LG Wing: Everything we know about the rumoured rotating screen phone

LG has been wrestling with the idea of folding phones in its own way: by releasing standard flagship phones, such as the LG Velvet, but with a case containing a second screen allowing for that more expansive experience.

It now appears that the company is exploring even more radical ways of extending screen space, with the rumoured LG Wing embodying a rotating screen solution. No folding panel here, just a typical screen experience that then rotates into a landscape position to reveal a smaller, square screen beneath.

Yes, you read that right. We said it was radical. Perhaps too much. Here's what we know about the codenamed LG Wing, plus a good dollop of expectations based on rumours.

Release date and price

• 2020 reveal expected, date TBC
• 2021 release possible
• Price & regions TBC

Rumour has it the LG Wing will be revealed later in 2020, perhaps just as a prototype, perhaps as a full on-sale device to arrive come 2021 - and most likely in limited regions, as we can't see this being a global launch (Samsung released a flip phone in China in 2019, for example, which you won't find almost anywhere else).

Price wise it's anyone's guess. With flip phones and folding phones costing a small fortune - the Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy Fold being two such examples - we wouldn't expect a peanuts price by any means.

Design & Displays

• 6.8-inch main display rumoured (OLED, 1080 x 2460 resolution)
• Hidden 1:1 aspect second display

From what we can gather, the LG Wing is a lot like the LG Velvet. A 6.8-inch main display in rumoured, which is the same size as LG's current flagship. We could therefore assume it will be an OLED panel with a 1080 x 2460 resolution, just like the Velvet.

It's the second display, revealed by rotating the main display through 90 degrees, that less is known about. It's a 1:1 aspect ratio, i.e. it's square, and presumably will be of a similar quality to the main panel.

Why would you want such a second screen? Maybe it would be useful to show a preview of the selfie camera when you're mid-game. Maybe it would be useful to display certain tools when in an editing app that's full screen.

However, as LG uses Google's Android operating system, we wouldn't expect many apps to be able to use this space by default, as it would take specific development work. Therefore, realistically, it will be LG's own apps based on its own software skin that will be optimised for it - and we can't think of a single one of those that's a must-have.

Hardware and specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 rumoured
• 5G connectivity

A rumour from ET News suggests Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 processor would be behind the scenes - meaning, as is typical with LG flagships of recent years, that the most powerful processor wouldn't be on board.

That's fine, though, on account of heat production, battery savings, cost savings, and the simple fact that the SD765 is more than powerful enough for most people's everyday tasks (and beyond, really). That said, with two screens to run, is this going to be enough?

The other aspect of the SD765 is that it opens the door to 5G connectivity, so expect the Wing to bring next-gen speeds to its specification as standard.

Otherwise little else is known about the rumoured spec. Where will the battery (or batteries) be positioned and to what capacity? Will the fingerprint scanner only be on the square screen or the main screen too? Will the rotation mechanism be automated or manual? What kind of weight addition will this add?

So many questions... that we'll bring more robust answers to as and when additional information is unearthed.

LG Wing rumours: What's happened so far?

LG Wing leak suggests a swivel phone with hidden screen

The first leak of LG's swivel/rotating/folding/whatever-it-is phone.

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