Smartphone from lg v30. Review of LG V30 – the main competitor of the Samsung Galaxy S8
Initially, when we received only rumors and the first teasers, it seemed that the Koreans were placing the main emphasis on an elongated screen that would repeat the features of the G6, presented in the spring of this year. But at the presentation of the LG V30, great attention was paid to the camera capabilities of the new product. Every speaker had time to praise it and its new characteristics, modes, and filters.
To highlight the camera's capabilities, the organizers of the event dedicated to the presentation of LG V30 invited David Franco, director of photography for the popular series "Game of Thrones". Franco shared some of the nuances of filming and noted the innovations that appeared in the V30 in terms of video shooting.
Next came representatives of a number of well-known companies on stage. Adrienne McCallister, director of VR technology development at Google, was in attendance. He noted that the LG V30 with its OLED screen could become one of best smartphones for consuming VR content. There was also a representative from Qualcomm, since the new product is based on the flagship processor of this company.
In general, the presentation of the LG V30 was interesting. The new camera capabilities shown during the presentation looked really exciting. And in general, the Korean company tried to use everything new and modern in its new smartphone so that it could finally wedge itself into the fight for Olympus in the market. Well, let's move directly to the review of the characteristics of the LG V30. There's a lot to see there.
Appearance – nothing extraordinary
We didn’t particularly dwell on the design at the presentation of the LG V30, and we won’t dwell on this point either. Modern smartphones are becoming more and more similar to each other. Apparently, LG also came to this conclusion, paying more attention to other characteristics. As for the materials of the LG V30, we have a body made of glass panels and a metal frame. Neither the materials nor the design are surprising. There are no frills in the design, although the elongated screen still looks fresh. On the back side there is a pair of cameras located in the most uncomplicated way, as well as a fingerprint scanner.
The metal ends of the LG V30 are cut with plastic inserts - a common solution in order to achieve better signal penetration. Naturally, the bottom end is complemented by a modern USB-C connector, as well as a main speaker grille. The Koreans are not going, at least for now, to get rid of the 3.5 mm jack, which is comfortably located on the top side of the LG V30. The arrangement of elements is classic. As they say, consistency is a sign of excellence. Or some other way.
The latest generation Gorilla Glass is used on both sides, which is unlikely to surprise anyone. Only the glass is curved at the front - LG is not going to “bend” the screen (they say they are less reliable). The smartphone is presented in 4 color options: Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet. The LG V30, which is understandable, claims protection from adverse conditions according to the IP68 standard. It is also supported by the military certificate MIL-STD-810. In general, this guy is not afraid of sand, water, or falls.
The dimensions and weight of the LG V30 look tempting on paper. Despite the impressive screen size, the smartphone should be relatively compact at 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm. The thickness is especially impressive.
LG V30 display is one of the best on the market
One of the significant characteristics of the LG V30 can be considered the display. It did not introduce a new format, as it did in the spring with the LG G6, but it acquired a new matrix. Again, on paper everything looks very interesting. LG V30 received a 6-inch with a resolution of 2880x1440 pixels, the density is 536 ppi. Of course, the aspect ratio is 18:9, which LG christened FullVision. And the “cherry” was support for HDR playback.
P-OLED is a modern matrix that boasts a high percentage of color gamut coverage, as well as excellent response, ten times superior to LCD displays. This allows the LG V30 to be considered one of the best smartphones for VR. In addition, P-OLED (Plastic) matrices can be curved, which almost guarantees the appearance of corresponding screens based on the technology in the future. What else can you add? P-OLED is better than regular OLED in that these matrices have practically eliminated pixel burnout.
In general, the LG V30 is equipped with a decent screen, which can certainly be put on par with. By the way, the new product also received AlwaysOn technology, which will allow you to display various notifications on the locked screen, consuming a minimum of energy.
Remember the additional display that was back in the V20? In the LG V30, it was decided to abandon it, because with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and thin frames, there was simply nowhere to squeeze it in. However, the company did not forget about its developments, implementing them in a slightly different form. The strip with various notifications was replaced in software by AlwaysOn technology, and a pop-up panel appeared on which various buttons are located for quick access to functions.
LG V30 hardware – selected “filling”
We wanted to see the Qualcomm chip back in the spring, when LG released its G6. But not fate. Koreans were in such a hurry to get ahead of other Koreans ( Samsung Galaxy S8), in order to be the first to introduce a smartphone with an unusual display, they had to abandon the top-end processor, which was in short supply at that time. Despite the fact that this does not negate the flagship characteristics of the G6, the lack of the most recent “stone” somehow turned away in the direction of the Galaxy S8.
With the LG V30, the manufacturer corrects itself by equipping the phablet with the Snapdragon 835, the most recent processor at the moment. There are already rumors about both , and about , but this does not cancel the top level of the current solution. The smartphone received 4 GB of RAM. Far from a record. Many solutions can boast a similar volume in the region of 10,000-12,000 rubles. However, why more? Can't your smartphone play some games? Will there be lag in the interface? Well, come on. Persistent memory 64 or 128 GB are available to choose from (LG V30+ version). Nothing unusual, but quite good.
We can say with confidence that in synthetic tests (also AnTuTu) the LG V30 will not be among the top leaders. Unless the manufacturer works a miracle with the software shell, which we are unlikely to see. There will be smartphones ahead with more RAM, as well as with optimized or “pure” Android, such as, for example, or. You shouldn’t forget about the screen resolution, which is quite high for the hero of our, so to speak, review - processing it also requires resources.
Be that as it may, the LG V30 is already one of the most productive devices of 2017. Looking at the hardware, we can say with confidence that the smartphone will cope with any task. Still, for such a price, the LG V30 couldn’t cope.
LG V30 is also musical
More interesting than the processor, which we have never seen in any smartphone in 2017, is the built-in ESS9218P music chip in the LG V30. LG worked with a number of companies, including B&O PLAY, who helped the Koreans bring high-quality sound to their smartphone, polishing it to perfection. At the presentation they assured that audiophiles would be satisfied with the work done. In addition, the LG V30 package will include high-quality B&O PLAY headphones. Well, let's see.
Actually, I like the trend of headphones coming back into the box. It was headphones, not “plugs”, which were mercilessly sent to the farthest drawer.
LG V30 – perhaps the best in terms of shooting this year
Despite the modernization of the screen, changes in hardware, and the installation of a dedicated audio chip, the company focused the main attention of viewers on the capabilities of the new LG V30 cameras. The main innovation of the main camera is a 16-megapixel sensor, the lens of which has an f/1.6 aperture - the best result on the mobile phone market.
The aperture width (aperture) indicates how much light will be allowed into the sensor. The lower the number, the better (f/1.6 is better than f/2.0). For example, the Samsung Galaxy S7/S8 or, which are the best in terms of night photography, use optics with an f/1.7 aperture.
