LG’s Velvet will be available in the US starting tomorrow, July 22, following its launch in South Korea and various European countries. The mid-range phone will debut online at AT&T with support for its 5G network, at a cost of $ 20 per month for 30 months (total of $ 600). For a limited time, the operator is offering the phone for half that monthly cost if you buy one on an installment plan with a new line of service. AT&T will carry the Velvet in stores beginning August 7.
T-Mobile and Verizon will support you later this summer. LG noted in its press release that the Velvet is compatible with Verizon’s mmWave ultra-wideband 5G network, as well as its sub-600Hz network, which Verizon plans to have later this year. LG confirmed to The edge it won’t sell an unlocked version of Velvet.
There is only one single Velvet setup that has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage with microSD card support. While $ 600 seems like a decent deal, it certainly isn’t priced as aggressively as previous flagships, like the $ 699 LG G8X that included the default dual-screen accessory. If you want the dual display accessory for the Velvet, it will cost you an additional $ 199. LG says that you can visit this page to buy one.
Compared to LG’s previous flagship phones, the Velvet doesn’t attempt to come face-to-face in terms of power with Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and other popular manufacturers. It comes with the Snapdragon 765G, which has a built-in 5G modem, much like the new OnePlus Nord. While it’s certainly not as fast as the Snapdragon 865, it does make the Velvet more affordable while still having 5G connectivity. The Velvet is powered by a 4,300 mAh battery, and with this chipset, most people should have no problem surviving at least a day or more in normal use cases, although the 5G connection will likely seriously affect it.
In terms of design, it lives up to the most attractive Android phones available now. It has a striking new look for LG, with a 6.8-inch OLED display and IP68-rated waterproofing. The Velvet does have a headphone jack, but unfortunately it lacks the Quad DAC hardware for the hi-fi music that most LG phones of the past few years have had. My colleague Sam Byford reviewed the Korean variant of the Velvet, which has the Snapdragon 765 a bit slower. You did notice some performance stutters, but overall, it’s not as big of a compromise as you’d expect. However, that does not mean it is easy to use. Here is a snippet from Sam:
Applications load quickly, web pages are processed as expected, games work well, etc. But the Velvet still feels sluggish, whether it’s the 60Hz screen or stuttering scrolling in certain apps. I don’t know if it’s the chip itself or LG’s software, but it doesn’t match other iconic Android 2020 phones.
Update 1:43 PM ET July 21: LG responded to comment on the dual screen attachment and if it would sell an unlocked phone.
