The LG G7 Review: A Rushed Attempt?
by Andrei Frumusanu on August 9, 2018 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- LG
- Mobile
- LG G7 ThinQ
- LG G7
GPU Performance
GPU performance again is a known vector for the G7 as it should not differ from other Snapdragon 845 devices. The only way the G7 is to distinguish itself from other phones is in terms of the device’s thermal dissipation design and the resulting sustained performance.
In the CPU-bound 3DMark Physics test the main factor for lower sustained performance is the throttling levels imposed by the thermal drivers. Here the G7 ends up as the worst Snapdragon 845 device with a 40% performance regression compared to its peak performance.
When looking at 3D/GPU performance we however see the G7 perform quite well as it manages to surpass sustained performance of other Snapdragon 845 devices, bar the OnePlus6’s excellent results.
As a reminder, the sustained performance scores are done by continuously running the workload under constant environmental conditions until its performance no longer degrades (and it reaches thermal equilibrium).
In GFXBench Manhattan again the G7 performs great as it manages to shrink the peak-to-sustained performance delta, again only trailing the OnePlus 6.
Finally for the T-Rex test we see a similar advantage over Xiaomi and Samsung’s S845 phones. I re-verified the scores of the latter by running them again side-by-side to the G7 and OnePlus 6 to eliminate any concerns of changing environmental conditions and indeed the resulting scores were identical.
While not matching the OnePlus 6 – the G7 does fare quite well against all other devices. Like on the OP6, I’m not sure if this is due to a better thermal design of the phone or if there’s been a rework in the thermal drivers. What can be said however is that the G7, like the OP6, does exhibit lower temperature hotspots during testing than the MIX 2S and S9+. I verified the power consumption of the G7 to also eliminate the possibility of a potentially more efficient chip bin and again the power matched that of previous S845 phones, so like on the OP6, the better performance cannot be attributed to lower power.
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djayjp - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
Good thing we have speaker measurements because who could possibly want NAND benchmarks? You should stop including benchmarks in SSD reviews as well.Dr. Swag - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
What happened to nand benchmarks? That was one of the big things I liked reading anandtech reviews for. It would also be nice if you didn't remove the display measurement comparison graphs so that we could actually compare different displays to see how they did against each other. I like the addition of speaker evaluations but that should be an addition, not a replacement...faizoff - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
Will the LG V30 review not be done due to the lottery display situation?Andrei Frumusanu - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
Phone reviews released before December 2018 were shelved as AT didn't have a mobile editor at the time before I rejoined, and it didn't make sense logistically to try to catch up with past devices when it was better to focus to be on time with the newer releases.Performance, battery, and camera evaluations of the V30 are included in all follow-up reviews from that date on.
lopri - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
December 2017, you mean?Andrei Frumusanu - Saturday, August 11, 2018 - link
Yes sorry, I'm a year ahead >_>eastcoast_pete - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
@Andrei/Anandtech: First, thanks for the review! Would it be possible to include the water-proofing as a line in the specs table in future reviews, as well as the hours of use (intensive) one gets out of a full charge. Lastly, please add a line in the conclusions on past record and promised future on OS updates of that phone maker. These three are key decision points, at least for me. I don't want to worry about getting the phone wet in a downpour, and having to take the charger with me, then look for and stay at a power outlet every few hours is really not exactly "mobile". Similarly, it's more than just annoying if a brand-new phone stays stuck two releases behind current Android versions for years or forever - I don't appreciate built-in obsolescence in $ 500+ phones.While I get the criticism of a too-blueish white balance, water-proofing (IP68, 67 or not), hours of intense use per full charge and keeping the OS current for the next 2-3 years are more important to me for a purchase decision than bluish screens, although I'd like a good white balance, too. The camera in the LG7 is a letdown, especially the video. Why still no EIS in 4K or at 1080 p60, and why not offer HEVC recording? The 845 is perfectly capable of all these. Not having those is just lazy, and not on flagship level.
Regarding the hours of use, this is another disappointing result. LG, hang your head in shame!, Don't try to make an S9+ clone; instead, make a true alternative, and dare to be different. To all phone makers: I get it, thin is hip, but a. I don't use my phone to cut vegetables with, so don't need razor-blade thinness and b. I rather take a slightly thicker and larger (longer) phone with a 4000-5000 mAh battery over a slim phone that won't make it through the day.
Andrei Frumusanu - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
Added in the IP68 rating - somehow I missed putting that into the table.In regards to hours of usage of a full charge. That's an inexact metric and can't and won't post subjective numbers. The battery tests are reliable, reproducible metrics that I think are still extremely good. In my usage I found the web test largely correlated with overall device runtime - of course this will differ for most users based on screen brightness and cellular connectivity.
zeeBomb - Thursday, August 9, 2018 - link
Andrei reviewing phones again? Man I'm just so disappointing it has only 3,000 mAh...CLEARLY rushed and the display is tooo blue.abufrejoval - Saturday, August 11, 2018 - link
I had the same reaction when the OnePlus 5 didn't have a bigger battery either. On my older phones I could observe the battery counting down just reading an article like this.But the 835 and 845 or I guess anything done on that 10nm FinFET LPE process feels twice as power efficient as the 14nm LPP from the 820 and it's the first time I never worry about the phone battery any more. Even after a long day, I've never dropped below 70% remaining charge and I tend to panic below 50%, just seeing 15% on review pictures makes me sweat :-)
But I'm not a smombie or a member of the look-down-clan and I guess others will want 12 hours with a non-stop screen full of Facebook action...
And then QuickCharge gives you another day within minutes.