LG launches the LG Q9, a mostly premium phone albeit with an SoC from 2016

LG released a new device in Korea yesterday. The device, the LG Q9, is something of a mixed bag, as it manages to combine decent, premium specifications and some rather unexpected ones into a package that leaves us confused us as to why it even exists in the first place.

The Q9 features a 6.1-inch QHD+ display, which is exactly what one would expect from a flagship. At the top of the display is a rectangular notch, not unlike the LG G7’s, in fact. There’s also a chin. At the back of the Q9 resides a single 16 MP sensor, perhaps the first surprising choice in a world populated by phones with dual rear cameras. Under the camera and LED flash is a fingerprint reader. The selfie shooter is an 8 MP sensor.

The Q9 comes equipped with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, expandable to 2 TB. The most baffling aspect of the device is the SoC under its hood. The Q9 is powered by a Snapdragon 821, Qualcomm’s flagship SoC that was released back in 2016 and seen on devices like the OnePlus 3T. For some perspective, this same SoC was what powered the LG Q8 that was launched in 2017. No idea what LG was thinking here.

Elsewhere, the Q9 features a 3000 mAh battery, LG’s Boombox speakers, a Hi-Fi Quad DAC setup, and IP68. You could almost take it to be a flagship, in fact, were it not for the ridiculous SoC and single rear camera. Of course, having a single rear camera doesn’t always have to be terrible, but LG has not shown the image processing capabilities of Apple, Google, or Samsung so far, and we doubt the Q9 will be able to hold its own in the camera department.

The entire package will set buyers back 499,400 Won, equivalent to about US$450. Speaking of packages, if reading this article gave you a sense of deja vu, you can rest easy as you probably have seen all of this before. The LG Q9 is, for all intents and purposes, a rebranded LG G7 Fit for the Korean market after all.