The main sensor of the LG V30 is complemented by a 13-megapixel module with an f/1.9 aperture. The camera optics are made of glass, which provides even better results than can be obtained on smartphones whose lenses are made of plastic. Thanks to this, LG V30 cameras transmit 4% more light than G6 lenses. All the best features that can be found in a good 2017 flagship are announced: optical image stabilization, dual LED flash, wide viewing angle. Add here popular old and new shooting modes and various effects.
Great attention was paid to video filming. According to LG representatives, modern user He records videos more and more frequently and posts them online. So, why not give him a handy tool that takes him one step closer to the capabilities of professional cameras. And LG gives it.
We still have to find out how successfully LG managed to implement the capabilities that it described so much. However, on paper, the LG V30's camera performance looks really great.
Battery – flagship capacity
LG V30 received a 3300 mAh battery. Many readers, understandably, do not like this capacity. It also seems to me far from the most optimal option for a 6-inch smartphone with a high screen resolution. However, let’s take into account the OLED matrix, which is less power-hungry than IPS, the energy-efficient processor and optimized software that LG promises to provide us. Well, let's hope that autonomy will not be completely terrible.
LG V30 supports fast and wireless charging technologies. In the first case, the smartphone’s battery can be half-filled in half an hour using the USB-C connector; in the second case, the smartphone will be charged by the same percentage in an hour.
As a result
LG has prepared an interesting smartphone with decent characteristics, taking into account the mistakes made in past decisions. However, it is too early to make a final verdict - the V30 was presented just a few hours ago. The design is not bad, the updated screen is good, the cameras are worthy, which promise to compete with solutions from Samsung. And it’s time for LG to return to the ranks of market leaders, having finished with adventurous attempts to create innovative product, which is unnecessary for the user.
We talked in a separate short article. In short, then, presumably, you should expect a smartphone on the shelves only in October, and you can buy an LG V30 in Russia for about 55,000 rubles. We wait.
Many believe that Samsung has ushered in the era of smartphones with new elongated screens with an aspect ratio of 18:9. But that's not true. A month before the announcement, LG presented its flagship. It didn't look as impressive as the S8 and there was something missing from this smartphone. Therefore, six months later, in Berlin, the LG V30 is a much more impressive and beautiful smartphone. So, review of the LG V30.
Design
This is perhaps the best LG in the last few years in terms of design. The smartphone looks and feels like something high quality and expensive. Especially in blue, the V30 looks very rich. The back surface is made of Gorilla Glass 5. The smartphone has the military standard MIL-STD-810G, which promises a certain durability when dropped. There is also IP68 protection against water and dust. In general, all the modern “goodies” are in place. Only the weight lets me down. You expect it to be pleasantly heavy on your hand, but it's too light. The V30 is larger in size than the iPhone X, but 20 grams lighter. But if you don’t bother with weight, then the V30 or V30+ (as the smartphone is called in the CIS) looks good.
The smartphone screen occupies 81.2% of the entire front surface. The smartphone may not feel “bezelless”, but if you compare it with the Pixel 2 XL, for which the V30 became the prototype, then the Pixel has simply terrible frames that immediately catch your eye. And overall, the Pixel 2 XL is noticeably larger. In general, for a 6-inch smartphone, the V30+ is quite compact. It is noticeably smaller than or, which also have 6-inch screens. And on the V30+, the corners of the display are rounded and visually follow the body, which looks very beautiful and logical. Compare with OnePlus 5T and HTC U11+, whose body is also rounded, but the screen itself is normal, with right angles. This option looks a little simple.
In general, you already understand that we liked the design of the V30+. The only thing I didn't like was the fingerprint button on the back. Yes, LG has been promoting this feature for a long time, but after other smartphones it will take a long time to get used to such ergonomics.
Screen
But this smartphone has an excellent P-OLED display. 6-inch with a resolution of 1440 by 2880 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. Bright, rich and contrasting. The screen is good in any lighting - in bright sun or in complete darkness. By the way, the smartphone supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 technology. Not every expensive TV can do this. But watching HDR films on a small screen is still a dubious pleasure. In the settings you will find many options to adjust the screen to suit you, and in general there is only one complaint about the display - at an angle it starts to turn a little blue. But this is the problem of those who spy on you. You will look at him directly and confidently. LG didn’t forget about the Always On display. This is a very convenient function for viewing time and notifications, and notifications can be configured here.
Sound
To the delight of everyone who prefers wires, the LG V30+ has a 3.5 mm jack. Hurray, you don’t have to throw away your old wired headphones. Moreover, the V30+ comes bundled with a very good B&O Play headset. Bang & Olufsen helped LG with sound settings, and in general there is a four-channel DAC. In the smartphone settings, you can tweak the equalizer and digital filters, which overall provides decent sound to the V30+. Listen to music in good quality possible and necessary. But there is only one external speaker. While the volume is quite good, the quality is far from the best. No volume, just high frequencies. But you won’t miss the call and you can watch our reviews on YouTube. It's better to listen to music on headphones. By the way, there is also an FM radio here. This is rare today, but listening to music or radio programs without an Internet connection can still be relevant.
Camera
Absolutely every manufacturer claims that their devices have the best camera. But you and I know that not all flagships shoot as well as they promise. But everyone wants to press a button and get a masterpiece. Google Pixel has no equal in this component. But LG also has its own tricks up its sleeve.
The V30 has a dual camera, but unlike its competitors, LG has been using a second module for wide-angle photos for quite some time. And it's wonderful. Portraits, bokeh, all this is of course cool, but in street photography a wide-angle is indispensable. The main camera of the V30 is ordinary - 16 megapixels with a very bright lens, the aperture of which is f/1.6. The pictures taken during the day and even at night are excellent. And the second lens on the V30 is wide-angle with a 120-degree viewing angle. This camera is simpler, 13 MP with f/1.9 aperture. It does not have autofocus and in the dark the pictures from it are quite noticeably noisy. But during the day or in good light, this is a great camera that allows you to take unique photos. The only complaints about the main camera are the mediocre autofocus. However, for video this is even good, but for photos it’s just so much fun.
There are a lot of settings in the camera application. It's unlikely you'll use all of this, but the fact that there are so many tools in the camera will please photography enthusiasts. The Koreans also really messed around with video shooting. There is even a Cine Log mode, like professional cameras, in which the picture should be as flat as possible, that is, faded, but with an expanded dynamic range. Of course, it’s stupid to compare a smartphone with a professional camera, but the V30 can shoot very good video. Especially on the main 16 MP camera. Here you have 4K, and optical stabilization, and Full HD 60 fps, and a bunch of cinematic filters, and even smooth manual zoom with a choice of aiming object. In terms of photos and videos, the V30 is in perfect order.
