Really good question as I was researching between getting an LG G7 and a V40 as a spare phone. Seems like they're almost the same in terms of specs, but with some feature differences such as screen size, add-ons (V50), 5G, etc.

https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/buyers-g...nces-comparison
https://www.androidcentral.com/lg-v40-vs-lg-g7

In the end, I just went with the V40 (2nd hand Korea set) as I'm not looking into an upgrade to my current Nokia 8.1 as of this time. Will post more details here once I received the phone at my end.

Yeah, pretty glad that I made the right choice.

Been using it for 2 days already from the time I received it, but camera-wise, I still feel that the Nokia 8.1 is better than the LG V40, though. Noticed aggressive over-sharpening in the daylight shots I took for the latter. The front camera's quality is pretty good though.

In terms of speed in everyday usage, sans the high-end gaming part, it is a lot faster than the former as it is a 2018 flagship whereas the former is more of a mid-range phone. I mentioned 'sans the high-end gaming part' as I don't game on my mobile. Prefer gaming on the PC for my case.

I only have the V40 (2nd hand Korean set) and updated to Android 10, but if it is any indication, yes, there are some Korean carrier-specific apps but those can be disabled. As for the LG specific apps, it will give you the option to install/update them but you can choose to ignore them. Just that its a bit of a hassle when you boot up the phone for the first time (and after a reset) as it's all in Korean, but 2 options will appear at the start screen and one of them will be the languages section where you can select English or whichever language you prefer. I believe the G8X (new or 2nd hand) may also have this since there isn't a Malaysian set and most sellers will be selling overseas sets, which may be Korean or from other countries.

Based on the reviews, you might as well go for the G8X as the only advantage the V50 had is the 5G connectivity. Even then, many pointed out that this connection drains the battery faster when you use it in the latter's case.

Not sure about Mirai, but I got my V40 (2nd hand) from Aftermart Enterprise late November. Working fine and still using it now.

I believe I saw a V50 there as well, so you could try your luck.

That vendor I bought my phone from (in Shopee) also gave a 1-month warranty too.

I'd rue the day when Android is only dominated by Samsung while other smaller players exit the segment for good.

Perhaps maybe its time for a 3rd ecosystem outside of iOS and Android?

Using the stock camera app for my V40. The camera focus can be a bit slow sometimes, but still okay for me as I just use it as a simple point-and-shoot. If it's still not in focus, I'll tap on the screen for that area to do so.