LG V30 hands-on review

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LG V30

LG may have been one of the first smartphone manufacturers to release an edge-to-edge “bezel-less” phone in 2017, but the G6’s early release forced the company to use an older Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor. Nearly all other flagship phones utilize the superior Snapdragon 835 chip. Sales of the G6 haven’t been stellar, but the latest LG V30 smartphone may finally put the company on the right track. It features hardware specifications that match other high-end 2017 phones, and it continues the design trend of minimizing edges around the screen. In our LG V30 hands-on review, we found it to be a great phone all-around, with plenty of nifty features to love.

OLED display, skimpier bezels

The “bezel-less” trend companies like LG and Samsung are following offers more screen real-estate, while narrowing the edges around the screen. With a 6-inch screen, there’s no doubt the LG V30 is a large phone; but if you’re used to traditional 5.5-inch smartphones like the iPhone 7 Plus, you’ll hardly feel a difference.

On the front of the V30, there are tiny edges on the top, bottom, and sides of the phone. The screen’s corners are rounded, as are the phone’s frame. The front-facing camera and earpiece sits at the top, while there’s nothing on the bottom — not even an LG logo like on the G6. A USB Type-C charging port sits on the bottom of the phone, next to a single speaker grill.

The SIM card slot is on the right, and the volume rocker is on the left edge. In traditional LG style, the fingerprint sensor on the rear doubles as the power button. The dual-camera setup is at the top center, next to the flash, and below the fingerprint sensor is the V30 name and an LG logo.

The glass chrome rear is elegant and shiny, but the phone still feels cheap. It feels plasticky and too lightweight — a stark contrast from the heftier G6, which feels like a phone worth its price tag. This doesn’t cause any issues with the phone, but after handling the titanium and ceramic Essential Phone, the V30 doesn’t make us feel anything about its build quality. One of our V30 units also suffered a large crack on the rear after an incredibly low drop, around three feet; it’s the price of all-glass phones, and you will certainly want to put a case on it.

if you’re used to 5.5-inch smartphones like the iPhone 7 Plus, you’ll hardly feel a difference.

The OLED display is a different story. It features a 2,880 x 1,440-pixel resolution, with an 18:9 aspect ratio. OLED allows you to see inky, deep blacks, because the pixels are turned off when they’re not needed. The V30 won’t get as bright as an LED or LCD display, but we were satisfied with it in broad daylight. The screen is easy to see in all viewing angles; and the colors aren’t overly saturated, but still vibrant. One of the benefits of the OLED display is virtual reality: The V30 is now a Daydream-ready device, meaning you can use it to immerse yourself in Google’s mobile VR platform, provided you have the Daydream View VR headset already.

The 6-inch screen is excellent for media consumption. Shows such as Daredevil on Netflix look gorgeous because they utilize the full screen 18:9 aspect ratio, but not all content is supported. Many videos from YouTube, for example, will show black borders on the sides — it’s not bad by any means, but it won’t feel as immersive.

We did run into an issue: Movies and shows with dark elements, such as The Defenders on Netflix, were far too dark and barely visible on one of our V30 units. On our second V30 unit, we had zero issues; the same exact scenes were much brighter and more colorful. We’ve reached out to LG for comment, but haven’t heard back yet. We should note that these are not final release units.

Top specs, handy software features

LG opted to release the G6 earlier than usual, so it couldn’t take advantage of the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, unlike every other 2017 flagship phone. That’s not the case with the V30. The 835 is an excellent processor and we’ve yet to run into any issues with performance on the V30. The 4GB of RAM certainly helps, and we’ll have to keep testing to see if the phone continues to perform well.

LG V30 Compared To

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

HTC U11

Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom

Moto Z2 Play

Motorola Moto E4

HTC One Remix

Huawei Ascend Mate 2

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active

LG G Flex

LG Optimus G Pro

LG Lucid 2

Motorola Droid Razr HD

Sony Xperia P

Motorola Droid Bionic

Motorola Photon 4G

With the V30, you get the option to choose between 64 or 128GB of internal storage, and an added MicroSD card slot allows you to increase it any time you need more space. The phone is  IP68 water- and dust-resistance, which means you can take it underwater up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.

LG has also added support

Last year’s LG V20 was the first Android smartphone to run Android 7.0 Nougat. Sadly, there’s no Android 8.0 Oreo on the V30. Instead, it runs Android 7.1.2, but LG said it’s already working on an update to bring the latest flavor of the Android mobile operating system to the V30.

