LG’s new V60 ThinQ 5G has two screens and can record 8K video - The Verge

As Microsoft’s Surface Duo slowly approaches for release later this year, LG is getting out in front with its third dual-screen smartphone. The trick to LG’s approach, if you’re unfamiliar, is the second display is part of a case that can be separated from the main phone whenever you don’t want the added weight or bulk.

My colleague Sam Byford was impressed by the multitasking powers of LG’s dual-screen G8x ThinQ, and now the company is back with its latest evolution on the idea. The V60 ThinQ 5G — I’ll not be mentioning “ThinQ” anymore beyond this point, thank you — upgrades the internals with Qualcomm’s latest processor, 5G data, an improved camera capable of 8K video, and more. And yes, it still includes the hi-fi headphone jack that’s become a hallmark of LG phones.

But for a mobile division that continues to struggle, the V60 feels a bit iterative — especially in the design department. It’s got a 6.8-inch FHD+ (2460 x 1080) OLED panel. No fancy high refresh rates to be found here — just plain old 60Hz. The screen has a small notch, but it’s surrounded by fairly sizable bezels. And around back, the camera bump has returned after LG managed to keep everything flush in last year’s flagships. There’s still a dedicated Google Assistant shortcut key on the V60 as well. Everything still looks and feels very much like a V-series phone, and I do quite like the “classy blue” and “classy white” finishes. A bolder third option would’ve been nice. LG has given the V60 chamfered aluminum edges with a matte finish, and the divide actually comes right across the USB-C port, which looks a bit peculiar but still feels fine in your hand.

Inside the phone is where the notable upgrades are. The V60 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 chipset and supports 5G connectivity. On most carriers, it’s optimized for Sub-6 5G networks, but there’ll be a (more expensive) model that’s designed for ultra-fast millimeter-wave data speeds. You get 128GB of built-in storage with optional microSD expansion and 8GB of RAM. There’s also Wi-Fi 6 on board, and LG says the V60’s 5,000mAh battery lets it last 30 percent longer than the G8x did. That’s particularly important when you remember that this phone has to drive a secondary display; the Dual Screen case lacks its own battery.

Like before, that second screen is a perfect match for the primary one. It’s the same size and resolution. And yes, it still mimics the notch since LG is using the same panel part to save on costs. You can position its hinge however you want, turning the V60 into a mini laptop of sorts. Previously, only LG’s own apps could utilize both screens at the same time. But with the V60, LG has managed to get Google’s apps — Google Photos, Google Maps, YouTube, etc. — working in the “wide view” mode that spans both displays at once. When the phone is held vertically, this feels a bit silly since the apps literally just stretch across two displays with a big divide in the middle. But switching to landscape lets you use one display as a full-screen keyboard, which could help you jam out emails in Gmail a bit faster and with fewer typos.

By and large, though, the V60’s Dual Screen setup is still best suited for multitasking with different apps on each one. This remains the ultimate Uber / Lyft driver command center. You can watch videos on one screen while messaging or scrolling Instagram on the other. And when playing games, you can use the additional display as a gamepad and customize where all the buttons go. LG hasn’t managed to solve all of its Dual Screen quirks, though. The second screen still gets its own launcher and home screen, which can get annoying to manage on top of the ones on the regular phone. The Dual Screen case still has the small outer display that’ll show you the time and notifications.

But the star of any LG phone, no matter how many screens, is usually the camera. The company’s handsets have built a reputation as powerful content creation tools, offering more manual controls than Android competitors — especially when recording video. The V60 has dual rear cameras; that third lens on the rear is a time-of-flight depth sensor.

LG has given the phone a larger 1/1.7-inch sensor for the primary 64-megapixel f/1.8 camera, which is on par (in size, at least) with recent Huawei phones and Sony’s latest and not too far off from the Galaxy S20. In low light, the camera utilizes pixel binning to produce 16MP images to help combat noise. There’s still also a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera that provides a 117-degree field of view. LG isn’t doing any wild tricks with zoom in the same manner as Huawei and Samsung; the V60 still tops out at 10x.

The V60 has the best video chops of any LG phone yet, as it can capture 8K-resolution recordings. The phone includes four microphones (on the top, bottom, left, and back), allowing it to produce 3D audio alongside your video clips. There’s a new feature called “voice bokeh” that can adjust the audio as it’s being recorded to emphasize voices, and the fun ASMR mode from the G8x is back again. In manual video mode, you can set the V60 to record in HDR10+ for more vibrant colors.

LG hasn’t given up on providing its customers with top-notch audio. The 32-bit hi-fi DAC for wired headphones is still present, and the V60 has balanced stereo speakers, which is something that other flagships have lost as bezels get shaved away. To round out the specs list, there’s an in-display fingerprint sensor, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 (with wireless charging), and the phone ships running Android 10.

