What is the LG V30?


The V30 is LG’s latest flagship device and it offers a whole load of features that wouldn’t find anywhere else. 
It’s a great phone, but one that appears to have lost some of its lustre as a result of the delayed release. Currently on the market are the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, Pixel 2 XLand iPhone X, all of which are muscling in on the V30’s territory.

LG V30 – Design

The V30 is the best designed LG phone I’ve ever used. It’s the perfect mix of high-end metal and glass, sporting curves in all the right places. It spells the end in LG’s transformation from making unattractive devices – the leather LG G4, anyone? – to ones that are gimmick-free.
Like all the best flagships in 2017, the V30 slims down the bezel surrounding the display and pushes that screen out as far as possible. The corners of the screen are rounded, but the display doesn’t curve in the way of the Samsung Galaxy S8. This means the device is a tad wider, but still surprisingly manageable to grip considering the 6-inch screen.

The LG V30 feels great in the hand, but unnervingly light. I’m sure that there will be many that like this, but I’m not so sure; I like my phones to have a little heft. Tap the rear of the V30 and it feels hollow, something you don’t get with an iPhone 8 or Note 8.
However, in terms of the LG V30’s design, this is really the only negative in my opinion. Elsewhere, it’s IP67-rated for water-resistance; it retains the headphone jack; and its fingerprint scanner sits in the right place – below the cameras on the back. That scanner also doubles as the lock button – and it’s one of the fastest I’ve tried.

LG V30 – Screen

This is the first LG flagship to swap an LCD panel for an OLED one since the days of those weird Flex phones. LG makes some of the best OLED panels for TVs, so you’d assume its smaller versions would be equally as good.
Annoyingly, they’re not. The screen isn’t terrible, but it’s comfortably the weakest part of the phone.
Detail isn’t the issue: the quad-HD resolution ensures pixels are impossible to spot. However, colours often come across slightly off. Whites are muddy, and it’s virtually impossible to watch HDR/Dolby Vision content on Netflix because it’s far too dark.
Viewing angles, too, are poor – tilt the device to the side and you’ll be met with a blue tinge.

Use the LG V30 and you’ll quickly realise that we’ve been spoiled by the Super AMOLEDs in Samsung devices. LG’s OLEDs, called POLED (that P is for plastic), just aren’t as good. It’s the same panel type that let the Pixel 2 XL down. People often conclude that OLED is always better than an LCD, but viewing the V30’s display, I’d have been happier with the iPhone 8 Plus’ screen – which is LED.
Following the blueprint set by the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone X, the V30 stretches the display out to the corners, reducing the distracting bezel. As a result, the V30 has an 18:9 aspect-ratio as opposed to the typical 16:9.
The panel is taller, which means it’s great for reading and multitasking, but less so for video. In YouTube, for example, there will be chunky black bars sitting either side of the video.

LG V30 – Performance

So the V30’s screen might be a letdown, but performance is certainly an area in which this device excels. The combination of a Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM is potent, and while it isn’t quite as snappy as the Pixel 2 when opening apps and performing everyday tasks, it’s seriously fast.
Games run without dropping frames and there isn’t really a single app on Google Play that can trouble the V30. In the Geekbench 4 benchmark, the LG V30 scores 1909 in the single and 6300 in the multi-core test – that’s similar to other Android phones with the 835.
Even LG’s custom software, which isn’t exactly the best-looking, runs very well. These heavy skins often bog down even the most powerful of phones, but this isn’t an issue here.
And it isn’t actually the speed at which the device operates that impresses most when it comes to performance. It’s the audio. In a year that sees many phones ditching the headphone jack in place of wireless, LG heads in the opposite direction. Not only does the  headphone jack remain, but it’s backed up by a Hi-Fi Quad DAC – and there are a pair of B&O earphones included in the box.
LG V30
The LG V30 comes with a pair of B&O earbuds in the box
On first putting the V30 through its paces, I assumed Quad DAC would prove a novelty feature, something that would make my Spotify streams sound marginally better. Actually, it goes beyond this – it’s my single favourite feature of this phone. Listening to music on the V30 is a joy, unmatched by any Samsung or iPhone device.
Even without enlisting super-expensive headphones, it makes a difference. Bass is well managed, there’s plenty of detail and everything sounds crisp. Make the leap up to a Tidal Hi-Fi stream and a decent pair of headphones, and it gets even better.
It’s a shame then that the speaker isn’t up to par. It’s a measly mono, down-firing unit that easily becomes blocked when you’re watching a video.
The device comes with 64GB of storage as standard, but it also includes a microSD slot that supports upto 256GB cards if you want to extend this amount further. Bluetooth 5.0 is onboard for when compatible devices start rolling, and Wi-Fi performance is excellent. Call quality is great too, and the noise-cancelling mics do an excellent job of cutting out background distractions.

