The much-rumoured LG Wing is expected to be announced on 14 September, bringing a brand new form factor to the smartphone market.
The release of the LG Velvet in May 2020 marked a change in strategy for the Korean manufacturer, providing an optional case for dual-screen smartphone experiences.
While it wasn't perfect, the company clearly sees a future in more experimental form factors. The upcoming LG Wing is arguably more ambitious, with a swivelling main screen which rotates to reveal another smaller display behind it.
LG Wing release date
The LG Wing is widely expected to be announced at the company's next event, confirmed to take place at 3pm UK time on 14 September. That's 11pm in South Korea, where the event will be streamed from.
In the official invitation video above, you'll see what looks like a swivelling dual-screen form factor, which aligns with many of the rumours we've seen so far.
We'd usually expect a smartphone to go on sale within a couple of weeks of the unveiling, but the experimental nature of this device means we might have to wait longer.
LG Wing price
We have no idea how much the LG Wing will cost, not least because there's never been anything quite like it ever before.
However, considering the high price commanded by foldable phones so far, we'd expect the Wing to be similarly expensive.
At €599.95/US$599, the Velvet was relatively affordable, but we wouldn't be surprised if the Wing cost more than double that. There's also a possibility that pricing won't be revealed at the September launch event, particularly if there's a long delay before it's released.
What is the LG Wing?
The LG Wing is the official name of the Korean company's upcoming dual-screen smartphone. The company confirmed the rumours in an official blog post, and revealed it will be the first device in LG's Explorer Project, a new mobile category "aimed at discovering new ways to interact with mobile devices".
As the Korean Herald and ETNews have reported, the Wing is expected to be comprised of a main 6.8in OLED display, with a similar resolution to the 1080x2460 on the LG Velvet. The big difference here is that it can swivel 90 degrees to reveal a smaller 4in screen below, with the latter thought to be sporting an unusual 1:1 aspect ratio.
A video showing the swivelling mechanism has since surfaced online:
It's the first time we've seen it documented in such detail, and it also gives an idea of the thickness when both displays are on top of each other.
An earlier report from ETNews suggests the Wing will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765 processor, which does mean there's the potential for 5G support. A Geekbench leak reported by MySmartPrice also points to the device having 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but it's unclear if there will be any other configurations to choose from.
A leaked video, uploaded by Android Authority, also shows the second screen rotating to where it's more useful.
LG dabbled with this form factor in the pre-smartphone era, but it's the first device we've seen like this for more than a decade. Potential use cases include watching a landscape video while typing in portrait mode, or accessing on-screen gaming controls.
However, it's unclear how many developers will update their apps to support this new form factor.
It's worth noting that the 'Wing' moniker has not been confirmed by LG, as is simply the codename for its upcoming project. If nothing else, we're likely to have a final name for the device on 14 September.
In an in-depth piece, we explored what the LG Wing says about the company's evolving approach to smartphones, which you can read it here. We also discussed the leaks on episode 15 of our weekly phone show Fast Charge, which you can check out below.
We'll update this article as soon once as we know more.
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