The LG Wing's Twisting Screen Offers a New Spin on the Dual-Screen Smartphone (theverge.com) 31
LG is no stranger to two-screen smartphones in recent years, but the company has just officially announced its boldest foray into a dual-screen device in recent memory: the LG Wing. It's a wild-looking, swiveling-display smartphone that looks to -- quite literally -- offer a new spin on what a phone can do. From a report: The new phone is inspired by LG's current trends of dual-screen smartphones like the G8X ThinQ and the Velvet, along with the company's classic swiveling LG VX9400 feature phone released over a decade ago. The Wing is set to be the first device under LG's new "Explorer Project" branding, aimed at exploring ways to "breathe new life into what makes a smartphone." Wing's most interesting feature, of course, is the two OLED panels. The first is a standard 6.8-inch main screen without any bezels or notches (instead, LG has chosen to go with a pop-up lens, since apparently the Wing didn't have enough moving parts to worry about). But it's the second 3.9-inch panel that's underneath the main display that makes the Wing 2020's most unique-looking phone. Instead of folding out for two full-size (or one flexible) panels side by side, the Wing's main display twists around and up to reveal the second screen, in a shape that looks a lot like a Tetris T-block.
But why (Score:3, Insightful)
Folding screens I totally get, I've been wanting a viable design for quite some time as I think they are a great idea for keeping a lot of screen space in a pocket.
But this twisting design... this seems like the ultimate expression of that joke phrase "They spent so long working out how they could, they didn't stop to think if they should". What use is it really to have one of two screens twist like that? Even as one of the most Pollyanna pro tech guys out there, I can't think of a real use fo this.
Maybe in the end it's just a more durable hinge design than the others and would be used that way?
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The only practical use I can think is, the second screen would be easier for typing... However if that was the case, I would propose an outdated idea, of just having physical buttons. Heck you can even get fairly lazy, with just button indedents bevels, behind the screen, so you can change what the buttons are based on software context.
Ok, maybe keyboard with some tweaks. (Score:1)
The only practical use I can think is, the second screen would be easier for typing
At first I thought, it doesn't seem useful fo typing as the screen is so wide it would have to be split, like on a tablet with a keyboard half to either side - then the screen space in the middle would be wasted.
That got me to thinking, what if in that case the wasted middle space became the portion of the screen hidden behind the top twisted screen? Then you'd get a full screen tall view while you were typing.
That seems lik
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The only practical use I can think is, the second screen would be easier for typing...
Except, the damn thing looks top-heavy when unfolded, which likely makes typing unwieldy. The practical use for this design is going out in public and showing off that you dropped upwards of a grand (probably more?) on a new phone. Smartphone design has firmly been in the realm of fashion rather than practicality, ever since designers started adding "notches" rather than just making the whole device a few mm longer.
Interesting configuration... (Score:1)
Except, the damn thing looks top-heavy when unfolded, which likely makes typing unwieldy
Interesting, I had not thought of it being used this way to type, I was thinking of it only with the wider screen at the bottom instead of the top!
I agree though, even though theoretically that seems like a useful config, in reality it seems top-heavy and awkward to hoodlike that. Maybe the upper screen is really light though with all of the electronics and batteries in the base (tall) screen you are holding to type wit
Re:But why (Score:4, Insightful)
Folding screens I totally get, I've been wanting a viable design for quite some time as I think they are a great idea for keeping a lot of screen space in a pocket.
But this twisting design... this seems like the ultimate expression of that joke phrase "They spent so long working out how they could, they didn't stop to think if they should". What use is it really to have one of two screens twist like that? Even as one of the most Pollyanna pro tech guys out there, I can't think of a real use fo this.
Maybe in the end it's just a more durable hinge design than the others and would be used that way?
It seems to me the most logical setup wouldn't be folding, or twisting, but rather sliding. Instead of the top screen rotating, have it slide to the side and back, leaving it flush with a second screen. This would essentially give you the screen real estate of a small tablet with the general form factor of a phone.
I agree (Score:1)
It seems to me the most logical setup wouldn't be folding, or twisting, but rather sliding
It seems like a great idea on the face of it, because it seems like it would avoid all sorts of problems the hinge designs run into.
I don't really care if a device hinges per se, I just want something that sometimes is a single screen phone I pull out of my packet quickly to do whatever, but then other times converts to a dual screen. A sliding design will fulfill that desire, and probably make case design easier than
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Agreed on all points. This was LG doing something no one else had done before, and no one thought to say that the reason was because it's not a good idea.
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I actually like the design. Great for using the phone horizontally.
The small screen, with its square shape and large bezels is well adapted for input or just holding the phone and leaves the top screen free of obstruction for videos or things like that. The small screen could have been replaced by a keyboard, but keyboards don't sell so...
And while it is not as "screen optimized" as, say, the Galaxy Fold, it looks like a robust design, with no need for an extra screen just to use it when closed.
Maybe it is
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I think it's a good way to have a wide screen and a bit that's vertical as well.
Think about things like navigation - the horizontal widescreen can display the map and you can use the vertical part for other things - like a list of upcoming directions and other ancillary information that won't crowd out the map.
It could also be used for gaming, with the horizontal display showing the game, and the vertical part used for the controls
I don't think it's inhertently a bad idea, I think it's interesting and requi
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Second screen should be a keyboard (Score:2)
I don't care about this phone. I'm not going to make fun of it because I do appreciate it when manufacturers are willing to experiment, but it would be nice if they could "experiment" by bringing back something they never should have gotten rid of. I've had the same complaint for a long time about three button mice...
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I've had the same complaint for a long time about three button mice...
Three button mice haven't gone anywhere. On most mice, the scroll wheel is the 3rd button.
Jesus, just make a fold out keyboard (Score:2)
Jesus Christ, all these stupid designs and nobody makes a good phone with a slide out keyboard. I loved my N900, didn't mind it was a bit thicker, I could do actual work on it (and, yes, even messaging was so much easier), but now even thickness is not an issue. Instead, they come up with a crazy dual-screen swivel that is the definition of "solution in search of a problem".
I currently have a Mi Mix 3 which is about as good as you can make an Android phone, and it even has a really good magnetic rail slide
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My biggest complaint is that it's a six inch phone, I'm not a fan of the gigantic screens, but maybe if this gains some traction there will be more options.
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So, not bad, but for £650 (which is quite a lot for a phone, despite what Apple et al want you to think) you get Snapdragon 835 (so 2017 flagship - I can live with that) and, more disappointingly, an IMX363-based camera, which is what £100 phones come with. Great that you can load Lineage and Sailfish OS, but you are paying a lot for the privilege and have to deal with serious caveats.
SciFi (Score:2)
Case? (Score:2)
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How would you put a case on this, given the way it hinges?
I'd guess they'll do a case the same way cases are made for slider phones - the case will snap on as two pieces, using really thin plastic clips. The downside to this type of case design is that it places limits on durability, since it's not really practical to re-design a bulky Otterbox-style case as something that can be clipped on each half of the phone.
It's probably safe to assume that if someone is really rough on their phone, an expensive flip/slider/twisting smartphone is not an ideal choice in the
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The same problem that messing up a good UI fixes every decade or so - idiots getting paid to screw up things that already worked.
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We all know who's going to buy the first one (Score:2)
"What a twist!" - M. Night Shyamalan
Tighter we go 'round and 'round (Score:2)