LG is releasing a $699 phone with an attachable second screen that doubles as a phone case in November
- LG’s dual-screen phone will be available on AT&T and Sprint next month
- The phone costs $699 which includes an attachable second screen
- Its second screen comes with drawbacks like 30 percent lower battery life
LG is doubling up on displays with a new phone that comes with an attachable second screen.
The G8X ThinQ, as LG is calling it, will be released for both Sprint and AT&T customers next month after speculation that dates back to the beginning of the year.
The $699 phone’s most notable selling point will be the option to attach a second screen to the side of the device.
LG’s G8X ThinQ is a smart phone that comes with a second screen that can be attached. The device will be available starting early next month
This auxiliary screen, an OLED display that spans 6.1 inches, can lock at any angle and can be used as a keyboard, a kind of multi-tasking tool – think attaching a second display to one’s computer – or as a game controller.
Unlike other new innovative display technologies like an upcoming crop of foldable devices by Samsung and Huawei, the ThinQ’s second display isn’t a seamless extension of its primary screen.
Instead, the accessory, when attached to the phone, is separated from the primary display by a center hinge and folds over like a clam shell to turn into the case.
While the attachable display will come bundled with the phone for a limited period of time, using the accessory will come at a cost, at least to one’s battery life.
According to PC Mag, using the additional screen decreases the device’s battery life by as much as 30 percent.
LG will enter an increasingly crowded market for phones that have unique displays that include Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X
LG says the ThinQ will be released on November 1 for customers who use AT&T and will also be available for Sprint users on November 8.
The ThinQ will add to a growing array of devices that offer unique styles of display, including a tandem of folding phones from Samsung and Huawei.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X are already available to customers in markets across the world and tout a single display that can be folded out or on top of itself to give users different configuration modes.
Those devices, however, are much pricier than LG’s current offering, with the Fold retailing at $1,980 and the Mate X at $2,400.
