Review: LG Wing

I’ll tell you one thing. The LG Wing is certainly something different. At least with a regular ol’ folding screen, there’s some familiarity in that form factor. You expand a folding phone, and you already know to use it as a tablet device. But with the LG Wing and its unique T-shape, you’re confused the minute you flip it out.

The Wing is a dual-screen device, though you’re getting a bit less screen than you would with an LG Velvet or the V60 with the second-screen accessory. The main screen on the Wing is a 6.8-inch OLED display, while the second is only 3.9-inches. You can take advantage of this unique set up with compatible apps, and there’s an option to split your wallpaper between the two screens. It looks nice—it all looks very nice. Using it on a day-to-day basis is a different story.

The T-shape that the Wing flaps into what LG calls “Swivel mode” in the settings. I was often confused at which apps were compatible and which ones would benefit from the second screen. It left me frustrated enough that I’d leave the phone aside so as not to deal with it. Apps like Google Maps, Google TV, and Spotify all work best on the main screen, and that was the case with so many other apps I use daily.

The apps that do make ample use of that secondary display—or Swivel mode—were mostly proprietary. The LG Keyboard, for instance, will appear in the secondary display when you’re in an app that calls for it. But even then, it’s not the case for every app. I’d hoped to get back to some Instagram messages using the Wing’s Swivel mode, but the Instagram app itself isn’t compatible in landscape mode. I had to close up the phone to use the app comfortably.

I’d also hoped to use the Swivel mode for recording video—if not on Instagram, then at least in another third-party camera app. You can only use the featured stabilization modes—including a digital Gimbal mode—within the LG camera app.

Specification-wise, you’re getting a lot of the LG Velvet’s hardware here, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G. The camera system is different, though. There’s a 78-degree 64 MP camera with OIS, plus two ultrawide cameras, including a 117-degree 13-megapixel camera and a 120-degree 12-megapixel camera. The pictures it takes are really good, and I found them acceptable for filing away to my Google Photos albums or taking into other apps to edit later. Photos had excellent dynamic range, and pictures came out pretty clearly. The night mode isn’t the Pixel’s, but it’s helpful in some situations, and you can even select the exposure time, so you’re not relying on AI to do it. The camera app, however, is cluttered as ever. There are many fun little photo modes and things to take advantage of, but I’m a minimalist, and I believe if you wanted that stuff, you’d go out and seek it in the Play Store.

For more on the LG Wing, you can check out the full video review I did for All About Android.

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