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NEW YORK—Marking LG’s latest forays into the consumer device marketplace, the company at an Oct. 1 event here announced the rumored video- and photo-centric LG V10 smartphone and the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition smartwatch—which features new LTE connectivity.
The LG V10 (pictured) features several innovations, including a main screen that also has a smaller second display for frequently accessed information, dual front cameras that give different viewing angles in photos and new manual video controls to give users lots of flexibility when capturing video. The V10 is also ruggedized and built with high-grade stainless steel and a silicone skin that meets military MIL-STD-810G standards for drops on concrete, according to LG.
The LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition smartwatch, meanwhile, allows users to connect to 4G, 3G, WiFi or Bluetooth networks, whether on its own or when paired with an Android smartphone, according to the company. It can also be used with iOS, but its connectivity can vary. The new smartwatch features a 1.38-inch full circle P-OLED display, a 44.5mm diameter, a stainless steel body and a hypoallergenic TPSiV elastomer band. The device also includes a 570mAh battery and a Power Saving Mode to give day-long use.
The V10 smartphone features a main 5.7-inch quarter-high-definition (QHD) In-Plane Switching (IPS) Quantum display and a second 2.1-inch screen above it that can be set up as an “always-on” display to provide updates without shortening battery life. The smaller screen can be used to display the weather, time, date and battery icon when the main display is off, and it can be used as a launching area for shortcuts or favorite apps when the main screen is being used.
The handset has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 64GB of built-in eMMC ROM storage and a 16MP rear-facing camera. The device runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
The 5-megapixel dual front cameras include two separate lenses that can capture standard 80-degree or 120-degree wide-angle selfies and can be easily selected by the user. Also included is a multi-view recording feature that can capture different angles using all three cameras at once.
The video capabilities of the V10 also set it apart with the inclusion of a new manual mode for video capture, allowing users to set each parameter of what is being filmed for the utmost in control, the company said. The manual mode allows users to set shutter speed, frame rate, ISO, white balance and focus while recording in any of three resolutions, HD, FHD or UHD, or two aspect ratios—16:9 standard or 21:9 cinematic.
New quick-share capabilities to allow users to quickly post their videos on social media networks are also included, as is a quick video editor and an automatic editor that pulls together a 15-second highlight reel from a user’s video. A new wind noise filter is also now included that lets users cut out external wind noises from their videos when shooting outdoors.
The V10 also includes a microSD card slot that can be used with storage cards of up to 2TB, a 3,000mAh removable battery and built-in Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology, which provides a 50 percent charge in 40 minutes. Also built-in is a fingerprint sensor that works with Android Pay in the United States, as well as a sound system that features a 32-bit Hi-Fi digital to analog converter by ESS Technology for vastly improved sound.
“The LG V10 was designed from the ground up, primarily as a multimedia smartphone for the sharing ecosystem,” Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications, said in a statement. “We heard from many customers that until the G4, they weren’t comfortable going on vacation or outings without a separate camera. With the V10, we hope to do for video what the G4 did for photographs.”
The V10 will be available in Korea on Oct. 8 and will launch in the United States and other countries soon after, according to the company. Prices have not been announced. The phone will be offered in the United States through AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Color choices are Space Black, Luxe White, Modern Beige, Ocean Blue or Opal Blue.
LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition Smartwatch
The latest LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition device features a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and runs on Android Wear. It will be available first in the United States and Korea, with pricing and availability dates to be announced later. The watches will be available in Space Black, Opal Blue, Luxe White or Signature Brown.