LG claims this device is just the first one in its Explorer Project, which “will include devices that deliver distinctive and yet unexplored usability experiences,” while phones like the Velvet represent mainstream needs in its Universal line.

The teaser doesn’t clearly show the Wing in action, but LG announced Rave, Ficto, Tubi and Naver as partners in the project, with the hardware powered by Qualcomm’s chips. Tubi is a name we know for free ad-supported video streaming, while South Korean search giant (and owner of the Line messaging app) Naver is apparently working on a customized dual-screen web browser.

We should get all the details on this Explorer Project and the LG Wing on September 14th at 10AM ET.

There’s also a similar “sweeper” between the phone’s body and hinge housing to repel dust and dirt particles, Samsung said, though this time around the brush is thinner. Overall, too, Samsung said the Fold 2 was re-engineered to feature a “sleek, unified design” that indeed looks thinner and prettier than the original.

A lot of what we didn’t know about the Z Fold 2 came down to its software, and Samsung shared more details today around Flex Mode and App Continuity. We already saw Flex Mode on the Z Flip, which splits the foldable screen in half when the phone is bent, so your apps are positioned more intuitively across the hinge. App Continuity will allow you to open up the Fold 2 and see an expanded view of the app you were using on the smaller front display.

A new Capture View Mode lets you view your recently taken pictures in the bottom half of the screen while still in the camera app so you don’t have to launch the Gallery to see your shots. There’s also an Auto Framing tool that lets you set the Fold 2 up like a laptop, using the front camera to shoot videos, and the phone will keep your subject in the frame even as it moves. This is similar to what Google’s Duo already does on video calls via its Nest Hub Max smart display, or Facebook on the Portal.

Samsung

If you’re taking a photo of someone else, you can both see a preview of the shot — you on the larger main display and your subject via the smaller “Cover” screen. Like most of Samsung’s recent flagships, the Fold 2 also comes with Pro Video, Single Take, Bright Night and Night modes.

One of the biggest draws of that larger folding screen is improved productivity, and like most Samsung devices with bigger screens, the Fold 2 supports running multiple apps side by side at the same time. The company says this is “advanced” Multi-Active Window so you can better customize your screen layout. You can even open different files from the same app and view them at the same time in multiple instances of the app. Samsung also refined its MultiWindow Tray to let you launch several apps at one tap.

The best thing about having multiple windows open side by side is the ability to drag and drop text and files between them, which you can do on the Z Fold 2. There’s also a Split Screen Capture tool that lets you record what’s on one side of the screen then transfer that image to the other. Samsung’s also offering the wireless DeX syncing feature that it introduced on the Note 20 Ultra, which will make it easier for you to cast your phone’s content to a compatible smart TV. If you prefer using a tablet-friendly interface on the main (foldable) screen, you can go into settings to switch to a “large screen layout” or stick to a traditional phone view. App’s like Microsoft suite of Office tools support the flexible display layout by keeping the inbox list view on the left half, for example, while showing individual messages on the right. You can get a PC-like toolbar at the top of the screen in tablet mode for apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, too.

Samsung

It’s nice to learn about what the Z Fold 2 can theoretically do, though we’d have to wait for a full review to see how it truly holds up in the real world. Since the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 865 Plus and 12GB of RAM, it should be capable of all that multitasking we’re about to throw at it. We already knew from Unpacked that the Fold 2’s battery comes in at 4,500mAh, and that we can expect it to last all day and support Super Fast charging. It’s also 5G-compatible, and will work with both sub-6 and mmWave technologies, so you can get fast download speeds where available.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 will come in Mystic Black or Mystic Bronze color options, and you can pick one of four hinge hues to go with either — Metallic Silver, Metallic Gold, Metallic Red or Metallic Blue. If you prefer something fancier, there’s also the Thom Browne Edition with the fashion brand’s signature multicolor stripe design. It’ll also feature a special lock screen and photo filter. But you’ll have to get it in the Thom Browne Edition package, which comes with the Watch 3 and Galaxy Buds Live in similar designs, with customized accessories.