The V60 ThinQ 5G has flagship specs in a somewhat uninspired design, but until Microsoft’s Surface Duo arrives this fall, there aren’t many phones that can give you this dual-screen trick. Foldables seem far more futuristic, but they’re also more fragile — and you can detach this second display whenever you want and stick to the traditional slab. Will there be more excitement around Microsoft’s device? Certainly. And I’m not sure the V60 really does anything to move the needle for LG. The company’s fans will still be very into this phone, but other consumers might not be swayed. LG has said it hopes to make its mobile business profitable by 2021 through “wow factor.” Is this supposed to be that? Or is the wow still to come from an eventual G9?

Pricing and availability for the V60 will be announced soon by wireless carriers. It will be released this spring. The G8x sells for an appealing $699 (Dual Screen case included), so if LG can manage to undercut Samsung by a good amount, that can only help the V60’s cause.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge

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2020-02-26 15:00:00Z
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2020 Chevy C8 Corvette second drive review: Testing its trackability - CNET

Accelerate Yellow sure is something.

Chevrolet

It's go-time for the 2020 Corvette. After years of rumors and months of production delays, the fabled mid-engine revolution for one of America's most iconic sports cars is finally rolling out of the factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

But, before it shows up at your local Chevrolet dealership, the C8 has one final stop to make: Pahrump, Nevada. Home to Spring Mountain, rapidly becoming one of America's largest motorsports complexes, this desert oasis an hour outside of Sin City is actually where Chevrolet did some early testing of the new Corvette before its unveiling, and it was on the 2.2-mile flavor of that circuit that I would finally get my taste of the thing on the track.

We got an early drive of the 2020 C8 Corvette last year, Executive Editor Chris Paukert taking it for a spin around the streets to gauge its daily drivability. I spent some time on the street as well and was genuinely impressed at how well the thing handles the daily grind. My ride was a fully loaded, LT3- and Z51-configured Corvette dipped in the searing color of Accelerate Yellow. It had nearly all the boxes ticked, including the GM's digital rear-view mirror (a near-necessity given the extremely limited rearward visibility), plus ultranarrow Competition seats and a swath of optional carbon-fiber bits inside and out.

Now playing: Watch this: 2020 Corvette track test in Nevada

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For an as-configured price of $87,505 including destination, it's not quite the value that the base $58,900 car offers, but it proved a capable companion in Las Vegas traffic and an engaging drive on the far more engaging roads out past Lake Mead. The controversial eight-speed dual-clutch transmission was nearly as smooth as any automatic when idling between lights, yet snappy and responsive when I wanted it to be -- once the Strip finally faded from that digital rear-view.

So, this thing is indeed about as good a daily driver as ever, compromised only slightly by a decidedly cramped trunk and an interior layout that rivals the Ferrari 488 for passenger unfriendliness. However, my true quest was to hit the track, and so that's exactly what I did.

First, a bit of a refresher on the most relevant specs. The new Corvette is powered by the new, 6.2-liter LT2 offering 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque in base trim. Step up to the performance exhaust (standard on the Z51) and those numbers jump by 5 each. That's a substantial boost over the outgoing car's 455 hp and 455 lb.-ft. figures, somewhat necessitated by the near-200-pound increase in weight over the last generation.

But, like most things in life, only looking at the numbers means missing some key nuances, enhancements crucial to the track-day life. First is boosted cooling, especially on the Z51, which Chevrolet engineers say can run for an effectively indefinite period of time at full-chat on the racetrack with the air-con blasting -- even on a 100-degree Fahrenheit day.

The other important factoid is an improved dry-sump lubrication system. Your average car lets its oil slosh around in the oil pan, where it's sucked up by one or more oil pickups and carried back up to the business parts of the machine. On lengthy corners, it's not only possible but likely that the oil will move away from the pickup, depriving the engine of its fluids in a very expensive condition called starvation. According to Chevrolet engineers, the improved dry-sump system on the LT2, which relies on a pressurized system, can hold a sustained 1.25 Gs in the corners without any fear of starvation. That's ideal for the configuration we ran at Spring Mountain. A series of lengthy corners going in each direction provides an effective test of an engine's lubrication system -- and of your neck muscles.

And so, reassured that the motor behind me wouldn't go pop at any point during my day in the desert, I pulled onto the track and, after just a lap of familiarization, got on it hard. Chevrolet unfortunately restricted us to lead-follow laps, so I wasn't able to really open the car up on my own, but we were certainly moving quick enough for me to get a feel for the machine's most important points.

Showing off your LT is easier than ever in the new Corvette. 

Tim Stevens/Roadshow

I'll start with the transmission, because that's probably the biggest change here. No longer do you need to choose between the comfort of an auto and the performance of a manual. The DCT does better on both ends. Yes, it lacks the physical engagement of a true manual, meaning my lizard brain felt somewhat underutilized, but the sound of the V8 roaring behind my head was doing a pretty good job stimulating the rest of me, so I was more than happy to let that third pedal go.