Specifications LG V30
- Octa-core Snapdragon 835 processor.
- Adreno 540 graphics chip.
- 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.
Of course, this is not OnePlus with its insane 8 GB of RAM, but what is in the V30+ is enough. The smartphone is very fast, smooth and responsive. You can play any games at maximum settings, and the V30 doesn’t even get particularly hot. Quite a gaming smartphone. On the right side there is a hybrid slot for two SIM cards, or for a SIM card and a memory card. There are several ways to unlock your smartphone. Firstly, a fingerprint scanner, which works quickly and well. Secondly, a face scanner. In terms of response speed, it is at the level of the iPhone X, but it may not always work. Although LG suggests registering your face several times for better recognition. Thirdly, it is possible to unlock your smartphone with your voice. Just set up a specific code word and the smartphone will unlock if you say it. This is probably not the safest way, but it works. The most interesting thing is that you can configure all three unlocking methods at the same time.
Autonomy
In terms of autonomy, the V30+ is also no slouch. It will easily provide a day of active use, although it does not have the most champion 3300 mAh battery. The same one was in G6. In general, from morning to evening you can watch YouTube, chat on Telegram and scroll through Instagram - your smartphone will last until the evening. The LG V30 easily provides 5-6 hours of screen time with all active connections. The indicator may not be the best, but it is certainly worthy. You don't have to live near an outlet. There is also wireless charging and fast charging
Launcher
V30+ runs on Android based 7.1.2 and LG promise an update to Android 8. The launcher cannot be called the most elegant and modern, but there are a great many settings, everyone can customize the smartphone to suit themselves. On the other hand, the settings menu is so complex that it can be difficult to find the necessary function there. For example, face unlock is in the “Display” section, and fingerprint unlock is in the “General” tab. It's time to do something about it. Settings on pure Android are several times simpler and more convenient. As for the appearance of the shell, it is not for everyone. But the good thing about Android is that you can always install a third-party launcher and make your smartphone prettier.
The LG V30 proved during testing that it is a top-notch smartphone and should not be afraid of comparison with other top models. The edge-to-edge look is modern, the screen is large and rich in color, and performance is top-notch. Battery life and photo quality, on the other hand, are good but not outstanding. LG is trying to pave the way to the top of our rating, despite some disturbing details: in particular, the smartphone worth 54,000 rubles does not have an LED status indicator.
Advantages
chic frameless design
large display with rich colors
good battery life and daylight photo quality
Flaws
no Dual-SIM function and LED status indicator
The quality of photos in twilight lighting could be better
at the time of OS release only Android 7
- Price-quality ratio
Great - Place in the overall ranking
1 in 200
- Price/quality ratio: 78
- Performance and Control (35%): 96.2
- Equipment (25%): 94.2
- Battery (15%): 90.6
- Display (15%): 94.4
- Camera (10%): 92.5
Editorial rating
User rating
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LG V30: a wonderful mobile phone
The LG V30 is not only a better (and more expensive) smartphone than the LG G6 introduced in the spring of 2017, it also looks cooler. LG has done a truly excellent job and has the lineup A chic device that is especially impressive with its huge and almost frameless display. The frames are a little thinner compared to the G6 and the Pixel 2 XL smartphone manufactured at LG factories. LG is not trying to copy other smartphones and has refused to use curved edges on the display, so the appearance of the smartphone is not impressive. However, thanks to this, text and information from it are perceived better than on the Galaxy S8.
LG V30 has an almost frameless design and, despite the screen size, still fits comfortably in the hand
We really liked the dark turquoise color of the “Moroccan Blue” case of the tested model, which slightly changed under the lighting. We also found it practical that the fingerprint scanner is located on the back side under the camera and not as close to it as with Samsung. It is easy to reach and doubles as an on/off button. Alternatively, you can wake up your smartphone by double tapping on the screen, and using the same gesture on the desktop you can put the device back into standby mode.
Since the camera barely protrudes from the body of the V30, unlike the iPhone X, it does not wobble on the table when touched. The glass back looks chic, but only if the user wipes it regularly because it easily attracts fingerprints. On top of everything else, the V30 is waterproof to IP-68. According to LG, it is relatively resistant to shock loads, but, most likely, these promises are not worth testing in practice.
The reverse side has an attractive color and is covered with glass. Unfortunately, the grease stains on it are very visible OLED display with huge color space coverage
The large 6-inch screen is impressive: we've never tested a display that can display more than 160 percent of the sRGB color space. For example, the Galaxy Note 8 reaches 152 percent. But because of this, the display of colors is not entirely natural, but rather flashy and catchy. In the color palette settings, you can select “Optimal for the web” to make the display more natural and calm if you prefer that look.
However, with its 514 cd/m2 the display shines bright enough for content to be read well even in direct sunlight. However, the Galaxy Note 8 is capable of raising brightness to above 700 cd/m2. The level of detail with 538 ppi will be enough even for using a smartphone with glasses virtual reality. Anyone who wants to save a little more battery power can change the default resolution of 2880x1440 pixels in the screen settings to Full-HD, which is suitable for everyday use.
By the way: unlike the much-maligned smartphone screen, which also comes from LG's pOLED panels and becomes bluish when viewed at an angle, the colors displayed on the V30 display “cooler” only slightly. This did not bother us at any point during testing.
We liked the OLED display for its contrasting and bright colors Fantastic performance, good battery life
Anyone who demands 54,000 rubles for their smartphone does not have the right to lose face in any respect. In keeping with its claim to top-end status, LG equips its V30 with its fastest yet mobile processor from Qualcomm, which is called the Snapdragon 835 and, combined with 4 GB of RAM, showed excellent results during the launch of our benchmarks. Although it doesn't reach the level of the Apple A11 processor installed in the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, it scores top marks in the Android camp. Specifically, the V30 loaded our test web page in 4.7 seconds, for example. The Galaxy S8 will take 8.4 seconds to complete the same task. In everyday use, the measurement results show that the V30 responds to user commands very quickly and flexibly.
Meanwhile, battery life here is good, although not sensational. In our online testing, the LG V30 managed to last 10 hours and 34 minutes. The Galaxy S8 can last more than 11 hours on a single charge, while the Huawei Mate 10 Pro breaks the 12-hour mark. It is remarkable that, thanks to the support of the fast charging function, the duration of the process of restoring the battery's energy reserves is a short 117 minutes.
The V30's web surfing performance is top-notch Wide-angle camera
Unlike Apple's dual camera, the LG V30's dual-lens system offers standard or wide-angle shots rather than standard and telezoom angles. The latter is an advantage when you need to photograph a group of people or other very wide scenes. However, wide-angle shots suffer from a slight fisheye effect - horizontal and vertical lines appear slightly crooked. On the other hand, geometric distortions sometimes add artistic value to a photo. In any case, they can always be corrected in a photo editor.
