LG says it will launch a 5G phone this time next month.
We already knew that LG was holding a press event at Mobile World Congress (MWC) on 24 February where we were expecting the LG G8. But now LG has announced it will be doing a 5G handset - it's unclear whether this will be a separate device or simply a souped-up version of the G8.
LG says the 5G handset will use Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 855 chipset which is available with or without the additional X50 5G modem (ideal for launching two devices, one with 5G and one that sticks to 4G LTE). We were previously expecting the LG G8 to use Snapdragon 855 as LG is a long-term Qualcomm partner.
One of the big issues with 5G handsets seems to be extra heat and LG has announced some specifics about how its 5G handset will deal with this - a "vapor chamber" copper cooling solution which can quickly dissipate heat. It's pictured above versus the cooling on the LG V40 ThinQ and my, it's a lot bigger. Does that indicate that we can expect substantial heat from 5G devices?
Heat means poorer battery performance and so shorter run-times and we'll have to see how that plays out with 5G devices in general. To compensate, LG says it will include a 4,000mAh battery inside its 5G device.
Like many other 5G handsets we think will launch at Mobile World Congress, the LG 5G phone probably won't be available to buy right away - instead, it's likely it will be made available late in 2019 when 5G networks have launched.
LG has previously said it will partner with the Sprint network in the US for 5G devices, but as yet no partner networks have been announced for the UK even though LG says it is "collaborating with a variety of mobile operators" in Europe. This may change at MWC.