LG G8 launching in the U.S. on April 11 for $820

LG's first 2019 flagship is a mix of old and new.

Every year for the past few years, LG's first big flagship to be released is a new entry in its G-series.

After going out-of-the-box with the G5 and its failed module system, LG decided to play it safe in 2017 and 2018 with the G6 and G7. At first glance, the G8 looks like another safe-bet, and while it is in some regards, it also tries a few new things that remind us that LG still likes to scratch that innovation itch.

From the latest news to all the big details, here's everything you need to know about the LG G8!

The latest LG G8 news

March 28, 2019 — LG G8 launching in the U.S. on April 11 for $820

Over a month since the LG G8 was announced, we now have pricing and availability details for the United States.

If you live in the U.S., you'll be able to purchase the G8 beginning April 11. At launch, the phone will be available from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, Xfinity Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Best Buy, and B&H.

Pricing for the LG G8 starts at $820, and as a special promotion, LG will be offering up to $150 off depending on what carrier/retailer you buy from.

Pre-orders open tomorrow, March 29.

February 24, 2019 — The LG G8 is official!

Following a healthy dose of leaks and rumors, LG formally unveiled the G8 at MWC 2019!

Keep on reading below for more, in-depth details.

All the big details

Check out our hands-on preview!

We've had the opportunity to go hands-on with the G8, allowing us to get some initial impressions about its design, features, and more.

Any final judgments will be reserved for the full review, but as it stands, the G8 has left us feeling a bit uncertain. On one hand, it has the makings of a really solid Android phone with a fantastic processor, gorgeous OLED display, a high-quality headphone jack, and an incredibly loud speaker.

At the same time, LG's really pushing two new features that we aren't sold on quite yet, and along with that, you have stiff competition coming from Samsung's new Galaxy S10 devices.

LG G8 hands-on preview: Not the claw you're looking for

Get acquainted with the specs

The LG G8 is a flagship phone through and through.

Under the hood, you'll find things like a Snapdragon 855 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage (that can be expanded), and a 3,500 mAh battery.

The spec list is an impressive one, and if you want your next handset to have the latest available tech, you'll find just about all of it in the G8.

LG G8 Specifications: Same look, bigger battery, new gimmicks

It looks a lot like the G7

From a design point of view, the LG G8 looks almost identical to last year's G7.

The dual rear cameras are now in a horizontal position instead of a vertical one, but the glass back, aluminum frame, and large notch cutting into the display are all the same.

The G8 is far from an ugly phone, but compared to some of the other smartphone designs that are out there, it's hard to not feel like it's already somewhat outdated in 2019.

The first OLED display on a G-series device

LG's been steadily improving the quality of its OLED displays, but up until now, those displays have been reserved for the more lustrous LG V-series.

However, LG's shaking things up this year by equipping the G8 with a 6.1-inch OLED display.

There's a resolution of 3120 x 1440, Gorilla Glass 6 offers protection against unwanted scratches, and support for HDR10 means your videos will look better than ever.

OLED displays have a lot of advantages, whether it be with more contrasty colors or improved battery life, so it's great to finally see this tech make its way to a G device.

Air Motion and Hand ID are the G8's two biggest features/gimmicks

With the G8, two of the features LG's promoting the most include Air Motion and Hand ID.

Air Motion, the most interesting of the two, allows you to perform a variety of actions on the G8 by making hand gestures over it — allowing you to control parts of the phone without actually touching the screen.

You can use Air Motion to switch back and forth between apps, adjust your media volume, and that's it. It's a unique idea with a lot of exciting technology powering it, but the use cases for it are currently quite limited.

Harnessing the tech behind Air Motion, LG also outfitted the G8 with something called Hand ID. Hand ID maps and identifies the blood flow in your hand as a new type of biometric authentication to unlock the phone. So, instead of hopping aboard the face unlock train, LG wants you to hover your hand in front of the G8 to unlock it.

The G8 is all about great audio

One of our favorite parts of the G7 was its audio experience. In a market that can't wait to ax things like great external speakers and headphone jacks, the G7 delivered on both fronts. With the G8, we get more of the same.

The 3.5mm jack on the G8 is a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, meaning you can plug in your favorite pair of wired headphones and have your music sound as good as possible. Also present is the Boombox feature that increases the volume and bass of your tunes when you play music from the G8's speaker and place it on a solid surface.

Lastly, the G8 also ships with something called a "Crystal Sound OLED Stereo Speaker." When you make a phone call, the audio is emitted from small vibrations in the OLED display rather than a traditional earpiece speaker.

When and where can I buy it?

As of right now, LG's yet to reveal any availability info for the G8. We're expecting that you'll be able to buy it from all major carriers in the U.S., but when it comes to a release date or price, your guess is as good as ours.

Once this information is made available, we'll be sure to update this article accordingly.

See at LG