phone 37 – lg g8 thinq

the 8th phone i acquired this year, 2021. hopefully, the last one. ha! this is also the last g series of lg. this might also be the last chance to expand my portfolio of lg mobile devices. i started with lg g4, acquired in 2016. then continued with lg v50s thinq with its dual screen in 2020. in 2021, i acquired lg wing 5g and this lg g8 thinq.

lg g8 thinq was released in 2019. same year when sony entered a new era in smartphones, releasing the first generation of xperia 1, xperia 5 and xperia 10 series. i was still using xperia z1 compact (a) as a personal phone, and xperia z5 premium as a work phone, still satisfied back then. so, despite of exciting announcements from sony, lg, nokia and some other makers, i was not encouraged to upgrade or expand my collections. but the headline features revolving around the z camera (tof sensor) caught my attention. i will tell the experience with it along the tasks for the battery tests. i will also relate my experience on biometric securities present on lg g8 thinq.

but, before those, here is the result of the battery test. charging duration results to 2 hours and 3 minutes. it performs better than most of my phone collection and falls near my preferred charging duration, which is 2 hours. but battery life fell quite short resulting to a day, 4 hours and 36 minutes. 7 hours and 36 minutes of those is the screen on time. not bad at all even for 2021 casual usage. besides it is just 2 years since the release. for continued casual usage, this phone requires daily charging.

battery score card

music play on lg g8 thinq is as good as the lg v50s when it comes to 3.5mm wired audio and bluetooth wireless audio. but loudspeaker is better on lg v50s and way better on some of my xperia collection with front stereo loudspeakers (z3, z5 premium, xz2 compact, 1 ii), at least when we talk about being immersive and quality. this might be because of the speaker setup. one is downfiring like the v50s. the other is on the display. the vibration is on the 30%-40% part of the display, from the top. by default, the speakers does not fire left and right separation, at least, based on how i hear it. it sounds like i am playing two mono speakers side by side. and that the speaker display is not as loud as the downfiring speaker. but there is dts audio setting to customize sound output. this is not to say that music experience is inferior. it still offers better experience than many smartphones on the market in 2021.

still on the music experience, z camera made it more fun and unique. with features, hand id and air gestures, i was able to play music without touching the phone. i tried it with wet hands, too. no, not what you are thinking, maybe, ha! i was washing the dishes, then. first, hand id lets me unlock the phone. then, using air gestures, i was able to open the music app. next is to play music using air gestures. though, this is limited to play or pause the most recent play list. then, again, using air gestures, i can turn the volume up or down. all those, without touching the phone. i think, i have to bring this phone for “no phone touching” challenge with my friends. then, play music, watch youtube videos and answer a phone call. ha!

i also appreciate the default music app of lg mobile as there are onscreen options to turn the volume, and change the pitch and speed of the song. nothing to do with air gestures. the volume option saves the physical volume keys from further abuses. i have been enjoying such accessibility since lg g4 and it is available on my other lg mobile devices, too (v50s thinq, wing 5g).

web browsing is an ordinary affair. i get sharp images and texts. good color rendering. snappy browsing and jumping from one tab to another. no disappointments here.

on gaming, this phone excels, too. still, in 2021. game launcher is present here. there is an option to customize refresh rates and resolution. though, it is limited to 60hz. no stutters. performance is similar to xperia xz2 compact, xperia 1 ii, lg v50s thinq and lg wing 5g.

for photo shoot and video recording, you might want to read my post on lg v50s thinq as the experience is very similar. except that my lg g8 thinq has a telephoto lens and that the front camera has variable focus. it has an autofocus, but also lets you manually control the focus which is good if you want to capture those little pores on your face as it is really sharp. ha! it gladly humiliates my other phones in that department. of course, including xperia 1 ii, which is criticized for having too soft selfie camera.

video playback on lg g8 thinq is not my cup of tea, though. color rendering is actually great. display brightness is ideal in both bright and dark environment. it also has a high resolution display. with 6.1 inches 19.5:9 display, 1440p is sharp. it gives 564 pixel density. already near xperia 1 ii with 643 pixel density. what makes the tea quite cold? it is the iphone grade notch. the same notch that brings headline features on lg g8 thinq. aside from lg g8 thinq, lg v50s thinq is the only phone i have with undesirable notch. though, the latter has smaller one. that is one compromise to make. besides, not all videos are affected by the notch. only videos shot and produced on 21:9 aspect ratio are affected. 16:9 contents are safe. workaround? pinch to zoom out and you will be watching the movies and videos on a screen diagonal less than 6 inches.

