Editor’s Desk
Android Central’s Editor’s Desk is a weekly column discussing the newest information, developments, and happenings within the Android and cellular tech house.
This 12 months, will probably be 5 years since LG launched what’s thought-about its final flagship smartphone. The LG Wing was a really distinctive gadget that includes a swivel design that you just received’t actually discover wherever else, and doubtless for good cause. The novel design was one which turned heads, however surprisingly (or perhaps not), the LG Wing finally did not garner sufficient consideration to maintain LG within the recreation. The next 12 months, LG introduced it was leaving the smartphone enterprise.
I’ve been holding onto the LG Wing for the previous 5 years, and it was lately introduced (by way of Android Authority) that LG will quickly shut down its replace service, that means that anybody nonetheless utilizing an LG cellphone will quickly not have the ability to replace it.
Thankfully, I’ve managed to maintain my Wing up to date (as a lot as doable) through the years. It is largely been amassing mud in a drawer on a regular basis, in order a self-proclaimed former LG fanboy, I lately determined to revisit this distinctive gadget and take it for a spin now that it has been a while since LG bowed out.
The Wing had some attention-grabbing concepts
The LG Wing got here at a time when foldable telephones have been nonetheless getting off the bottom. They weren’t as fashionable as they’re right now, and corporations have been nonetheless figuring out the {hardware} and software program intricacies that got here with constructing foldables. That is the place the Wing got here in, providing another for anybody who apprehensive in regards to the longevity of a folding show.
On the time, I assumed LG was good to forgo the potential prices related to growing a foldable cellphone. As a substitute, the corporate leaned on the newest (and ultimately last) evolution of the Second Display idea it had been pushing on shoppers for years.
The concept was pretty easy in idea: you should utilize the cellphone as you frequently would on its main show, however then you could possibly reveal a secondary display screen everytime you wanted it. It stayed out of sight till it was wanted, which I actually appreciated.
LG additionally had some concepts of how this second display screen might be used. Apps may make the most of each shows in distinctive methods, which really made a good quantity of sense. As an illustration, when the primary show was swiveled up, I may watch a YouTube video in full view on the horizontal display screen whereas the varied video controls remained on the second display screen beneath. This made it simple to regulate quantity, brightness, skip ahead, and extra.
The opposite use for the second display screen was multitasking. My favourite use case was at all times utilizing Google Maps on the first show to navigate, whereas the second display screen could be used to manage music.
In fact, there’s rather more you are able to do with it, as long as you are okay with some apps being squished right down to the almost-square side ratio. However to me, this made me consider multitasking in methods I by no means thought-about earlier than. Since I am not a fan of utilizing break up display screen on customary candybar telephones, this gave me another choice that I a lot most well-liked.
LG additionally had a enjoyable mouse operate that allow you to use the second display screen to manage the primary show.
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Then there’s the digital camera. LG did one thing fairly distinctive by including a secondary ultrawide “Gimbal Movement Digital camera” that is rotated 90-degrees and would work when the cellphone is in Swivel Mode. Mainly, this allowed the customers to maneuver the viewfinder round with no need to bodily transfer the sensor and helped stabilize movies in the same strategy to an precise gimbal digital camera system.
It is a distinctive strategy to benefit from the cellphone’s distinctive type issue, as you possibly can merely maintain the cellphone by the second display screen for extra secure dealing with of the cellphone when recording. It additionally probably saves you from having to buy a separate smartphone gimbal.
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I’ll say that I used to be completely shocked on the picture high quality from the primary large and ultrawide sensors. I used to be at all times a fan of LG’s video capabilities, however picture high quality at all times left lots to be desired on earlier LG telephones I’ve used, so it was good to see LG enhance on this entrance with the Wing.
Within the LG Wing overview, it was famous how the first digital camera “goes toe-to-toe with a number of the finest Android cameras on the market, with spectacular dynamic vary and coloration readability, plus minimal noise even in darker situations.” I would not say that LG may compete with the finest Android cameras of 2025, nevertheless it actually wasn’t dangerous for 2020.
Sadly, digital camera enhancements and a novel smartphone type issue weren’t sufficient to save lots of the Wing or LG.
Too many compromises
Finally, the LG Wing was a flop. I am unable to say whether or not it was a results of the COVID-19 pandemic that noticed shoppers making fewer non-essential spending selections or simply the general reception of the LG Wing and its admittedly cool however unusual design. Both manner, the cellphone didn’t resonate with shoppers.
