Smartphones: LG V30 Review

Introducing LG’s best smartphone to date!

It’s 2018 already, and a handful of mobile device makers are fighting it out to claim the top spot for the best Android phone out there. Not too long ago, LG introduced an update to their V20 smartphone, the V30, to quite a bit of fanfare. Since then, it’s won quite a few awards and garnered plenty of favorable reviews. Once again, the folks at Verizon were kind enough to loan us LG’s new flagship V30 smartphone for testing purposes. How does it fare against its competition and predecessor? Let’s find out in this LG V30 review.

LG V30 Review

As far as top-tier Android OS phones go, the LG V30 is similar to those from brands like Made by Google and Samsung. All three brands’ flagship phones utilize the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 processor, while other specifications (and dimensions) range between close to identical. With regard to the screen, both the V30 and Pixel 2 XL utilize pOLED (plastic OLED.) Plastic OLED allows for the display to be 0.5mm thinner then AMOLED, which is what appears on the Galaxy S8/8+ phones. To learn more about pOLED, check out these two articles on Android Authority and CNET.

LG V30 Design and Features

Like its V20 predecessor, the screen display on the V30 is a thing of beauty. This time around it comes with a pOLED screen. (See links above.) The near 6″ pOLED screen is QHD+ (2880 x 1440) with 538ppi. Screen protection has also stepped up by one from Corning® Gorilla® Glass 4 to 5. The display, known as FullVision, has an 18:9 aspect ratio. If you want to watch something recorded in Dolby Vision (HDR) High Dynamic Range, the V30 can accommodate you.

Per a sub-Reddit, there’s been some discussion about burn-in issues with pOLED affecting both the Pixel 2 XL and the V30. Regarding the Pixel 2 XL, Google has resolved its issues thanks to software/firmware updates. If you’re encountering this burn-in problem, try at least one of two things. Both solutions require you to head to Settings. Scroll down to Display and reduce the Screen Timeout to a minute or less. Also from Display disable the Always-on display. The same goes for soft keys and screen notifications. FYI: Our V30 sample did not have any such burn-in issues.

Like the LG G6, the locations of the power and volume buttons are well placed. The volume buttons are located on the upper left, easily adjustable from your left thumb. The power button/fingerprint reader is on the back side. And speaking of the fingerprint scanner, it worked flawlessly. We never encountered an issue during setup or regular use.

Since the front and back sides are made from Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, the handset is very slippery. The last thing you want to have happen is for the LG V30 to slide out of your hands and hit the ground or pavement. I’ve been there before, it sucks. We highly recommend purchasing a case from a brand like tech21 or Speck. Whatever you do, don’t use the LG V30 without a case with a grip.

The entire body has an ingress protection of 68 which offers a fair amount of water and dust resistance. Should you happen to drop this phone into the shallow end of a pool, you can relax. “The device is suitable for continuous immersion in water under 1.5 meters up to 30 minutes.” You can learn more about this and MIL-STD-810G testing on LG’s Quality page

The phone comes with two mics, one USB-C port, and one 3.5mm jack. If you’re going wireless for audio, the phone supports HD audio with LDAC, Qualcomm® AptX™, and AptX HD™ audio codecs.

The battery size is nearly unchanged (100 mAh greater) from its predecessor. At 3300 mAh, the V30’s battery has less capacity than that of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ or Google Pixel 2 XL. Unfortunately, it drains quicker too as mentioned above.

Like the V20, the V30’s internal storage is 64GB. If this isn’t enough, then look towards the V30+ with 128GB RAM. Photos and videos continue to be unlimited and get uploaded to Google Photos service should you choose so.

Specifications: Google Pixel 2 XL versus LG V30

The V30’s Three Built-In Cameras

As seen from the specs comparison above, the rear camera sizes are greater than those of the Pixel 2 XL and Samsung Galaxy S8+ when it comes to megapixels. And where the LG V20 has 16 MP standard-angle and 8 MP wide-angle lenses, the new V30 has 16 MP standard-angle and 13 MP wide-angle lenses.

Also changed are the standard-angle lens aperture going from ƒ/1.8 to ƒ/1.6, and the wide-angle lens aperture going from ƒ/2.4 to ƒ/1.9.

The front camera size is unchanged at 5 MP, but the aperture has gone from ƒ/1.9 to ƒ/2.2. The field of view has changed going from 120°/83° to 90°/80°. You can still toggle the angle in the settings.

