LG Wing: Price, spec, release date, every rumour we know about the 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.

That's all about to change with the LG Wing, a rotating-screen phone. No folding panel here, no hinge to worry about, just a typical screen experience that then rotates into a landscape position to reveal a smaller, squarer screen beneath.

We said it was radical. And radical is exciting (even if it's not always practical). So here's what we know about the LG Wing - which isn't a codename, it's officially confirmed to be the actual product name (although you might see 'LM-F100N' on the box somewhere) - plus a good dollop of expectations based on rumours.

Release date and price

• 14 September 2020 reveal date
• Price & regions TBC

After being rumoured for a 2020 reveal, LG confirmed in an official teaser video that we'll get to see the launch event on 14 September (at 11:00pm Korean Standard Time - so mid afternoon for anyone in Europe, early in the day for the USA).

While we originally thought "surely that's just as a prototype?", it's now clear that the Wing is official. Not only from LG's official tease, but a late August video leak from Korea showed the dual-screen phone in action, followed by an early September video showing the device in-hand and how its rotation functions (see below). 

Whether the official reveal date means the on-sale date is imminent is still for debate, though, with suggestions varying between 2020 and 2021. Still, even if the Wing does arrive to purchase in 2020 we suspect it will most likely be for 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 too. 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 here. There's a titter of it "costing more than $1000" floating around the rumour mill, though, but with no credible source at this time.

Design & Displays

• 6.8-inch main display (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 the Wing will have an OLED panel with a 1080 x 2460 resolution.

It's the second display, revealed by rotating the main display through 90 degrees, that less is known about. That latest video shows that it's not a square aspect ratio as we had originally thought, but it's obviously a shorter, stubbier screen aspect ration than 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 its use.

But the Wing isn't the only experimental product in LG's stables. The Korean company has what it calls the Explorer Project, with the Wing being the first device from this series. In LG's words "[the Explorer Project is a] new mobile category aimed at discovering new ways to interact with mobile devices, focusing on the evolving and ever-changing needs of today’s consumers and challenging established user norms."

Hardware & Spec

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 765
• 8GB RAM, 128GB storage
• 5G connectivity

A rumour from ET News suggested 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.

This is further backed up by a MySmartPrice benchmark leak, which also reveals 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.

While that's not top-end spec, it makes a lot of sense 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 the Wing will bring next-gen 5G speeds too.

Otherwise little else is known about the specification. Having seen the more up-to-date video, however, it's clear the main screen is very thin and therefore all the hardware will sit within the main body of the phone. We do wonder if the fingerprint scanner will only be on the main screen or the second screen too though.

We'll bring more robust answers as and when additional information is unearthed on 14 September 2020. This whacky yet wonderful looking phone could well turn out to be 2020 highlight.

LG Wing (LM-F100N) rumours: What's happened so far?

8 September: New video leaks showing rotation mechanism

The most revealing video yet shows the Wing in-hand and how its rotating mechanism functions.

6 September: LG confirms LG Wing as the official name

It's no codename: the LG Wing will be called exactly that.

2 September: LG officially teases launch date

A video from LG Mobile Global's YouTube reveals the 14 September launch event, shows off a little of what to expect from the rotating-screen phone.

26 August: LG Wing rotating dual screen phone is real, here's the video

A leaked video from Korea shows the Wing in action, setup as an in-car system for GPS, music and calls.

25 August: LG Wing dual-screen phone benchmarks leak out: Is a launch imminent?

Benchmarks reveal expected specification, which is similar to the LG Velvet in some respects.

12 May: LG Wing leak suggests a swivel phone with hidden screen

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

from Pocket-lint https://ift.tt/3f8K6yG
via IFTTT