5G connectivity. 8K video recording. A design that folds. These are some of the things you’ll get in one of Samsung’s newest phones—but the privilege will cost you at least $1,000 for the most affordable device of the lot.
If you want these next-gen features but aren’t feeling the four-figure price tags, you could try LG’s new phone: the V60 ThinQ.
It supports the new mobile network, packs a camera sensor with 64 megapixels for 8K recording, and comes bundled (depending on where you buy it) with the Dual Screen attachment—a case that adds a second screen to the phone, exactly like last year’s G8X ThinQ. You get all of this and a headphone jack, something missing from all of Samsung’s flagship phones, for a few hundred dollars less. (LG hasn’t announced pricing yet, but the company says it will be priced in the ballpark of previous devices, so around $700 or $800.)
I only spent a few minutes with the phone, and while it’s a compelling offer on paper, I’m not convinced the company has improved the areas where the V60’s predecessors fell short. The cameras are usually decent, but not as nice as what you get from Samsung, Google, and Apple; more megapixels doesn’t guarantee better photos. The software still looks dated, and there’s no sign of the phone receiving Android updates faster. There’s no folding screen here, and while the second screen does turn the V60 ThinQ into a foldable phone of sorts, it comes at the cost of being bulky, heavy, and cumbersome—and frankly a little ugly too.
Bigger Everything
LG does nail most of the basics. The V60’s high-res OLED screen is something I could stare at all day. It’s marred only by a small notch housing the selfie camera. There’s a bigger, 5,000-mAH battery inside, too, which should keep the phone powered for a reasonable amount of time.
Powering it all is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor with 8 GB of RAM, which keeps performance slick. Then there’s the MicroSD card slot if you want more storage over the base 128 gigs, support for fast wired and wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, and the latest version of Android. All features you’d expect in a flagship phone. The headphone jack is even connected to a high quality digital-to-analog converter that keeps the audio sounding great.