Even a non-Thom Browne variant of the Z Fold 2 is pretty pricey at basically $2,000, and Samsung is throwing a sort of VIP service with every purchase of its foldable. The Galaxy Z Premier Service, which is also available for those who bought the Fold or Z Flip, provides on-demand concierge support. You’ll get tutorials with product experts, a Founders Card membership, “access to a prepared meal from a Michelin star restaurant,” “an elite fairway golf and country club program at clubs across the US” and one-time device protection against accidental display damage within a year or your purchase.

You can buy the Z Fold 2 5G via carriers or unlocked at Samsung.com and other retailers from September 18th, though pre-orders begin Sept. 2nd at 12:01am ET.

The Velvet’s Dual Screen case has the same 360-degree hinge as V60 and G8X cases. The cover opens up smoothly (but thankfully not loosely), stops briefly at 180 degrees, then continues all the way to 360 degrees. When closed, the Velvet’s case has a 2.1-inch monochrome display on the cover to show the time, date and notifications. To pick up incoming calls, you just hit the dedicated Google Assistant Key instead of flipping the cover open.

One small annoyance here is you still need to use the bundled magnetic USB-C adapter to charge the encased phone (up to Quick Charge 4+), so make sure you don’t lose it. Luckily, you can also use wireless charging (up to 10W), with or without the case.

Richard Lai / Engadget

Since the G8X, LG has enhanced Dual Screen mode, using elements passed down from the $900 V60 to the $700 Velvet. My favorite is the Multi App Shortcuts, which let you launch two predefined apps on both screens, simultaneously. LG also included some pre-made shortcuts to help boost productivity and to inspire users: Gallery with Camera, Gallery with QMemo+ (LG’s note-taking app) and HD Audio Record with QMemo+. 

I set up single-click shortcuts on the home screen so I can watch YouTube on the secondary screen while scrolling either Facebook or Twitter on the main screen and save some taps. (I could then set the Velvet to “laptop” and watch full-screen YouTube on the propped-up screen.) 

My only wish here is for the ability to launch two split-screen apps on the phone’s screen, so I could still watch videos on the secondary screen while scrolling socials on the right (split screen isn’t allowed on the left screen, for some reason).

Richard Lai / Engadget

Another handy Dual Screen feature is Wide View, which stretches a single app across both screens. The list of compatible apps is still rather short, though — just the core apps from Google, at the moment. The feature makes sense for Chrome, Gmail, Maps and Photos, so long as you don’t mind the hilariously wide gap between the two screens.

Going back to the phone itself, the Velvet will launch in six colors with  more to come later. The low-key “New Black” unit I received had a glossy ceramic-like finish. The tapered edges and back help make the Velvet look even slimmer than it already is.

To be specific, the Velvet comes in at just 7.9mm thick and 180g heavy, noticeably smaller and lighter than the V60 — which packs an identical 6.8-inch 2,460 x 1,080 P-OLED screen. 

Part of that is courtesy of the Snapdragon 765G processor which, despite being a midrange chipset, is the first Qualcomm silicon to integrate a 5G modem, saving a bit of space inside the device. Alas, the trade-off here is a 4,300mAh battery, which is significantly smaller than the V60’s 5,000mAh. This may be fine for the phone, given the less-demanding processor, but I doubt it’d be sufficient for all-day use in dual-screen mode.

Richard Lai / Engadget

The rest of the Velvet is very much a midrange device elevated by some premium features. You still get an in-display fingerprint reader, microSD expansion, stereo speakers and IP68 protection against dust and liquids. As with all LG flagships, the Velvet comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, which isn’t often on other brands’ flagships.

Compared to the pricier V60, it misses  the extra processing power, extra battery, faster LPDDR5 RAM and WiFi 6 — but that’s fine. I just wish LG could do something about the slightly laggy scrolling experience. To be fair, I am accustomed to the silky smooth 120Hz display on my current phone, the (more expensive) Oppo Find X2 Pro, but I think LG could make improvements to the touch response, scrolling and animation speeds within Android. Likewise, there’s room for improvement with gesture navigation — I don’t understand why LG wouldn’t let me use the back gesture within the virtual keyboard area.

