LG Announces VELVET Phone: Korea Only For Now
by Andrei Frumusanu on May 7, 2020 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- LG
- Smartphones
- 855
- Snapdragon 765
- LG Velvet
LG had been teasing the “Velvet” for several weeks now, trickle-feeding information about the company’s new premium level smartphone. Today, the company officially launches the device in Korea, fully revealing the specifications of the device as well as its pricing.
The LG Velvet isn’t a “true flagship” as it positions itself just one tier below that, featuring a Snapdragon 765 SoC as well as a lesser camera configuration. Where it does stand out is in the design – whilst some might criticise as “standard”, it’s probably LG’s best-looking phone in years. All whilst maintaining a reasonable price tag of around 670 USD.
| LG Velvet | |||
| V60 | |||
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 1x Kryo 475 Prime (CA76) @ 2.3GHz 1x Kryo 475 Gold (CA76) @ 2.2GHz 6x Kryo 475 Silver (CA55) @ 1.8GHz |
||
| GPU | Adreno 620 | ||
| DRAM | 8 GB | ||
| Storage | 128 GB UFS 2.1 +microSD |
||
| Display | 6.8" FullVision AMOLED 2460 x 1080 (20.5:9) |
||
| Size | Height | 167.2 mm | |
| Width | 74.1 mm | ||
| Depth | 7.9 mm | ||
| Weight | 180 grams | ||
| Battery Capacity | 4300 mAh (Typical) | ||
| Wireless Charging | Qi | ||
| Rear Cameras | |||
| Main | 48MP f/1.8 w/OIS |
||
| Wide | 8MP Super-wide angle |
||
| Extra | 5MP Depth |
||
| Front Camera | 16MP | ||
| I/O | USB 2.0 Type-C 3.5mm headphone jack Fingerprint reader |
||
| Wireless (local) | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 |
||
| Cellular | GSM, CDMA, HSPA, 4G/LTE, 5G | ||
| Splash, Water, Dust Resistance | IP68 | ||
| Dual-SIM | nano-SIM | ||
| Launch OS | Android 10 | ||
| Launch Price | ₩899,800 (~670 USD pre-tax) | ||
Internally, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 765 SoC, which is Qualcomm’s second-highest tier chip this year. Supporting two Cortex-A76 cores, one at 2.3GHz and one at 2.2GHz alongside 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8GHz, it should perform adequately, although it’s still quite behind the flagship Snapdragon 865 phones out there.
LG configures the Velvet with 8GB of DRAM as well as 128GB of UFS 2.1 as base storage configurations, and there’s a microSD slot for expansions.
Dimension-wise, although it shares the same screen diagonal as the LG V60 at 6.8”, the Velvet is a quite smaller phone as the screen curves to the sides and has very narrow side-bezels, resulting in a 74.1mm body width – around the same form-factor as an S20+.
It’s an POLED display with 2460 x 1080 resolution in a 20.5:9 aspect ratio, LG here is lacking any special features such as high refresh rates.
As teased several weeks ago, it’s a quite differently looking LG device as it sports a new industrial design that leaves behind some of LG’s more “practical” approaches of previous generations. Yes it’s still very much a glass sandwich and certainly not anything revolutionary, but I still think it looks quite good in terms of its execution.
The Velvet maintains a reasonable weight and thickness at 180g and 7.9mm – still able to host a 4300mAh battery in its body.
The camera setup was the one big unanswered question in terms of specifications of the phone, but today’s announcement seems quite disappointing in this regard. The phone has a 48MP main camera alongside a measly 8MP ultra-wide-angle and a 5MP depth sensor module. This really is quite below the industry standard at this device level – I just hope that the 48MP module is a decent one as I don’t have much expectations of that UWA.
Other selling-points of the Velvet is the fact that it still features a 3.5mm headphone jack which nowadays is a rarity in new phones.
