LG Asserts It Was Ahead Of Apple In Adopting Secondary Display

LG Electronics launched its latest flagship phone, the G7 ThinQ, this week. The new handset comes with a display feature that is very reminiscent of the iPhone X’s notch. However, the South Korean tech company does not call the feature a “notch” and instead refers to the ears or display surrounding it as the “New Second Screen.”

Following the unveiling of the G7 ThinQ, LG was interviewed by several media outlets about the smartphone. In its dialogue with Yonhap, the company pointed out that the device’s standout physical feature up front is not the cutout that’s housing the front-facing camera and in-call receiver, but the display surrounding the cutout.

LG calls the screen area that’s divided by the cutout as the New Second Screen. Even the press release posted on LG’s online newsroom does not mention the word “notch.” It overlooks the cutout and gives emphasis on the New Second Screen, which according to the company gives users flexible options when it comes to setting up the display style that matches their taste.

The options that LG was referring to are the fully expanded and the blackened out settings. The former is said to provide a bezel-less look, while the latter offers the more traditional style of having top bezels. LG just ignored how the bezel-less look it mentioned is not at all bezel-less due to the presence of the cutout or the notch, as what many tech enthusiasts and smartphone makers like to call the display feature.

Hwang Jeong-hwan, the head of LG’s mobile communications business in South Korea, also implied that LG wasn’t the one to follow the trend when it comes to adopting display notches. He asserted that his company was actually the first one to come up with the secondary display feature for smartphones. “We provided the second display even ahead (of Apple). The concept began from the desire to provide users with something more,” Hwang said.

Hwang’s statement is apparently true. LG was ahead of the Cupertino giant when it comes to releasing phones with secondary screens on top of the main display. The LG X, which was released in 2016, came with a secondary screen. The first two iterations of its V series, the V10 (released in 2015) and V20 (released in 2016), debuted with the same feature. Unfortunately, LG ditched the secondary screen with the release of last year’s V30.

LG is not pushing the New Second Screen as the primary feature that will attract consumers though. Samsung’s neighboring rival is banking on the improved “ABCD” of the phone: audio, battery, camera and display, to lure buyers. In terms of audio, the LG G7 ThinQ has a lot to offer, namely: the Boombox Speaker that offers an immersive sound experience, the DTS:X Technology that provides theater-like sound, and the Hi-Fi Quad DAC for an incredibly rich sound experience when the phone is paired with high-impedance earphones.

The battery of the new smartphone is said to last longer than the one inside its predecessor, the LG G6. This is because the G7 ThinQ has a low-power algorithm that consumes 30 percent less power than the G6. When it comes to camera technology, the G7 ThinQ is packing numerous options, tools and AI features. The ThinQ branding signifies the smart features of the handset’s cameras that ensure only the best quality for photos taken even in low light conditions.

Lastly, the display on the G7 ThinQ is an undeniable stunner. Though it is an LCD screen, LG has managed to come up with a way for the display to be capable of offering a whopping brightness of 1,000 nits. LG calls the 6.1-inch screen of the G7 ThinQ “Super Bright Display,” because it is much brighter than all of the average handsets out there that are only capable of producing 500 to 600 nits of brightness.

The LG G7 ThinQ is coming to the U.S. through different carriers. T-Mobile hasn’t given a specific preorder date, but it has confirmed that it is offering the new handset “later this spring.” On the other hand, U.S. Cellular will start receiving orders on June 1. Sprint is also aiming for a June 1 release. Meanwhile, Verizon will open preorders on May 24, but the units won’t arrive until June 1. AT&T is the only one who has yet to announce anything about the G7 ThinQ. LG has yet to reveal the release date of the unlocked version as well, according to SlashGear.