When the LG Wing appeared in 2020, it was evident that this imaginative, innovative phone would either transform our expectations for phones in the future, or LG would abandon it. Smartphones.” For a phone with such a peculiar legacy, including a role in a disturbing pandemic movie, it’s interesting what modders have done to the hardware after its demise. Someone turned the Wing’s smaller screen into a phone; now it’s a game console.
When the LG Wing appeared in 2020, it was evident that this unique, revolutionary phone would either — let’s just say “LG quit making smartphones totally.” For a phone that starred in a wacky pandemic movie, it’s what modders have done with the hardware after its demise that’s actually interesting. Someone turned the Wing’s smaller screen into a phone; now it’s a gaming console.
Custom-builder laozhang has turned the Wing’s 3.9-inch 1080 x 1240 internal screen into an Android-powered gaming powerhouse (via Mishaal Rahman). A custom-built controller casing stores the Wing’s guts, adds game controls, and houses the batteries; there’s even a cut-out for the cameras.
Last year we saw the LG Wing turned into a compact phone using just the smaller display. Chinese electronics company LG Wing entering handheld game console.
LG Wing has 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, and a microSD card reader. These specs aren’t flagship-level, but they should be able to play most Android games and traditional console emulation.
The phone comes with a 6.8-inch primary display and a 3.9-inch secondary screen, which hackers find beneficial.
In the case of the LG Wing handheld game system, developer Laozhang (who has experience producing handhelds like the GKD Mini), ripped apart the LG Wing and put the phone’s mainboard and 3.9 inch, 1240 x 1080 pixel gOLED display inside a metal shell and added game controllers and other components.
This was a limited-edition commission, and Laozhang claims no more will be made. So you can’t buy one soon. Check out the video below to see a current pocket-sized game system with a 1.15:1 aspect ratio display.
LG’s last significant product before exiting the smartphone sector was the LG Wing. The phone’s experimental design may have hurt it. LG’s unique and unusual device idea. It flopped and didn’t flip or fold. Given that the LG Wing’s experimental design wasn’t popular, this shows that a quirky idea can still be cool.