, and setting volume – without having to touch the phone itself.

It sounds cool in theory, but in my brief G8 trial, neither the palms of the fingers nor the gestures worked so well. It took a lot of excitement for the phone to recognize my palm to unlock, as well as for gestures – which require a complex sequence of placing your hand closer to the phone, pulling it a few inches back, then gesturing – were even harder to do. This may be due in part to my lack of knowledge of the system, knowing that this is not a familiar way of using a phone, but after a few minutes I am not sure that this is the type of phone. marquee that deserves to be improved.

There are other additions to the G7: the 6.1-inch 3120×1440 screen is this time an OLED panel, instead of an LCD, which is a welcome upgrade – though for the better or for the better. worse, there is still a notch. And LG has also upgraded the latest Snapdragon 855 processor, as planned for a flagship product 2019.

LG has also updated the rear cameras. A new Night View mode combines up to 10 images in one image to reduce noise, as well as support for portrait video, with live bokeh effects that you can adjust in real time. As a bonus, the new cameras are completely lined up at the back of the phone, instead of sticking to their camera.

The latest major update is LG's new OLED Crystal Sound speaker. Instead of a top speaker, the G8 vibrates the entire front glass panel of the phone to create a sound (the usual lower speaker is still there.) That sounded good when on a call test, but the lower speaker is even more powerful if you're listen to music or watch movies.

6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader (in case you need a third biometric security method) and a 3500 mAh battery .

Again, there is nothing wrong here, but there is no inspiration either. Last year, when LG launched the G7, the company announced a new philosophy: "We will unveil new smartphones as needed. But we will not launch it just because other rivals will, "said Cho Sung-jin, vice president of LG Electronics.

Yet barely a year after the launch of this plan, LG has begun to release phones at an even faster rate: the LG G8 is announced months before the G7 announcement last year, and also announces the V50 at MWC, instead of saving for a traditional fall version. For a company that claims not to let its rivals control its exit strategy, it has the impression that LG's actions are driven by competition more than ever.

Picture of Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

It is interesting to note that while the G8 base is the only game coming to the US, LG also offers two other variants in the international markets: a higher-end model, the G8, which will feature a third lens, a telephoto lens, as well as cheaper G8S model, which will offer most of the features of the G8 at a lower price (albeit at the price of sacrifices, such as screen resolution).

We still do not know much about the range of G8 countries, including the cost and when it will be available. But even more so than in previous years, this seems to be another tough battle for LG to make waves in the smartphone market.

Photograph of Chaim Gartenberg.