Phone Comparisons: LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing

The LG Velvet 5G and LG Wing are arguably the company’s most interesting devices of 2020. In this article, we’ll compare the LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing. These two phones could not be more different, though. That’s actually what makes this comparison quite interesting. The LG Wing represents a whole new approach to design and function, while the LG Velvet 5G is more of your regular smartphone.

Despite the fact their design, and for the most part, function, are different, they are both LG’s phones after all. That means their software offerings are quite similar, and some other aspects as well. We’ll try to talk about most of them here, across a number of categories. We’ll kick things off by listing their specs, and then move to the design, display, performance, battery, cameras, and audio sections. Just to make things clear, we’re talking about the 5G LG Velvet here, the one with the Snapdragon 765G inside, not the Snapdragon 845 alternative. Having said that, let’s kick off the LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing comparison, shall we.

Specs

LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing: Design

Both of these phones are made out of metal and glass. In fact, when the LG Wing is in its regular smartphone mode, the two phones are actually somewhat similar. When you swivel that display to the side, though, things change drastically. The LG Wing comes with two displays, and the top one can be swiveled into the landscape mode. When you do that, you have one landscape mode display up top, and a vertical one below.

This allows for various different use cases. You can watch a video on the top display, and write comments on it on the bottom. You can also open two separate apps into each of these displays, and so on. There are quite a few possibilities here. Because of that second display, the device is quite thick. The LG Wing measures 10.9mm in terms of thickness, compared to the LG Velvet 5G’s 7.9mm.

The LG Wing is also a bit taller, while the two phones are almost equally thin. The LG Velvet 5G does include a display notch, a really small one, and thin bezels all around. The LG Wing does not have a display camera hole or notch, and its bezels are also quite thin. Each of the two phones has three cameras on the back, and both are quite slippery. The LG Wing is considerably heavier, though, at 260 grams, compared to 180 grams.

They are considerably different in terms of the design

These two phones are considerably different as far as the design is concerned. If you need that second display, and you don’t mind the bulk and thickness of the LG Wing, go for it. If you’re more into regular smartphones, the LG Velvet 5G design is actually quite nice. The phone is slippery, but it’s more of a regular smartphone than the LG Wing. It is also worth saying that the swivel action on the LG Wing works great, and the phone does feel sturdy.

LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing: Display

The LG Velvet 5G has a single display, while the LG Wing comes with two displays, as already mentioned. The LG Velvet 5G packs in a 6.8-inch fullHD+ (2460 x 1080) P-OLED panel. That display is flat, by the way. The LG Wing, on the other hand, has that very same display as its main panel, the same in every way, except it rotates. When you do rotate it, you’ll reveal a 3.9-inch 1240 x 1080 G-OLED panel, which is placed below it.

The main display on both phones is… well, it’s really good, well, in most ways. This is still a 60Hz panel, and we expect more at those price tags in 2020. LG could have at least included 90Hz displays on both phones. If you don’t really care about that however, these are really good-looking displays, to say the least. The colors are quite punchy, viewing angles are great, and you’re getting those deep OLED blacks as well.

Both panels are plenty sharp as well. There’s not much to complain about here, except the refresh rate. Now, the second panel on the LG Wing doesn’t look bad either, quite the contrary. This display is also sharp enough, even though you likely won’t be pixel peeping on it. The aspect ratio of that display is a bit odd, but that is to be expected, as it’s a secondary panel.

LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing: Performance

Both of these phones are equipped with the Snapdragon 765G SoC, which has proven to be quite a capable processor. That chip enables 5G connectivity on both smartphones, by the way. LG’s software has also improved a lot. It’s not a pain to use any longer, quite far from it. LG cleaned it up quite a bit, and that’s a very welcomed change. Now, when you combine that SoC, and that software with all the other components, you do get quite a capable phone in terms of performance.

That goes for both devices, actually. They do offer the same SoC, and very similar software builds. You won’t feel this is not a flagship SoC while using these two devices, not at all. Well, when loading games, you may feel it, if you’re used to more powerful chips, but both phones can run games just fine too. They’re far from being gaming smartphones but they do serve that purpose as well, if you need them to.

Both phones do regular everyday tasks with ease. They’re great at multitasking, and the same goes for media consumption. We did not notice any significant slowdowns from these two phones, and chances are it will stay that way for quite some time. Just remember, these are not flagship-grade smartphones, they do have mid-range components on the inside.

LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing: Battery

The LG Velvet 5G and LG Wing pack in 4,300mAh and 4,000mAh battery packs, respectively. Is the battery life any good, though? Well, yeah, it is, especially on the LG Velvet 5G. The Snapdragon 765G is a very power-efficient processor, and that battery capacity is nothing to scoff at. In collaboration, you can get really good battery life. The LG Velvet 5G can reach 6 hours of screen-on-time without a problem, as long as you’re not pushing the phone too hard. It can actually go well above that, but that will depend on your usage, of course.

The LG Wing is not far from it, though it is a bit behind the LG Velvet 5G in terms of battery life. Well, the more you use that second display, the more battery juice will the phone drain. If you use two displays on that phone often, you could get considerably different battery life than on the LG Velvet 5G. The point is, both phones are really good in regards to the battery life, so that is not something you should be worried about.

In terms of charging, both phones support 25W wired charging. The Velvet 5G does include a 16W adapter in the box, though, while the LG Wing comes with a 25W adapter. The LG Wing does include faster wireless charging than the LG Velvet 5G. It comes with 13W wireless charging, while the LG Velvet 5G offers 10W wireless charging.

LG Velvet 5G vs LG Wing: Cameras

These two phones do differ in the camera department. The LG Velvet 5G packs in a 48-megapixel main camera, in collaboration with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 5-megapixel depth unit. The LG Wing, on the other hand, sports a 64-megapixel main camera, and two ultra-wide cameras, 13 and 12-megapixel units. The LG Velvet 5G has a 16-megapixel camera on the front, while the LG Wing packs in a motorized 32-megapixel unit.

The cameras are… well, a mixed bag. The LG Velvet 5G’s 48-megapixel main camera is good on paper, but it goes heavy on post-processing, as over-sharpening is an issue. In portrait mode, the colors are off. The ultra-wide camera is pretty good, though, so good, that it tends to outperform the main camera in some situations. LG did improve the over-sharpening issue a bit, but there’s still work to do.

The LG Wing can produce really nice-looking photos. Its 64-megapixel does a good job, but it cannot measure up to most flagships out there. The HDR is good, and the photos end up being well-balanced, and more than sharp enough. That camera also does a good job keeping noise levels at bay. The LG Wing is geared towards video capture, and its gimbal model works really well, actually. The LG Wing does a notably better job in low light, by the way.

Audio

When it comes to audio, the LG Velvet 5G is the better device, quite simply put. The phone comes with stereo speakers, and those speakers are actually really good. They’re more than loud enough, and they’re also sharp. The sound is well-balanced, and chances are you won’t have many complaints here. The LG Wing, on the other hand, comes with a single, bottom-firing speaker, which could be louder. It cannot compare to the LG Velvet 5G’s setup.

The sound via a pair of headphones is pretty similar on these two phones. It’s well-balanced, while the mids and highs are most pronounced. It’s as good as you’d think, it’s not earth-shattering, but it’s far from bad as well. Do note that only the LG Velvet 5G has a 3.5mm headphone jack, though. You’ll have to rely on a dongle, or Bluetooth connection when it comes to the LG Wing.