A couple of days ago, LG unveiled the first in a new line of premium phones that LG claims surpasses their other flagship line, the LG G series. The new super-premium device, the LG V10, is a 5.7-inch device with great specs and a couple of noteworthy headlining features: a secondary display and a second front-facing camera.
The V10’s secondary display is a similar concept to the “edge” display seen on the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and Edge+. The secondary display on the V10 is a small, short strip just above the main display and has always-on capability. From the secondary display you have quicker access to settings, music, apps, and more. This secondary display can be customized to your liking.
LG also made an interesting choice regarding the front-facing camera, or cameras I should say. One camera is for capturing your standard 80-degree selfies, and the other is a wider lens 120-degree camera for group selfies. Both are 5-megapixel cameras.
What makes up the rest of the V10 is a 5.7-inch 2560 x 1440 QHD IPS Quantum Display (secondary screen’s official measurements are 2.1-inch 160 x 1040 IPS Quantum Display), a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage (with up to 2TB of external via microSD), a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with F1.8 aperture and OIS, Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, and a 3,000 mAh removable battery. The V10 will ship with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
So we have a pretty interesting device here. LG kind of took something that’s starting to take off in popularity (secondary display) and made it their own. I like what LG did for their secondary display. It’s easy to understand and it’s not in the way. Perhaps it’s not as “sexy” as Samsung’s Edge, but I think LG is avoiding a lot of controversy here by not using the edge for their secondary display. (Personally, I like the placement of LG’s secondary display better, but that’s just me.)
As for the dual front-facing cameras, I’m not sure how to feel about that. I think some people will think it’s useful, and it might even take away the need for the awkward but not-so-awful selfie stick by featuring a wider lens. At the same time, I think more people would have preferred something like dual front-facing speakers instead, or at least in addition to the secondary front-facing camera.
Still, the LG V10 will be in the good graces of those who still want the ability to expand their storage via microSD card and have a removable battery. With Samsung seemingly ditching both of those efforts as of late, and select other manufacturers only featuring one or the other, LG is one of the last that keeps both features in one phone.
Overall, the V10 seems like a solid device. The features keep it fresh and modern, the removable battery and microSD support are still nice to have, and let’s not skim over the fact that LG not only decided to forego the still popular 16GB model, but skipped over the 32GB model as well and went straight for 64GB of internal memory. At the end of the day, it’s a substantial contender among a sea of flagships.
