April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics on Thursday announced plans to unveil its premium large-size smartphone LG V20 worldwide early next month. Its launch event is set for San Francisco on Sept. 6, with another in Seoul on Sept. 7.

The South Korean electronics-maker sent out a poster invitation to local and global media titled “Play More,” featuring the image of a pop-up book and text reading “The second story begins, LG V20.”

The LG V20 -- categorized as a “phablet,” a combination of a phone and tablet -- is a follow-up model to the V10, a part of the “V Series” which stands as one of LG’s flagship premium smartphone lines alongside the “G Series.”

 

Invitation card sent by LG to Korean and foreign press for the upcoming LG V20 release event in San Francisco in early Sept.

The V10, unveiled in October 2016, garnered much international attention as the world’s first smartphone to feature a double-camera on both the front and back, among other unique features.

Though LG Electronics did not reveal any details about the upcoming V20 in its recent announcement, the V20 is set to run on Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system.

The V20 is also expected to embody features akin to the V10 -- such as a wide screen and high-quality audio system -- with systematic upgrades to enhance user convenience.

From next month, the LG V20 is slated to compete with the latest smartphones and phablets developed by Samsung Electronics and Apple, the two leaders in the world’s premium smartphone market.

On Tuesday, Samsung Electronics took the wraps off the much-anticipated Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in New York -- a water-resistant phablet equipped with a curved display, an iris scanner for enhanced security and a versatile stylus pen.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been priced at 988,900 won ($890) in Korea and preorders for the phone will open from this Saturday, the country’s three network operators SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus said Thursday.

Meanwhile, Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone 7 smartphone and iPhone 7 Plus phablet next month, though the exact date has yet to be announced, posing a direct challenge to the LG V20 as their unveiling periods overlap.

By Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald (jys@heraldcorp.com)