LG’s latest flagship phone seeks to stand out from rivals by offering a brighter display and a “boombox” facility meant to make separate speakers unnecessary.
The G7 ThinkQ’s 6.1in (15.5cm) screen also features a notch reminiscent of the iPhone X’s.
But owners can alter the surrounding graphics to help hide the “dead space”.
LG used to be one of the three top selling Android phonemakers, but has seen its position drop in recent years.
In particular, an attempt to release a model that split apart to add new hardware backfired two years ago, tempering the company’s ambition to be unconventional.
Brighter, notchier
LG claims the G7’s LCD (liquid-crystal display) screen “outshines the competition” based on the fact that it goes up to 1,000 nits of brightness.
One nit represents the luminous intensity of a single candle.
The G7’s display is also distinguished by the notch carved out at the top, where a camera is based.
This design has been adopted despite the fact that the screen does not quite run “edge-to-edge” like the iPhone X’s.
LG refers to the space to the left and right of the black space as a “second screen”, in which information including battery power and the data signal can be shown.
However, users have the option of blanking out the whole area if they prefer, or adding a coloured gradient to the sides to make the notch less obvious.
Deep bass
The G7’s other standout feature is its in-built loudspeaker.
The company says it can play audio 25% louder than the G6.
But the key innovation is the way it uses empty space inside its chassis to create a “resonance chamber” that helps amplify low frequency sounds.
The result is that when the handset is placed flat on a solid surface, its bass effect is enhanced.
“The surface acts as a subwoofer,” said product manager Shaun Musgrave.
“It gives you a fuller sound.”
A trade-off is that the audio is mono rather than stereo.
HTC pioneered expanding the internal speaker chambers of a phone to improve loudspeaker playback with its Boomsound facility in 2013.
One expert said the latest development should enhance the G7’s appeal to young consumers, even if others would be less impressed.
“There will be a collective groan among a broader cross-section of the population when they hear that another smartphone is emerging with even more sound and bigger bass, which will only serve to become increasingly annoying in daily life,” said Ben Wood, from the CCS Insight consultancy.
Asian rivals
The G7’s price will be announced by retailers in the next fortnight.
LG’s mobile division is in need of a hit.
The business was put under new leadership late last year.
But the launch comes in the wake of recent launches by Samsung and Huawei, both of which are running big-budget marketing campaigns.