The quality of photos produced by the 16-megapixel standard camera, despite promising technical characteristics, is good but not outstanding. LG boasts, for example, of a very large f/1.6 aperture, which lets a lot of light into the sensor. Optical Image Stabilizer minimizes the chance of blurry shots and makes it possible to use longer shutter speeds in dim lighting. We like photos taken in daylight, although the level of detail in the cameras of the S8/Note 8, iPhone 8 is even a little higher.
Dual camera with choice of normal or wide-angle photos The differences are much more noticeable at dusk. Although the LG V30 offers higher quality than the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, it does not cause delight in comparison with the HTC U11 and the Pixel 2 family. The photos are bright and not full of annoying noise, but the blur algorithm gets to work too zealously and literally erases important structures and details. In particular, in the images of our test bench, strands of hair and threads merge into a single surface, and textures also disappear. As a result, the quality of twilight photos can still be considered good, but it is not impressive.
No Dual-SIM, no LED status indicator
Despite the fact that the OLED display, in addition to the clock, can also show missed notifications and calls on a black background for a long time (the “Always On” function), we still miss the LED status indicator. Not every user will want to keep the display activated for a long time, so a multi-color LED indicator should be a given at this price point. In addition, support for the Dual-SIM function could also be practical: it is available, for example, even on more affordable models such as the HTC U11 Plus and .
Photo quality is good, but the V30 doesn't perform as well as the Google Pixel 2 or HTC U11 in the dark With the exception of these two missing items, LG provides V30 buyers with a fairly rich equipment package. The smartphone supports wireless charging, and if the built-in memory, which holds approximately 50 GB of user data, is not enough for you, the storage can be easily expanded using a Micro-SD card. We also find worthy of praise the fact that in addition to the 3.5 mm classic audio jack, LG also uses a high-performance headphone amplifier here. After you activate the “Hi-Fi Quad DAC” item in the settings menu (which is done only when headphones are connected), you can easily make even the 150-Ohm Senneheiser HD 660 S headphones very loud and still have a large headroom volume control.
Many smartphones from other manufacturers will not be able to do this in this form; the Galaxy S7, for example, will work at the limit of its capabilities. Those who prefer to use Bluetooth can rejoice in the presence of the aptX HD codec: with suitable headphones, the V30 plays music in very high quality and wirelessly. So, headphone lovers should be very happy with this phone.
Unlike many other high-end models, the V30 offers a classic headphone jack that also works great with high-impedance headphones By the time of market launch - without Android 8
The list of equipment also includes a USB Typ-C interface, which transfers data very quickly thanks to compliance with the USB 3.0 standard. There is also Bluetooth 5 and ac standard WLAN support. However, how fast a smartphone will work on a home network, as a rule, depends on the characteristics of the premises and the performance of the router. At the time of testing, Android 7.1.2 is installed on the V30, which is a shame, since other top models are already released with . At the same time, LG refuses to use the typical Android application menu and places icons of all newly installed programs on the desktop. This is familiar from iOS. The system shell makes a good impression and there is nothing particularly bad about it: the phone responds quickly to keystrokes and looks well organized. According to LG representatives, the V30 will receive an update to Android 8 in early 2018.
It would be great to see Android 8: only Android 7 is installed on the LG V30 when it hits the market LG V30 test results
LG V30 Specifications and Test Results
| Price-quality ratio | 78 |
| OS during testing | Android 7.1 |
| Current OS | Android 7.1 |
| Is there an OS update planned? | Android 8 (Q1/2018) |
| App Store | |
| Weight | 155 g. |
| Length x Width | 152 x 76 mm; |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm; |
| Expert design review | Great |
| Expert assessment of work speed | Very good |
| Download speed: PDF 800 KB via WLAN | 2.4 s |
| Download speed: main chip.de via WLAN | 0.4 s |
| Download speed: chip.de test chart via WLAN | 4.7 s |
| Sound quality (speakerphone) | Very good |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 |
| Processor architecture | |
| CPU frequency | 2.450 MHz |
| Number of CPU cores | 4+4 |
| RAM capacity | 4.0 GB |
| Battery: capacity | 3.300 mAh |
| Battery: easy to remove | - |
| Battery: surfing time | 10:34 h:min |
| Battery: charging time | 1:57 h:min |
| Fast charging function | Yes |
| Charger and fast charging cable included | |
| Battery: discharging time/charging time | 5,4 |
| Wireless charging function | Yes |
| WLAN | 802.11n, ac |
| Voice over LTE | |
| LTE: frequencies | 800, 1.800, 2.600 MHz |
| LTE: Cat. 4 | up to 150 Mbit/s |
| LTE: Cat. 6 | up to 300 Mbit/s |
| LTE: Cat. 9 | up to 450 Mbit/s |
| LTE: Cat. 12 | up to 600 Mbit/s |
| Screen: type | OLED |
| Screen: diagonal | 6.0 inches |
| Screen: size in mm | 68 x 136 mm; |
| Screen: resolution | 1.440 x 2.880 pixels |
| Screen: Dot Density | 538 ppi |
| Screen: max. brightness in a dark room | 514.3 cd/m² |
| Screen: staggered contrast in a bright room | 33:1 |
| Screen: staggered contrast in a dark room | 162:1 |
| Camera: resolution | 16.3 megapixels |
| Camera: measured resolution | 1,790 line pairs |
| Camera: expert assessment of image quality | Fine |
| Camera: VN1 noise | 2.0 VN1 |
| Camera: minimum focal length | 4.0 mm; |
| Camera: minimum shooting distance | 8 cm; |
| Camera: Shutter Time with Autofocus | 0.60 s |
| Camera: optical stabilizer | Yes |
| Camera: autofocus | Yes |
| Camera: flash | LED |
| Video resolution | 3.840 x 2.160 pixels |
| Front camera: resolution | 4.9 megapixels |
| LED indicator | - |
| Radio | Yes |
| SIM card type | Nano-SIM |
| Dual SIM | - |
| Protection against dust and moisture (IP certificate) | IP 68 |
| Fingerprint's scanner | |
| User accessible memory | 50.5 GB |
| Memory card slot | Yes |
| USB connector | Type-C-USB 3.1 |
| Bluetooth | 5 |
| NFC | Yes |
| Headphone output | 3.5 mm; |
| HD Voice | Yes |
| SAR | 0.48 W/kg |
| Firmware version during testing | N2G47H |
| Test date | 2017-11-09 |
Specifications
- Platform: Android 7.1 with LG UX 6.0+
- Network: GSM, WCDMA, FDD-LTE (B1, B3, B7, B8, B20 and B38)
- Display: 6 inches, resolution 2880x1440 pixels, 538 ppi, HDR 10, OLED FullVision matrix, Always On Display function
- Camera: dual 16 MP with aperture f=1.6 + 13 MP (f=1.9, viewing angle 120 degrees), optical stabilization, dual LED flash
- Front camera: 5 MP, f=2.2, viewing angle 90 degrees
- Processor: 8 cores, 10 nm, 64 bit, up to 2.45 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- Graphics chip: Adreno 540
- RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X
- Internal memory: 128 GB
- Memory card: up to 2 TB
- Satellite systems: GPS and GLONASS
- Communications: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), dual band, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, USB Type-C 3.1, 3.5 mm audio jack
- Additionally: NFC, protection according to IP68 and MIL-STD-810G standards, fingerprint scanner
- Sound: ESS SABER ES9218P, Quad Hi-Fi Audio, B&O Play
- Battery: 3300 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0, wireless charging
- Dimensions: 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm
- Weight: 158 g
Contents of delivery
- Smartphone
- Wired stereo headset Bang&Olufsen
- Network adapter
- USB cable
- Instructions
- Warranty card
Introduction
At the end of August, we published a very detailed article about the announcement of the LG V30. In it, we not only looked at the positioning of the model, but also talked about all the key features of the device.