aside from the usual device security like pattern, password and personal identification number, this phone also has knock on code and biometric device security measures. the last is the most interesting security this phone has. first, it has fingerprint sensor that is widely used on android devices, placed on the rear. it is as fast as the fingerprint sensors on my xperia 1 ii and xperia xz2 compact. even a quick pat on the sensor unlocks it. second, the face id, which is used on iphones and some android devices. this is not the traditional face id or face unlock that i have on my xperia miro and other older xperia devices. the traditional approach can be fooled with a picture and it needs adequate lighting. face id on lg g8 uses z camera (tof sensor) to save 3d data. so, unless they can make a wax version of your face, nobody else can fool the face id, at least, ideally. it also works even without adequate lighting. third is the hand id. i never saw this feature on other phones – making some people dismiss it as a gimmick since “you will still touch the phone after using the hand id anyway”. some people even complain of steep learning curve. however, i was able to play music and turn up the volume without touching the phone, on the first day i have it. no i am not a fast learner. it is just so easy to learn that i thought i can enter the bending world and be a smartphone bender, ha! (but i guess jerryrigeverything is the master of that, in another way). and at least, there are some apps that can take advantage of it. there are some times i really wish my older phones can do like this – while washing the dishes or clothes, or even washing myself in the bathroom. unlock the phone, play music, pause it, turn up the volume – you can also do the same on youtube app. you cannot do this every day on other phones. so, you do not do it every day. but since i now have the g8, who knows.

generally, this is a well rounded phone that has unique features, others call gimmick. i also admire how seamless the chassis is. the flushed camera design and the continuous flow of glass to the frame. but due to sony influence on my preference, i wish it is a bit square. even the display looks a little bit more rounded or curvy on the corners. speaking of the curvy, this also has a curvy display. gladly, it is not as pronounced as other phones. images are not distorted, but still has an annoying way of reflecting lights where the glass curves. you already heard my concern on display notch, too. performance wise, there is nothing to complain here. display is great. audio experience is good, great via 3.5mm wired audio. one hand operation is also doable. but it does not beat my xz2 compact for that matter. thankful that i looked back to 2019 to expand my phone collection and acquired this piece of electronic masterwork. 

phone 36 – lg wing

7th phone for 2021. as if 6 is too few. but if i exclude loan collaterals, then this is the 1st phone i bought this year. not that there will be a second one, but lemme have another excuse to acquire more. ha!

this is the 3rd lg phone that i have on my collection. and i was reminded by my own rants i wrote on my lg g4 review. xperia and lg phones are my go to brands when i am looking for phones to use and keep. this is because both satisfy my requirement for keeping a phone – usability and novelty. and lg wing seemed to maxed out the novelty part. i was also amazed at how the use cases were presented when this device was unveiled. i really watched the unveiling of this phone and the hype did not go down for a couple of months. even when lg announced their exit on mobile industry, i still want the phone, thinking that when lg decides to abandon the support, novelty still holds – as long as the swivel mechanism holds, that is. compared to dual screen, i think this phone is more suited to pairing related apps, than multitasking. it does not give you the freedom to detach, like on dual screen, instead you swivel the main display back.

being a phone released in 2020, i expected a good battery performance. i was not disappointed. fully charged for an hour and 57 minutes, it almost surpassed my sony xperia 1 ii, just 2 minutes longer. and ye, anything near 2 hours or less of charging is ideal to me. battery life does not disappoint as well. lasting for 2 days and 36 minutes, it is one of my phones having long battery life. an hour of charging every morning will not bother you of low battery. this test does not include the usage of the smaller display, so the screen on time results to 10 hours and 36 minutes.

