When it comes to smartphone form factors, manufactures have been a bit creatively bankrupt, especially when compared to the colourful and unique phones of yesteryear. LG, however, has always been on a path of its own, unveiling strange and wonderful devices that never did that well commercially and often critically, but still made enough of a splash to draw a crowd and offer a bit of innovation in the industry.

Thus, we have the LG Wing, a phone that’s taken the concept of two screens in an entirely different direction. Here we will break down the pros and cons of the LG Wing.

The Fascinating Form Factor

The most appealing feature of the LG Wing is the bottom screen that can be found by swinging the top screen 90 degrees, effectively turning it into a large “T” that can offer display on both at the same time. The practical applications here may seem limited at first, but LG has made sure to put all of the new screen real-estate to good use. What this is, then, is an entirely new design completely in the world of smartphones, and one that may have serious potential in the future.

The Hardware

The Wing comes with most of the hardware associated with a mid-tier modern phone, offering a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G, 8GB RAM and an Adreno 820 GPU. For the asking price, which is $999 in the United States, for example, one would expect the hardware to be far more powerful, in line with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra – but it’s important to remember that the Wing is very much the first of its kind – so like the Motorola Razr 2019, the focus is on the unique form factor rather than having the very best specs on the market.

The Camera

Arguably where the phone shines the most is how camera operation has been implemented. When switched to its second mode, the top, landscape screen becomes the camera viewing screen, while the lower one provides all the details and settings. The camera, which consists of a 64MP OIS Wide as its primary, is better than most options on the market, but for best camera performance at the price, a flagship iPhone, Pixel, or Galaxy is a smarter choice. In terms of videography, however, the Wing does stand out among the crowd, where it’s form factor can allow the user to utilise the lower screen as a gimbal when it Swivel Mode.

Software

The Wing ships with a modified version of Android 10, where LG has created some specialised software to work with the rotating screen. This can mean watching videos on the top screen while texting on the bottom or having the two work together in a single app, but it doesn’t work for any game that a user may want to play here. This requires some streamlining, and it’s expected that software will be better for the second generation of the Wing.

Verdict

The LG Wing is a one-of-a-kind smartphone that sticks out among the usual slabs, but a huge asking price, frustrating limitations, and subpar hardware means waiting for a second iteration is a better idea.