After storming the internet with tons of leaks and rumors, LG has finally unveiled its new flagship device, LG V30.
For the smartphone fans, I would say, this is the best time of the year. The first to surprise us was the Galaxy Note 8, and now, LG and Sony have also introduced their latest flagship devices at IFA tech conference. Of the three, the one I am most excited to talk about is definitely the LG V30. Perhaps, that could be because I am sort of a fanboy of LG smartphones. Or perhaps, it’s because the V30 packs no notable gimmicks or features that no one uses in day-to-day life; just a pure Android experience. And, that’s pretty much all I care about!
Looking at the new device, it appears that the tech giant is done experimenting, and just like it ended the modular concept with the G6, it has also ditched the gimmicky secondary ticker that no one really cared about. The LG V30 looks just like any other smartphone on the market now. All the while, it has retained almost every latest trend of 2017 – all-screen front design, dual camera, and what not!
It’s worth noting that LG has indeed missed a golden opportunity to conquer the smartphone market with the LG G6 that launched earlier this year. Although the smartphone was pretty nice in its own rights, it failed to integrate the best mobile chipset from Qualcomm. Instead, the G6 packed a year old chipset and, due to which, the device failed to impress many smartphone buyers.
Generally, LG’s V series has been well received by the Android fans and critics alike for its unique design, removable battery, camera quality, and great sound system. However, for the new V30, there’s nothing new about the design. In fact, one could even mistake it for the Galaxy S8 from Samsung; thanks to LG for adding a slightly curved OLED display panel, and of course, ditching the secondary display.
Related: LG V30 Plus vs LG V30 — Which is better?
And as always, the new V flagship will rival the latest and greatest Galaxy Note offering from Samsung. However, this time around it looks like LG has made a device that is simply superior to the recently unveiled Galaxy Note 8. Speaking of, the specs are high-end, audio technology is off the charts, and camera performance is outstanding; what more can we really ask?
LG V30 specs
This is the new LG V30 smartphone in a nutshell:
- 6.0-inch FullVision P-OLED screen with display resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset
- 4GB RAM, 64GB storage / 128GB storage (LG V30 Plus)
- Non-removable Li-Po 3300 mAh battery
- IP68 certified – dust/waterproof over 1.5 meters for 30 minutes
- dual rear camera – 16MP (f/1.6, OIS, lens and phase detection autofocus) + 13MP (f/1.9)
- 5MP (f/2.2) front-facing camera
- Android 7.1.2 Nougat, UX 6.0+
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Other features: Fingerprint scanner, B&O audio system, Quick Charge 3.0, wireless charging
LG V30: Prominent features
- An improved dual camera setup
On the camera front, the LG V30 has retained the dual cameras which used to be one of the best-selling points of the V20. But, the dual camera setup on the V30 isn’t just your average phone camera. LG has upped the ante by introducing the world’s first f/1.6 smartphone camera lens. Speaking of which, that’s a relatively bigger aperture when compared to its rivals including OnePlus 5 (f/1.7) and Google Pixel (f/2.0).
Let’s just get this out of the way: LG V30’s dual camera consists of one 16MP sensor with f/1.6 aperture, a 71-degree wide-angle lens, and one 13MP sensor with f/1.9 aperture, 120-degree wide-angle lens. Thanks to the addition of a glass Crystal Clear lens in place of the plastic lens, the color reproduction factor is now excellent than ever. Also, the new f/1.6 aperture lens will let more amount of light to enter the lenses, thus resulting in sharper and highly focused shots.
Furthermore, the new camera software is just AMAZING and comes with plenty of modes to let you take some fantastic photos and videos. Don’t know much about the photography side of things? Well, no worries, LG has just got you covered!
Speaking of the built-in camera mods, the one that’s impressed me the most must be Cine Video. While you are shooting a video, the feature lets you add various Hollywood-grade hues to the scene to make it more appealing to watch, rather than just your boring normal videos. In addition to that, you also get to adjust the amount of vignette and the strength of the effect.
Another rather interesting feature of V30’s new camera software is Point Zoom. As the name suggests, the feature lets you zoom into any part of the frame without facing any distortion issues as is the case with digital zoom. Further, it also lets you control other zooming features such as pace and focus.
According to TechRadar, David Franco, director of photography for Game of Thrones, commented the following about the new LG V30’s dual camera system.
“When I don’t have a camcorder or DSLR I use my smartphone to film, but they often don’t have the quality,” said Franco, who appeared at the smartphone’s launch event in Berlin.
“I was intrigued by the V30 having cinematic capabilities and was able to use it to shoot my daily life – my kids, my family – with the V30 before anyone else.
“I’ve got to say its video capability is top-notch. It definitely impressed me.”
- The audio system is top-notch
LG has not only included a pair of Bang & Olufsen (B&O) PLAY earphones inside the V30 box but also claims that the premium audio accessory company has contributed to the audio system in the device.
Besides that, the phone packs an improved Hi-Fi Quad DAC technology under the hood which should make your music experience more refined than ever. While some G6 units too packed similar technology under the hood, it was only available in LG’s home country, Korea. However, that is apparently not happening this time. LG has confirmed that it would sell only a single variant of the new device in all the markets worldwide.
And then, there’s a headphone jack on the top, if that’s still an enticing feature for you.
- LG’s new UI – UX 6.0+
The new user interface – UX 6.0+ – is built to perfectly fit the new display featured on the V30 handset. Here are some of the interesting features of the new UX 6.0+.
Floating Bar: The main highlight of the brand new UI is the Floating Bar feature. Well, it’s basically a virtual replacement for the good old’ secondary ticker, which used to be one of the iconic features of V line-ups. Speaking of the feature, it is a semi-transparent on-screen bar which shows all your recently used applications. And while you’re not using it, the Floating Bar minimizes to a small semi-circular icon on side of the display. Indeed, a nice feature to have, if you ask me!
Always-on Display: A feature that is ported to the new flagships from the previous generations. But, LG has further improved the feature to include Quick Tools, Music player, camera, and much more, besides just displaying the time.
Advanced security features: LG is also adding a couple of new security features on the new phone. One of which is the Face Recognition feature that uses the front-facing camera to unlock the phone. LG has also added that the feature should work even when the display is off and the user need not press the power button before using it. The other feature is Voice Recognition which uses input from user’s voice and self-generated keywords to unlock the phone. Plus, LG wants you not to worry about the battery usage of these features. It is powered by Qualcomm Aqstic voice UI technology for always-on, always-listening capabilities that require very little battery power.
Haptic Feedback customizations: To further emphasize the highly customizable nature of the new UX, LG mentions that even the haptic feedback can be modified by making use of included vibration combinations that can be matched to the phone’s ringtone.
LG V30: Release date & Price
As for the LG V30 release date, we were told that the device will first go on sale in firm’s home market, South Korea, on September 21st, with the global roll-out following a few weeks later.
The new model with 64GB storage will be available in four different color variants, including Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet.
Although no details regarding the price are known as of now, we expect the new device to be priced around $700 in the US markets and give the recently unveiled $1000-Galaxy Note 8 a good run for its money.
