LG has lifted the lid on its forthcoming premium smartphone early. It has announced the LG Velvet, including official press images, prior to the company's dedicated 7 May online launch event.

The 5G-enabled handset features a new "3D Arc" design aesthetic when compared to previous G Series flagships, measuring just 6.8mm in thickness. It is also just 74.1mm wide, dispensing of the side bezels and opting for curves either side of the screen.

The rear is also curved on either side, to present, what LG calls, "hand taste". Essentially, it sits well in the hand.

The front-facing camera is sited in a waterdrop notch at the top of a 6.8-inch 20.5:9 aspect Cinema FullVision display.

There are also stereo speaker built into the Velvet, with AI sound technology analysing and optimising audio.

The LG Velvet sports three cameras on the rear: a 48-megapixel standard camera, 8-megapixel ultra wide, and a 5-megapixel depth camera.

It uses "quad binning" technology, that combines pixels in groups of four to receive more light in low-light conditions, thereby providing better shots in darker places.

Recording audio also has some tech tweaks, with a Voice Out Focus function enabling better pick-up of voices in ambient sound. There is also an ASMR recording function that increases the sensitivity of the two microphones to pick up quieter vocals.

As previously rumoured, it runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G processor, although we're still awaiting details on RAM and storage options. We do know, however, that it will support exclusive accessories, such as LG Dual Screen and Stylus Pen.

We'll find out more on availability and price during or straight after the LG Velvet online event held on 7 May. But, LG has revealed that it will "launch" in South Korea on 15 May - so we suspect that could be the release date for more than the one region.