LG has announced the V60 ThinQ 5G, its latest high end smartphone. It’s the third LG phone after the V50 and G8X to work with a dual screen accessory and will ship with the phone at no extra cost (pricing is to be confirmed, and the V60 is launching initially in the US).
The phone has a 6.8in OLED display, but it’s a shame it is only 1080p when the V40 and V50 both sported 1440p panels. There’s also a Snapdragon 865, 8GB RAM, 128GB of expandable storage, two rear cameras including a 64Mp main sensor, an in display fingerprint sensor and of course the familiar LG quad DAC and headphone jack – still great to see.
Add to that QuickCharge 4.0, Qi wireless charging and IP68 and you’ve got another fully featured flagship from the South Korean company. There’s a bright white colour or an eye catching navy with copper side rails that looks far slicker than the Galaxy S20’s dull palettes.
A 5,000mAh battery is a welcome spec given it also powers the dual screen case when it’s in use. The case turns the phone into a two screen laptop style folding device, with a 6.8in second screen – complete with redundant notch shape to mirror the actual phone because LG is using the same panel.
The idea is you can run two apps side by side in portrait mode or turn the screens landscape to type laptop style or play games. You can display whole apps over both screens but with the massive hinge and gap, you won’t want to.
LG gets unfairly bashed for bringing out uninspiring phones but there’s a lot to like here. Possible marks against it considering the competition in 2020 are that its display has only a 60Hz refresh rate. Fellow Korean company Samsung’s S20 phones all have 120Hz, making them appear smoother.
On first glance it looks like the V60 had four rear cameras but looks can be deceiving. Two of the sensors are the time of flight emitter and detector, with the actual cameras the 64Mp main and 13Mp ultrawide.
It’s odd the V60 doesn’t have a telephoto lens especially considering the V40 and V50 did with their triple camera arrays. LG says it’s because you’ll be able to get decent quality 10x digital zoom with the detailed 64Mp sensor.
LG’s video shooting options on its V series remain an industry best with 8K now available, plus granular controls you’ll struggle to find with any other brand save maybe Sony. The V60 adds what LG calls voice bokeh, a feature that will separate a person’s voice from background noise if you’re videoing them. This is aided by the phone’s four positional microphones.
The company says the V60 will retail with carriers in the US for under $1,000 including the dual screen case. This puts it cheaper than the cheapest Galaxy S20, which is good to hear. If LG wants to compete with Samsung in the US – clearly its goal by launching there first – it needs to have the phones on shop shelves, for less than the S20, with a fancy accessory included.
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Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.