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LG's surprising comeback: We tested the Korean giant's Velvet

After LG shuffled in the field of premium devices, now the company is back with the LG Velvet smartphone that accompanies a worldwide campaign. With a price of NIS 2,299, LG will try to wink at high-segment customers. Is she up to the task?

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• Smartphone

Mikey Levy

For years, LG has fought for the G series of devices and tried every year to reinvent itself - update, add a screen, upgrade the hardware and polish the design. But it didn't seem to help her at all, and the company finally realized that the only choice was to simply reinvent itself. Against this backdrop, accompanied by a colorful campaign, opinion leaders and one Jason Drullo, unveiled the Velvet, a smartphone with a lot of "hype" and buzz. Is this the smartphone that will finally bring the Korean giant back to the world of smartphones? We tested the new smartphone, which sold for only NIS 2,399.

Design

The highlight of the smartphone is the design. Most of LG's gamble is on the new design. It is unlike any smartphone the company has launched in the past, and it seems that deep thinking and refreshing has actually been done on the desktops of Korean designers. The smartphone comes with an end-to-end screen with a "drop" at the top of the screen, and it is a curved screen. For the first time in recent years or at all in the history of LG, the company has launched a smartphone with a curved screen that I tend not to like at all. The smartphone has a brushed metal frame that looks and "feels" particularly luxurious, a solid glass back and everything related to design, LG has scored a goal. The device feels and looks like a flagship device that does not fall short of any other company.

screen

The Velvet comes with a 6.8-inch screen with an 88.7 percent screen-to-screen ratio, and FullHD + resolution. LG is one of the few Android manufacturers in the world that markets smartphones with OLED screens. In my opinion, this is the best panel. This is a panel that allows control of every pixel and pixel, meaning you can get to the "real black" display. Beyond the fact that this is also reflected in the low battery life when switching the smartphone to night mode, the screen also displays impressive sharpness, accurate colors, and not too artificial. Although it does not support technologies like HDR10 +, it still provides an enjoyable viewing experience, certainly in Netflix content or in everyday smartphone use.

Although it comes with a slightly rough "drop" at the top of the screen, and it is a curved screen, it is still one of the best screens in terms of colors and sharpness that can be found today in a smartphone. If only LG had added a screen refresh rate of 120 Hz, this screen could have been set as the perfect screen.

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hardware

One of the compromises in the smartphone in question, this is the Snapdragon 845 chipset, a chipset from two years ago that puts the smartphone in an identity crisis: Is it an outdated flagship device, or is it an intermediate device with the hardware of a retired flagship device? And if this is an intermediate device, then why did LG not use the 7XX series chipset that is specifically designed for those smartphones. Another 6 GB of RAM, 128 GB with storage option, support for fast wireless charging, fast wired charging and a 4,300 mAh battery.

So you can reassure: the smartphone performs all the chores without any problem or stuttering. It's hard to relate to LG's choice and whether it's a mistake, it's a flagship device marketed with a two-year-old chipset, or an advantage that it's an intermediate smartphone with a retired flagship device's chipset. As expected, thanks to the combination of the screen and the hardware, the smartphone's battery easily holds a day of intensive work, and for those who want to save, it can be switched to night mode and be worry-free.

The smartphone features an in-screen fingerprint reader that works quickly, is water and dust resistant to IP68 and has passed the MIL-STD-810G military tests which ensured that the smartphone is particularly resistant to extreme conditions of cold, heat and also from falls. Audio enthusiasts will be happy to discover here also a 3.5 mm headphone jack that has become a rare sight in the world of smartphones.

Camera

The Velvet's photo array includes three sensors, with the main sensor slightly protruding from the smartphone body. This is a 48-megapixel camera with an F / 1.8 aperture key, and 0.8-micron pixels. The main sensor does a good job even in challenging lighting conditions, though it's really not at the level of photography of "real" flagship devices like the iPhone 11 Pro or the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The rear camera takes great pictures, but the focus can be terribly slow at times, probably in macros.

The second sensor of the 8-megapixel includes a wide lens of 120 degrees, and here there is always a compromise: on the one hand you enjoy a wide angle, but the quality is compromised. The third five-megapixel sensor is intended for in-depth photography, although it does not allow optical zoom. The triple photo array provides very good results for the price level of the smartphone.

The front camera surprised me a lot, when it came with a 16-megapixel sensor, an aperture key of f / 1.9 and the thing that is most noticeable in the camera, is the high level of detail in selfies. Many smartphones manage to miss out, but the front camera here does the job.

software

From time immemorial, for me the Android version of LG has been one of the strengths. On the one hand it is not a clean system, but on the other hand it has undergone enough adjustments that it maintains speed and also gives a different experience and for me - much more enjoyable. The Velvet comes with the Android 10 operating system which, as mentioned, has undergone adjustments. You will not find the familiar "launcher" (application drawer) here, but all the apps are spread out on the home screen. You can also find a HD quality voice recorder, LG's health app, the Korean giant's smart home and apps for managing the smartphone and optimizing performance.

Summary

LG seems to have got on the right track and is slowly recovering, and for the first time in years, I look forward to seeing what more smartphones LG will launch in the near future. The Velvet is without a doubt a breakthrough in LG's smartphone catalog, and it brings significant improvements in terms of design, screen and user experience. However, it is not without its drawbacks and mainly because of the two-year-old processor at the heart of the smartphone. If you are not looking for high performance gaming, but do want a smartphone with a very good viewing experience, luxurious design, advanced photo setup and great interface, the Velvet will be the perfect smartphone for you, and it is officially sold for NIS 2,299.