The LG G8 Review: Solid, But Not Great
by Andrei Frumusanu on April 30, 2019 1:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- LG
- Smartphones
- LG G8
- LG G8 ThinQ
GPU Performance
GPU and gaming performance of the G8 is something that is dictated by both the SoC as well as the phone's overall hardware design, specifically its thermal dissipation design.
We saw the Snapdragon 855 perform very well in the Galaxy S10, although the absolute improvements compared to the previous generation were quite conservative. Here the new LG G8 could distinguish itself by showcasing different thermal characteristics and possibly better sustained performance figures.
In the 3DMark Physics test which is mostly a CPU-bound workload within a GPU power constrained scenario, we indeed see the G8 performing better than the Galaxy S10+, which is a promising start. Huawei’s Kirin 980 phones here still lead the pack in terms of both peak as well as sustained performance.
The graphics test puts the G8 in line with the S10+ - both showcasing excellent performance. The Note9 still leads here due to Samsung having extremely lax thermal constraints on that device, resulting in quite high skin temperatures in long sustained scenarios.
In both Vulkan Aztec tests the G8 also leads the S10+ in the sustained performance department, even though the absolute improvements over last year’s G7 aren’t very big.
Finally, in Manhattan and T-Rex the G8 posts the most muted performance improvements over the G7, ending up almost identical sustained performance scores as last year’s phone. Here we also see the G8 tie with the Galaxy S10+.
Overall the GPU performance of the G8 and the Snapdragon 855 is very similar to that of the Galaxy S10+. The G8 is ahead of Samsung’s phone in some tests, which seems to be tied to more lax CPU thermal constraints. On other tests, the phone is pretty much in line with what we saw on the S10: conservative improvements over last year’s Snapdragon 845 phones such as the G7.
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WildW - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
It looks the same as my G6. Maybe the screen and CPU are different but blah, it's a glass rectangle. I'm so bored of phones.Lord of the Bored - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
My first pocket computer was an HTC Evo 3D. The purple one, at that. I still miss the little guy.It was distinct even at the time, and the asymmetrical design made it easy to tell which end was up when grabbing it. And the purple looked REALLY GOOD in person.
...
I got zero usage out of the 3D screen. Neat idea, but being limited to a single model of dataslab meant that there was no software for it beyond the inbuilt camera. Even HTC didn't want to waste time on it.
nikon133 - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Considering how well G7 actually works for me in real life - with all the observed shortcomings - I am pretty sure I'd find G8 equally good. Only if LG would make an effort of updating phones.I can accept their reluctance to quickly release new OS... as someone said here before, better stable old OS than unstable, buggy new OS... but I cannot accept that my G7 still has only October 2018 security patch, and nothing after it. At least model for NZ/AU/HK/China market.
Wardrive86 - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Yeah I love my G7, amazing device. The lack of updates is surprising but not a big deal to me.andrewaggb - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link
I went from a Note 5 to an S7 edge, to a G7. Overall I think the S7 edge was a nicer screen and the Note 5 had the best camera. I don't like the G7 camera at all, though otherwise I think the phone is completely fine. Next phone will probably be Samsung again, maybe a Pixel if Samsung hasn't gotten their low light figured out by then.zeeBomb - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
My goodness...that display is just pitiful.Saxyboy - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Haha. The display miles aheaf of my samsung s8 display. I went to the store to upgrade to an s10 but came out with a G8 instead. The s10 screen looks washed out compared to the g8.Saxyboy - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - link
Haha. The display is miles ahead of my samsung S8 display. I went to the store to upgrade to an S10 but walked out with a G8. The S10 screen looks washed out compared to the G8. I thought it was my eyes deceiving me but two reviewers on youtube confirmed same.zeeBomb - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
You could always change the display mode in settings, Natural mode helps best or simply use Vivid and change the white balance. I personally love screens with OLED, when calibrated right too, but I never disliked the display on my previous G device (I think the 6?) with its crisp, sharp display. Enjoy it Saxy!cthunder67 - Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - link
Lol! You are out your damn mind if you think that display is pitiful. Even negative reviews on the G8 praise the display. Better yet go look at the different reviews comparing the Samsung S10E and S10.