Regardless, the LG Android skin, or theme, is one of the better ones we’ve seen. What we like especially is the amount of customizability to make the phone more personal. You can set different themes from the LG theme store — there’s even a system-wide dark mode; you can double tap the screen to turn the display on or off; and Smart settings allows the phone to automatically turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you leave your home and change your sound profile.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

One of the latest additions is the Floating Bar, which is meant to replace the secondary display found on the LG V20. It’s a little expandable bar that sits on your screen at all times, and once you tap on it you can either access apps quickly, music controls, screen capture controls, or a handful of contacts. I’ve found it handy, but you can turn it off if you don’t think you need it. It’s fairly similar to the Edge Panel on the Galaxy S8 and Note 8.

There are also more ways to unlock your phone with the V30. Apart from the fingerprint sensor on the rear, the V30 lets you unlock your phone with your face. It works accurately and fairly reliably, even from the always-on display. It’s still faster and easier to use the fingerprint sensor on the V30, though. Then there’s Voice Print, which lets you use your own phrase to unlock the phone. We set our V30’s Voice Print to “OK Computer,” and it unlocked the phone reliably in low-noise environments — it’s not a feature we’d use in public.

A focus on video

The V30, like the G6, has a dual-camera setup on the rear. One camera takes wide-angle photos (13 megapixels, f/1.9 aperture), while the other is standard (16 megapixels, f/1.6 aperture). While most other smartphone manufacturers are opting for dual-camera set ups that add a “telephoto zoom” lens for portraits or a black and white sensor, LG went against the grain with a super wide-angle camera. We love it because it allows us to shoot distinct photos not many other smartphones can accomplish without third-party attachments.

Cine Video mode essentially allows you to add filter-like themes to videos before filming.

Photos taken in broad daylight offer solid color accuracy, with great details. LG said the improved aperture on the wide-angle lens means there’s less distortion around the corners, and it means brighter images. Low-light isn’t as good as we’d have liked — the lack of optical image stabilization means photos look blurry unless you keep your hand extremely steady.

But LG isn’t focusing much on stills for the V30. No, the spotlight is all on video. The V30 is targeting a younger audience, teens and kids that love to document their lives with video through their smartphone. It’s why the company has worked with color grading experts to offer a Cine Video mode. This mode essentially allows you to add filter-like themes to videos before filming anything, and the themes are all designed around movie genres. Classic, for example, will force you to shoot in black and white; Thriller adds a dark blue tint; Flashback offers sepia hues; and Romantic Comedy adds a warm color palette.

It’s a fun video mode that we’ve enjoyed using, but we love the Point and Zoom feature that’s available in this mode more. It’s a slider you can push up or down to zoom in or out of a video, but it utilizes object tracking technology. Instead of zooming in on the center of the screen, tap an object or person you want to zoom in on, and when you start zooming in the camera will automatically zoom in on that subject. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a handy feature we have already used a lot.

LG has worked with Google to integrate some of the phone’s core functions with Google Assistant, instead of making its own artificially-intelligent assistant like Samsung. For example, you can say “OK Google, record a Romantic Comedy video,” and the Assistant will open the camera app, switch to Cine Video, set Romantic Comedy as the theme, and start recording — all within the span of a second. These camera-centric commands are naturally exclusive to the V30.

The 5-megapixel front-facing camera utilizes a wide-angle lens, and it lets you swap between a close up photo for selfies, or a wider-angle for group photos.

Phenomenal battery life

Unexpectedly, the LG V30 has surprised us the most in battery life. It only has a 3,300mAh battery capacity — for reference, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus has a 3,500mAh battery. Regardless, this is the longest lasting flagship smartphone we have ever experienced, period. With medium usage, involving mostly browsing apps and social media, the battery ended slightly above 50 percent by 7 p.m.

With heavy camera use, running benchmark apps, even after watching YouTube videos and playing some games, the V30 finally got to 15 percent at 11:25 p.m. — that’s after taking it off the charger at 8 a.m. Battery life is phenomenal.

Better yet, the V30 supports wireless charging and fast-charging technology through USB Type-C. We’ll have to do more testing to see how it compares against the competition.

One point many people will be concerned about is the lack of a removable battery. Previously, LG touted the feature on its phones, poking fun at Samsung when it stopped offering removable batteries. Now, this is the second LG phone after the G6 without a removable battery, and it looks like it’s not coming back.

