LG Wing developer guide shows how to use the second screen
In about 12 hours, LG will be revealing one of its craziest smartphones yet. Having tried the dual-screen idea and not really that interested in an expensive foldable phone, the company will instead be putting a smaller second screen underneath the main one. The LG Wing's swiveling system will surely raise a few eyebrows, both users' and developers', so it has prepared its new mobile developer portal to explain why app makers might want to take advantage of the unconventional extra real estate.
The primary use case for such a second screen will, of course, be multi-tasking with two apps running at once. While Android already supports split-screen apps, the LG Wing would allow at least one of the apps to run in full, perfect for playing videos while chatting or navigating while playing music.
The LG developer documentation spotted by NextPit, however, tries to sell the idea of an "app extension" that will make a single app use both screens for different but related purposes. For example, a video editor can have the main playback screen on top with the controls at the bottom. Even a simple video player, however, can still benefit from this extension mode by relocating playback controls and other UI elements to the smaller second screen, leaving the video screen clean and unobstructed.
Of course, this latter App Extension mode requires that app developers put in more work than they would normally do to support such a rare phone. One particular use case, however, could prove to be interesting to developers, where ads can be displayed prominently on the second screen. This would mean that users will be uninterrupted when watching a video but still see ads in full when the second screen is out.
The LG Wing is definitely shaping up to be a curious phone but, unfortunately, LG needs more than curiosity to make this novel phone sell. There is still some uncertainty about the specs and pricing of this phone and, given the times, uncertainty is something that consumers don't need right now.