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LG's phablet brings back removable batteries

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 02 Dec 2016
The LG V20 features two screens, three cameras and a removable battery.
The LG V20 features two screens, three cameras and a removable battery.

The new LG V20 is the company's play at the premium phablet market. It competes with Apple's iPhone 7 Plus and Google's Pixel XL, and would have competed with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

The phone was made available in SA this week, and was first unveiled in Seoul in September.

The V20 offers a 5.7-inch display, metal body, replaceable battery and beefed-up audio capabilities via new chipsets and a partnership with audio equipment maker Bang & Olufsen.

Noting rival Samsung's recent misfortune with exploding smartphones, LG says: "In light of recent battery-related safety concerns in the high-end smartphone market, users will be relieved to hear the LG V20, with its removable battery, has undergone 60 000 validation tests to ensure the safety and reliability of this device."

It also has improved photo and video capabilities through features such as dual rear cameras and reduced blurring on pictures and videos, LG said.

"The V20 collects and improves on users' favourite features from past models, including the dual rear-facing cameras that made the LG G5 such a hit. The device's multimedia capabilities cater even to professional needs, while still being easy enough for the general public to understand, and utilise," says Deon Prinsloo, LG Mobile GM at LG Electronics SA.

There are three cameras in total on the device: one wide-angle front camera and two rear cameras, one straight and one wide angle. The V20 also has two screens, like its predecessor the V10: the main large 5.7-inch display with a smaller touch-screen above it that is 'always on' and can be fully customised.

The smartphone is currently the only smartphone to launch with the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.

Specifications:

Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor
Display: Main 5.7-inch QHD IPS Quantum display (2 560 x 1 440 / 513ppi)
Secondary IPS Quantum display (160 x 1 040 / 513ppi)
Memory: 4GB RAM / 64GB ROM / microSD (up to 2TB)
Camera: Front 5MP (wide angle)
Rear 16MP (standard angle) and 8MP (wide angle)
Battery: 3200mAh (removable)
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Size: 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6mm
Colours: Titan / silver / pink

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