LG V30 – Software

LG’s software has improved significantly this year. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the least attractive versions of Android. The icons sport a cartoony look; the native apps are very basic; and the Settings panel is infuriatingly jammed-full of multiple options.
In addition, the device doesn’t come running Android 8.0; you’re stuck on 7.1.1. This is disappointing; what’s worse is that you’re likely to be waiting until the end of the year for some Oreo love.
Once you get past the looks, LG has at least added some interesting tweaks. An ‘app scaling’ option does a good job of stretching incompatible apps to the new screen ratio, and the blue hue reducing ‘Comfort’ mode is one of the best out there. You can also alter the screen resolution to gain more from the battery –  a neat trick.

To combat the lack of a secondary screen – an odd feature of previous V-series phones – the V30 has a floating bar that offers access to shortcuts and music controls from anywhere.
The final software tweak I’ve found myself using regularly is the always-on display. This will show the time, date and notifications even when the display is off, and it remains an incredibly useful feature that won’t consume too much of the battery.

LG V30 – Camera

LG has once again stuck with a dual-camera array for the V30, with a 16-megapixel unit and a wide-angle 13-megapixel camera. I’ve spoken to lots of people who adore this option, but I’d settle for a telephoto lens and a sleek portrait mode over it anyday.
The 16-megapixel main sensor has a very wide f/1.6 aperture and a lens that’s actually made from glass, rather than plastic. As you’d expect, then, it takes very good photos. Can it match the iPhone 8 and Pixel 2 XL? In my opinion, no.
Photos captured with the V30 are bright, sharp, with noise heavily reduced in all situations.
However, they’re not quite as colourful as the competition. Images are often oddly muted, and the heavy sharpening during post-processing makes close-up macro shots of detailed objects look very artificial.
Having said that, the majority of shots taken with the LG V30 look excellent. That super-wide aperture lets a heap of light into the sensor, resulting in a nice silky blurry background effect without the need to engage any extra modes.
It also does very well in low light, an area in which even flagship phones fall down. Dynamic range is good too, but the contrast between the lightest and darkest points of pictures isn’t quite as pronounced as some other phones.
Low-light shots are bright and light sources aren’t completely overexposed, but noise remains around especially dark areas. To be honest, even the Pixel 2 has a tendency to crank up the noise to ensure detail.

The secondary camera is a 13-megapixel unit, but it lacks the optical image stabilisation and wide aperture (f/1.9 as opposed to f/1.6) of the main sensor. Again, it’s possible to get some exceptional landscape shots with such a wide-angle camera – but I wish it had all the bells and whistles of the main camera.
Arguably, LG’s more significant focus in terms of the camera is video. The 4K-capable cameras can capture footage in a LOG format, if you want to properly colour-grade it later, but you can also alter the colours on the phone.
There are a number of cinematic effects that initially sound gimmicky, but are surprisingly fun and the results good. Pair an effect with the Point Zoom feature – this lets you focus on an object and smoothly zoom towards it – and you can record some fun little videos.
The 5-megapixel front-facing camera, however, is poor. I understand that there isn’t much room on that thin bezel to cram in a decent sensor, but when you’re trying to aim a phone at ‘creatives’ then it’s important to include good cameras both front and back.

LG V30 – Battery life

For the first time in the series, the 3300mAh cell inside the LG V30 isn’t user-replaceable. This will disappoint some – but, realistically, it would be impossible to create such a good-looking device that still let you rip off the back.
Battery life is okay, but like many phones on the market right now, isn’t great. Throughout my time with the LG V30, it managed to get through a full day. However, on high-use days I did find myself having to use the battery saver mode to get home without it hitting the red.
In terms of screen-on time, I got between 4-5 hours. That’s less than the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Pixel XL 2, but on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S8. An hour of regular Netflix streaming (Wi-Fi, brightness at 60%) ate through 11%, while an hour on Spotify with the screen turned off took me down between 6-7%.
Continuing this phone’s theme of jamming in as many features as possible, there’s Qi wireless fast charging and regular wired USB-C charging too.

Why buy the LG V30?

LG has shot itself in the foot for the second time this year by not getting the V30 in shops sooner. It was announced before the iPhone 8, iPhone X and Pixel 2 XL, but will hit stores after those devices. This is likely to mean that it just won’t be in the forefront of people’s minds.
And that’s a shame, because this is a very good phone. It feels great to use, doesn’t really make any significant sacrifices, and it offers stunning audio.
It can’t quite beat the best of the late-2017 flagships for camera smarts, however. I’d put the cameras here on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and HTC U11, but comfortably behind those on the iPhone 8 and Pixel 2 XL. It also suffers from a slightly poor screen and features LG’s odd version of Android.
Still, this is one of the most complete Android handsets around.

Verdict

An excellent Android phone – but it misses the mark in a few areas.