LG V60 ThinQ Hands On: 8K Video, 5G, and a Second Screen

Hands On With LG's New V60 ThinQ, a Huge Phone With a Removable Second Screen. The phone goes head-to-head with Samsung on new features, but it's not very compelling. 5G connectivity, 8K video recording, and a design that folds are some of the things you'll get in one of Samsung's newest phones—but the privilege will cost you at least $1,000 for the most affordable device of the lot. If you want these next-gen features but aren't feeling the four-figure price tags, you could try LG's new phone: the V60 ThinQ.

Next-Gen Features and Hardware

It supports the new mobile network, packs a camera sensor with 64 megapixels for 8K recording, and comes bundled (depending on where you buy it) with the Dual Screen attachment—a case that adds a second screen to the phone, exactly like last year's G8X ThinQ. You get all of this and a headphone jack, something missing from all of Samsung's flagship phones, for a few hundred dollars less. Powering it all is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 processor with 8 GB of RAM, which keeps performance slick. There's a bigger, 5,000-mAH battery inside, too, which should keep the phone powered for a reasonable amount of time.

The device includes the following flagship specifications:

  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • Storage: 128 GB base with MicroSD card slot support
  • Battery: 5,000-mAH
  • Display: 6.8-inch high-res OLED screen
  • Durability: IP68 water resistance

Design and Display

LG does nail most of the basics. The V60's high-res OLED screen is something I could stare at all day. It's marred only by a small notch housing the selfie camera. However, what I'm not thrilled about is its size. The phone is built around an abnormally large 6.8-inch screen, which is just a smidge smaller than the one on Samsung's huge Galaxy S20 Ultra. This is a massive phone, even for someone with large hands like me. Despite the size, the phone feels a little nicer than its predecessor. Its looks aren't drastically different, but there are now chamfered edges around the sides, and the gold accents on the blue model adds some style.

The Dual Screen Experience

There's no folding screen here, and while the second screen does turn the V60 ThinQ into a foldable phone of sorts, it comes at the cost of being bulky, heavy, and cumbersome. But slap on the Dual Screen case and those style points quickly evaporate. I do like the functionality the extra 6.8-inch screen brings, like the ability to watch YouTube and text at the same time, or use one screen for a game and the second as a custom controller. I wish LG made more of an effort to slim the case down and make it as light as possible, or even make its front screen show more useful information than a clock widget with notification icons. It's great that the accessory is bundled with the phone, and that it gives you more visual real estate, but the experience still feels clunky.

Camera and Connectivity

The cameras are usually decent, but not as nice as what you get from Samsung, Google, and Apple; more megapixels doesn't guarantee better photos. In a similar fashion, it's nice to see 5G phones being sold at more accessible prices, but the 5G wireless experience is still limited. LG isn't selling an unlocked version of the phone, so you have to buy a model that just works on your carrier. The Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T models support the sub-6 version of 5G, which is faster than 4G and has good coverage, and the Verizon one only supports millimeter wave, which is blazing fast but has poor range and almost no access indoors.