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LG shows off new X Cam and X Screen phones ahead of MWC (hands-on)

The South Korean electronics giant released details on two new midrange smartphones, one with dual cameras and another with dual screens.

Aloysius Low Senior Editor
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Aloysius Low
2 min read
Sarah Tew / CBS Interactive
Watch this: LG's trio of new affordable phones each have one distinctive feature

It looks like LG is too excited about its 2016 lineup to leave any of it as a surprise for Mobile World Congress. The company, having already showed off a new cover for the as-yet-unveiled G5, on Monday released details on two new midrange devices it'll debut in Barcelona at the world's biggest phone show.

The first, the X Cam, features dual cameras on the rear (one 13-megapixel and one 5-megapixel), which LG says will "deliver the most advanced camera experience in a mass-tier smartphone." Rumour has it that Apple's iPhone 7 could support optical zoom, a function that requires two cameras and allows greater capture detail and more accurate zooming, which could also be a possibility for the X Cam.

Additional X Cam specs include:

  • 5.2-inch FHD display
  • 1.14GHz octa-core processor
  • Rear 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel camera
  • Front 8-megapixel camera
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 16GB of internal memory
  • 2,520mAh battery
  • Google Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • Colors: Silver, white, gold and pink

LG goes two for two with X Cam and X Screen (pictures)

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Meanwhile, like the LG V10, the X Screen will feature a secondary 1.76-inch screen that sits above the phone's 4.9-inch display. This screen shows a welcome message and gives quick access to recent apps, favorite contacts and more.

When we first saw it, we were impressed by its premium aesthetic. The glass body makes it look very similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6, especially from the back. We were also pleasantly surprised to see that the phone came in a rosy pink color (a somewhat rare choice for LG handsets, which usually come in black, white or gold).

Its other specs are as listed:

  • 4.93-inch HD main display with 1.76-inch LCD secondary screen
  • 1.2GHz quad-core processor
  • Rear 13-megapixel camera and front 8-megapixel camera
  • 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage
  • 2,300mAh battery
  • Google Android 6.0 Marshmallow
  • Colors: Black, white and pink
lg-x-screen-02.jpg

LG X Screen

Sarah Tew/CNET

Both phones are set for markets in Asia, Europe and Latin America in March, with no word of a US launch. However, judging from past actions from LG, these phones may likely hit US shores as budget handsets for prepaid carriers under a different name.