The V35 ThinQ is LG’s new super-flagship phone, based on the G7

As in previous years, LG has followed up its big flagship launch of the year with a second phone that adds some small upgrades – and so we have the LG V35 ThinQ as an immediate successor to the LG G7 ThinQ, offering a few tweaks to a very similar handset.

The differences between the V35 and the G7 are slight. The battery size increases from 3,000 mAh to 3,300 mAh, and there's now no notch at the top of the display. The screen dimensions are slightly smaller, 6 inches to 6.1 inches, and the resolution drops down from 3,120 x 1,440 pixels to 2,880 x 1,440 pixels.

Another change is the switch from LCD to OLED for the display tech – the new phone might be slightly less bright than the G7, but should offer richer colors and deeper blacks.

To make room for that extra battery, the BoomBox audio tech is removed, so the V35 won't be able to pump out the tunes quite as well as the G7. Another cosmetic difference you would notice if you placed these phones side by side is the removal of the dedicated AI assistant button on the right-hand side.

Otherwise, this is largely the same phone – the Snapdragon 845 powering everything, a dual-sensor 16 MP + 16 MP rear camera, IP68 waterproofing and dustproofing, and Android 8.0 Oreo on board.

You might also notice slight variations based on where you live in the world. Whereas the LG G7 ThinQ can be had with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, or 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, the LG V35 ThinQ ups the RAM to 6 GB in both configurations. It's those kind of minor tweaks that the V series is known for.

That variation will probably extend to carriers, if you're in the US – AT&T isn't carrying the G7 but will carry the V35, the company has said, and it's also going to be available on Google's Project Fi. We don't have an official price from LG but AT&T says the LG V35 ThinQ will cost US$30 over 30 months, so $900 in total.

So why bring out another very similar phone right after the LG G7 ThinQ? We're not privy to LG's boardroom discussions, but the V phones seem to have evolved into something of an experimental backup for the company, as it looks to grab as much market share as possible. Of course the danger is that it just ends up confusing consumers.

A roll out in the Americas begins in June, LG has announced, with "limited markets" in Asia, the Middle East and Africa following after that. Europe may well be left with the LG G7 ThinQ as the best LG phone of 2018.