When put in manual the transmission is properly at your control. You can bang off the rev-limiter for as long as you like and it'll happily let you drop way down out of the powerband if you're so inclined, too, only dropping you back to first if you come to a complete stop. Left to its own devices, the transmission does a reasonably good job of picking the right gears, showing not quite the same telepathy of Porsche's PDK, but the shifts here are so smooth that the occasional bit of hunting didn't unsettle the car on the longer turns in Pahrump.

But, when paddling my own gears, I was quite impressed at the responsiveness of the transmission. Corvette engineers repeatedly pointed out that they wired the paddles directly to the transmission to reduce the lag, and while I was first inclined to write that off as marketing-speak, the result is a system that does what you want instantaneously. It's a revelation compared to the C7's slushbox.

To get that maximum aggression from the transmission the car needs to be in track mode, of course, which dials up the steering and throttle response as well. But, somewhat more unusually, the feel of the brakes changes as you cycle modes, too. The pedal gets far more responsive on the track and, since it's a brake-by-wire system called eBoost, you can expect consistent pedal feel lap after lap after lap. While I do fear that such systems could mask brake overheating issues until you're past the point of no return, for our relatively short stints the pedal was equally firm, and the braking equally good, on the last turn as on the first.

Track handling is a bit on the safe side by default, but pushed harder the Corvette responds nicely.

Chevrolet

And what about the suspension? Driven traditionally, the Corvette has a natural understeer tendency on turn-in, which I have absolutely no issue with. Get more aggressive on the trail-braking, though, and it's easy enough to keep the nose planted right to the apex. On the way back out of the corner again, it'll probably come as no surprise that the mid-engined, rear-drive C8 is happy to kick its tail wide. But, it does so in a gentle, controllable and delightfully fun way.

And what about the differences in the suspensions, standard vs. the optional Magnetic Ride adaptive stuff? I actually got the best sampling of differences there on a short but fast autocross course. Going back-to-back, it was remarkable how different the two cars felt. The car with the purely mechanical dampers definitely had a stronger tendency towards understeer and, once pushed into understeer, required a dramatic lift off the throttle and unwind of the wheel to bring that nose back under control.

In the MagneRide car (an $1,895 option), I could drive far more aggressively on the nose. When pushed, the car just sort of figured out what I wanted and made it happen. It wasn't quite night-and-day between the two, but the required driving technique was vastly different. Sadly I wasn't able to time myself with the two, but I'd hazard a guess that the MagneRide would be quicker for most drivers. The consistency of the standard dampers may be better for those really focused on improving their skills, however.

When pushed, the MagneRide car just sort of figured out what I wanted and made it happen.  

I also want to point out that Chevrolet's Performance Data Recorder (PDR) has also received some significant upgrades for this year, including finally stepping up to a 1080p camera, giving you more control over the on-screen telemetry display, even acting like a good ol' dashcam for those times when you're not running hot laps but covering cold commutes. Sadly, a technical mix-up meant I wasn't able to sample the goods myself here, but I continue to be a big fan of anything that gives consumers access to near-pro telemetrics.

After a few days in the saddle I left Las Vegas quite impressed by the new Corvette. It doesn't achieve the scalpel-like precision of mid-engine exotics from Ferrari, McLaren or Lamborghini, but then of course, it's available at a fraction of the cost and comes with a three-year, 36,000-mile warranty. The look still isn't for me, I find the styling a bit fussy if I'm honest, but I really enjoyed my time inside the thing. As an all-round sports car it's a killer drive and more than capable of being an absolute blast on the track.

---

Editors' note: Travel costs related to this story were covered by the manufacturer, which is common in the auto industry. The judgments and opinions of Roadshow's staff are our own and we do not accept paid editorial content.

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2020-02-26 13:00:08Z
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Galaxy S20 Ultra camera: See Samsung's 108-megapixel and 100x zoom photos for yourself - CNET

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is all about the camera.

Sarah Tew/CNET

I've spent the last week posting photos from the Galaxy S20 Ultra review unit that I got last week, and it's been a blast discovering what this camera has to offer, and how my views on it have evolved. That's because the camera, more than any of the of the Ultra's other impressive-sounding specs, is what makes Samsung's most advanced S20 so distinct from the standard Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus. 

At this point, I've shot more hundreds of photos on the $1,400 Galaxy S20 Ultra, peering at them closely on the device's 6.9-inch screen and zooming in on my computer screen. It'd be overkill (and probably break your browser) if I shared them all here, so consider these the highlights. 

I lay out some thoughts on the camera below, but keep in mind that they only scratch the surface. You'll have to read my rated review and watch video for my final thoughts, which are still expanding even as I write this. The more time I spend with the Galaxy S20 Ultra, the more I come to know its intricacies -- and its limitations.