Availability and price

LG has not confirmed the price or availability for the V30 just yet, but we’ll be updating this story when we learn more. Expect the device to cost upwards of $750, judging by the LG V20’s pricing last year.

Does the V30 justify the high price? From our initial impressions, yes — as much as any phone can. It has been a great phone all around in performance, video camera capabilities, and best of all it has left us awestruck at the amazing battery life.

Western Digital unveils iPhone backup station, home cloud storage device at IFA

Why it matters to you

You have a lot of data, and Western Digital wants to help manage that data through its new products for multi-device homes.

Western Digital has revealed several new products at the IFA 2017 technology show in Berlin. Amid all the laptops, desktops, and other hardware showcased by its partners and competitors, Western Digital’s device portfolio wasn’t quite so grand, but its new gadgets should help make media management easier and more robust. The new devices include a stand-alone cloud storage unit, a backup device for the iPhone, and a high-capacity Micro SD card.

My Cloud Home

For starters, we have My Cloud Home. Western Digital said it created My Cloud Home because the typical household spreads data across 14 different devices on average. To make matters worse, media is also spread across different cloud services and social networks. As of 2017, the average household is managing around 4.5TB of data, which is a lot to keep up with,.

To help solve this data-distribution problem, Western Digital created a stand-alone external storage device designed to play host to all media, whether it’s music on your phone, video stored on a cloud service (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.), or photos posted on Facebook. This in-home cloud is accessible through its USB 3.1 Gen Type-A port, or its gigabit Ethernet port.

To get started, simply connect My Cloud Home to a network router via the wired Ethernet connection and access its content from networked PCs, media streamers, consoles, and so on. Once the device is on the network, simply load up a web browser, create a My Cloud account, and let that account find the My Cloud Home device. Western Digital provides a mobile app, a web-based app, and software you can install on your PC.

In the mobile app, you will find a feature for automatically backing up photos stored on a smartphone. If you have data stored on an external storage device like a USB stick or hard drive, simply plug it into the USB port on the back and transfer the files using the mobile app. The web app is used to import media from cloud services and social networks, while the desktop software will synchronize the contents of a folder on your PC.

There is a problem with My Cloud Home that we addressed with Western Digital prior to the launch: it’s not upgradable. The company created a closed, centralized solution based on hard drives that will eventually fail. You also can’t crack open the device to replace dead drives, or upgrade to a higher capacity. That’s why network attached storage (NAS) devices are so popular, because they consist of multiple, hot-swappable drives that can serve as one storage volume. They’re pricey, but worth the cost.

With My Cloud Home, Western Digital provides two separate models: a single-drive unit with capacities ranging between 2TB and 8TB, and a My Cloud Home Duo model with two hard drives installed. The dual-drive unit is the better choice, as one drive is the central storage device, and the other mirrors the data. You still can’t swap out a failed drive, but you can at least salvage the data before the second drive bites the bullet, too.

The two My Cloud Home devices are available now exclusively at Best Buy. Here are the prices:

My Cloud Home Single
My Cloud Home Duo
Capacity / Model
Price
Capacity / Model
Price

2TB(WDBVXC0020HWT)
$160

4TB(WDBMUT0040JWT)
$310

3TB(WDBVXC0030HWT)
$180

8TB(WDBMUT0080JWT)
$400

4TB(WDBVXC0040HWT)
$200

12TB(WDBMUT0120JWT)
$550

6TB(WDBVXC0060HWT)
$260

16TB(WDBMUT0160JWT)
$700

8TB(WDBVXC0080HWT)
$320
20TB
(WDBMUT0200JWT)
$900

Western Digital unveils iPhone backup station, home cloud storage device at IFA

Why it matters to you

You have a lot of data, and Western Digital wants to help manage that data through its new products for multi-device homes.

Western Digital has revealed several new products at the IFA 2017 technology show in Berlin. Amid all the laptops, desktops, and other hardware showcased by its partners and competitors, Western Digital’s device portfolio wasn’t quite so grand, but its new gadgets should help make media management easier and more robust. The new devices include a stand-alone cloud storage unit, a backup device for the iPhone, and a high-capacity Micro SD card.

My Cloud Home

For starters, we have My Cloud Home. Western Digital said it created My Cloud Home because the typical household spreads data across 14 different devices on average. To make matters worse, media is also spread across different cloud services and social networks. As of 2017, the average household is managing around 4.5TB of data, which is a lot to keep up with,.

