A year ago, no one ever imagined that an LG G8 will arrive since the company’s announcement that it is abandoning the flagship. Apparently, LG eventually decided to give the flagship another shot and launched the LG G7 ThinQ in 2018. Turns out it has calmed the tides and now we’re looking forward to the next G-series release, presumably the LG G8 ThinQ.

Here are all the rumors you need to know.

Design

Initial speculations suggest that the LG G8 will be the brands first foldable phone. Sadly, that possibility gets blurry as time pass by since LG has been very quiet lately regarding its claim for a foldable phone release.

So, the new G8 will look a lot like the G7 ThinQ with minor changes. The only lead, for now, is David Ruddock of Android Police’s tweet that he has seen the phone, or at least what he believes the be the coming G8. He wrote:

“I’ve seen the G8. The @OnLeaks leak is legit. Maybe there are some very, very minor changes to the phone that aren’t accurately represented in the CAD renders (perhaps color, textures), buuuuuuuuut that’s definitely a G8.”

LG has not replied or confirmed this claim yet.

Features and Specifications

MWC 2019 LG Premiere released an animated video showing a hand swiping away the words “goodbye touch” on a piece of paper mid-air. Immediately it suggests that that LG has a new hand gesture technology in place and LG G8 ThinQ might have it.

For the processor, it is still unsure which will the brand use for the new phone. There have been two floating options – The Snapdragon 855 SoC or Snapdragon 845. If LG chooses the 855 SoC, this could mean that the phone is capable of the 5G network.

The phone might also have a triple-lens rear camera with 3D features. Audio has also been the brand’s top priorities and it looks like the legacy will continue, or even better than LG V40’s 32-bit DAC or G7’s Boombox speaker.

In fact, LG has leaked information about a feature called the “Sound on Display”. Based on the name itself, it looks like LG has found a way to install a speaker behind the screen display. This is a big leap from traditional speaker designs and we are excited to see it on the G8.

As for the display, the fans’ prayers to use OLED display on the G-series might still not get answered. LG has reserved the use of OLED to the V-series.

Price and Availability

There is no official price announcement yet. However, since it is an upgraded version of the LG G7 ThinQ and the descendant phone costs $750, the LG G8 ThinQ might bump up to $850.

As for the release, the phone is expected to launch at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona. But based on LG’s previous launches of the series, the initial launch always happens in South Korea before going to the world. If we’re looking at the same case scenario, the LG G8 ThinQ may launch in South Korea this February then use the MWC 2019 for the global launch. This would put the G-series back on track after G7’s delayed launch in 2018.

We’ll keep a keen eye on future updates about the new LG phone. For now, these are all just rumors that are, well, most likely to happen.