As with the G6, photo or video can be taken with either front or rear camera. As listed below, the rear camera comes in eight sizes, but the values have changed. With video, there are six options which fall into either 720P, 1080P, or 4K recording modes. All of these remain unchanged from the G6.

The dozen or so photo/video menu settings (Camera roll, HDR, Timer, etc.) remain the same too. There are changes to the Mode tab while the nine active view filters remain unchanged. Some of the included photos are presented with these filters. I suggest that when you’re next in a Verizon store, play around with the camera and all its functions.

The one thing I noticed when taking the same photo from the LG V30 and the G6, the color profile of the former was flatter whereas the latter had more color. There are arguments for and against each. Thankfully, mobile photo editors like Snapseed and Pixlr exist so you can color correct all you want. All the snowfall and museum photos presented in this post are uncorrected images. And if you’re wondering where the museum photos were captured, they were taken at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. The Georgia O’Keeffe and XYZT exhibitions are not to be missed.

One thing I love in particular about the V30 is its on-the-fly manual mode settings. You can select either rear camera, then adjust the white balance, exposure value, ISO, and shutter speed at will. There are even a color histogram and an auto-adjust button for added assistance.

As listed below, the front camera comes in four sizes and three video recording options.

It’s good to see that the lens distortion I noticed with the wide-angle lens of the G6 did not transfer to the V30. No longer is the upper right region of the image heavily distorted. Unfortunately, the wide-angle lens continues to bend an image. Adjusting the perspective within Adobe Bridge or mobile photo editors like Snapseed and Pixlr is a must to correct this bend.

The image quality produced from the standard-angle lens is close to that of the Google Pixel 2 XL. That’s a good thing as the latter is known to have the highest rated camera among all mobile phones.

A Few Things I Dislike

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, “I hate Google Assistant!”

My dislike of this voice assistant is not because of how well or poorly it works. My objection to it is because it’s always on. Thankfully you can disable it to a minimum or if necessary, completely.

Tired of hearing the phrase “OK Google?” You can disable this too. Want to take it to the next level? Disable the assistant entirely and go old school.

The flip side of a complete shutdown of Google Assistant is that you’ll miss out on activating any one of the seven services like Music, Home Control, News, My Day, Shopping list, Shortcuts, or Videos and Photos.

Take Music for instance. You’ve got options like Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, and Spotify. Want to play video? You can do so with Netflix, HBO NOW, CBS, or Viki, whatever that is. You just need to be signed in. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I didn’t even touch on the other five services.

Battery life is an issue and a complaint from many reviewers. This can be alleviated as mentioned above.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cracked front screen. As you can see, this sample unit has cracks in its front glass across the upper left corner. Oddly enough, only the glass is cracked, the metal frame in undamaged. I’m glad the sample unit came this way as I get to show you how sensitive the screens are without the use of protective case.

Final Thoughts

The LG V30 smartphone is a marginal step forward from the V20. The V20 was impressive when it was introduced 1.5 years ago. With the newer model, we see improvements in processing power, screen size, camera capabilities, download speed, sound, and more.

The V30 currently uses Android 7.1.2 Nougat and has Bluetooth 5 capability. We’ve been reliably informed that the V30 is undergoing beta testing with a small number of users (I don’t know how many) with Android 8.0 Oreo. It’s safe to say that users of the V30 should see an OS upgrade to Oreo before Spring 2018.

Unlike the Made by Google Pixel 2 XL/Pixel 2, the V30 comes with unnecessary bloatware, like LG Health, thus preventing a better mobile experience.

When compared to the LG G6, a device which was considered top-tier in early 2017, the V30 outperformed it across the board.

With all of this said, this flagship smartphone from LG is a serious contender against other top-tier phones such as the Apple X, Google Pixel 2 XL, and Samsung Galaxy S8+ or Note 8. Minus its slippery frame and battery life issue, I for one loved this phone and can easily recommend to all our readers.

What do you think of this LG V30 review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

The LG V30 smartphone comes with a two-year limited end-user warranty. If you’re looking for the Setup and Support, it’s found here. Don’t hesitate to head over to the Verizon Wireless homepage to see their latest products and 3rd party accessories.

FTC Disclosure: Verizon provided Beantown LLC with one (1) LG V30 smartphone sample for review purposes. LG was not involved in this review whatsoever. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador for either brand.

All photographs are the copyrighted property of Beantown LLC © 2018.