To help solve this data-distribution problem, Western Digital created a stand-alone external storage device designed to play host to all media, whether it’s music on your phone, video stored on a cloud service (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.), or photos posted on Facebook. This in-home cloud is accessible through its USB 3.1 Gen Type-A port, or its gigabit Ethernet port.

To get started, simply connect My Cloud Home to a network router via the wired Ethernet connection and access its content from networked PCs, media streamers, consoles, and so on. Once the device is on the network, simply load up a web browser, create a My Cloud account, and let that account find the My Cloud Home device. Western Digital provides a mobile app, a web-based app, and software you can install on your PC.

In the mobile app, you will find a feature for automatically backing up photos stored on a smartphone. If you have data stored on an external storage device like a USB stick or hard drive, simply plug it into the USB port on the back and transfer the files using the mobile app. The web app is used to import media from cloud services and social networks, while the desktop software will synchronize the contents of a folder on your PC.

There is a problem with My Cloud Home that we addressed with Western Digital prior to the launch: it’s not upgradable. The company created a closed, centralized solution based on hard drives that will eventually fail. You also can’t crack open the device to replace dead drives, or upgrade to a higher capacity. That’s why network attached storage (NAS) devices are so popular, because they consist of multiple, hot-swappable drives that can serve as one storage volume. They’re pricey, but worth the cost.

With My Cloud Home, Western Digital provides two separate models: a single-drive unit with capacities ranging between 2TB and 8TB, and a My Cloud Home Duo model with two hard drives installed. The dual-drive unit is the better choice, as one drive is the central storage device, and the other mirrors the data. You still can’t swap out a failed drive, but you can at least salvage the data before the second drive bites the bullet, too.

The two My Cloud Home devices are available now exclusively at Best Buy. Here are the prices:

My Cloud Home Single
My Cloud Home Duo
Capacity / Model
Price
Capacity / Model
Price

2TB(WDBVXC0020HWT)
$160

4TB(WDBMUT0040JWT)
$310

3TB(WDBVXC0030HWT)
$180

8TB(WDBMUT0080JWT)
$400

4TB(WDBVXC0040HWT)
$200

12TB(WDBMUT0120JWT)
$550

6TB(WDBVXC0060HWT)
$260

16TB(WDBMUT0160JWT)
$700

8TB(WDBVXC0080HWT)
$320
20TB
(WDBMUT0200JWT)
$900

LG V30 is official, and it could be one of the sleeper hits of the year

LG has announced its latest smartphone, the V30, and it could be one of the best devices of 2017.

Like the G6 before it, LG hasn’t tried to hide the fact that it is releasing a new phone. From leak trickle to deluge to official press releases on its features, the V30 hasn’t been a secret for months, but what’s so surprising is just how much better a phone it is than its predecessor.

LG V30 hands-on: A galaxy full of good ideas

At its core, the phone is built around a G6-style 18:9 aspect ratio display, with curved corners and very slim bezels. But LG has undertaken a transition to OLED for its flagships, and the one on the V30 is superb: bright, balanced, and responsive. A metal frame is wedged between two pieces of Gorilla Glass 5, and all the trappings you’d expect from a high-end phone today — a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage plus microSD, dual cameras — are all standard.

The V30 is being aimed at enthusiasts, but anyone looking at the Galaxy S8+ or Note 8 should take a look here, too.

The V30’s main reason for existing, though, aside from being a slightly larger G6 and a competitor to the tech-heavy Note 8, is to empower creators, and this year LG has doubled down on that functionality. The dual camera setup is slightly improved over last year, but the primary sensor is still 16 megapixels, though the second one has been bumped to 13MP from eight. In-depth manual modes on both the photo and video settings are back and improved, with new features such as Cine Video and a host of tweaks that can get you the shot, or shots, you need. Audio capture has also been improved by using the phone’s amplifier to cancel out external noise.

On the audio side, LG has once again partnered with audio company ESS to install a Quad DAC inside the phone. What you need to know is that expensive headphones will sound better with this phone than your average Galaxy or iPhone thanks to a more powerful amplifier, while audio aficionados are able to tweak nearly every setting imaginable to achieve the perfect sound.

The V30 also makes a couple regressions (if you can call them that) on the way to a more mainstream design: gone is the second screen and removable back cover, replaced by a larger, sealed 3300mAh battery that allows for IP68 water resistance and wireless charging — the first time we’ve seen it in the V-series.

