The LG V50 Dual Screen attachment kind of went under the radar when it was first announced back at Mobile World Congress in February. Now, the $199 accessory is finally available for LG V50 ThinQ owners, but only overseas, and it’s limited to certain markets.
The LG Dual Screen attachment transforms the LG V50 into a dual-screen, folding phone. Granted, the result is nowhere near as slick as the Huawei Mate X or the Samsung Galaxy Fold, but it’s a hell of a lot more affordable and in some ways more practical. Why is that? Because this accessory allows you to snap its phone in and out of it. Essentially, it allows you to have a folding dual-screen phone when you want it, and easily switch back to a typical smartphone form-factor when you don’t.
However, there are downsides to this form-factor too. For starters, it doubles the thickness of the phone. The plastic case itself doesn’t seem very durable and we’re concerned about how it (and the LG V50) will fair if you drop it. We also wish the body was slimmer and lighter.
Furthermore, the secondary display on the Dual Screen accessory is solid but not ideal. To that effect, it doesn’t match the LG V50’s brilliant OLED display – it’s smaller, measuring 6.2-inches versus the V50’s 6.4-inch display. It also sports a different aspect ratio and a significantly lower resolution.
Also, the software for taking advantage of the two screens with the LG V50 is currently very limited. For example, you can’t browse the web on two screens, and there are very few apps available that can take advantage of using the two-screens together as one.
So what is the LG Dual Screen accessory useful for? It’s great for running two apps side by side. It’s useful for watching videos on YouTube and Netflix in tent mode. It’s also great for using one display as a gamepad while you play games on the other display when using the LG Game Pad app. You can also use it for “Dual Video calls” where you’re able to see the caller on one display and yourself on the other.
Fortunately, the new LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen launched at IFA last week addresses all of the issues we’ve listed above. We’re hoping that LG will roll out these software updates to the LG V50 and its Dual Screen accessory too.
Either way, LG gets credit for having so quickly addressed these issues with the LG G8X ThinQ, we just hope they are able to bring over the same dual-screen software tweaks to the LG V50 ThinQ.
Bottom Line
The LG V50 Dual Screen attachment is a worthwhile investment for existing owners of the LG V50 ThinQ, since it makes the phone that much more versatile. Heck, two screens ARE indeed better than one. However, if you don’t own an LG V50 ThinQ, and you’re intrigued by this form-factor, then we recommend you hold off for the new and improved LG G8X ThinQ which includes its Dual Screen accessory in its box.