battery score card

lg wing has single down firing loudspeaker, minimizing immersive audio experience when using it without audio accessories. likewise, it is not that loud. wireless audio is great on this phone. however, in the name of novelty, 3.5mm audio port was sacrificed. that left me using the usb type c port for wired audio. weird that the usb type c to 3.5mm port dongle from my xz2 compact is not recognized by the phone. instead, i have to use the usb type c earphone that came with the wing. audio experience is just decent, not as good as the v50s with quad dac. even my older xperias were better by default. if not for the software tweaks on the audio, i will not recommend this phone for audio needs.

another compromise i have to make is accepting its rounded edge display. good thing, this phone has no notch nor punched holes that would interrupt web browsing experience. the rounded edge is not that pronounced as well, distortion is less, but it is there. and when there are some light sources around, i am slightly annoyed by the reflections it makes on the sides. website texts and images are good enough, that is, if you have not experienced using 4k display. colors are good, quite warmer than xperia 1 ii. at some point, images look punchier.

gaming was also considered when designing this phone. there is an app that takes care of gaming options. no complaints on the performance. the display is at 60hz, just to point out. but i am satisfied. so far, i have no phone with a high refresh rate.

three camera modules take care of the photo shoots and video recording. before testing the battery, i already had a chance to play with the gimbal mode. i was impressed by its stabilization. i must say, it is way better than xperia 1 ii in stabilisation. the resulting photos and videos are great. colors seemed to be near the actual colors i see, just a bit warmer. which might be because of the display calibration, since it is warmer than the xperia 1 ii and i have not transferred the footage to my less accurate laptop. ha! camera user interface is also very similar to v50s, so i was at home in no time, unlike my experience on xperia 1 ii which needs some learnings to do.

video playback is good. but again, my personal issue on rounded display is noticeable here. i find the videos being distorted on the extreme top and bottom (while holding the phone in landscape). the only aspect ratio that looks great on the phone is 21:9. somehow, i get the idea why some manufacturers never go 21:9 aspect ratio except xperia. that is, only for those having rounded displays and without any display cutout. the single loudspeaker also is not ideal for video playback. or, perhaps i was spoiled by sony xperia devices since xperia z3, with stereo front firing loudspeakers. so, for this phone, a bluetooth audio device or the included type c earphone is ideal for video playback. if you get passed that, experience is great.

i am liking this phone day after day. pricing also went down significantly, making it easy to recommend for those looking for novelty. so, if you are one, go get it. this might not be used as a main phone though, given that there are a lot of moving parts needing utmost care, like the swivel mechanism and pop up selfie camera – include the rounded display. likewise, you should be okay with how it works out of the box since i doubt lg would support this device despite claiming that they will do support it and push software updates. despite lg pulling the plug, i am still hoping that one day they will come back and do what they do best – innovating on form factor that has surprisingly good functionality (curved as g flex, productivity proposition as dual screen, customizability as g5), aside from their audio prowess and camera expertise. or, at least, another brand takes its place, somehow. zte for the underdisplay camera, though i am not really a fan of it. asus for a dac almost or on par to lg quad dac. vivo and sony for the camera hardware and circuitries. so, there is still hope that innovation will prosper. now, if only people will support such and real technology fans are heard more than the “average user” reviewers who are seemed to be paid by less innovative companies, then the future is bright. average user, you say. there are some techtubers out there with an “m” on their screen names. should i name them?

phone 35 – sony xperia z

this is the 6th phone i acquired in 2021, also a loan collateral. this was released in 2013, 8 years before 2021. this phone started the simple design cues on xperia flagships, yes, up to now, 2021. you get a monolithic phone that might not catch any attention, unless you see simple things as pleasing to the eye like me. though this phone has some share of criticisms from those who think their opinions are valuable. ha!  for one, the glass sandwich design was criticized (but look at em phones in 2021). ip certification, which is still quite low on this phone was claimed to be useless (and flagships and even midrangers in 2021 boast such feature in 2021). then, there is that poor viewing angles that i will tell more later on this post.

being older than xperia z2, it is understandable that the battery charging and life is worse than the latter. however, it managed to charged faster than the z2, at 3 hours and 55 minutes. but the battery life is a couple of hours shorter than the z2. it lasts for a day and 32 minutes. more than 5 hours of which is its screen on time. can we still find new phones with such screen on time in 2021?