Now playing: Watch this: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra's 100x zoom makes snooping easier

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Samsung redesigned the camera system on all the S20 phones, tripling the sensor size to let in more light. But only the S20 Ultra has a 108-megapixel sensor, 100x AI-assisted zoom and a 40-megapixel front-facing camera. 

These pictures are not touched up or edited in any way unless stated. But note that they have been processed by CNET's content image tool -- you won't see every pixel, but you'll hopefully see enough to give you an early idea of the S20 Ultra's camera performance. I also tested the video camera in regular and 8K modes, but those files are huge and harder to share here. There will be plenty of footage in the final review, though. Keep checking back for new shots!

Ultrawide-angle shot.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Galaxy S20 Ultra camera specs

• 108-megapixel main camera: You need to select the 108-megapixel quick setting to take a super-high-resolution photo, otherwise images resolve to 12 megapixels using nona-binning, which essentially creates one super pixel out of nine individual pixels. Part of the benefit of such a high-resolution image is to get more detail when you crop into a shot.
• 12-megapixel wide-angle lens: Samsung enlarged the sensor, so this isn't the same camera as on the Galaxy Note 10 or S10 phones even though it uses the same megapixels. The goal is to let in more light, for better image quality, especially in low light.
• 48-megapixel telephoto camera: This gets you up to 100x "space zoom," a feature that uses AI algorithms to take shots at extreme distance. The higher the zoom, the shakier your photo will be (a monopod or tripod is key).
• DepthVision camera: I didn't go out of my way to test this yet, but it's meant to assist with various camera modes. You can't take individual photos from it.
• 40-megapixel front-facing camera: For selfies, you can choose from wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle compositions.

Main camera, standard resolution.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

What I think so far

In abundant lighting scenarios, the S20 Ultra's photos look fantastic: crisp and bright, with plenty of detail. Low-light shots get a typical Samsung boost of brightness that you may love or find a little overly cheerful, but that comes down to your mood. Selfies look good -- maybe a bit too detailed for my tastes, though beauty settings will airbrush the look. There's even a new feature to select a warmer or darker image tone than the default (to apply to the scene, not to skin).

I've taken dozens of pictures with the 108-megapixel camera and I think I found the sweet spot. Close-ups and macros didn't work so well. For example, I got more detail cropping in on a standard-resolution photo of the frayed end of my jeans than I did on the 108 camera. But taking a mid-distance photo and cropping in, the superior detail can punch you in the face, as with the table plant below. 

In other compositions, zooming in on the phone screen or in a full-screen photo on the computer revealed mushier edges and more noise than the 12-megapixel counterpart. Interestingly, the 108 setting also artificially brightens and color saturates many scenes, sometimes flattening shadow and detail. The photos are too large to load here.

Standard resolution, Live Focus (portrait) mode, spot color.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

The camera's 100x zoom feature absolutely works, but at such distance, images are intensely blurry. There are still some practical uses, I discovered, and I go into further detail in my ongoing Galaxy S20 review. When you're simply too far to capture a (fairly static) thing you want to see, like a statue crowning the dome of city hall, or a deer sniffing the air, then this extreme level of zoom can make a photo possible in the first place -- and good enough to jog your memory or make a point.

A really good 4x, 10x and 30x zoom are much more useful in daily life, but I took enough interesting shots in the wild to convince me that 100x zoom has a place. I wouldn't necessarily buy the S20 Ultra because of it, but I am excited to see this technology develop.

Galaxy S20 Ultra test photos (some of my favorites)

108-megapixel photo crop. Reminder, the color and saturation are completely untouched.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Captured by Single Take shooting mode.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Wide-angle selfie with seal lion statue, 40-megapixel front facing camera.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Crop from standard-resolution image.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Crop from 108-megapixel resolution image.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Standard camera, no zoom. Wait for it...

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

100x zoom on the Golden Gate Bridge tower.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Standard camera, night mode. This all the difference in getting the camouflaged fish to pop at the aquarium.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Main camera, standard resolution.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

108-megapixel camera setting, no zoom.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

10x zoom (108-megapixel camera setting).

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

30x zoom (108-megapixel camera setting).

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

100x zoom (Standard camera setting).

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

108-megapixel camera setting, no zoom. Where's doggo?

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

100x zoom. Here he is.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

40-megapixel selfie, ultra-wide-angle composition.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

4x zoom, fairly close up but I didn't want to get my shoes wet to capture the shot.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Shot on automatic mode with main camera, low light conditions.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

This crop in of the 108-megapixel version is impressively detailed. The full-resolution version of this image was too large to load.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Shot in automatic mode in low light conditions.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

This story will be updated often with new photos. Keep checking back for more!

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2020-02-26 11:00:05Z
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