It looks like the first wave of top-tier smartphones in 2018 will arrive a bit earlier than usual. It is rumored that LG's next flagship handset, the G7, will be released in January. The South Korean tech firm is expected to unveil the LG G7 at the Consumers Electronic Show (CES), pitting it against other premium devices, specifically the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Tech followers have been expecting that the follow-up device to this year's LG G6 would arrive at a later date, given that the latest flagship was shipped to the markets last March. However, Business Korea reported that the company is thinking about having an earlier release date for the LG G7, which may fall in January. According to the rumors, LG has enjoyed increased profits when it launched the LG G6 ahead of the other competitors. Particularly, the LG G6 arrived earlier than the Samsung Galaxy S8, which gave ample time to gain the public's interest.

With this, LG could launch their flagship G-series handset ahead of the other rivals, starting with the LG G7 this year. However, it appears that LG will not be the only South Korean smartphone maker to make such move. It has been speculated for a while that Samsung is planning an earlier release date for the next Galaxy S smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are now expected to arrive in January, a few months advanced of the usual April launch with the previous Galaxy S7 and S8 smartphones.

With two high-end mobile devices about to clash at the CES 2018, it can only be assumed that the LG G7 would have its own unique features to wow the audience. According to WCCFTech, it is likely that the LG G7 will follow some of the design elements of the LG V30, which became a standout this year due to its impressive appearance. Of course, the LG G7 will introduce additional improvements like slimmer bezels for an immersive all-screen experience.

It is also expected that the LG G7 will be unveiled with a full view OLED display, and when it comes to the inner specs, the smartphone could be among the first mobile devices to receive the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. This would only suggest a more powerful and efficient performance, as the Snapdragon 845 is the successor to the Snapdragon 835 chips currently used in 2017 flagship phones.