LG isn't getting into the whole foldable phone craze like Huawei or Samsung. Instead, it's going for dual screens in the form of an accessory aptly called Dual Screen for its new LG V50 ThinQ 5G.
This was a long time coming, as talks about an optional second screen attachment for an LG phone started since January. However, it was believed to be for the LG G8 at the time, which clearly isn't the case, after all.
Two Screens Are Better Than One
The Dual Screen measures at 6.2 inches and has a 2,160 x 1,080 display and connects to the LG V50 ThinQ 5G via pogo pins. This complements the phone's 6.4-inch screen with a 3,120 x 1,440 resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio.
It doesn't exactly turn the device into a tablet, unlike what foldable phones have to offer. That's because there's going to be a thick black border that separates the two panels from each other. However, it will allow users to write an email on one screen and watch videos on the other, for example. Notably, it can also be used as a dedicated controller for games, positioned at a 104- or 180-degree angle. Needless to say, it takes multitasking with two apps to the next level.
There's no need to charge it either because it uses the handset's 4,000 mAh battery, but that entails more frequent charges, as running two screens will obviously need more juice to keep the lights on.
As for the rest of the phone's specs, it boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 with a Snapdragon X50 modem, which makes it ready for the 5G era. It also houses 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of native storage that can be expanded up to 128 GB with a microSD card.
It runs on Android 9 Pie from the get-go, and it has a USB Type-C port to boot. There are five cameras at play here: three on the back — a 16-megapixel super wide lens, a 12-megapixel standard, and a 12-megapixel telephoto — and two on the front — an 8-megapixel standard snapper and a 5-megapixel wide lens.
Durability-wise, it's MIL-STD 810G compliant and has an IP68 resistance to water and dust. It also has the usual features expected from modern smartphones, including Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support, a fingerprint reader, and face recognition. The headphone jack remains intact here as well.
Folding Displays Or Dual Screens?
Dual screens and folding displays aren't exactly the same, aside from providing the option to increase the phone's screen real estate in a snap or a fold. Put differently, LG's Dual Screen attachment is an interesting way to stand out from the growing crowd of foldable phones in the market, but it doesn't offer the same experience.
That doesn't mean foldable devices don't have downsides to them, though. For instance, Samsung's Galaxy Fold has a small 4.6-inch front display when it's folded. Meanwhile, Huawei's Mate X, which has a screen that wraps around it, could be susceptible to scratches since it uses a "soft screen" rather than the typical glass screens most devices use. In other words, this plastic screen is the device's exterior front and back when it's in phone mode. However, arguably the biggest drawback is their price: The Galaxy Fold costs a whopping $1,980, while the Mate X is priced at €2,299 or about $2,609.
Now there's no pricing details yet for the LG V50 ThinQ 5G, but it's hard to imagine that it'll cost nearly as much as the foldable phones, even with the Dual Screen accessory in the mix. There's also no word on when it's going to launch yet, but it's expected to be available via Sprint sometime during the first half of 2019.
