LG’s latest phablet, the V40 ThinQ, will go on sale in South Africa on 7 February with an impressively aggressive price point of R12,500. Vodacom will have the sole mandate for the device for the first quarter of this year.

You’ll only be able to get the V40 in one colour, “Moroccan Blue”. Thankfully, it’s rather fetching, though. Plus, most people will be hiding it in a cover anyway.

LG’s also launching its analogue-digital hybrid watch, the LG Watch W7 alongside the V40 at a price point of R3,700. Those users who want the phone on post-paid can get it from Vodacom on a Flexi 60 package for R600/month, or can opt to pay R200 more and get the Watch W7, too. LG says in analogue mode the watch will last over 100 days on a charge… though we’re more interested in how long it’ll last with everything turned on.

Five times the fun

But, back to the main attraction. On paper the V40 is a fierce contender for its diminutive price. Beneath its 6.2in 1440 x 3120 resolution display there’s a Snapdragon 845 processor alongside 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage (SA won’t be getting the smaller, 64GB version).

The V40’s real draw, though, is the combination of three rear cameras and two front-facing ones. The rear arrangement consists of a 16MP 16mm/f1.9 ultra-wide, 12MP 27mm/f1.5 standard, and 12MP 52mm/f2.4 telephoto snapper. Up front there’s a 5MP 21mm/f2.2 wide-angle camera, alongside an 8MP 26mm/f/1.9 one.

LG’s also packed in a night mode, AI camera (that can identify up to 19 scenes) and a couple of video-based features. The first, called Triple Shot, takes a photo with all three rear lenses and creates a video that slides between all three viewpoints seamlessly. The second, creates cinemagraphs (where part of an image moves while the rest stays static).

We’ll have a full review up once we’ve had a bit more time with the new jewel in LG’s handset crown.