- LG launched the Velvet 4G and Wing in India.
- The Wing starts at ~ $ 947 and goes on sale on November 9th.
- The Velvet 4G costs ~ $ 500 and will be available for purchase on October 30th.
LG confirmed earlier this month that there will be an event for the Indian launch of the wing on October 28, and now that’s exactly what is done. In addition to introducing the quirky swivel smartphone, the company has also confirmed the availability of the Velvet 4G.
The two phones have a few features like a built-in fingerprint sensor, 6.8-inch FHD + OLED screen, 128GB of expandable storage, Quick Charge 4+ features, Bluetooth 5.1, and NFC support. Otherwise, they differ dramatically in almost every other category.
What to Expect from LG Wing
Starting with the wing, let’s consider the same proposal as before. That means you can pivot the front of the phone 90 degrees to reveal a 3.9-inch secondary display underneath. This allows you to run two applications at the same time (one on each screen) or run a supported app on both screens. For example, a video on the 6.8-inch main OLED panel while the media playback controls are available on the smaller screen.
The LG Wing also has a Snapdragon 765G 5G chipset, 8 GB of RAM and a 4,000 mAh battery. The camera tasks are done by a 32-megapixel pop-up selfie shooter at the front, while there is a triple rear camera on the back (64-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel ultra-wide, 12-megapixel ultra-wide). Yes, it has two wide angle shooters.
The LG phone also has a “gimbal mode” with which you can grip the second screen of the wing like a gimbal and access some useful functions with the 12MP shooter. Features include camera angle control (presumably just cropping), a lock to reduce jerking, and the pan-follow function.
The phone also offers wireless charging and IP54 splash protection. These are two features that you might not expect for such a radical design.
What about the Velvet 4G?
The LG Velvet 4G swaps the Snapdragon 765G processor of the upper middle class shown in the 5G variant for the Snapdragon 845 processor. This chipset was the flagship of choice in 2018, but is it actually a downgrade from the 2020 Snapdragon 765G?
Our own tests have shown that the new mid-range silicon outperforms the Snapdragon 845 in terms of single-core performance and holds its own even better in mixed / system-wide benchmarks. However, the 2018 flagship processor outperformed the Snapdragon 765G when it came to GPU benchmarks and multi-core performance. So it’s more of a sideways move than anything else, although system updates could be an issue across the board.
In any case, the Velvet 4G also offers 6 GB of RAM, a 4,300 mAh battery and an IP68 rating. The phone has a less impressive rear camera compared to the Wing, with a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide shooter, and a 5-megapixel depth lens. A 16-megapixel camera in a water drop notch takes care of selfies.
However, the 4G phone is still compatible with the dual-screen case and gives you a rudimentary foldable experience by adding a second screen to the mix. This second screen lets you run two apps at the same time (one on each display) or run the same app on both screens.
Prices and availability
The LG Wing has a retail price of Rs 69,990 (~ $ 947 US). Sales begin on November 9th. More intrigued by the LG Velvet 4G? It starts at Rs 36,990 (~ $ 500) while the bundle with the included dual screen case goes for Rs 49,990 (~ $ 676). In any case, velvet sales will begin on October 30th.
Do you think LG nailed the pricing for Wing and Velvet 4G? Give us your thoughts in the comments below.
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