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Take vanity to the next level with LG's selfie-optimized K7 smartphone (hands-on)

Hands-free selfies, now with flash.

Nate Ralph Associate Editor
Associate Editor Nate Ralph is an aspiring wordsmith, covering mobile software and hardware for CNET Reviews. His hobbies include dismantling gadgets, waxing poetic about obscure ASCII games, and wandering through airports.
Nate Ralph
2 min read

If you're anything like me, you probably can't count the number of times you've needed to take a photo of yourself in a dimly lit area. Enter the LG K7, a 5-inch smartphone running Android 5.1 Lollipop, and equipped with many of LG's selfie-minded optimizations -- including a front-facing flash.

Leave those clunky selfie sticks at home, friends. With Gesture Shot, you need only hold your hand in front of the camera, and close it into a fist to start a timer and take your selfie. Open and close your hand twice, and the front-facing camera will take four consecutive photos -- perfect for creating that camera booth vibe while you're waiting for the bus, or in the bathroom at work.

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The smartphones that matter at CES 2016 (pictures)

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Taking a selfie on the K7.

Josh Miller/CNET

And with the front-facing Flash for Selfie, your next "I'm walking home" tweet or Instagram post will be brightly lit, accurately capturing your face and the pedestrians walking around you.

The K7 will be among the first to offer LG's new "glossy pebble design language," which means it has a curved, round body. Like many of LG's recent devices, including the selfie-friendly LG V10, the buttons have been moved away from the sides of the device and onto the rear, which lends the display rather thin bezels along the side.

Alas, hardware details are scant, and we don't have complete word on a price or availability. What we do know is that it will at least come to the US on Boost Mobile some time during Q1. Models will also vary by region, with different hardware and colors determined by whether you opt for LTE, or grab a 3G model. Stay tuned for more, when we get a chance to try these selfie-features for ourselves here at CES 2016.

  • 5-inch display
  • LTE Model: 1.1GHz quad-core CPU
  • 3G Model: 1.3 GHz quad-core CPU
  • 16 or 8GB internal storage; 1.5 or 1GB RAM
  • 5-megapixel front-facing camera
  • Variants will offer an 8- or 5-megapixel rear camera
  • 2,125mAh batery

Mid-level LG K7 for Boost debuts at CES 2016 (pictures)

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