The LG Q8 is the mini variant worth considering

Over the years we’ve seen plenty of different “mini” variants of flagship phones. Samsung is certainly no stranger to the idea, that’s for sure. Sony has done it, too. The idea is to build a phone that looks similar enough, if not exactly like, a flagship handset, but then drop the price by shaving some of the features.

It’s a strategy, to be sure, but not one that might have ever really taken off.

The idea itself is a solid one, especially as phone displays have increased in size. Not everyone wants a giant phone, after all. Even I used to be someone who would have preferred a flagship Android phone with a giant screen to be slimmed down in this area, but without removing the other high-end features that made the original phone what it was in the first place.

And that’s where the hangup usually happened. A lot of conversations I’ve had with folks in the past regarding mini variants of phones always comes down to the specs. They want a high-end flagship phone without having to use a phone with a big display, but they also don’t want to have to sacrifice the other key features, too.

In most cases those people didn’t want to lose the resolution of the big phone’s screen, or the processor, or the RAM, or even the built-in storage. Some mini variants have cut other features, too, all in an effort to reduce cost and what not. It all makes sense, of course. At least from their standpoint of a company that wants to offer a phone which might be more attractive to potential buyers because it has a smaller price point.

Here we are today with LG officially announcing the Q8 smartphone, which looks like a smaller version of last year’s flagship V20. And it does so many things right. It has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage, with a microSD card slot for good measure. It has two cameras on the back, the 5.2-inch display has a resolution of 2560×1440, and there’s even a secondary display above that!

Fingerprint reader, a beefy battery (especially for the size of the phone), and a relatively recent version of Android on board. It’s not the best when it comes to processor, though. But it does hit a lot of the important checkmarks, as far as I’m concerned, and this is the type of “mini” device that we should see more often. But will we? Probably not, unfortunately.

What’s worse is that the Q8 is only available in Italy right now (that’s not really bad for folks there, of course), and it doesn’t sound like there are any plans to bring it elsewhere. Not right now, at least. Depending on the price and carrier availability, I’d be surprised if the Q8 wasn’t a bit of a success for LG.

How about you, though? If you could get your hands on the LG Q8, would you make it your next daily driver? Do you like the idea of high-end specs in a smaller phone? Let me know!