LG’s First 5G Smartphone Lands Exclusively at EE

UK consumers looking for LG’s first 5G smartphone will find it at EE later this year, as the operator announced an exclusive partnership to offer the flagship device.

LG officially unveiled the V50 ThinQ 5G smartphone yesterday ahead of the MWC19 event in Barcelona, confirming specs and features see below) that were released last month.

With today’s news, EE now has now racked up three 5G smartphones to offer customers when it launches services this year. Along with the LG V50 ThinQ, EE will also offer Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G as well as a new 5G phone from OnePlus.

LG’s new device, measuring 8.3 millimetres in thickness and weighing 183 grams,  prioritizes the display, audio and processing power for high-bandwidth, content-rich 5G applications. The V50 features a 6.4-inch QHD+ OLED FullVision display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, which LG said offers a “heightened sense of immersion” for watching videos or playing games.

Dual screen accessory

LG also offers a Dual Screen accessory, which looks like a phone case -- when opened, it becomes a second 6.2-inch OLED display. The second screen can be used independently, allowing multiple apps to be used at the same time. In gaming apps, the second screen can also be a dedicated controller.

To alleviate eye fatigue, the display also has an artificial intelligence engine that changes colour and brightness automatically to adapt to varying light quality.

The V50’s audio has also been upgraded. DTS:X technology creates surround sound experiences while Qualcomm’s aptX and aptX HD audio technology enhances sound in headphones or earbuds.

As previously announced, the V50 ThinQ is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 platform with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem. The 4,000mAh battery is 20% larger than previous model V40 ThinQ and a new vaper chamber heat-dissipation system is designed to keep the device cool and maintain performance when using multiple apps.

Exclusive to EE

EE did not reveal pricing or availability for the V50 5G phone, but it said that details would be released at a later date. EE plans to turn on 5G in 16 UK cities this year. The first service launches will be in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester. In addition, EE will launch 5G in the busiest parts of the following cities: Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol. The operator currently has nine trial sites in London.

Specification

LG V50^ThinQ 5G

• Chipset: Qualcomm^® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform with Snapdragon X50 5G Modem
• Display: 6.4-inch 19.5:9 QHD+ OLED FullVision (3120 x 1440 / 538ppi)
• Memory: 6GB RAM / 128GB / microSD (up to 2TB)
• Camera:
  – Rear: 16MP Super Wide (F1.9 / 1.0μm / 107˚) / 12MP Standard (F1.5 / 1.4μm / 78˚) / 12MP Telephoto (F2.4 / 1.0μm / 45˚)
  – Front: 8MP Standard (F1.9 / 1.12μm / 80˚) / 5MP Wide (F2.2 / 1.12μm / 90˚)
• Operating System: Android 9.0 Pie
• Size: 159.2 x 76.1 x 8.3mm
• Weight: 183g
• Network: 3G / 4G LTE-A / 5G
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 5 / NFC /
  USB Type-C (USB 3.1 Compatible)
• Colors: Astro Black
• Other: Full-range Stereo Speakers / Boombox Speaker / AI CAM / Google Lens / Google Assistant / Super Far Field Voice Recognition / 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC / DTS:X 3D Surround Sound / IP68 Water and Dust Resistance / HDR10 / Face Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / Qualcomm^® Quick Charge™ 3.0 Technology / MIL-STD 810G Compliance / FM Radio

Dual Screen for LG V50^ThinQ 5G

• Display: 6.2-inch FHD+ OLED FullVision (2160 x 1080)
• Size: 161.6 x 83.4 x 15.5mm
• Weight: 131g
• Contact Type: Pogo Pin (3)
• Colors: New Aurora Black