For one, the cellphone was costly at launch for what you bought. It value $999 however featured a squarely mid-range Snapdragon chipset often reserved for cheaper smartphones. By comparability, the extra typical LG V60 value much less, featured a extra highly effective flagship Snapdragon chipset, and had a bigger battery, making it really feel like a greater deal.
However greater than that, it felt like LG was attempting to do absolutely the most with absolutely the least, and the payoff simply wasn’t there.
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LG wasn’t recognized for having the very best software program, and whereas I by no means significantly minded it, many thought-about the UI to be behind Samsung’s One UI and others. That mentioned, it looks like LG is stretching itself skinny attempting to get the Wing to work correctly.
Switching from common to Swivel mode and again feels janky, including apps to the Second Display is extra cumbersome than it must be, and Gboard cannot be used correctly in Swivel mode; solely LG keyboard will work on the Second Display, which kinda misses the purpose if I’ve to make use of Gboard on the first show whereas in swivel mode.
Samsung has the same limitation on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 cowl display screen, the place I can solely use Samsung Keyboard, and it is a key annoyance for me.
Software program and assist have been a number of the largest points with the Wing.
That highlights a key downside with Swivel Mode on the LG Wing: as cool because it was, it additionally felt woefully underutilized. LG simply did not garner the type of app assist that was wanted to totally benefit from it. At launch, it leaned closely on YouTube, the Whale browser, and an optimized model of Asphalt 9 to point out off how apps may make the most of the second display screen, however the choice remained missing all through its lifecycle.
This left multitasking as the primary operate for the second display screen, which wasn’t sufficient of a draw for this cellphone.
LG was additionally recognized for not having the very best replace cadence or coverage, which additionally did not assist the Wing’s case. Funnily sufficient, I really feel prefer it improved after LG introduced its departure from the smartphone market, as the Wing has since acquired three OS upgrades as much as Android 13.
Then there’s the gimbal digital camera, which was cool in idea, however was at all times the cellphone’s weakest level for me. I needed to essentially prefer it, however the video high quality was by no means significantly good, to the purpose the place I’d simply keep on with the primary large and ultrawide sensors. It did not assist that video was capped at FHD in Gimbal Mode, and the end result was a surprisingly noisy and simply not good.
The Wing had a possibility to take my video, my favourite factor about LG telephones, and actually do one thing cool, however ultimately, it simply fell flat.
Holding the cellphone years later, I additionally can not help however discover how the Wing additionally simply feels surprisingly un-LG in a bizarre manner. The distinctive type issue was a really LG factor to do, however the compromises felt a bit uncharacteristic, akin to the dearth of stereo audio system and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Even the design selections, with a curved show, fingerprint magnet on the again panel, and noisy pop-up selfie digital camera, make the cellphone really feel prefer it was constructed by a unique firm.
The cellphone can also be heavy (at 260g, it is heavier than even the Galaxy Z Fold 6), solely options an IP54 water and mud resistance score, and the fingerprint sensor may be very sluggish.
LG was nice at standing out with its experimental telephones, and the Wing was clearly by no means meant to be an enormous hit, however LG made some odd selections that I really feel ensured it would not do properly.
That mentioned, I am unable to assist however really feel like a few of what we acquired with the LG Wing helped put together me for foldables, significantly flip telephones.
Prepping me for foldables
Foldables weren’t my factor again in 2020, however with the resurgence of the Motorola Razr, I’ve gone all-in on flip telephones. It is a acquainted design that spans generations, and now with trendy smartphone know-how, it may reside on in a much-smarter and user-friendly manner. The place LG tried to distinguish itself with the Wing, trendy flip telephones relied closely on the previous to realize reputation.
Nonetheless, I feel the Wing was onto one thing with its smaller second display screen. This wasn’t meant to be a main manner of interacting with the cellphone, however an non-compulsory manner for customers to get somewhat additional out of their units.
Fashionable flagship flip telephones take the same strategy, but they make the smaller cowl display screen a primary possibility as a strategy to rapidly get via notifications, messages, and extra. Then, if and when vital, you possibly can open the gadget to disclose a regular-sized smartphone.
With this in thoughts, I am unable to assist however suppose LG would have carried out higher to go for a flip cellphone type issue than to try to reinvent the wheel with a Swivel cellphone. It might have taken a era or two to essentially take off, however given the rising reputation of the Razr and Galaxy Z Flip lineups, perhaps we’d nonetheless have LG round to maintain us on our toes with different distinctive units just like the unreleased Rollable cellphone.
