LG V30 64GB Smartphone Evaluation

Product: LG V30 64GB Smartphone
Provided By: LG Canada
Price: $949 CAD ($669 USD) at time of publication

Introduction:

Over the past few weeks, I've had the pleasure of using the LG V30 Smartphone. This is the successor to the LG G6 and it's a worthy successor in my opinion. To be perfect clear, this is the first LG phone I've used in years and the previous models I used were very adequate for their time. LG is a major player in the wireless handset business, but they seem to get outclassed - or maybe just out-advertised - by their major competitors, Samsung and Apple. The truth is the LG V30 is a very capable smartphone and with the Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and QHD+ resolution, it certainly has a lot to offer in terms of raw specifications. Software is one thing that can cripple a flagship device and we'll take a look in our evaluation to see if they have the whole package, or just promise a lot of flash and end up short on the substance side of things.

In addition to providing 64GB of internal storage, the device we tested supports MicroSD storage as well and the ability to expand your storage by up to 2TB. That's a lot of storage, and is pretty awesome that this device supports those massive MicroSD cards. Many other flagship devices we've looked at recently do not.

First Look:

The LG V30 is a pretty sweet device that manages to pack in a 6.0-inch screen into a device that is only ~3mm taller than the Samsung Galaxy S8. The V30 is noticeably wider though, coming in at 75.4mm wide. It is slightly thinner than the S8 however at 7.3mm. The V30 has a 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio at 1440x2880 and a very solid pixel density at ~537 ppi. What does that mean? It means the P-OLED screen is super beautiful, very clear, and fantastic. The device is covered front and back by Gorilla Glass 5 to help protect it from scratching. While it is IP68 rated and claims to survive drop-testing, I chose not to find the failure point  on this loaner device from LG.

The device is powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor which was the fastest available CPU from Qualcomm until this past MWC where they showed off the new Snapdragon 845 that powers the new Galaxy S9 and more. The bundle included with the V30 is pretty basic - but it has everything you really need. Even though the V30 has a headphone jack (thankfully), they don't include a set of earbuds. I guess LG figures that you probably have a better set than what they'd include - and trying to keep the price as low as possible to compete with the other flagships on the market. The device does include a fast charger and it seems to work very well. 

The Snapdragon 835 may not be the most efficient processor on the market, but LG has included a pretty large battery, and when they combine that with an P-OLED screen, streamlined software and some other ways to magically save you power, this device should last you an easy day of heavy use and a couple of days of light to medium usage. 

The button layout and position of the V30 take a bit of time to get used to. The volume keys are exactly where they should be - on the left side of the device, but there is no side, front, top or bottom power button. The power button is located on the back and embedded in it is the fingerprint sensor. Many devices have the finger print sensor on the back and works well, but after have generations of devices with a side power button, it did take some getting used to. In the end, it makes perfect sense though and often in the time it take to push the power button, the V30 reads your fingerprint and unlocks the device instantly.

The top and bottom of the V30 is pretty standard with a single bottom-facing speaker and a USB-C port. Also on the bottom is the small microphone hole. The bottom facing speaker works well enough, but I do prefer other devices that include a single (or better yet, a pair of ) front facing speakers. On the top side of the device is the headphone jack, some white "bars" that are for the antenna as well as another microphone whole to aid in noise reduction when talking on the phone. There's nothing too special here and LG has stuck with a design that just plain works.

While the storage is easily expandable, the battery is not easily replaceable. That is common, and while I don't like it - it seems to be the way things are these days.

On the next page, we'll cover more of the features and specifications from LG and then talk about how well the device works in the real world and if you should consider the V30 for your next device.