The LG Wing 5G is a unique take on multi-screen phones, swiveling out the main display to reveal another underneath. But is it useful?
Outside of expensive foldables, phone design has stagnated in the last few years, and most coming out these days rarely varying from an edge-to-edge glass rectangle. The LG Wing 5G is a bold exception: a phone with a front screen that swivels horizontally and upward to reveal a smaller display underneath, providing more screen real estate in a device that you can use one-handed. It’s the sort of mechanism we saw on some of the many experimental phone designs that came out in the 2000s. In particular, the LG Wing 5G feels a lot like the Danger Hiptop (known better as the T-Mobile Sidekick – remember carrier-specific phone names?) but modernized for 2020. Similar to the Microsoft Surface Duo, the mini-screen can give you more space for a single app – though in the LG Wing 5G’s case, with the content on one screen and controls on the other – or you can use it to display a second, separate app, letting you type notes or text friends while watching media on the main display, say. When closed, the phone looks and operates just like any handset – and although it’s a little thicker and heavier than most others, it’s still closer in size to a regular phone than a foldable. You could use it as a perfectly functional one-screen phone, if you really wanted to. Of course, if you’ve got the LG Wing 5G you’ll be wanting to swivel the display out. Actually rotating it open isn’t difficult, even one-handed, but there’s also enough resistance that the main screen won’t slide up accidentally in your pocket. The phone is constructed in two ‘layers’, with the main screen sitting on the top layer, which takes up about a third of the thickness of the phone. It swivels out and up to the top of the device, exposing the mini-screen and forming a ‘T’-shape. Update: We finally have an LG Wing 5G release date of October 15 in the US and price of $999 (around £777 / AU$1,400). This essentially increases the display real estate by half again, and you could be forgiven for thinking at this point that the smaller screen isn’t too helpful. However, while not all apps will fit and work on it, having this dedicated area for secondary apps and tasks is potentially hugely useful; imagine being able to fire off a text, or Google the odd fact, without having to switch away from the show or stream you’re watching or the game you’re playing. There’s other unique applications of the extra screen, like using it as a touchpad while browsing online for precise control. Even better, swivel out while in camera mode and the mini-screen will show simulated gimbal controls for precisely following subjects thanks to image stabilization software. Combine that with the pop-up selfie camera, which allows you to simultaneously record rear and front-facing footage – great for streamers, say. That’s the real appeal of the LG Wing 5G, although until we get final software and price details we won’t be able to fully gauge how useful this functionality could be for the typical user. The LG Wing was announced on September 14, and true to LG fashion, little was known about the phone’s release window until preorders surprise-opened on October 1. The LG Wing release date is on October 15 in the US, though it’s unclear when it will come to other regions. The LG Wing price is $999 (around £777 / AU$1,400), and it’s only coming in a single configuration, at least for now. You can pick it up in the US from carrier Verizon. That’s a very competitive price for the phone, putting it at the same cost tier as the Samsung Galaxy S20 and iPhone 11 Pro, among other flagship phones. While it’s a little less powerful than its rivals, the LG Wing obviously has a lot to offer in terms of extra screen real estate, and also has 5G connectivity.
