LG V50 ThinQ 5G Dual Screen review

Design

The LG V50 is a dual-glass smartphone, not that anyone expected something else. We are at the peak of the glass, phones and it seems they will be dominating the market for the foreseeable future. Even sci-fi movies and futuristic TV shows tend to agree.

LG likes to make its flagships sturdier than the competition's and the V50 is both IP68 and MIL-STD-810G certified for resistance against various shocks.

The phone has an aluminum frame, which holds the front Gorilla Glass 5 piece and the rear Gorilla Glass 6.

The V50 is IP68-rated for dust and water protection, but it also covers 12 categories from the military standards for low pressure, high temperature, low temperature, temperature shock, solar radiation, rain, high humidity, salt fog, sand and dust contamination, water submersion, vibration and shock tests. It's no CAT, don't get this the wrong way, but the V50 is still tougher than most.

Being a tough nut is not standing in the way of flagship greatness though, and the V50 is a premium smartphone as they make them. There is a large 6.4" P-OLED panel with Quad HD+ resolution and acceptable bezels. Its notch is not our favorite, but it's not an uncommon one either.

There is a dual-selfie camera inside the notch with a 5MP wide and an 8MP regular snappers. In-between those are a bunch of sensors, while on the right is the earpiece that also doubles as a speaker. The grille is not centered though, and the lack of symmetry may be an issue for some users with high attention to detail.

The whole front is covered with a flat Gorilla Glass 5 piece, while on the back a Gorilla Glass 6 shields all internals. The version 5 of the glass is somewhat more scratch-resistant than the rear's version 6, which is advertised as drop-resistant. LG has put some thought into choosing the right panels for the job, and we appreciate what they have done with the body.

And of course, between these Gorilla Glasses is a polished aluminum frame, attributing further to the classy V50 looks. It has the volume and assistant keys on the left, the power button and the card tray (1x or 2x SIM, microSD) - on the right, while the bottom houses the audio jack, the USB port, the second speaker, and the mouthpiece.

The rear of the LG V50 is a dream come true! There are three flagship-grade c,ameras here, and they are flush with the back! We've seen humps, squares, strips, rings on a plate, and whatnot, but it is so exceptionally rare to see a flagship that has no camera hardware jutting out. Kudos to LG for that!

Above the three imagers is a red LED taking the shape of a 5G logo that lights up always when charging and sometimes - on new notifications (and sometimes it doesn't). That is something we'd like better at the front and shaped less glaringly, but LG wanted people to know this is a 5G-ca,pable phone and this is one way to do it, we guess. Oddly, we expected this logo to flash when the V50 is connected to a 5G networks, but, alas, it does not, at least not on our local 5G carrier.

The LG V50 has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner in stark contrast to the most recent flagship bunch and their under-screen solutions. It is always-on and very accurate, and we didn't mind not having the latest tech for this feature. At all.

Finally, there are three pogo pins near the bottom and those are meant for the Dual Screen Case if you opt for one.

So, the LG is one jam-packed with features phone, tough to break and even tougher to drown, manages to pull both an audio jack and standalone microSD slot, has a premium camera but no humps, and it even contains a 5G modem. You might be imaging a brick, but the V50 is no such thing, not by a longshot. The LG V50 measures 159.2 x 76.1 x 8.3 mm and weighs 173 g - making it as big and weighing as, say, the Galaxy S10+.

The LG V50 is a well-built phone with an excellent no-nonsense design, that is if we don't count the 5G disco logo at the back. The flat undisturbed glasses and the stylish frame are something we liked on the V50, while the handling experience is among the better ones you can have today.

Although the V50 is a glass device, it is not that slippery and feels relatively safe when handled case-free. At the end of the day, we are left with nothing but overly positive impressions with our time spent with the V50 and our only wish is for some more phones to look like it.