Ahead of MWC19 Barcelona, LG Electronics began talking up the technology in its G8 ThinQ smartphone, including advanced imaging and audio capabilities.

Working with Infineon Technologies, LG installed a front-facing 3D Time of Flight (ToF) camera, a feature which has so far been used in some devices’ rear-facing cameras. It provides more accurate measurements of distance from the camera lens than the “complex algorithms” used by other 3D technologies and is said to work more efficiently in ambient light, reducing the workload on the processor and so reducing power consumption.

The company also highlighted fast response speeds for use in biometric authentication methods such as facial recognition. Because it is not affected by light from external sources, it also offers an “excellent recognition rate, both indoors and out”, making it ideal for augmented- and virtual-reality applications.

Chang Ma, head of product strategy at LG Mobile, said the technology “gives users a unique and secure verification system without sacrificing camera capabilities”.

On the audio front, G8 ThinQ will include a technology called Crystal Sound OLED (CSO), which uses the phone’s screen as an amplifier.

The company said that with “more and more consumers using smartphones as their primary devices for watching movies, playing games and consuming music”, the demand for high-quality audio is higher than ever.

Developed in-house, CSO uses the display as a diaphragm, vibrating the surface to produce sound with “impressive volume”. Because it uses the entire display, this improves clarity, making voices easier to understand and subtle music more noticeable.

In speakerphone mode, audio is delivered through the bottom speaker with “impressive bass”, while the stereo effect is achieved using the top part of the display.

The arrangement is also said to give the device a “clean, minimalist look”.