Two Screens At The Same Time: LG G8X Hands-On By MrMobile [Michael Fisher]
- I gotta be honest, after the flop that was the LG G8, which combined forgettable design with, um, this. I didn't have high hopes for the company's next smart phone and that didn't really change when I finally got to put it in my hand here at IFA 2019 in Berlin. Until, that is, it sprouted a second screen. (Upbeat music) Okay, so technically these are two separate products, the G8X smart phone and its dual screen case, but it's only when you use them together that they become really interesting. Now, the part of me that still misses the bold LG designs of yesteryear with their pioneering curved screens can't help but point out that the G8X and its dual screen case looks kind of... goofy.
The big bezels and big hinges, the twin notches, even though there's only a camera in one of them, there's nothing sexy about this product and I don't think it represents the future of smart phones. But as Samsung very publicly learned with its Galaxy Fold fiasco, riding the bleeding edge has its price, so LG is carefully to say that this isn't competing with folding phones, even though it's trying to do the same thing, fit more screen real estate into the same space. In our Berlin briefing, the company kept using the word practical. It's not a phone for the future, it's a phone for today. (whoosh sound) And, you know, the more I use it, the more I think LG might actually have something here.
The software makes a lot of sense and gives you a tone of options. You can run two different apps at once, of course. LG gave the example of YouTube and a game at the same time with a custom audio mix between them, but God does that sound exhausting, so I'd probably stick to email and a browser. That could be Chrome or a special preloaded browser that let's you keep multiple tabs open across screens. If you go the gaming route, those game pads are totally customizable.
But the thing I could genuinely see myself doing everyday, popping this thing open in mini laptop mode with huge touch keyboard on the bottom and a full size smart phone display up top. I'm happy to say the weight distribution works out, too. There's no wobble and it's actually pretty comfy to type on. (whoosh sound) - When closed, this thing is a bit of a chonker, but as my Android Central buddies pointed out, no more so than a big phone with a case on it. If there's something to complain about here it's the glass finish on the exterior.
It just seems to me that if you're going to make a case that folds in on itself to protect those displays, coating the front in glass kind of defeats the purpose. It also makes it impossible if there's any sun out to see that small OLED display that lives up front to give you essential notifications. Again, though, for most of this, LG seems to have gotten it right. The displays are identical OLED panels, so they've got the same color temperature. Something that rivals ETE totally whiffed on with it's Axon M.
The screen switching is done through the extended display functionality already built into Android, so there's not a lot of custom LG software to trip up on, and the interface that is here has finally gotten a fresh paint job. Pricing and availability of the G8X and its case are TBD since LG usually lets its carrier partners announce those details. And also TBD, TBH is whether I'm going to try to review it. I mean, as much as I value the practical approach here, if the most exciting thing about your new smart phone is an accessory, well, it's not always a great sign. LG is going to need more than an iterative rehash of a poorly received product to get back on the map in a big way and I hope that's something we see come next year.
Let me know if you want me to review this peculiar pair, folks, and please subscribe the The Mr. Mobile on YouTube so you don't miss all the other big mobile news coming out of IFA 2019 in Berlin. Until next time, thanks for watching and stay mobile, my friends.
Source : MrMobile [Michael Fisher]
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