In short, LG sees the V30+ as a device capable of shooting the coolest videos, creating cool night shots thanks to the maximum open aperture (among mobile gadgets), delighting the user with a bright and contrasting POLED screen, and also providing ample musical opportunities thanks to the built-in DAC and supported by Bang&Olufsen.
The official answer regarding the appearance of the V30+ model on our market instead of the regular V30 version: V30+ differs from V30 by an expanded memory capacity of 128 GB. We studied the needs of Russian users and based on the data received, we made this decision. Sales of LG V30 are not planned.
Until December 4, LG had an original promotion: when you purchased a V30+ smartphone, you were also given a 32-inch TV. Especially the smart ones, I think, were able to figure out how to save money on buying a V30+? :)
At the moment, LG V30+ costs 59,990 rubles.
Appearance
Over the past few years, it has become much easier to describe the appearance of smartphones: as a rule, if we are talking about flagships, then this is a large flat glass-metal device with a screen covering the entire front panel and a roughly identically designed back side. Each manufacturer looks at the “construction site” of another vendor: someone copies, someone outright steals, and someone simply clones one successful device on the market and sells it just as successfully. And this is by no means a stagnant phenomenon: look at modern TVs - they differ from each other only in their logo. A similar situation will happen with smartphones. Hmmm, I ended up thinking a little gloomily. In fact, there is nothing bad in this situation: it will be easier for the consumer to make a choice.
The new product received IP68 protection and a military certificate MIL-STD-810. Considering the compact dimensions 151.7x75.4x7.3 mm and low weight - 153 grams - this is commendable! Now it will be difficult to drown the device in water (or another liquid), bury it in sand or mud with consequences, and it will be much more difficult to break it. I remember how at the LG G6 presentation gadgets were deliberately thrown onto the floor as a demonstration of their shock-resistant properties. Let me remind you that the G6 also has MIL-STD-810.
As for ease of use, there are no questions at all: thin, narrow, light, it’s a pleasure to use. A caveat: since there is glass on both sides, the V30+ still seemed slippery to me. By the way, the glass here is from Corning, fifth generation. Metal frame, sloping shape.
There is an oleophobic coating on the front side, but on the back there is either no coating or it is of poor quality, since the prints abundantly cover the entire surface.
In Russia there are 3 colors available: black, blue and purple. However, at the moment you can buy black or blue.
Despite the thin frames at the top and bottom, the speech speaker remains in its original place - top center. The volume is high, the timbre is pleasant, even low frequencies can be heard, I didn’t “observe” any extraneous sounds. Excellent speaker on par with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Apple iPhone 8Plus. There are light and proximity sensors. There are questions about the light sensor: it did not always adjust the brightness of the matrix correctly, and the brightness itself decreased or increased jerkily, that is, not smoothly. It was especially noticeable when moving from a light room to a dark one.
At the bottom end there is a microphone, a USB Type-C connector (version 3.1) and 5 holes, behind which there is a speakerphone. On top is another microphone and a 3.5 mm audio output for headphones. For some reason, they didn’t abandon the standard mini-jack in favor of the only fashionable USB-C.
On the right side there is a combined plastic slide for SIM+SIM or SIM+microSD with a rubberized insert. On the left are separate volume control buttons. But the round power button traditionally remains on the back surface. The solution, in my subjective opinion, is not the best: very often, when putting the phone in my pocket, I accidentally touched the fingerprint scanner (it is built into the power button), and the gadget unlocked in my pocket.
The fingerprint sensor works great: high recognition speed, almost no delay, in fact, you can place your finger in a way that is convenient for you.
On the back there is a module with a dual camera, a flash, a laser focusing system, and the Bang&Olufsen logo.
In general, it seems to me that the LG V30+ turned out to be extremely successful in terms of materials, durability, build quality and design ergonomics. But I would move the power button to the right side.
Display
The LG V30+ model is equipped with a screen whose diagonal is exactly 6 inches. The frames on the left and right are about 3.5 mm, on the top – 7.5 mm, and on the bottom – about 6 mm. That is, the design can rightfully be called FullVision: aspect ratio – 18:9, usable area – 81.2%.
The screen matrix of the new POLED product, high resolution – QHD+ (2880x1440 pixels), density – 538 ppi. Below you can see the structure of Pentile.
White brightness is 430 cd/m2, a typical standard value for most flagship matrices.
Matrix parameters in “Normal” color mode
Matrix parameters in “Photo” color mode
Matrix parameters in “Internet” color mode
The difference between the first and second modes is minimal, at least difficult to distinguish by eye. But the “Internet” mode is close to the sRGB triangle. The main disadvantage of this matrix is that all colors fade into a blue-green tint at small angles of inclination of the phone.
In the settings you can set the screen resolution to 1440x720, 2160x1080 and 2880x1440 pixels. In low resolution the picture deteriorates noticeably, but at medium values, in general, everything is not bad. This way you can avoid any slowdowns (although there are none) and save a little battery life.
There is a “Comfortable viewing” mode. It configures the filter of blue color or you can switch all colors to b/w. Double tap activates the screen.
One of the important options is Always-on display. It allows you to configure the content on the lock screen (including setting your own picture), and the display time on AOD. Since the device has an AOD function, the V30+ does not need a notification indicator, since all notifications appear on the lock screen.
To unlock, you can choose several options: key, numbers, finger scanner, voice and even face. I chose everything to make my life easier: it was dark - I said a phrase, it was uncomfortable to touch the scanner - I showed my face, and so on.
The face is recognized relatively quickly (but you need to hold the phone level in front of you), the voice - with a delay of a second, the finger scanner - instantaneous.
I forgot to mention HDR10 support.
