LG Velvet has come to the US and it's cheaper than we thought it would be
LG Velvet, the South Korean company's upper mid-tier phone which replaces the LG G9, was launched back in May. In the manufacturer's home country, the phone costs 899,800 won or $735. The handset has now made it to the US and its price is far below our expectations.
LG had reportedly said that the Velvet will be priced less than the equivalent converted amount and the general consensus was that it will be in the neighborhood of $650. Well, it turns out that the smartphone will go for even less than that in the US as the company has now confirmed that it will start at $599.
More than raw power, LG is touting the design of the phone. The element LG seems particularly proud of is 3D Arc Design, which basically means that the edges of the 6.8-inch OLED screen and rear are symmetrically curved, which makes the phone feel more natural in your hands. It also helps that at 7.9mm, the device is pretty thin and it weighs 180 grams.
And let's not forget, the phone is compatible with LG's Dual Screen accessory, which not only increases screen estate but also facilitates multi-tasking. To help with productivity further, the smartphone also support a stylus, which is sold separately. This makes it something of a Galaxy Note series competitor, at a fraction of its price.
And then we have got the phone's 48MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, and 5MP depth cameras, which are aligned in descending order by size to give the appearance of falling raindrops. That's actually a welcome respite from the rectangular bumps that seem to have taken over the industry and the phone undoubtedly looks aesthetically pleasing.
The front camera is 16MP and it is housed in a teardrop notch, and the phone can shoot 4K videos at four times the resolution of HD.
The LG Velvet packs in a 4,300mAh battery and it ships with a 25W charger. Wireless charging is also supported. It's IP68 rated against water and dust and also features a 3.5mm headphone jack. Other things worth mentioning are the in-display fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, and the dedicated Google Assistant button.
LG Velvet US Availability
The phone will be available stateside starting tomorrow. It will first come to AT&T, before arriving at T-Mobile and Verizon later this summer. As has become a norm for Verizon, it will be selling a special VELVET 5G UW model so that it is compatible with its Ultra Wideband network. If speed is on your mind, you might want to wait for this particular version, as a test shows that the LG Velvet 5G UW is comparable to some Snapdragon-865 powered phones out there, which is really saying something.
Here's the first 5G speed test on the new @LGUSAMobile Velvet in @Verizon red, coming later this summer. Real talk. @Qualcomm outdid itself with the 765G chip. These are speeds I typically see only on phones with the 865 platform. Speeds aside, this is also an awesome phone. pic.twitter.com/tCFjQJ4Sz1
— George Koroneos (@GLKCreative) July 21, 2020
Color options include Aurora Silver, Aurora Gray, Pink White, and Aurora Red. The native memory can be expanded, thanks to support for microSD card up to 2TB. The handset runs Android 10 with the company's custom skin on top. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the 8GB model will be sold in the country.
Specific pricing and colors will vary depending on carriers.
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