LG hasn't found much success in the high-end smartphone arena in the last few years, constantly bleeding money as a direct result of a convoluted product portfolio lacking a wow factor, not to mention a clear and practical way of distinguishing itself from the competition.
Following the release of yet another confusingly branded flagship with... an actually pretty decent quality/price ratio, the company is gearing up to unveil quite possibly its most exciting mid-range handset ever. The LG Velvet certainly doesn't sound or look like every other phone available today, but as hard as the company is trying to prevent unauthorized information from making its way online, that's precisely what seems to have happened earlier today.
A number of legit-looking images depicting a large chunk of the upcoming handset's spec sheet, as well as a few of its key selling points, have leaked, while a new Korean media report (translated here) claims to exclusively reveal the resolution of the primary camera mounted on the back of the 5G-enabled LG Velvet.
Four colors, a very thin profile, and a more than generous battery
Not that we really needed additional confirmation on this front after LG's official promo video essentially left nothing to the imagination late last week, but it's now even more obvious the Velvet will be an absolute head-turner in a quartet of sleek paint jobs including green and grey hues, as well as two flavors likely to be dubbed "aurora white" and "illusion sunset."
What the company has yet to confirm are the freshly leaked 167.1 x 74 x 7.85mm dimensions and 180 grams weight, which would make the LG Velvet 5G significantly thinner and lighter, as well as slightly shorter and narrower than the 6.8-inch V60 ThinQ.
While the display size is not etched in stone right now, these overall measurements and that small waterdrop-style notch and razor-thin bezels confirmed by LG make us confident the usable screen real estate will circle the 6.7-inch mark.
The extra-tall 21:9 panel is rumored to use high-quality OLED technology and could well match the 2460 x 1080 resolution of the V60 flagship, while the battery will naturally be downgraded from an impressive 5,000mAh capacity to a... pretty solid 4,300mAh size. That's actually quite impressive when you consider the aforementioned profile and weight of the LG Velvet 5G, not to mention both fast charging and wireless charging features are also expected to be supported.
Decent cameras, a lot of memory, and a great chipset
No, the Snapdragon 765 processor is not expected to rival the state-of-the-art 865 in raw speed. But its quality/price ratio is so good that Google is reportedly thinking of adopting this upper mid-end SoC on the Pixel 5 and 5 XL. The greatest thing about the 765 is that it supports 5G connectivity in all its flavors, from low to mid to high-band, which means the LG Velvet could theoretically be released even on Verizon and T-Mobile's blazing fast networks.
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Of course, we don't know if that will ever happen, but it's pretty much guaranteed that the LG Velvet 5G will pair that excellent SoC with a solid 8 gigs of RAM. Meanwhile, the 128 gigs of internal storage space will support external microSD expansion of up to 2TB, and yes, the "modern" mid-ranger even has an "outdated" headphone jack on deck.
As far as the "Raindrop" rear-facing camera system is concerned, this is tipped to consist of a 48MP Samsung-made main imaging sensor, as well as an 8MP wide-angle lens and 5MP depth shooter. Although specs are rarely enough nowadays to paint an accurate picture of a phone's real-life photography skills, these particular details suggest the LG Velvet 5G will not be a pushover from that standpoint either.
That 48MP sensor, for instance, is probably the same one mounted on the back of the Galaxy A51. The 5G-capable LG Velvet is also expected to come with a 16MP selfie snapper, stereo speakers, in-display fingerprint recognition technology, and a robust construction made to withstand water immersion, as well as things like extreme temperatures, vibration, and shocks.
Pricing and availability
Basically, if all this info proves accurate, the price point is the last (and most important) missing piece of the puzzle. We've heard a number of rumors since before the LG G9 ThinQ cancelation was confirmed, ranging anywhere from the equivalent of $500 and $700 in markets like South Korea and Vietnam.
Unfortunately, we'll just have to wait and see exactly how aggressively LG will end up pricing this bad boy. On the bright side, we probably don't have long to wait, as an official online announcement is already scheduled for less than two weeks from today. Stay tuned!
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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