LG officially announces the LG V10 with secondary display and dual front-facing cameras

LG today officially revealed the LG V10, the dual-display smartphone they’ve been teasing for a little while now. The display is a small ticker-like implementation above the main display, which is a setup not at all unlike the Samsung Continuum from way back when.

Ticker Display Done Right?

Thankfully it doesn’t appear the LG V10 will fall victim to the same circumstances that doomed that phone (lackluster specs and lack of availability). The secondary display can be used for quick looks at weather, time, date and battery status while the display is off. While it’s on, it acts as a dedicated apps launcher, and during video playback or games it’ll notify you when a call or text comes in so as to not interrupt you with a popup notification on the main display.

Cameras Galore

Another neat feature we haven’t seen on my other phones in the past? Dual front-facing cameras. We’ve seen that on the rear of some phones, but not the front. The purpose of the two cameras (5 megapixels each) is to provide both the standard 80-degree view we used to have, as well as the 120-degree wide angle view that has become standard in most other phones. To achieve this, the software uses an algorithm that takes two separate images and stitches them together to help achieve whichever exact angle you want. Neato.

That said, there is still a lot to get excited for with the rear camera, which is a 16MP shooter similar to the one found in the LG G4. LG has included manual mode for video recording, which is another first for a smartphone. It allows you to change aspect ratios (16:9 or 21:9 cinematic), resolutions (HD, FHD or UHD) and more:

• Steady Record: utilizes electronic image stabilization (EIS) optimized for recording video to neutralize shake, helping to capture sharper video footage when in motion
• Snap Video: create one video by combining many shorter videos
• 15 Sec. Auto Edit: create a short video highlight clip by automatically eliminating blurred frames and static scenes
• Quick Video Editor: easily trim or change the frame rate and add after-effects, such as colors and background music
• Quick Share: when finished recording, a pop-up appears on the display showing options of popular social networks to make video sharing even easier and faster
• Audio Monitor: adjust the sensitivity of the three microphones during video recording and directly monitor and control audio input, including directional recording capability to highlight sound from one particular location
• Wind Noise Filter: eliminate external wind noise for high-quality sound when shooting video outdoors

LG V10 Specs

The rest of the device sounds quite solid. 4GB of RAM, Snapdragon 808, 64GB of storage, 3,000mAh battery. Even a microSD slot — it’s all there. Take a look at the full list:

• Chipset: Qualcomm^® Snapdragon™ 808 Processor
• Display: Main) 5.7-inch QHD IPS Quantum Display (2560 x 1440 / 513ppi)
  Secondary) 2.1-inch IPS Quantum Display (160 x 1040 / 513ppi)
• Memory: 4GB LPDDR3 RAM / 64GB eMMC ROM / microSD (up to 2TB)
• Camera: Rear) 16MP with F1.8 Aperture / OIS 2.0
  Front) 5MP Dual Lens (80^o Standard Angle / 120^o Wide Angle)
• Battery: 3,000mAh (removable)
• OS: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Size: 6 x 79.3 x 8.6mm
• Weight: 192g
• Network: LTE-A Cat. 6
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac / Bluetooth 4.1 / NFC / USB 2.0
• Colors: Space Black / Luxe White / Modern Beige / Ocean Blue / Opal Blue

Sounds like a flagship to us.

Availability

LG didn’t have much pricing info to dish out, but we do know where it’ll be headed. South Korea will get it first, naturally, but we’ll also see it in the United States, China and key countries in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East by year’s end. LG says more markets will be added to the list in due time, so we’ll have to wait for further announcements to see which other areas will get it.