Swivelling LG Wing takes flight, gets officially launched

LG is tapping into its penchant for unusual designs with the launch of the new LG Wing smartphone. As part of its Explorer Project, the Wing is the initial representative of an initiative that aims to breathe new life in smartphone design. It looks like the typical candy bar smartphone design, but LG decided to add a swivelling display into the mix. 

Swivelling components used to be a big part of handsets in the early 2000s, but now LG decided to join the dual-screened smartphone segment with this fresh approach. It's definitely not for everyone. 

The primary display is a curved 6.8-inch P-OLED with FHD+ resolution and a 20.5:9 aspect ratio. The secondary screen is a 3.9-inch G-OLED with FHD+ resolution and a 1.15:1 aspect ratio. As expected, there is no official IP rating for the LG Wing, but the screens come with a water-repellent coating.

LG says its partnering with various companies to take advantage of this new form factor. It's working with the likes of Qualcomm, search engine Naver, and streaming platforms Tubi and Ficto.

The Wing's focus seems to be heavy on content consumption with its different use cases. You can watch YouTube or other videos on the main display while using the smaller screen as a media controller, or you can use the smaller display as a secondary screen for your game. Like in a leaked video we've seen, you can use the main display to navigate while answering a call on the second screen. The LG Wing can make video editing on the smartphone more straightforward, too.

The swivel design has a dual lock mechanism and hydraulic damper to absorb shock. LG claims the Wing can withstand 200,000 swivels.

And somehow, LG has kept its dimensions close to a regular smartphone at 169.5 x 74.5 x 10.9mm while weighing at 260 grams.

It comes with a triple-camera setup, including a 64-megapixel primary sensor and two ultrawide cameras (one 12-megapixel shooter specifically for swivel mode and another 13-megapixel sensor). The pop-up selfie camera comes with a 32-megapixel lens. LG offers a gimbal mode that uses the secondary screen as a virtual joystick. It only works with the 12-megapixel sensor since it's mounted in the Wing sideways.

The phone itself is powered by a mid-range Snapdragon 765G chipset, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB/256GB storage options. It packs in a 4,000mAh battery that supports wireless charging. What's missing, though, is a headphone jack. LG said it needed to leave it out to add the necessary parts for 5G, and so the movable display won't be too bothersome to hold.

LG hasn't revealed availability outside of the US and price yet, but Engadget claims it's around US$1,000 (roughly CA$1,315), making it one of the cheaper dual-screened devices.

Source: GSMArena