Battery
Judging only by the battery capacity, the LG V30+ smartphone is equipped with a not very capacious battery – 3300 mAh. However, testing has proven that it is not only a matter of capacity, but also of system optimization.
At automatic brightness, the V30+ easily works up to 30 hours with an average screen time of 5 hours. If the gadget is lightly loaded, you can squeeze out up to 7 hours of screen time. The most active load on a 4G network will drain the battery by 12 at night.
The smartphone supports fast charging (QC 3.0): in about 30 minutes – 50% charge. In addition, there is wireless charging.
Communication capabilities
The LG V30+ model uses two SIM card slots: a combined connector, that is, either two SIM nano formats, or a SIM and a microSD memory card. Sim cards work in LTE 4G CAT 16 networks (B1, B3, B7, B8, B20 and B38). In addition, there are VoWi-Fi and VoLTE.
Of course, it hasn't disappeared anywhere. NFC technology: payment for purchases in stores and crediting money to the Troika card. The chip is installed somewhere near the fingerprint scanner, so you had to put the entire phone against the reader. For example, in the Apple iPhone 8 Plus, a similar technology works at a distance of almost 50 mm.
Wi-Fi network operates at frequencies 2.5/5 GHz (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth has version 5.0 (A2DP, LE, AptX HD).
GPS and GLONASS available. The device detects satellites even indoors: in open space up to 25 satellites with an accuracy of 3 meters. There are no questions about the quality of communication.
Memory
Surprisingly, one of the most sophisticated LG devices uses only 4 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. It’s clear that many will say that 4 is enough, but this is a device that should be the best in everything. Therefore, 6 GB of RAM in the LG V30+ would not hurt. RAM speed – 7000 MB/s. For example, Pixel 2 has 7400 MB/s.
The built-in memory is 128 GB, in fact, that’s why the smartphone has the “+” index. Read speed is 580 MB/s and write speed is 220 MB/s. Again, the Pixel 2 hits 740/210 MB/s.
microSD memory cards are supported up to 2 TB.
Cameras
What flagship on Android OS can do without two cameras? Hmm, HTC U11+... Wrong example :) In general, in LG everything is as it should be: a front camera, two main modules - a regular one and a wide one. And now more details.
5 MP selfie camera (Hynix HI553, as on UMI Touch), f/2.2 aperture, 90-degree viewing angle. Apart from the fact that it is wide-angle, it is otherwise ordinary. I think it was simply not possible to install a large module, given the thin frames. At night it shoots primitively, during the day it’s not bad, but it feels like it’s a little lacking in detail. Video is shot in FullHD at a constant 30 fps.
The main module on the rear side is 16 MP (Sony EMX351, sensor size 1/3") with the openest aperture to date among mobile devices– f/1.6. Moreover, the lens consists of glass lenses (marketing name CrystalClear) The viewing angle is 71 degrees. The module is equipped with three-axis optical stabilization. It works, but I can’t say it’s very active.
High-aperture optics and OIS can work wonders at shutter speeds of 1/10, since the ISO value in many situations did not exceed 500. The device can take more or less normal frames even in complete darkness. The LG V30+ smartphone is not about “noise”: almost all frames are “clean” and free of even obvious artifacts.
White balance is often off-kilter, so don't be surprised if your photos have a yellowish tint.
In general, I was happy with the LG V30+ camera until I compared the photos with the Apple iPhone 8 Plus. It turned out that the latter, although more noisy, retains more details in the photograph. In addition, Apple has better sharpness at the corners of frames. And one more thing: Apple focuses faster in difficult lighting conditions.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus / LG V30+
I wanted to emphasize that I am not a fan of the Apple brand (I hope you remember the experience of using the iMac 27"" 5K) and I approach camera testing extremely objectively.
I didn’t compare the second modules, since they have different meanings: in the iPhone – magnification, in the V30 – wide angle.
The additional camera LG V30+ has a resolution of 13 MP (Samsung S5K3M3, sensor size 1/2.9", used in Xiaomi Mi6, Meizu Pro 6/6 Plus), f/1.9 optics and a viewing angle of 120 degrees. In the LG G6 this camera was much simpler In terms of details and lens aperture, I liked the wide lens in the V30+: the wide viewing angle, bright frames, sharp pictures with almost no noise.
In general, the camera settings were carried over from the LG G6: manual video and photo settings, various kinds of collages, slow motion, time lapse, and so on.
I liked the Cine Video setting – these are ready-made color settings. This mode includes Point Zoom: you select the area that you are going to zoom, and then use the slider to smoothly zoom in or out, much the same as in video cameras.
The sound is great, recorded in AAC 48 kHz 156 Kbps format. Again, in manual settings you can select recording options.
Total for the LG V30+ camera. The smartphone takes decent pictures, there is progress not only in the main camera, but also in the additional one (however, judging by the sensors, they are not the newest or top-end). The quality of the images is approximately at the level of other flagships, then it’s time to look at the pixels and make a subtle comparison. The front camera is ordinary. The video is recorded well, the sound is excellent.
Examples of photos during the day
Examples of photos at night
Example photos - low light levels
Selfie
- Sample video (low light) (MP4, 123 MB) >>>
Performance
It is almost pointless to describe the power of modern flagship devices: all this performance has not played any role for a long time, the main thing is optimization, since without it it makes absolutely no difference whether you use a Snapdragon 835 or a Snapdragon 821. Cool processors at the moment work on screen resolution, then There is one for pulling pictures to 4K or so. The situation is approximately the same in the gaming industry: to output FullHD images, almost built-in graphics are enough, but for 4K you need some kind of 1080 “giforsin”, or better in SLI. Moreover, I don't see any cool toys on Android. But they don’t come out because most of them have different kinds of Xiaomi Redmi 4A, which do not support 3D graphics. There is no point in trying for the sake of a small percentage of Snapdragon 835 owners. That’s why we see the dominance of indie toys and “runners”, which do not require large computing power. To some extent, in the Android environment, I would call all this a “period of stagnation.”
LG's new product runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. It does not heat up under load, even when charging. As I already said, this speed is enough for everything. Anyway, there is no faster chip yet. In Antutu, V30+ scores almost 160,000 points.
operating system
I plan to write a review of the LG UX, so here it is in a nutshell. The smartphone operates on Google Android version 7.1.2. In fact, I would like to see Android 8 already. Compared to the previous version of the shell, almost nothing has changed, but there are even more settings. I can’t call the shell “airy”; after all, something is missing or, conversely, there is something extra.
Multimedia
Many people criticize Apple for creating the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in the same design and with the same dimensions. However, large frames on top and bottom made it possible to install high-quality speakers in the 7/8 Plus, which are difficult to compare with speakers in other gadgets on the Android OS. The LG V30+ has only one speaker, it is located at the bottom. The volume is slightly above average, the sound is flat, and this makes me very sad, especially when using the Apple iPhone 8 Plus, which produces a very loud, clear and bassy sound. However, LG supporters may say that the V30 is much more compact and lighter, and they will be right.
