LG V60 hands-on: A proper 2020 refresh

Share

Last year, LG released the LG V50, one of the first commercially available devices to work with Verizon’s 5G mmWave technology. Alongside it, LG launched the dual-screen display, an adapter for the V50 which adds a second display for better multitasking. While everyone else was working on foldable smartphones, LG decided to buy into dual-screen smartphones instead.

Now, almost a year later, LG has officially unveiled the LG V60. As with most iterative improvements, the V60 is similar to the V50 in a lot of ways, sporting a recognizable chassis and familiar features like a Quad DAC, headphone jack, and the return of the dual-screen display. So what’s new?

Internal adjustments

The LG V60 sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. While you might find that storage tier a little light compared to other 2020 flagships, LG included a microSD card slot so you can have more storage for less money. You’ll also find a headphone jack with the Quad DAC LG is known for, offering a great wired listening experience.

LG has packed a pretty massive 5,000mAh cell into the LG V60. This is the same size battery as you’ll find in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, and LG says it should last two days, though we’ll have to confirm for ourselves if that claim holds up. When you do run that battery dry, you can charge it up with the included Quick Charge 4+ adapter, which LG says can juice the device up 50% in 30 minutes.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G review: Another name for overkill

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the world “ultra” as: “beyond what is ordinary, proper, or moderate; excessive; extreme.” Similar to “mega” and “uber,” ultra is a word we use to overemphasize something: ultra-fast, ultra-powerful, ultra-big. It’s …

That battery is powering a pretty massive 6.8-inch pOLED display with a resolution of 2460 x 1080 and a 20.5:9 aspect ratio. LG says this aspect ratio is better for watching cinematic content, though we would have liked to see a full 21:9 display. Because of the lesser screen resolution on this device (and lack of high refresh rate), you can probably expect to see better battery life than other 5,000mAh phones with higher density displays. LG says you can expect the V60 to last 30% longer than the LG V50.

The LG V60 also has IP68 water and dust resistance and will ship with Android 10 out of the box.

The full list of LG V60 specs

A chassis refresh

The LG V60 looks very similar to the V50 that preceded it, but it’s obvious that there have been some tweaks to make it a bit more stylish. The V60 has a glass back and chamfered edges that make it look a bit classier than the V50, and there are two new colors that both look fantastic. The phone now comes in Classy Blue, which uses a dark royal blue and a gold trim, or Classy White, which is pearlescent and has a silver trim.

The design refinements are subtle but welcome.

The trim colors also extend to the camera module. There is a slight bump this year. While some people might not like it, I don’t mind it.

While this isn’t a mind-shattering design change from years prior, this phone does look a lot nicer than other LG phones we’ve reviewed. While I’d personally like to see a total overhaul in design language, improvements are nice to see.

Updated cameras

LG wanted to make a big deal about its cameras this year. The LG V60 has two cameras on the back of the device: a standard angle and an ultrawide. The standard angle lens is powered by a 64MP sensor which bins 4x to 16MP, and the ultrawide has a 13MP sensor.

LG says it doesn’t need a telephoto lens, and that it can just use information from the 64MP sensor to get a 2x telephoto equivalent. While this is technically lossless, you’re losing some light information if you use this mode. In any but the worse lighting conditions you probably won’t notice a difference though. On the front, you’ll find a 10MP selfie camera.

LG has also included a ToF sensor on this phone, which should help with things like portrait mode. The ToF sensor also helps power a new camera mode which can make 3D photos, similar to the ones found in the Facebook app. LG says this style of the photo was incredibly popular with users, so they integrated it directly into its app to make it more full-featured.

Video capabilities on the V60 have also been greatly improved. Because of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, the V60 can now shoot 8K video at a resolution of 7,680 x 4,320 at a max frame rate of 26fps. LG says it has done this to maintain stability at 24fps and not drop frames.

LG has also added four mics to the phone, which it says can produce much better audio than other devices. Additionally, a new feature called Voice Bokeh uses AI processing to detect speech and filter out background noise. Combined with the four microphones, this should produce great quality audio.

The LG V60’s dual display

The second display bundled with the LG V60 has the same size and resolution as the main display, which should make using both together feel more seamless. The software used to navigate between the displays is also similar to before, but LG has reworked the hardware on the back. Now, the back of the second display has a ribbed structure that LG says should make it more comfortable to hold. The OLED panel is a bit thinner as well, making the package slightly less bulky overall.

On the front of the dual-display, sits a small 2.1-inch second screen that can be used to show things like the time and notifications. The display connects with a USB-C adapter in the case.

I have to say though, this phone is already large and with the dual-display it is massive. It looked comical even in my hands. If you like big phones, that’s great. If not, you may want to look elsewhere.

Read: The V60 proves LG needs to change things up with the LG G9

LG V60 pricing and availability

Unfortunately, LG couldn’t comment on pricing or availability for the V60, other than it will be coming in the coming weeks. However, it did mention that the V60 with the dual screen bundled would cost less than the smallest Galaxy S20, suggesting the device will cost less than $999.

In the United States, the LG V60 will be sold by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. Verizon’s version of the device will be called LG V60 ThinQ 5G UW (haha) and will support mmWave 5G connections. Phones sold by the other carriers will only support sub-6GHz connection. LG said US carriers will announce their pricing in the coming weeks.

What do you think about the LG V60? Does it interest you at all? Let us know in the comments section below!