LG is positioning the V30 as the creator’s smartphone, but with a slightly smaller body than the enormous Galaxy S8+, a sensibly-faced fingerprint sensor on the back, a face recognition system that works surprisingly well, and plenty of power for normals and enthusiasts alike, the V30 looks to be one of the sleeper hits of the year.

It goes on sale in mid-September in Korea, with a North American and European release shortly afterward. Stay tuned for pricing and carrier availability in the coming days.

See at LG

LG V30

• LG V30 hands-on!
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

LG V30 hands-on by MrMobile

If you thought the LG V30 was going to look like its predecessors the V20 and V10, join the club! I was expecting another steel-sided monster from a key grip’s toolbox with gaff tape patching the scuffs. Instead, we get this: a spit-polished glass sandwich of a smartphone that’s much lighter in the hand than you expect. Factor in LG’s first AMOLED screen in ages; the latest version of the company’s super-wide-angle camera; and wireless charging and a Hi-Fi Quad DAC on every version … and you might start thinking that the LG V30 is the most competitive phone to come from the company in years. Only the full review will tell for sure, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that you’d be right.

Click on through to the video above for MrMobile’s LG V30 Hands-On, and check out Android Central’s LG V30 Hands-On while you wait for the full LG V30 review coming soon!

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The LG V30 is the first phone to run on T-Mobile’s new 600Mhz network

The LG V30 will lead the way for T-Mobile’s expansion of coverage in rural America.

It may not be at the top of the list of high-value features, but when the LG V30 comes to the U.S. later this year, it will have one thing no other phone does: support for LTE over Band 71, also known as 600MHz.

T-Mobile was the primary beneficiary of the new spectrum, which it obtained in a drawn-out auction that ended this summer, obtaining 45%, or 31MHz, of the total. As a result, it now has plenty of headroom to compete with Verizon and AT&T in rural parts of the U.S. — traditionally T-Mobile’s weakest coverage areas. Low-band spectrum, in which 600MHz is categorized, can travel further and penetrate through buildings better than mid- and high-band spectrum, which is where most of the company’s LTE network is concentrated.

The V30 continues LG’s legacy of being first to support new wireless bands 🤓

That the V30 is the first phone to support Band 71 is no coincidence: its predecessor, the V20, was the first to support Band 66, an extension of the AWS band that gave T-Mobile additional LTE capacity in urban areas. Most new phones now integrate Band 66, as they will Band 71 as they’re released. Earlier this summer, T-Mobile’s CEO, John Legere, promised phones from LG and Samsung that would support 600MHz spectrum, but the Galaxy Note 8 will be released without Band 71 support; instead, another Samsung phone announced later this year will likely have it.

T-Mobile said in a blog post earlier in August that it has already lit up 600MHz support in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and will continue to roll out coverage in “rural America” throughout the year; cities in Wyoming, Northwest Oregon, West Texas, Southwest Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, Western North Dakota, Maine, Coastal North Carolina, Central Pennsylvania, Central Virginia and Eastern Washington will also have Band 71 support by the end of the year, increasing T-Mobile’s nationwide coverage by six million customers to 321 million.

LG V30

• LG V30 hands-on!
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

LG V30 specs: Snapdragon 835, dual cameras, Quad DAC

The LG V30 has everything you love from the V20 and the G6 in one svelte package.

The LG V30 is one of the most exciting fall launches, featuring everything you come to expect from a high-end smartphone plus a few tricks no other device has.

The core specs are familiar to anyone watching the smartphone market in late 2017: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM, along with 64GB of storage and a 3300mAh battery. But the V30 differentiates itself with its unique camera setup, its focus on high-end video capture, and its excellent sound quality from the included Quad DAC.

LG V30

• LG V30 hands-on!
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

LG V30 hands-on: A galaxy of good ideas

LG is ending 2017 on a high note with the V30, its best phone to date.

I love this phone. Is it safe to say that after only a week? From the design to the display to the audio quality and everything in between, there is barely anything I can point out on this phone that could be construed as a major weakness.

OK, I’m getting ahead of myself; there are a few things that need work, and the software I used isn’t final, but the V30 is worming its way into my head as one of those handsets I’m going to remember years from now. Or maybe I’m just really caffeinated.

