LG to Unveil 5G Smartphone at Mobile Expo in Barcelona

LG is set to unveil its first smartphone to run on a 5G network at this year's World Mobile Congress, which kicks off in Barcelona, Spain next week.

The V50 ThinQ, which comes with an attachable dual-display screen, will be unveiled at a press sneak-peek on Feb. 24, a day before the week-long expo begins.

"5G will most likely be a major buzzword [at this year's expo]," said Kwon Bong-suk, who is in charge of LG's home appliance and mobile communications business, at a press event in Seoul last week. "The 5G-enabled phone boasts a high-speed connection along with a long battery life by minimizing the battery drain, which also keeps it from overheating," he claimed.

Kwon Bong-suk, the head of LG's home appliance and mobile communications business, speaks during a press event in Seoul on Friday. /Courtesy of LG

As rival handset makers Samsung and Huawei have announced plans to unveil prototypes of foldable phones, industry watchers expected LG would join the trend. But LG apparently wants to take a "wait-and-see" approach. "We considered releasing a foldable phone, but it seems a bit too early to do so," Kwon said.

LG also decided to ditch its marketing strategy of releasing G-series models in the first half and V-series models in the second half. "V-series models will be exclusively for 5G phones, while G-series models will be for other premium phones," Kwon said. "We will release both series in the first half of this year and respond to changes depending on market demand," he added.