LG Velvet Already In Korean Stores, Interesting Pricing Scheme Revealed

LG has been notorious for dropping clues before a product lunch but this year it didn't even bother with that. It practically announced every interesting detail about the LG Velvet and even has the phone available in stores for photos and videos. It has now even revealed how much the phone will cost as well as a rather intriguing proposition for those who will be buying into its first mass premium phone next week.

The LG Velvet will cost 899,800 KRW, roughly $735, revealing the last piece of the puzzle just a day before the phone launches in South Korea. That puts it way below the Galaxy S20 but it's competing with the likes of the new iPhone SE and the new OnePlus 8 with slightly higher specs. That, however, isn't the most curious part of the phone's launch.

LG has just revealed what is almost like an upgrade program for those buying the LG Velvet. Buyers who agree to return the phone after 24 months to buy a new LG phone will be able to get the Velvet at 50% discount at most. That definitely makes for an almost tempting offer, especially since consumers tend to switch phones after two years anyway.

The LG Velvet, on its own, is already a competitive phone, at least by the new "mass premium" standards. The design is bound to stand out from the blocky camera bumps of almost all phones today and the LG Pen and Dual Screen accessories add a bit of extended value, though at an added price, of course.

The LG Velvet is set to start pre-orders on May 8th with a full retail launch on May 15th, at least in South Korea. All that's left now is for the company to reveal international availability, though that may not happen until after a few weeks at the very least.