battery score card

this first generation of the z series is still lacking design cues that can benefit to immersive audio. i am talking about stereo front firing speakers. instead this phone has single loudspeaker placed on the lower right corner. but the quality is quite decent. it is just too quiet in 2021, that i usually bump the volume to max to get a similar volume as the half of the xperia 1 ii. put on a wireless audio, experience becomes better. 3.5mm wired audio is also present, since it was released when smartphones consider it as a nobrainer to include. however, the port is covered by flaps which quite minimize convenience. besides, i doubt that the water resistance is still intact since this device is too old and it is refurbished, too.

web browsing is just okay. poor viewing angles is noticeable here. i think, color shift starts at about 10-15 degrees from the middle. line of sight should be perpendicular to the display to properly see good color rendering. the sharpness is there even at some angle. so black text on white background does not really post issue on viewing angles. but for images and texts with colors that are not in contrast is an issue. but again, you can always shift how you look at the display.

gaming is quite decent. it is more powerful than xperia miro and xperia sp, but this first generation z phone has no sd800 series. so look elsewhere when you are thinking of games in 2021.

the camera on this phone was enough for photo shoots and video recording, but not in 2021. even entry level smartphones of 2021 can have way better outputs. the improvement on z2 over this phone is noticeable. as for the camera user experience, the z series is quite consistent. you get scene recognition in auto mode and manual setting is not flexible. there are also apps within the camera app. if you are familiar with lenses on windows phone, it is similar to that.

video playback is decent. but, it also suffers on two of the major criticisms on this phone – the poor viewing angles and the non immersive placement of the single loudspeaker. it makes the xperia z not ideal for sharing a movie session, even just for another person, aside from you. benefits of being single, eh?

drawbacks on this phone makes it undesirable in 2021. the loudspeaker might pass, since not all phones in 2021 has stereo front firing loudspeaker. but the volume fall too short. the display will also look washed out compared to the growing smartphones using oled panels, or better versions of ips panels. but, like every xperia i have, it is a joy to look at. it resembles a slab of tinted glass. this phone is also light and fits good on the hand. sharp corners was one of the criticisms also, but i do not find it as an issue. i never had a cut using it all day. ha!

phone 34 – sony xperia z2

yet, another phone i acquired in 2021 that was released in 2014. this phone is the best partner for the sony xperia z2 tablet, which i reviewed most recently. it was released when sony xperia z1 compact (a) [sony xperia z1 compact (b)] was still available, which i preferred as a personal phone. sony xperia z3 was also available afterwards, which i picked as my first dedicated work phone. though z3 has minimal improvements over z2, which is obvious after having some time with the z2. but, btw, this phone was also a loan collateral, and a refurbished one.

the refurbished part makes me prefer the xperias i acquired in the past. for one, flaps are not of good fit. back cover has no enough adhesives as i can easily lift a corner. aside from those physical indicators, generally it is fine, including the performance. at some point, the performance is almost like my z5 premium. almost.

how did the battery performed? it was able to fully charged for 4 hours and 16 minutes, which is on the lower spectrum of the phones in my arsenal. and for 2021, that is way too undesirable. perhaps, the counterfeit charging brick and cable has something to do with it, or the battery, since i am not sure about its quality. though the battery life comes around average, again, among my collections. it almost had 8 hours sot, or in total, along with inactive period, results to a day, 4 hours and 49 minutes.

battery score card

music play is similar to all my xperia z series in the collection – z1 compact (a) [z1 compact (b)], z3, z5 premium (whether bluetooth wireless or 3.5mm wired audio). that means, audio upscaling results to lower volume, unlike the ones with dsee ultimate. front firing stereo loudspeaker is as immersive to that of z3 and z5 premium.

web browsing is just fine. gaming. photo shoots and video recording. video playback. these things are really similar to that of my sony xperia z3, so you might want to jump to that review. what is quite not right on this part, though, is the flash. it seldom fires.

being too similar to my z3, i can easily mirror the apps and tasks on this device, except for the mentioned inconveniences. so, as a device for 2021, this is still a viable option when you are looking for a back up phone for calls and sms. also, still good for media consumption, just short of hdr display. also, the display might be too dim on brighter environment and is too bright on a dark environment. it does not have an amber effect for night viewing, but you can manually tweak the display for less blue and more red for comfortable reading before sleeping.

