LG’s latest flagship phone sports a Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB of RAM, an in-display fingerprint sensor, a 5,000 mAh battery, 32-bit Hi-Fi quad-DAC, four mics, two speakers, and a 6.7 inch screen… as well as an optional LG Dual Screen accessory that turns the LG V60 ThinQ 5G into a dual-screen smartphone.
We learned all of that when LG launched the phone last month. But one thing the company didn’t highlight at the time? It also supports pressure-sensitive input when used with an active pen.
LG doesn’t sell an official pen accessory for the LG V60 ThinQ 5G. But it turns out that it’s compatible with any Windows-compatible AES 2.0 pen. So if you have a recent Surface Pen or a similar pen from Wacom, HP, Lenovo, or other companies, it may work.
Update:Â An earlier version of this article says “any Windows-compatible AES pen,” but the text has been updated to indicate you’ll need an AES 2.0 pen.Â
Fire up the phone and dig into the settings and you’ll find a Pen section that lets you toggle “Pen key shortcuts” including:
- Drawing sounds
- Show a pen pointer when you hover a supported pen over the display
- Display recent memos in the “Pen Pop” view
When using drawing or note-taking apps, the LG V60 ThinQ supports pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, and tilt controls. And you can also map shortcuts to the buttons on the pen, allowing you to do things like create a new memo or capture a GIF when holding a button on the pen.
Since LG doesn’t offer an official pen, you don’t get some of the wireless features available from a Samsung Galaxy Note pen such as the ability to function as a camera trigger button. But if you’ve already got a pen lying around, LG’s latest flagship could be a relatively affordable/versatile alternative to a Galaxy Note, with LG’s phone selling for about $800 without carrier subsidies.
Update: Actually, Samsung is selling unlocked Galaxy Note 10 smartphones for the same $800 starting price at the moment. So there’s not much of a price difference. But LG’s phone has a newer processor, 5G support, and optional support for an additional touchscreen display.Â
Oh… and the optional dual screen accessory? It supports pen input as well.
via xda-developersÂ
You wrote that the V60 accepts “any Windows-compatible AES pen. So if you have a Surface Pen or a similar pen from Wacom, HP, Lenovo, or other companies, it should work.”
Actually, the V60 manual says it only accepts AES 2.0 active pens. These pens didn’t work for me:
* Surface pen ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VW6BRQY/ )
* Wacom Intuos pen ( https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-LP190K-Intuos-Pen/dp/B012WJVOVA/ )
Thanks for the clarification. I’ve updated the article to reflect that!
The Moto Z4 also supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) 2.0
and “only” costs $400 direct from Moto. Although the unit doesn’t
have 5G capability, you can buy a Verizon g% compatible
add-on Moto Mod for it. You may be able to buy the phone +
5G Mod for a discounted price from Verizon.