Oh, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about the LG V30, the Korean company’s latest salvo against Samsung and its finest handset to date. What could have amounted to a grab-bag of disparate ideas — camera, audio, HDR — instead coalesce into one of the finest and most fully-formed Android phones I’ve ever used. In borrowing some ideas from Samsung’s design language (and in turn deviating from its divisive designs of previous V-series phones), LG has delivered exactly what I believe a smartphone should be: inviting and accessible for newcomers and rewarding to enthusiasts.

About this preview

I, Daniel Bader, am writing this hands-on preview after using the LG V30 for four days on the TELUS network in Toronto, Canada. The phone was running Android 7.1.2, pre-release software build N2G47H, and was not updated during the brief preview period. This is not a review. That will be coming in the next few weeks.

LG V30 specs

G6 + V20 = V30

There’s something to be said for LG’s rather drastic turn away from the industrial and piecemeal design of its 2015 and 2016 flagships — this is the company that proudly promoted leather backs on the G4, a commitment to removable batteries in an industry that laughed at the very idea, and a short-lived modular platform that was basically laughed off stage. But whereas some of these decisions seemed to contravene the drive for mainstream acceptance that the G series yearned for, fans of the V series, beginning with 2015’s chunky, masculine V10, appeared to embrace the weirdness.

The V30 is a culmination of many good decisions.

The V20 doubled down on some of its predecessor’s more contentious decisions, like the second ticker display above the primary LCD, but did so in a body that, while still oversized, was sleek and accessible. I thoroughly enjoyed using the V20, though LG in 2016 was still figuring out how it wanted to differentiate itself from the rest of the Android world, and its software suffered as a result.

The V30 is a culmination of many good decisions. Gone is that second ticker display, replaced by a near bezel-free 6-inch OLED panel, one of the best I’ve seen (though not quite matching the fidelity of the Galaxy Note 8, also releasing in September). The V30’s design owes far more to the G6, released earlier this year, and the Galaxy S8, than its immediate predecessor; it’s all smooth curved glass meeting glossy metal.

But that simplicity belies plenty of technology underneath. Around back, near the top and buttressing the textured design underneath a slate of Gorilla Glass 5, are two cameras, significantly more compact than both the V20 and the G6. They continue the V series’ legacy of cinematic prowess, but don’t scream that fact. In fact, nothing about the V30 screams anything; LG’s chosen cool over loud.

The glass panel and sealed-in battery allow for two achievements that I am tickled by: an IP68 certification of water resistance and dust-proofing, along with wireless charging. Unlike a removable battery, which to me ceased being useful in 2013, these are substantive upgrades over the previous model, features I take advantage of on a daily basis. LG claims that, in addition to the V30’s ingress protection the phone has been certified MIL-STD 810G, which means nothing except that the company voluntarily dropped a bunch of phones a bunch of times to determine that, while glass is still breakable, the V30 is fairly robust. Good, that.

More important is the V30’s so-called heat management; metal is a better conductor of heat than glass, so without sufficient means of moving it away from the Snapdragon 835 processor (which admittedly runs pretty cool) the phone can easily overheat. While I noticed nothing resembling a rise in surface temperature, it’s good to know that LG takes the potential seriously. Rounding out the spec sheet is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage standard (plus a microSD slot) — and that battery? It’s the same 3300mAh capacity as the smaller (but thicker) G6.

Clicky buttons, a voluminous down-port speaker, a sensibly-placed fingerprint sensor and subtly-curving glass makes for a luxurious experience, but there is one criticism I feel comfortable leveling against LG: like the G6, the V30 places its headphone jack on the top of the phone, which is the wrong side. This is an objective fact about which you’re not allowed to argue with me. (But seriously, it’s so much easier to use your phone when headphones are attached to the bottom, since you don’t have to turn the phone around when removing it from a pocket.)

Actually, there’s another thing I wish the phone did differently: you can’t swipe down on the rear fingerprint sensor to bring down the notification shade. It’s a gesture I’ve grown used to after using the Pixel and the Galaxy S8, and while it’s fairly easy to reproduce using an app, it’s not the same.

A camera that pans

Typically with a V series phone, you come for the specs and stay for the camera features, and here is no exception. While the main camera shares the same 16MP resolution as the V20, LG says the sensor itself is an upgrade, and it’s paired with an ultra-wide f/1.6 lens that, miraculously, has very little in the way of distortion. Optical image stabilization is present, too, in case your hand gets excited and decides to shake (it off).

