LG G8 Impressions: Can't Touch This!

LG’s 2019 flagship, the G8, leans into a familiar design but adds two standout features meant to redefine how we interact with a top-tier phone. The video kicks off by reaffirming LG’s design choices, including a back fingerprint sensor, a notch with a full set of front sensors, a sturdy but not radically different chassis, and the reintroduction of a 3.5 mm headphone jack with a high-quality DAC. The G8 keeps the Boombox speakers and IP68 rating, and pairs a 6.1-inch OLED display with a Snapdragon 855, 6 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage, aiming for a balanced but powerful 2019 flagship. A major emphasis is placed on the two new, “innovative” features: Crystal Sound OLED and air motion gestures. Crystal Sound OLED replaces part of the earpiece with a vibrating OLED panel, enabling a holeless display that improves water resistance and lets you listen to calls by vibrating the screen near your ear; the practical loudness of this feature is still not enough to replace a traditional speaker. The other feature, vein ID, uses the front notch sensors and a time-of-flight camera to read vascular patterns for a palm-based unlock, which is demonstrated to work in a controlled test but assessed as potentially less secure or convenient than contemporary facial recognition. Google Assistant button remains, the camera bump is minimized to a flat back, and overall the device continues LG’s family design language rather than introducing a dramatic departure. In terms of software and daily use, the device shows promise with its gesture-based air motion shortcuts, which let users control apps, alarms, volume, and basic actions without touching the screen, but the reviewer notes that the feature can be finicky and learning-curve dependent. The price is expected to be in the flagship range, around 800, aligning with the G7, and the reviewer concludes that the G8 is a solid but minor update that will please existing LG customers while offering little to convince those on the fence to upgrade, especially given tough competition and marketing concerns.

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