LG V40 Leaks, But Is It Legit?

Today we're having a peek at the LG V40 in a leak that might be real – but might be a little sloppy. What we've got is a set of renderings that has a lot of the trappings of a real deal release from LG. What we're suspicious of is the placement of a couple of the elements. Let's look at what's right and what might be wrong.

First, can you spot what might be wrong with this picture? The leaked images of the V40 come from MySmartPrice. That's an online smartphone store that stands to profit from the proliferation of leaks, be they real or imagined – so we're sufficiently suspicious right out the gate. First we've got the LG V40 from this one source.

Next we've got the LG G7 ThinQ in its silver edition. We've got our own LG G7 ThinQ hands-on and all, but it's important here that we look at the press images. We're comparing image-to-image here, and the press image view is what we're after. Also note: This phone came out at basically the same time as the LG V35 this Spring.

Next Is the left side of the LG V40 ThinQ, leaked, next to the official LG G7 ThinQ from the same angle. Next to these are the backsides of both phones. Notice any inconsistencies – or rather, any strange consistencies?

What's a bit off here is the size of the backside bump on the LG V40. If you believe there's a set of three cameras here, you'll also notice the height of the camera array. You'll see that height is shorter than that of the LG G7's two-camera array.

Yet the size of the bump on both devices in this leak, from this side angle, are the same. This could mean several things.

It could mean that the person delivering these images simply left the camera bump graphic from the LG G7 in place for the LG V40. It could also mean that the official source – if that is where these images come from – simply forgot to place the right graphic in the right place. That's been known to happen before, in the least likely of places.

If this is indeed the LG V40 ThinQ, it'll probably be delivered by the end of the year. If it is the LG V40, it'll probably have specifications similar to that of the LG G7, with a new processor, Android 9 Pie right out the box, and a new set of cameras.

If we're lucky, we'll see this smartphone released before the end of the year – and will continue to see two phones in this series each year from now on. Much like OnePlus releases a standard phone then a "T" model each year, LG could well be doing the same thing with their V series.

ALSO make sure you look closely at the display up front because it is, indeed, notched. It's just got a bit of the ol' notchy-hidey going on so you're not going to notice it right off the bat.