phone 33 – sony xperia z2 tablet

another unique device i got as a loan collateral is this phone, sony xperia z2 tablet. ye, i mean tablet. a tablet that can take calls and sms. this device was released in 2014. that was about 7 years ago. this is so hard to find, nowadays, so i consider myself lucky that the debtor did not pay his loan. ha! this is also hard to fix. so?

battery test! charging is more than a nap. it almost cover my usual sleep period. that is, 5 hours and 55 minutes. so, just like the usual solution for such, overnight charging! but, in fairness, battery life is superb. it is on my preferred battery life, that is near 2 day. this phone lasts for 2 days and 20 minutes. so a daily charge to top up the power is better, i guess, than the overnight charging.

battery score card

music play is great! the loudspeaker set up is what i wanted to see on xperia z ultra. xperia z2 tablet has front firing stereo speakers. being set apart significantly, audio coming out is immersive. play a music that has obvious left and right sound separation, then you will enjoy it more. the bluetooth wireless and 3.5mm wired audio is the usual experience for an xperia device. there are some changes on walkman user interface to maximize the screen size.

one of the best uses of this phone… uhmm, tablet… is web browsing. the page rendering is fast enough and you get a lot of information at once because of the large display. the fine display shows texts and images, nicely. not as sharp as the xperia z5 premium nor the 2021 tablets with 2k displays, but sharp enough for usual web browsing. you just need to zoom in if you need to inspect an image – pixel peep, which i sometimes do on my laptop.

game play is immersive on this phone, like how immersive music play is. stereo audio and large display helped each other for immersive game play. it might not run most games in 2021, but when your games are not power hungry, but needs a good view, then phones… tablets… such as xperia z2 tablet is a good choice, if not the best. me? i am fine with it playing subway surfer with no annoying lags (some lags, but not annoying). i guess, racing games are good as well since this phone… tablet… is not heavy.

photo shoots and video recording are already quite boring to discuss here. so you can check xperia z1 compact (a) [xperia z1 compact (b)] and xperia z3 dual as the camera experience is very similar to those. also, consider xperia z ultra as this phone… tablet… has no flash and nightmode is not that good back then.

video playback is another ideal thing to do on this tablet. it is the best thing to do. stuff movies here, then you are good to go. perhaps, at most 5 people can enjoy movie sessions with this. viewing angles is already good on this tablet, just like the sony xperia z ultra. audio is also good enough for such number of viewers.

there are many tasks you can still do on this tablet. include the tasks that are usual these days. during zoom meetings, you can fit in more participants in one screen as this tablet has 10 inches display which satisfies such platform for such capability. it would also be useful to students for their online class. remote control for television is here, too. digital drawing is also ideal on large display such as this. sure, tablets released on 2021 is better in some ways. but if you can still find a sony xperia z2 tablet in working condition, or at least similar to what i have – include the value i exchanged with it, then it is still a capable and worthy tablet in 2021.

phone 32 – sony xperia xz premium

one of the loan collaterals i liked the most, is this phone. and as of this writing, i officially own it. being released in 2017, got it about 4 years later, 2021. this phone is actually part of my upgrade story i mentioned on sony xperia 1 ii post. the main reason i skipped it before was that it is too early for me to upgrade. now that i have this phone, that is history.

battery test is mixed. for the charging part, i find it slow, even after comparing it to older sony xperia z5 premium. charging duration consumes 2 hours and 56 minutes. but the battery life impresses. it lasts for 5 hours and 14 minutes more than 2 days. since i am okay with 2 days or a little less than that, i was really surprised.

battery score card

music play is nothing different to xperias i bought in 2020, sony xperia xz2 compact and sony xperia 1 ii and i find the audio better than the previous ones, up to z5 premium. quite loud and immersive due to stereo front firing loudspeakers. same experience is also present on wireless audio and 3.5mm wired audio. nothing to complain about.

web browsing is also great, better than z5 premium; brighter. it also compensates well in dark rooms. it does not strain the eye even for longer use, despite of it being an ips display. texts and images are crisps. i also get higher resolution screenshots. so, i do not have to zoom in on web pages when i take screenshots.