Richard Lai / Engadget

On the photography side, the Velvet has a totally different set of cameras to previous LG phones. While I’m a fan of the “raindrop” camera arrangement on the back (as opposed to the “camera island” design), my quick test with the 48-megapixel main camera and the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera produced mediocre results. 

It over-sharpened photos and lost details — likely due to noise compression and lack of optical image stabilization (OIS). This was especially true with indoor and night-time shots. They’re OK for a midrange phone, but OK may not be good enough. There’s a lot of competition these days.

Dual-screen computers are coming, but maybe not as soon as Microsoft first thought. The company originally planned to launch Windows 10X alongside new hardware — the Surface Neo — this holiday season. However, rumors from last month suggested that the forked version of the OS — which was being designed specifically for phones, tablets and laptops with two screens — had been delayed until 2021, since dual-screen devices will unlikely be ready to ship by the fall. A blog post from Microsoft’s chief product officer indicates that the company is hoping to bring 10X to single-screen devices in the meantime.

“With Windows 10X, we designed for flexibility, and that flexibility has enabled us to pivot our focus toward single-screen Windows 10X devices that leverage the power of the cloud to help our customers work, learn and play in new ways,” says Panos Panay in the post. “These single-screen devices will be the first expression of Windows 10X that we deliver to our customers, and we will continue to look for the right moment, in conjunction with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market.”

In fairness, there are still plenty of distinctly-LG touches here, like a dedicated Google Assistant key under the V60’s volume buttons, and a proper headphone jack next to its USB-C port. If you need proof that LG isn’t playing the same flagship game as everyone else, though, just take a good look at the V60’s face.

The 6.8-inch P-OLED screen is the biggest display LG has ever squeezed into a phone, and frankly, it’s gorgeous. Colors look sumptuous and you won’t have trouble seeing any action while peering at it from an angle. In fact, this screen is pretty enough to make you forget how basic it is. Unlike many newer phones, the V60’s screen still refreshes at the standard 60Hz. Beyond that, the screen only runs at Full HD+. When you factor in the panel’s oddball, 20.5:9 aspect ratio, that works out to a resolution of 2,460 by 1,080. (For reference, last year’s V50 had a 6.4-inch screen that ran at 3,120×1,440.) These alone might be enough to make some people write off the V60, and the chunky bezels certainly don’t help. If you haven’t clicked away in disgust yet, hear me out: They really aren’t that bad.

Yes, super-crisp 2K screens are great, and no, they’re not going anywhere soon. Neither are high-speed displays, like the one Samsung’s Galaxy S20 uses. So why does the V60 get a pass? Well, while the industry has started to change, our eyes haven’t. 1080p (or the extended equivalent used here) is still perfectly fine for day-to-day use, and you won’t notice much of a difference between this screen and a more pixel-dense one until your eyes are millimeters away. 

We’ve asked AT&T about the availability of the Dual Screen for customers on existing lines.

Suffice it to say that the phone becomes a tougher sell if you don’t get that attachment for free, though. It’s an upgrade over the regular G8 with a larger 6.4-inch OLED screen, a larger 4,000mAh battery and an updated interface, but it’s not a fundamental shift in design or performance. If you’re content with a single screen, some of the other more conventional designs might fit the bill.

This isn’t a surprise either, as incoming mobile exec Brain Kwon told reporters earlier this year that “We have reviewed releasing the foldable smartphone when launching 5G smartphone but decided not to produce it.” Apparently it is (or at least was) too early for LG to launch a foldable, but one thing it could easily do is bring the V50’s second-screen attachment to more markets.

According to IHS Markit’s “supply chain info,” the new Surface could have two 9-inch screens and a 4:3 aspect ratio, and it will reportedly use Windows Lite OS. We knew Intel was “working closely” with Windows on a foldable tablet, and IHS Markit claims this device will come with Intel’s 10-nanometer Lakefield processor. It’s also expected to have always-on connectivity via LTE or 5G. We don’t know how much the dual-screen tablet could cost, or if it will be capable enough to win over early adopters. But other companies are definitely interested in building dual-screen devices, so it’s not surprising to see Microsoft get involved as well.