Inside the LG V30+ there is an ES9218 Saber digital-to-analog converter. A short excerpt:
“Like its predecessor, the LG V30 is equipped with a 32-bit advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC (DAC) SABER ES9218P (the LG V20 featured the ES9218 chip) from ESS Technology, offering two new features - digital filters and audio presets. While the original Hi-Fi Quad DAC focused on delivering Hi-Fi audio as close to the original source as possible with minimal distortion and white noise, the enhanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC offers more flexible parameter settings.
In the LG V30, you can adjust the impulse responses of digital filters and/or use one of four preset audio characteristics. The Hi-Fi Quad DAC manages audio settings for each audio channel separately, adjusting the balance so that listeners feel like they are in the center of the concert hall. LG claims that its engineers managed to reduce the distortion level to 0.0002 percent in the new smartphone.
In addition to everything, the LG V30 has support for technologies from the MQA company with its codecs, acts as an HD audio recorder with the ability to conduct high-quality recording from the built-in microphone, and the finishing touch is the smartphone package, which will include B&O PLAY headphones.”
Well, now to the point. No matter how much the supplied headphones are praised, they still sound mediocre. Personally, I didn’t have enough low frequencies; the high ones were lost somewhere. However, it's worth starting with the fact that in the sound settings there is a Hi-Fi Quad DAC switch.
It allows you to select the volume, sound preset, digital filter and balance of left and right channels. The “Digital Filter” parameter, it seemed to me, does not play any role. Presets are equalizer presets, and some strange ones at that.
Directly in the player there are effects (again, ready-made sound settings) and an equalizer. And here I was completely disappointed: LG supplied a sophisticated DAC, but came up with only a 5-band equalizer from 60 Hz to 14 kHz. Such a device should have 10 bands from 30 Hz to 20 kHz!
Frankly, I will say that assessing the sound quality of music is quite difficult: a lot depends not only on hearing, but also on headphones. At the time of writing the review, I did not have cool “ears”, therefore, unfortunately, I was not able to appreciate the sound of the V30+. However, work is already underway in this direction :)
Conclusion
If you ask me: Roman, did you like the LG V30+ smartphone? , then I will answer that LG has never had anything cooler than this device, so I liked the gadget on almost all counts. The only, but not the worst, drawback is the screen matrix. It turns a little green at a certain angle. The Pixel 2 XL is said to have a similar display.
The case and materials do not raise any questions: the smartphone is thin, light, made of glass and metal, protected according to IP68, and even has the military standard MIL-STD810. The cameras are excellent and no worse than similar solutions for the money. LG also worked with the sound.
One could also list the positive aspects, but in the price range of 50,000 – 60,000 rubles, this should be the norm: high screen resolution, powerful processor, memory, and so on.
The main competitors are Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple iPhone 8 Plus. If it doesn’t bother you that the S8 Plus has one camera, then you can take a closer look at it; You definitely need two cameras – Note 8; looking for new sensations – iPhone 8 Plus. If you’re not ready to pay a lot of money, but if you want an analogue of the V30+, look for the LG G6, which you can buy for 30,000 rubles cheaper, and from PCT devices.
At the moment, V30+ costs 60,000 rubles (the pre-order included a gift in the form of TV). I am sure that at the end of January the smartphone will become cheaper by 10,000 rubles, that is, it will cost you 50,000 rubles (not RRP). After the announcement of the start of sales of the Galaxy S9, the price of the V30+ will drop by another 5,000 – 7,000 rubles. In total, in April-May, the LG V30+ may be released at a price of 35,000 – 37,000 rubles. And then, lo and behold, the LG G7 will appear :)
Specifications LG V30
- Platform: Android 7.1 with LG UX 6.0+
- Network: GSM, WCDMA, FDD-LTE (band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30)
- Display: 6 inches, resolution 2880x1440 pixels, 538 ppi, HDR 10, OLED FullVision matrix, Always On Display function
- Camera: dual 16 MP with aperture f=1.6 + 13 MP (f=1.9, viewing angle 120 degrees), optical stabilization, dual LED flash
- Front camera: 5 MP, f=2.2, viewing angle 90 degrees
- Processor: 8 cores, 10 nm, 64 bit, up to 2.45 GHz, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- Graphics chip: Adreno 540
- RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X
- Internal memory: 64 GB UFS2.0 (128 GB for V30+)
- Memory card: up to 2 TB
- Satellite systems: GPS and GLONASS
- Communications: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), dual band, 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible), 3.5 mm audio jack
- Additionally: NFC, protection according to IP68 and MIL-STD-810G standards, fingerprint scanner
- Sound: ESS SABER ES9218P, Quad Hi-Fi Audio, B&O Play
- Battery: 3300 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0, wireless charging
- Dimensions: 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm
- Weight: 158 g
Introduction
At the IFA 2017 exhibition, LG Electronics presented a new V-series smartphone – V30. The welcoming speech was taken by Juno Cho, President and Chief Executive Officer of LG. He thanked everyone present at the event, spoke about his vision of “smartphone construction”, all the advantages of the device, and called the main presenter Andrew Coughlin, the company’s business leader, to the stage.
Coughlin emphasized that more and more people in the world began to shoot videos, and not just “raw” videos, but well-processed ones. special programs to improve the visual effect. He also reminded that it is the V30 that is capable of unlocking the full potential of video shooting. And in order to convince the audience in the hall, the business leader called David Franco, director of photography of the popular series “Game of Thrones,” onto the stage. David explained that the visual component lies not only in the right shots, but also in color correction, which is why the V30 smartphone is equipped with a large number of filters that can be applied to recorded videos. Another feature that Franco drew attention to is spot zoom: you click on the desired object on the screen and use a special slider to smoothly zoom in or out of the picture. At the presentation this function looked interesting.
It must be said that almost the entire program was in one way or another dedicated to creating a video on the LG V30: each of those present on stage highlighted this particular moment.
Next we talked about recording sound on smartphones. Like, most people don’t know how to write clear sound without distortion at concerts. In order to implement such technology, LG designers used a speech speaker as a microphone: a denser membrane can withstand greater sound loads.
Andrew Coughlin also talked about the cameras: for the first time in the world, optics with an f=1.6 aperture were used in a mobile device. IN new version software corrected the distortion.
Adrienne McCallister, director of VR business development at Google, was invited to the event. She explained that it is the V30 with an OLED matrix that is capable of unlocking the potential of VR due to its picture quality.
Naturally, when it came to the processor, the vice president of Qualcomm, Don Maguire, appeared on the stage. He explained that without the Qualcomm chip it would hardly have been possible to create a device with a screen that supports HDR, to use the full potential of photo and video cameras, high-speed data transfer, and more.
