LG Velvet unboxing and 24 hour impressions - Android

We’ve been waiting on the LG Velvet for what seems like months now. In fact, we still don’t have pricing and availability for the global version. Everything we know about the device so far comes from the Korean variant, which has been out for a few months. But after patiently waiting, we finally got a Korean variant in our hands.

We haven’t had the LG Velvet for that long — about 24 hours — so we can’t give you a full review of the phone just yet. Right off the bat, there are hot takes flying everywhere, so we can at least give you some impressions.

A bold new design

The very first thing you’ll notice about the Velvet is that it’s a huge departure from anything LG has released in the last five years. This is a stylish phone first and foremost, from the bright and vivid color options all the way down to the camera design. LG said it wanted the back of the phone to look like raindrops, and the entire design was inspired by nature. Hear that Samsung? LG is coming for your turf.

The Velvet is also one of LG’s thinnest phones, coming in with a Z-height of just 7.9mm. The thin design combined with the curve on the front and back of the phone makes this thing feel almost too thin to hold, but that seems like the point. LG wants this phone to be a style icon, and it delivered with this design.

This is a bold new design from LG.

The screen is a pretty huge 6.8-inch pOLED display, and it feels extra tall with an aspect ratio of 20.5:9. This is the same aspect ratio as the LG V60, but the thinness of the phone makes it feel extra tall. Is it too tall? That’s hard to tell just yet, but we’ll address that in our full review.