Last month, LG shared a short teaser for its upcoming Velvet smartphone. Many were surprised by the company's decision to shift its resources from its flagship lineup. As most consumers go for alternatives from Samsung, OnePlus, and others, the South Korean tech firm is probably revising its marketing approach for 2020. Meanwhile, an official teaser confirms that the mid-tier handset is now available in the manufacturer's home country.

Based on the sketches and renders previously supplied by LG, the Velvet is a major redesign compared to its prior releases. Gone are the flat surfaces which are now replaced by subtle curves of the edges and corners. The designers appears to be going for an aesthetic form factor that would easily compete against other brands in the same price range.

The front hosts a 6.8-inch POLED display with a 20:5:9 aspect ration and 2460 x 1080 FHD+ resolution. LG seems to be gunning for Samsung's versatile Note series as it equips the Velvet with a digitiser that is compatible with Wacom's stylus technology that supports up to 4,096 pressure levels, as noted by XDA Developers. The device is supplemented by handwriting recognition courtesy of the Nebo software which comes pre-installed out of the box.

5G compatibility is on board with the help of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 chipset paired with 8 GB of RAM. Internal storage is only listed at 128 GB, but will be expandable via a microSD card slot. For imaging, LG uses a triple camera system arranged in a vertical setup on the upper left section of the back panel. This includes a 48-megapixel primary, 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor.

For selfies, a 16-megapixel shooter can be found within a teardrop notch set in the centre on the upper bezel. For the battery, the Velvet uses a 4,300 mAh with fast wireless charging technology. Ports include a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a USB Type-C charging/data interface. Biometric security is provided by an under-display fingerprint sensor. LG claims the smartphone is IP68-certified and purportedly passed multiple MIL-STD-810G durability tests.

LG Velvet launches in South Korea
LG seems to be gunning for Samsung's versatile Note series as it equips the Velvet with digitizer that is compatible with Wacom's stylus technology. Photo: LG

The LG Velvet sports four colourways: Aurora Gray, Aurora Green, Aurora White, and Illusion Sunset. Retail pricing for South Korean retailers and carriers peg it at a little over $700. International markets are expected to follow shortly.

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