In conclusion, the LG business leader said that the smartphone uses a dedicated music chip and will come with Bang & Olufsen headphones. By the way, their logo is on the back of the device.
Appearance
LG paid almost no attention to this topic, apparently because it is now difficult to surprise with the design of smartphones: almost everything looks the same, and the materials are either metal or glass. In this case, fifth generation Corning Gorilla Glass is used on both sides. Metal frame.
That is, in general, there is nothing that could be highlighted from a design point of view. However, it is worth noting that the thickness of the device is only 7.3 mm, and the gadget weighs 158 grams.
There are four color options: Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet. As far as I understand, all options are made in a glossy case, however, according to representatives of the LG team, fingerprints should be invisible.
The new product received IP68 protection and a military certificate MIL-STD-810. That is, the V30 is difficult to drown, bury in sand and break. In theory, a smartphone should feel comfortable in all possible weather conditions.
Display
The screen diagonal is 6 inches – quite an impressive size. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus has a diagonal of 6.2 inches and dimensions of 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm (LG V30 - 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3 mm). The display matrix of the V30 is P-OLED, which is also why it was possible to reduce the weight of the device. Resolution – 2880x1440 pixels, density 536 pixels per inch, aspect ratio 18:9 – FullVision. Supports display of HDR content.
“OLED display expertise has long been one of LG's core competencies, and the technology itself has always been considered potentially important for smartphones,” said Juno Cho, president of LG Electronics Mobile Communications. “Today, the global smartphone industry is more competitive than ever before, and we decided it was time to bring OLED displays back to our mobile devices.”
“Using optimal image transmission algorithms, carefully selected over years of research and development in the field of OLED technologies, the company was able to achieve 148% coverage of the sRGB1 color space for digital images on screen and 109% coverage of the DCI-P32 color space for digital cinema. Another important advantage of OLED technology is the response speed, which is tens of times higher than that of LCD. This helps eliminate afterimages, which is important when viewing dynamic scenes and working with virtual reality applications.”
“Since the new smartphone's display will be based on Plastic OLED technology - also known as P-OLED - its edges can be curved to improve the ergonomic design and ease of use. P-OLED technology involves placing pixels on a plastic base, which is much more durable than glass. In addition, the smartphone display will be protected from damage by the new Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 with increased durability. More importantly, using advanced encapsulation and pixel scanning technologies, LG's new device will virtually eliminate pixel burn-in from OLED displays. Encapsulation significantly reduces the harmful effects of oxygen and moisture on display elements, and LG's pixel scanning technology allows you to use less power per pixel, preserving the device's battery power."
I am sure that the screen will be gorgeous, definitely no worse than that of the Samsung Galaxy S8. However, the latter has fine profile settings, that is, the S8’s color display can easily be made almost black and white or close to an IPS matrix. Whether such features will be available in the V30 is still unknown.
This time, the LG V30 displays information on the locked screen thanks to OLED and AlwaysOn feature. At the presentation, various lock screen substrates were demonstrated. Again, we saw this in Samsung devices, but now it is also in LG devices.
Battery
The LG V30 gadget is equipped with a built-in 3300 mAh battery. I think this capacity should be enough for a full day of active work: there is excellent software optimization, an energy-efficient processor, and, most importantly, an OLED matrix.
The device supports fast charging QC 3.0, so in 30 minutes the battery will be charged to 50%. The device has built-in wireless charging; it allows you to charge the battery up to 50% within an hour. In addition, the software has a Power Saving Mode function. You can put your phone into extreme power saving mode. Moreover, the function allows you to adjust brightness, resolution, disable AlwaysOn and even reduce the number of frames.
"Iron"
As you might have guessed, the LG V30 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip. There is 4 GB of RAM, and the built-in memory can be 64 or 128 GB (later a model with more memory will appear, it is called LG V30+).
This model supports USB-C 3.1 (USB-PD), Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac DualBand, Bluetooth version 5.0. There is GLONASS and GPS.
One of the original things is the built-in ESS9218P music chip. The LG V30 also features partner company MQA Ltd.'s technology to help improve high-resolution audio streaming, which, together with a digital-to-analog converter, allows the LG V30 to deliver audio that "touches the heart as well as the ear."
“Audiophiles and music lovers can enjoy high-definition streaming without the need to download heavy files or consume large amounts of mobile data to listen to Hi-Fi quality music on their smartphone.
While working on the new product, LG continued to work closely with B&O PLAY, which improved the acoustic capabilities of the LG V30, fine-tuning all aspects of the sound, adding its own exclusive touch. The smartphone will come with stylish, high-quality B&O PLAY headphones, designed to please your ears for hours on end.”
“For most people, their favorite music is an integral part of their life. They expect to experience the same audio experience and quality with headphones as when listening directly from a mobile device,” says John Mollanger, CEO of B&O PLAY. “We are therefore extremely excited about our long-term partnership with LG and the opportunity to serve the needs of music lovers around the world.”
Cameras
The main focus of the presentation was on the LG V30 cameras. In the introduction, we briefly talked about the fact that users are increasingly posting not only photos, but also videos on the Internet, so it must be of high quality. To do this, the developers installed software Cine Effects, which applies special effects, carries out color correction of the video sequence. This whole thing is easy to set up.
One of the advantages of the main camera is its optics. LG calls it Crystal Clear. The lenses are made of glass, so they convey a more detailed image than cameras with plastic lenses. The company says that making glass optics is more difficult, but the result is worth it.
Lens aperture f=1.6 is the first in the world among mobile devices. This means that more light will fall on the matrix, that is, in the dark the photos will turn out even better.
“High qualifications in creating smartphone cameras have already become the hallmark of LG mobile devices. The dual camera module in the upcoming LG V30 will feature the largest aperture and maximum light transmittance lens ever used in a company smartphone. An f/1.6 lens transmits 25% more light to the camera sensor than an f/1.8 lens. The glass Crystal Clear Lens also provides superior light output and color rendering compared to plastic lenses. All of this makes the LG V30 particularly well suited for photography and video.”
The only not very clear nuance: if you look at the original frames from the device and request EXIF information, it turns out that the aperture is not f=1.6, but f=1.69. Rounding up, we get the typical aperture value in many smartphones.
The resolution of the main camera is 16 MP, optical stabilization is used. The second wide-angle camera is equipped with a 13 MP sensor and f1.9 optics. At the presentation they said that the wide angle will be corrected, that is, distortion will be minimized.
“The HD audio recorder can use your smartphone's audio receiver as a microphone, allowing you to record loud sounds more clearly and clearly. Thus, the LG V30 can capture a wider dynamic range of sounds, from whispers to thunder, without distortion.”
The engineers achieved this result using a speech speaker as a microphone.
Examples of photographs (
