Double the fun

Twin-screened phones don’t just have to be about folding… LG’s V50 ThinQ 5G adds an extra display in a different way

LG has fallen into being a phone also-ran these days, usually lacking the extra touch Samsung or Apple gives their premium handsets, while being squeezed on price by the likes of OnePlus and Honor. But this phone, due in the first half of 2019, could pack enough tech to put it back in the races.

As you can tell from the name, the V50 ThinQ 5G is 5G-capable, and EE has nabbed it as an exclusive in the UK, as part of its aggressive 5G rollout this year.

The other headline feature is an option for a folio-style case for the V50 that includes a second screen, so when you open it up, you see one big interface across two screens, effectively. The phone’s main display is a 6.4-inch 1440x3120 affair, while the extra screen is 6.2 inches at 1080x2160.

We’ll have to see whether the difference in resolution is jarring when we can get our hands on them. The extra display weighs 131g, so adds some bulk, but not much.

We suspect this won’t really come close to replicating the effect of a full folding screen – you wouldn’t want to open a document and try to read it across the divide, for example – but we can still see it being useful for productivity. Having your calendar open on the left and your email on the right, for example, or making a note while checking a website all sounds handy enough.

LG also seems keen to show this off as a great way to game, but we’re not sure it’ll beat the real buttons of a Nintendo Switch if you’re grabbing something to play on the go.

ThinQ ahead

Elsewhere, LG has tried to keep itself at the front of the technological game. The Snapdragon 855 processor is the chip of choice for loads of 2019’s flagship phones, and should keep things super-fast with 6GB of RAM. That’s paired with Qualcomm’s X50 5G modem for next-gen internet speeds.

The triple camera array on the rear seems like it’s shaping up nicely – early results look really bright and rich, and if LG can get this right, it could win over a lot of fence-sitters. You get a standard lens, 2x telephoto and an ultra-wide-angle here, all with 12MP sensors, plus 4K video recording with HDR.

Speaking of HDR, the OLED screen supports HDR playback of Dolby Vision, which means Netflix movies and shows can really look their best. The screen was impressive from what we saw of it – no surprise since LG tends to lead the field here.

For speakers, LG’s partnership with British hi-fi company Meridian Audio is still playing dividends, and it promises surround sound powered by DTS:X (as opposed to the Dolby option most handsets seem to go for).

A 4,000mAh battery keeps things ticking over, which is pretty damn big – only a few handsets have matched that so far. There’s no word on pricing as yet.