The LG V50 ThinQ, as the first ever of the company, is also going to be their first smartphone to support standard 5G bands and foldable phone with an accessory adding a second screen instead of the usual folding OLED display. Now again, LG wants to repeat the trick.
Unfortunately, it happens that the forthcoming phone, the LG V50 ThinQ, is pretty much average at best.
Not that the new LG V60 ThinQ is a bad phone in any way. The device has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB of RAM ,and superior Android 10 so it stays pretty firmly in the race. It’s still got that solid everyday kind of speed and the build feels like it was made to last, honestly. With a price tag of $800, or $900 when you include the Dual Screen accessory bundle it still doesn’t really help it shine, like other excellent flagship phones do right now.
Design and Port
Being a design refresh of the archaic LG V40 of 2018, you would expect the LG V60 to give a little more modernity to things.
Compared to the V50, which is almost bigger than the iPhone X notch, the V60 goes smaller to cut out the smaller semicircle and such. That is really helping in making the big-screen phone experience seem even bigger. A pinhole cutout, such as in the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, would do wonders to modernize the gadget, but the V60 is just fine with that small cut.
In two design modes, the phone has: with honeycomb casing, without it – and it reportedly makes the phone appear quite thin, particularly taking into account the fact that it is quite sizable. The camera module isn’t so flat as the V50’s, but it doesn’t protrude as much as the most recent iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxies.
At the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C and headphone jack; on the left edge is the volume rocker and dedicated Google Assistant button; power is on the right side.
For starters, the LG V60 isn’t small, and with the case, it is just plain huge. The benefit, however, is a second screen and some protection for your phone in the case of dropping it.
With its dual screens attached, this phone is thinner than Real’s properly foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The LG V60 is 0.59 inches thick with the case back, while the Galaxy Fold is 0.66 inches thick when closed. That’s surprising and a point in LG’s favor.
Make a simple case out of it. Just slide it down a bit , and tap to confirm that the USB-C actually goes into the phone port from the top. For charging your phone , you’ll then need to use the included magnetic USB-C adapter or just go with wireless power. Also, attach a small black and white screen on the front of the case, so it can show the time, battery status, and notifications. That will come in useful.
LG V60 is available in two colors, which are Classy Blue and Classy White. Both are beautiful, but I love the pearlescent tinge of Classy White more.
Display quality
“But with an 0880p resolution sitting underneath an OLED display, it seems like a step backward from the V50 ThinQ’s 1440p display,” says LG V60 ThinQ 5G. “With only a 60Hz refresh rate, it’s really not so great a display experience anymore compared to any modern flagship competition.”
Maybe that’s just a word. Colors in the screen cast bright and vivid, and, being an OLED display, black levels remain deep and dark. We could easily see the display bright sunlight, too. It is an alright display in many ways. However, the competitors have taken it to a new level; hence, LG V60 ThinQ feels lost.
The display is also equipped with an optical fingerprint sensor, which is a disappointment in itself. While accurate, the sensor is a bit slow. One would imagine any ultrasonic alternative could have fared much better. Since the phone has no facial recognition, a speedy fingerprint sensor is even more important.
Dual screen case
The interesting bit about the LG V60 ThinQ lies in its dual screen case. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold or Motorola Razr, which are true foldables, they do offer that foldable display, sort of like a panel that folds. Meanwhile, the Dual Screen accessory gives you an identical screen, with the same size and resolution, no real twist there.
That extra screen might come in handy on a dual display setup, espicially for multitasking and gaming. In the middle of multitasking, the second display makes it easier to see videos on one side while putting notes on the other. It’s kind of like a simple, split focus thing that just works. If you pair it with compatible games, the LG GamePad turns mobile gaming into a pretty exhilarating experience.
On the flip side, the bulkiness is a major con. If you’re used to big phones and you’re using productivity stuff, then you’d want to bear the encumbrance. If it’s one big gimmick for you, just save your cash.
On an upside, you can also turn the case on and off. It’s not difficult to put on or take off. You can leave it at home. Or maybe you leave it home for regular use and break it out for a Friday trip. That’s some added flexibility that the Pixel foldable won’t offer. It also makes you another thing to keep track of.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, an 8GB RAM, and 128GB of storage characterize the LG V60. There’s also a MicroSD card reader; hence you might want to increase your space.
During normal use, the V60 ThinQ is fast enough even for multitasking. This is pretty much expected of a Snapdragon 865 phone. Its benchmarks are really okay; however, it’s hard to find comparable Snapdragon 865 phones. So, this was the benchmark we managed to get for it.
The Same goes for the performance during mobile gaming- I had no issues while playing a bout or two of Fortnite and Asphalt 9 on my device, and it performed quite well. But really, that should be expected from any flagship.
Software
Android 10 with LG skin graces the LG V60 ThinQ 5G. Out of the box, the software looks decent. As I used it, however, I found lots of bloatware, most of which could not be removed easily.
And it is as well boring – standard bloatware knobs such as Gallery app – common ones like Google Photos can come handy for most. This other weirder and more uncommon unnecessary stuff, like pre-installed games such as Modern Combat 5 and Sniper Fury, can thankfully be uninstalled. The carrier installs some applications. McAfee advises T-Mobile. In the end, all these apps add too many, and not really pleasant ones. Worse, many can be disabled, yet they will occupy space.
However, it can also control other software jobs. LG has always been known to rearrange the apps on its skin, and it is happening here too. After sorting apps alphabetically, we installed some new applications, and they were located right at the bottom of the list, instead of in alphabetical order. Plus, the phone constantly told me to come learn how to use gestures.
Annoying would be an apt description for LG’s software. If only they took a cue from even Samsung, who tries to skinny their Android interfaces.
Image and video quality
LG has made changes in the camera array updated for V60. This ended up as a triple-lens system of a 64-megapixel f/1.8 primary sensor, a 13-megapixel f/1.9 ultrawide lens, and a 0.3-megapixel time-of-flight lens used to capture depth information.
Disappointing is that it has not included a telephoto lens, which is standard in most flagship phones, some like the S20 series of Samsung, having taken it to a whole new level in flagship zoom. For the argument of LG, with the primary sensor having been 64 megapixel resolution, the phone gets to take lossless photos at a 2x zoom, which gets done within the Camera application as smoothly as it does on phones attached by a telephoto lens. With a digital zoom, this phone offers images up to 10x.
It takes fine and detailed pictures in good ambient light; however, the camera does not perform well in low light, which is a turn-off in 2020 when it is being compared with the Apple iPhone 11 Pro and Pixel 4, which excelled in dim lights.
The most interesting aspect about the V60 camera is its ability to record 8K video through the Snapdragon 865 chipset, although it will take a lot of your storage space per minute (362 MB). Thanks to its high resolution, the frame doesn’t look so well as it did on the iPhone because of its improved stabilization and image processing.
Along with a resolution of 10 megapixels, this front camera is mainly good and useful.
Great battery life
The battery is, kinda one of the best parts on the LG V60 ThinQ. This device uses a massive 5,000mAh battery, it’s really noticeable.
In everyday use the phone, easily made it through a whole day of heavy use, with about 40% remaining, so you can tell the screen is set up for 1080p resolution and it runs at 60Hz too.
For the battery test I set it so it would stream a 1080p video over Wi‑Fi and the display stayed locked on max brightness, nonstop. In the end it lasted 13 hours, which is still pretty solid but not what you’d expect from that “all day” result.
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Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.