LG V30 regular lens (left) / wide-angle lens (right)

The second camera has received a pretty nice upgrade, too, to a 13MP sensor and an f/1.9 lens. As with all LG flagships dating back to the G5 (RIP in peace), the secondary camera has a wide-angle lens with a 120-degree field of view, but LG has taken pains to cut down the prevalence of corner distortion here, and it shows. And while the second lens lacks OIS, its wider aperture means better low-light photos and therefore a much less stark transition between the two cameras.

I haven’t had a lot of time to evaluate the objective improvements, if any, to the V20, or the G6 for that matter (that will come shortly), but I am pleased with the daylight photos I’ve captured on the V30 and slightly concerned with the low-light output, especially given the (surprisingly) incredible results of the G6 from earlier this year.

What I can say is, judging from the few low-light photos I’ve taken, the extra f-stop doesn’t make a substantial difference over the G6, at least running pre-production firmware.

I can say with confidence, though, that shooting with the V30 is incredibly fun. Using the shutter button as a zoom slider (one of a few V30 features borrowed from the Galaxy S8) makes it easy to switch between the regular and wide lenses, while the new video modes add a bit of flair to a feature that, on phones, I rarely use. LG is touting a number of new video capture capabilities here, including something called Cine Effect, which intelligently overlays a color gradient over the video without damaging the original feed. Something like this I can admire from afar — LG wants the V30 to appeal to actual filmmakers who are creeping ever-so-slowly towards a time where a phone, a tripod and perhaps a few add-on lenses are all that’s necessary to create a feature film.

To that end, LG is bundling support for a variation of the popular Log recording format, aptly called LG-Cine Log, which allows for significantly better, fuller, and more accurate colors in post production. The intent is to allow those who want to tweak captured video footage after the fact to go hog-wild in their respective video editor. It’s nothing I’ll likely ever use, but I like that LG took the advice of its existing user base to add it.

But more impressive is LG’s continual commitment to robust manual shooting features, such as focus peaking, as well as the lost art of audio capture, which uses the phone’s amplifier and second microphone to prevent clipping in loud environments like concerts. As someone whose concert footage has been ruined countless times by phones that treat audio like a four-lane highway, this is an added bonus.

In fact, the whole suite of camera modes, from Match Shot to Guide Shot to Grid Shot (get the theme?) would be for nought if the V30’s cameras were fundamentally flawed, but LG knows what it’s doing in this regard, and I’ve been very pleased, aside from a bit of slowdown when first opening the app, with the photos captured and the app experience so far.

I like music

LG wants the V30 to be known as much for its audio prowess as its optical capabilities, and here I am a bit more comfortable claiming that, yes, the phone sounds damn good using expensive, high-impedance headphones. Using a variant of the same ESS SABRE ES9218P DAC (Digital-to-Audio) converter from last year’s V20, the V30 sounds amazing with practically every headphone I’ve thrown at it.

My takeaway from listening to music on the V30 is that I want to listen to more music on the V30.

There are a variety of new audio filters and sound presets that can be adjusted once the DAC is enabled (it’s disabled by default for power consumption reasons) but, after playing with them all, my takeaway was that the default settings work beautifully as long as the source is good — only high-bitrate streams, please — and the headphones are sensitive. Like the V20, I love listening to music on the V30. I’m no self-proclaimed audiophile, but I can tell when a phone has a weak amplifier and a crap DAC, and the V30 just shines.

A lessening of bloat

Maybe it’s that I’m using an unlocked version with no carrier-specific add-ons to gunk up the experience, but the Android 7.1.2-based software of the V30 feels like a significant improvement over anything the company has released to date.

Not only is LG trying less to differentiate its Android experience from Google’s — that’s a good thing in my book — but very little gets in the way of just getting things done. The worst thing I can say about this newly-restrained LG is that the default launcher is still without an app drawer, but that’s easy enough to change.

Elsewhere, LG has added a feature that it originally promised as a yet-unreleased update to the G6: face unlock. Like less secure of the two facial biometric features offered on the Galaxy S8, face unlock works remarkably well, and quickly, and the good news for V30 users is that it does so when the screen is off. You just bring the phone close to your face and it just works. While poor lighting trips up the face unlock feature, it’s a great alternative to the fingerprint sensor.

If there’s one nit to pick here, it’s that the V30 is launching with just Nougat; recall last year that the V20 was famously cast a role in Google’s pre-Nougat marketing campaign, promising that alongside Google’s own Nexus 5X and 6P, it would be the first phone to launch with the then-latest version of Android. While I’m not unhappy with LG’s turn towards the conservative here — Oreo is still working out the kinks — it would have been nice for LG to pull yet another rabbit out of its proverbial hat in 2017.

