LG’s first 5G phone is the powerful V50 ThinQ

As announced, LG has launched its first ever 5G phone: The LG V50 ThinQ. But unlike Huawei’s radical, foldable 5G phone, which launched earlier today, the V50 is essentially a proper successor of LG’s V40, only with 5G capabilities. 

It does come with an accessory that sets it apart, though: A case with a secondary, 6.2-inch OLED screen. 

The LG V50 ThinQ is a 6.4-inch phone with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chip, the Snapdragon 855. It comes with 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 4,000mAh battery and a triple rear camera (with 12/12/16-megapixel sensors) and a dual, 8/5-megapixel selfie camera. 

This makes it a bit more powerful than LG’s G8 ThinQ, but that’s pretty much what you’d expect from the V50 — LG’s V series is typically slightly more powerful than the G series.  To sweeten the deal, though, LG has added a few extra features, such as DTS:X surround sound, and a vapor chamber heat dissipation system. 

There’s also an optional case for the V50 that comes with a secondary, 6.2-inch OLED display with a 2,160×1,080 pixel resolution. It runs on the phone’s battery, plays nice with selected games, and is generally designed as a multitasking feature. It’s an interesting take on the foldable phones trend: It’s not as fancy, but having the option to leave it at home when you don’t need it and just use the phone as a regular soap bar phone has its advantages. 

As for 5G, LG says it offers “20 times” the speeds of 4G, though it’ll ultimately depend on your ISP’s network. Sprint is one of LG’s partners for the launch, and the company promises “consistent connection and lower latency with virtually buffer-less streaming” when the phone launches on the network, which should happen this spring. 

Frankly, the feature I’m most interested in is the new, 4,000mAh battery. LG makes great phones, but battery life has always been lacking; perhaps the V50 is the phone that changes this notion.