gaming is also a joy on this phone. no stutters on subway surfer, even on the most recent. unlike my experience on z5 premium where some hiccups are quite obvious. not just on the raw performance, but the ips hdr display and stereo front firing speakers make it so immersive in game play.

photo shoots and video recording are great as well. the experience is similar to that of sony xperia xz2 compact. you might want to check that post.

video play is also similar to sony xperia xz2 compact. the only difference is that, this phone can play 4k videos, natively. in 2017, users enjoyed 4k hdr videos that are recorded using this phone. but, there are already a lot of contents in 2021 to maximize the use of the display, whether just the 4k contents or those that are in high dynamic range. even youtube is pushing 4k contents to phones not having a display to show it natively, making the users short changed, except for the higher bit rate that 4k contents on youtube has. for this phone, you will experience not only the higher bit rate but also of the real 4k goodness.

overall, this is still a good phone in 2021. i believe it can still do what most phones in 2021 do. whether it be media consumption, even creation and gaming. might be off for those requiring software and security updates. but if you are okay with that and just use this phone for media consumption without putting in sensitive information, this is still a capable phone. i even find the display and audio quality better than some phones released in 2021.

phone 31 – sony xperia z ultra

another phone as a loan collateral. most phones i acquired (yes, considered all loan collateral as such) in 2021 are, anyway. this was released in 2013, like the sony xperia sp, nokia lumia 1020, asus fonepad note fhd6, and htc desire 200. so, it took me about 8 years before having it.

i was informed that it is refurbished, too. quite obvious on the body. the back glass panel seemed to be some millimeter short to fit on the frame and dried adhesives are visible. flaps do not fit well. did it change the experience? i am not sure since i have no xperia z ultra way back when it was released. but, read on as i mention some things that affected the experience on the use cases under my battery testing.

speaking of battery testing, the phone was fully charged for a little over 4 hours. it managed to last for a day and 40 minutes. 5 hours and 40 minutes of which is screen on time.

battery score card

music play is fine. the placement of the loudspeaker just missed the opportunity of making this phone immersive, at least on the audio side. the mono down firing loudspeaker is loud enough but i wish they went for a stereo front firing speaker. quality is good as well. and as for all xperia handsets with flagship specifications, bluetooth wireless and 3.5mm wired audio is impressive.

web browsing is also a nice experience on this phone with its large 6.4 inches display at 16:9 aspect ratio. it would be a nice alternative as an ereader, if you are okay with it not being on 4:3 aspect ratio. texts and images are crisp. even sharper than 14 inches laptop with 1080p resolution. loading of pages is fast enough including the navigation.

casual games are handled nicely as well. lags are not obvious when playing subway surfer. it might handle some modern games in 2021, as long as those are not needing much raw power and graphics. game play is also immersive with such display size, but you have to settle with wired audio, since the loudspeaker is, again, not that immersive being single downfiring.

photo shoots and video recording are not the strength of this phone. especially on dark scenes, since it does not even have an led flash. low light performance is also weak. on daylight, at least i can say that the resulting shots and videos are usable. include here, a selfie camera that also performs okayish.

for video play, that loudspeaker placement, again decreases the immersive experience the phone should have. the display is excellent. you can bump the contrast and saturation if you want to. but colors are already good by default. it really resembles sony tv when placed on table. viewing angles are also good for sharing movie time to about 2-3 people.

there are a lot of things to love about this phone, even considering that this phone is a refurbished one. if only it has a stereo front firing loudspeaker, it would be an equal alternative to my asus fonepad note fhd6 for some small group movie time. there are some issues i found on it though. one is on the display. when unlocking the phone, it is either images will not emerge, just the backlight, or it flickers for some time. second, the touchscreen is quite inconsistent. it is not as bad as the xperia sp. include to that the capability to use a pencil. while using a pencil on the sketch app, there are times when the input on a certain part of the touchscreen is not processed. at times, when writing, using a pencil, lines are cut on some places.

in 2021, this phone might still be of good use. with online classes and work from home setup, this is good enough. it can also be nice as an extra device to handle music play and movie time on the side.