News: Two Makes a Trend — LG May Follow Huawei into Triple Camera Territory

It looks like the Huawei P20 Pro won't be the only phone with a triple camera for much longer. Rumors indicate the upcoming LG V40 ThinQ will share the same number of cameras. And just like with dual cameras, LG is showing that there is more than one way to arrange them.

With the Huawei P20 Pro, Huawei enhanced their existing dual camera setup by adding a third sensor. Most Huawei and Honor devices used an RGB and monochrome array, so it only made sense to use that as the base of the triple camera and enhance it with a telephoto lens. Leverage the detail captured by the 40 MP RGB lens and the sharpness from the 20 MP monochrome lens, then simply combine it with the telephoto lens' 3x optical zoom.

For LG's take, they followed in similar footsteps. For years, LG's flagships have been known for their use of a primary lens paired with super wide-angle lens, allowing their customers to fit more objects in each photo. With the V40 ThinQ, rumors indicate that the super wide-angle (or "ultrawide") will make a return along with a "super telephoto" lens. It looks like the telephoto lens will offer 3x optical zoom, providing the same lossless zooming capability found with the P20 Pro.

According to ETNews, there will be a 20 MP, 16 MP, and 13 MP sensor, but no information was given as to which camera was which. Our best guess is that the 20 MP will be the primary shooter, the 16 MP will be the ultrawide lens (which could potentially be the same 16 MP ultrawide found in the V30 and G7 ThinQ), leaving the 13 MP for the telephoto lens.

However, LG didn't stop setting new trends there. Rumors have it they will also include 3D face scanning. This feature would be a first for Android devices officially available to the US market, and the way LG is accomplishing this is also new. Instead of using an infrared camera to create a map of your face (like the iPhone X, Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition, and Oppo Find X), they will use two front-facing cameras. Whether it is as accurate as Face ID, or even possible to use at night is anyone's guess, but at least LG is trying something different.

This isn't the first time LG was quick to join the party. The LG G6 was the first QuadHD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, which helped kick off the trend of taller screens last year. With LG joining the party on triple rear cameras, it looks like we can officially say we have a trend. Perhaps even more important, the LG V40 would be the US's first taste of this new setup, as the Huawei P20 Pro wasn't able to make it to the United States' shores.

Now that the LG V40 ThinQ is bringing triple-lens cameras to Americans, other OEMs might be pressured to include a similar setup. Hopefully, the cost drops for OEMs, and eventually, even midrange devices running the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 or 700 series SoC have it as well. Are you excited about triple camera trend? Let us know in the comment section below.

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