LG’s first 5G phone just leaked — here’s the V50 ThinQ

OK, I’m about convinced that Vlad is right: phone manufacturers aren’t even trying anymore. Hot on the heels of learning practically everything Samsung could possibly announce at its Galaxy S10 press conference later this month, including up to five phones and an entire wearables lineup, we’re now leaning that LG’s new superphone — the LG V50 ThinQ — has just broken cover. It turns an entire trail of bread crumbs into a remarkably decent picture of a phone worth watching for.

We knew that LG was bringing a 5G smartphone to Sprint in the first half of 2019, and separately, we’d heard that the company might debut its rumored, 5G-equipped V50 superphone alongside the likely-to-be-more-reasonably-priced LG G8 at Mobile World Congress later this month.

But now, prominent phone leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) has given us what’s almost certainly our full first press pictures of the V50, and it seems those two reports are describing the same thing. The LG V50 ThinQ appears to be headed to Sprint’s 5G nacent network, and we should see an announcement on February 24.

Why am I so certain about that date? It’s not just the date teased in the center of the screen, though that’s certainly cute — as Android Authority and others point out, it’s the fact that LG already officially revealed in a Korean press release that its first 5G phone will be unveiled on the 24th as well.

And because that press release officially announced some early details of that phone, it’s probably safe to assume those details will apply to the V50 ThinQ as well — meaning we should expect this phone to come with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 855 processor, a new (and large, with 2.7 times the surface area) vapor chamber cooling system, and a fairly high-capacity 4,000mAh battery as well.

LG Newsroom

In that release, LG suggested that the battery in particular would help address fears that 5G phones might have lower battery life, which is a pretty dang valid one considering how poor the first 4G LTE phones’ batteries were, and I’m wondering if more capable cooling systems will be a necessity for the first 5G phones as well.

It’s not clear from Blass’s image how thin the LG V50 ThinQ might be or whether it’ll still have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but we can see a few notable features nonetheless — while the inclusion of a rear fingerprint divot might be disappointing for those who are hoping LG migrates to in-display fingerprint sensors, it’s impressive to see that LG may have managed to cram the LG V40’s three rear cameras — wide angle, normal, and telephoto zoom — into a package that lays flat instead of bulging out the back of the phone.

We’ll almost certainly find out more at LG’s event at Mobile World Congress on February 24.