LG Reveals ‘Velvet’ Colors, Confirms 5G Network Support
LG aims to announce the Velvet this spring, but you don’t need to wait any longer to see its official design. In a video uploaded to its South Korea page on YouTube, LG reveals the colors that it’ll sell the design-first smartphone in. Several angles offer a detailed look at the Velvet, and the video also name-drops which chipset will run inside. Now, it’s just a matter of LG announcing the Velvet and distributing it for sale.
The Velvet will arrive in four colors to start. LG shows off its upcoming flagship in green, red, black, and white. Additional colors could debut post-launch, but it’s not a disappointing colorway right out of the gate. Since the Velvet likely has a glass-based rear panel, expect the colors to shift as light reflects off it. It does so in the video, and competitors such as Samsung and OnePlus are using this design touch to promote eye-catching colors.
Both the front and the back appear slightly curved, spilling into the frame. The Velvet’s raindrop-style camera module is also present. LG ditched the large, clustered multi-camera setups that its competitors roll out in favor of an elegant solution that organizes lenses vertically and in order of size. Power and volume buttons are on the left side of the Velvet, and LG seems to have dropped the dedicated Google Assistant button found on its recent flagships.
There’s one thing missing: a fingerprint scanner, at least one that’s visible. LG’s Velvet could sport an in-display unit, or facial recognition might serve as the solution for biometric authentication.
LG also reveals that it’ll ship the Velvet with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765. Flagships often use a chipset from the Snapdragon 800 series, but LG appears focused on design rather than specifications. It’ll also reduce costs, and that might get passed on to consumers. The Velvet will offer 5G connectivity and should still maintain flagship-level features as well through this chipset. Google is also expected to utilize the Snapdragon 765 for the Pixel 5, and other manufacturers could follow in late 2020.
We’re still in the dark on an official launch date, but multiple reports suggest the Velvet debuts on May 15. LG continues revealing information, so perhaps it’ll arrive sooner, or LG just wants to build the suspense before it unleashes a smartphone that prioritizes design over specifications.