Having LG’s previous smartphones in mind, it’s fair to say the company is not afraid to take risks. From moving the volume and power / lock buttons to the rear on the G2 to adopting two screens on the V10, or even the inclusion of the modular design on the G5, the company has always pushed the boundaries and, as time has told, some of these ideas stick and work well, while others are simply forgotten. But with a new device comes a new opportunity for LG to test the waters in a different way and prove itself once again.
As LG has already confirmed, today is the big reveal of its next flagship, the LG V20, and early renders pointed towards the device featuring the same modular design as the LG G5 and therefore being compatible with its own set of “LG Friends” accessories. A last minute report that has appeared says otherwise, though. According to this, LG has removed the compatibility with the modular accessories it debuted with the LG G5 and has instead included a “slide-out” rear, which will allow users to swap out the device’s battery, SIM card and microSD card. The report states that the smartphone will feature a button on the side which, when pressed, will open the rear and allow access the inside. As well as this renders based on eyewitness accounts of the device are also provided.
It’s fair to say that, if true, the rear door is certainly a unique feature, but many will surely wonder if it would have been easier for both the company and the device’s potential buyers to simply include a conventional removable rear if the company is that serious about including a removable battery. Moving away from its rumored design, the LG V20 is expected to feature a large 5.7-inch display with a QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution along with a secondary ‘ticker’ display, similar to the one seen on last year’s LG V10. On the inside Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 SoC is rumored alongside 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Also rumored is a 4000mAh battery and a 16-megapixel dual-camera setup, similar to the one seen on the G5. What we do know for sure though is that the device will be the first device to feature a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC and the first to launch with Android 7.0. Nougat out of the box.