LG announced the Velvet only in Korea for now at a price of ₩899,800 which corresponds to $670 pre-taxes. It’s an attractive phone, but I feel like it will be a make-or-break matter in regards to its camera abilities. The fact that LG is only releasing the device in Korea at this moment in time suggest that they’re experimenting and waiting out to gauge the reactions before possibly considering a wider device launch. I certainly commend them on the new industrial design of the phone – the company’s certainly on the right path in that regard.
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Unashamed_unoriginal_username_x86 - Thursday, May 7, 2020 - link
It seems like the only thing(s) this has going for it are the design and headphone jack. Outside of that, mid tier internal specs, lacking camera setup, and the display is average even without factoring in the P in P-OLED, I've heard very little good about it.Velvet pro doesn't roll off the tongue, but that's what would make this LG launch less lacklustre.
Kangal - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
Design? You must be blind.Rear camera now has a bump, this used to be flush in the body.
Sides are too narrow, making it structurally weaker, slippery, and less comfortable to hold.
The screen is now curved, LG was one of the few that resisted this trend.
And what is up with the weird aspect ratio AND notch?
The last best phone LG made?
The G2 was good, but the G6 was great in 2016 at half-price when LG made the firesale. The LG G5 was actually IP66 water resistant AND had a User Removable battery. For the past 2 years the LG V30 had been on discount too. And the LG V20 was The Last Android Phone which had a removable battery.
If you want something that isn't fragile, the design of the Samsung S6 Active is preferable.
Or if you want longevity, then a removable battery like that of the Samsung Note 4 is ideal.
For regular use, the design or concepts found in the Sony XZ1, Alcatel Idol 4S, and ZTE Axon7 are great.
flyingpants265 - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
The G5 was inferior to the G3. Same size, but smaller screen. Just crap. I sold it immediately. Terrible battery life. I believe it was also factory defective, like most LG phones. It was also hollow, which is completely insane. the screen would flex and make a hollow noise when you tapped on it.I like my G6, mostly because I paid $40 for it, but it's quite slow, and the screen size is again too small.
flyingpants265 - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
Besides the speaker grills themselves, the Idol 4S is probably the best-looking front stereo phone on the market.At least one of the axons didn't even have stereo speakers, it had fake cut oats. Also, that awful grill and off-center camera would drive me nuts.
Maxpower2727 - Sunday, May 10, 2020 - link
I'm not sure where you got your information, but the G5 had no water resistance whatsoever.Kangal - Sunday, May 10, 2020 - link
Sorry, I meant that as the LG G5 was never officially endorsed for water resistance.However, I've seen and heard plenty of owners who accidentally dropped them in the pool etc and the phone kept working no problems. I was surprised with this finding, especially since the battery is still User Removable. Sort of like the Samsung S5, but that was mostly just "splash proof" and not really resistant. The LG G5 was not quite "waterproof" like the IP67 devices, but moreso like an IP66 level of "water resistance". It was a shame the other issues of the LG G5 like it's marketing, pricing, bootlooping, poor camera, poor display, and QC issues hampered what seemed to be a good phone in the concept.
The old Samsung Galaxy S6 was similar to the G5, in that, it was never officially water resistant, but secretly it was built with ingress protection in mind. It is roughly an IP67 waterproof, similar to the iPhone 7's level. Of course, there's a difference between low-IP67, current IP68, and IP69K pressured-water resistance.
It is a shame that phones CANNOT last long anymore. OLED screens produce burn-in, and Sealed Batteries mean issues for owners. I'm not so sure the trade-offs were worth it. There's plenty of users still clinging to their Samsung Note 4's and LG V20's, switching microSD cards, replaceable batteries, and using Custom Roms.
boozed - Thursday, May 7, 2020 - link
Unfortunately no actual velvets were harmed in the creation of this phonedrexnx - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
and here I was, excited for a velvet-backed phone. Imagine how nice that'd feel in hand?airdrifting - Thursday, May 7, 2020 - link
The last good phone LG made was G2, and it was downhill from there. Who still remembered their attempt at making modular phones?solnyshok - Friday, May 8, 2020 - link
they need to launch g2-remake.