Added bonuses

The V30 is the first phone to work with T-Mobile’s new 600MHz network, and while the carrier will likely be making a separate announcement to that effect, it’s good news for anyone on the magenta carrier looking to improve their indoor coverage.

Given that I live in Canada, I didn’t get to test T-Mobile’s nascent low-band spectrum, but even up here the phone performed beautifully — I am technically using the unlocked US998 variant, which is a global phone that works with all four major carriers in the U.S. — with excellent LTE speeds and reliable calls over TELUS’s 3G network.

And while I haven’t had a lot of time to use the phone just yet, I can say that anyone worried about its just 3300mAh battery capacity needn’t worry: I have consistently ended each day with upwards of 30% in the tank. Given that there’s Quick Charge 3.0 on board and wireless charging, I’m not too worried about whether the phone will get me through a day.

A galaxy of good ideas

That the V30 cribs some of the Galaxy S8’s best features is by no means a criticism; instead, it shows that LG is learning from its past mistakes and, in trying to appeal to a wider audience, is likely to ensure the V series stays around a long time. The V30 has all the trappings of a fine mainstream handset, including ample power, a great design, a beautiful screen, plenty of battery life, and a capable camera.

But LG’s persistent pursuit of customers who understand the inherent benefits of color-corrected video and high-impedance headphones — an admittedly small but vocal minority of users — plays to its advantage here. In trying to do everything and succeeding, we see LG at its best, and that’s a position in which I hope to see the company many years from now.

LG V30

• LG V30 hands-on!
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

The LG V30 is the phone the G6 should’ve been from the start

The LG V30 rivals the Samsung Galaxy S8 on all fronts.

There are a couple of ways to approach the new LG V30. It’s obviously the technical successor to the LG V20, incorporating the same wide-angle camera tech, enhanced audio, and more of last year’s top-end LG smartphone offering. Another way is to look at it as the true LG G6+ (I am aware there is an actual G6+), with a more refined design, improved camera, and a bigger and better screen. Or yet another way is to admit what it truly is: the phone the G6 should’ve been from the start.

At least, it’s the phone the G6 should’ve been if LG had intended for that phone to go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S8. That’s now the job of the V-series, which has ditched the divisive and hefty styling of the past for a design that’s stylish and more than just a wink-and-a-nod to the curved glass front and back of the Galaxy S8.

When it comes to specs and design, the V30 is like the love child of the Galaxy S8+ and the G6. It takes after Samsung when it comes to looks, with a curved black glass front framed by a polished metal frame with a metallic-under-painted curved glass back (and that’s not a bad thing) while bringing the G6’s cameras to the party with a Samsung-style AMOLED display and the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU.

It’s worth noting that the Snapdragon 835 simply wasn’t widely available when the G6 launched — it came out as the same time as the Galaxy S8, and with Samsung as the exclusive manufacturer of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, they got first dibs on the processor for their new flagship phone. The Snapdragon 821 in the G6 is no slouch, but the 835 and 6GB of RAM in the V30 make it fly in comparison. Whether that holds up over time remains to be seen, though that’s a persistent issue with almost all Android devices.

The V30 takes after its predecessors in the photography and videography department, offering both high quality optics and advanced software features. For one, the ƒ/1.6 lens over the V30’s main camera lets in roughly 25% more light than the ƒ/1.8 lens on the G6. LG’s also used a “Glass Crystal Clear Lens” for improved clarity and colors, while also tweaking the optics for the wide-angle lens to cut down on the dramatic edge distortion that was clearly evident in the G6, V20, and G5. In addition, LG has carried over the slew of manual photography and video controls from the V20. If you’re serious about video recording, it’s a good reason to consider the V30.

I mistake the V30 for the Galaxy S8+ all the time, but then I realize it has a properly-placed fingerprint sensor.

On the design front, the V30 borrows heavily from Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+. In fact, in the time that I’ve had a V30 it’s been playing constant tricks on my mind — I’ll pick it up, feel it in my hand and see the always-on AMOLED display clock, and press the bottom of the screen to trigger the haptic home button.

But this isn’t a Galaxy S8 and there’s no fake home button there. Conversely, I’ll pick up my Galaxy S8 and automatically place my finger on the centrally-located rear fingerprint sensor, only to find that it’s not yet unlocked because that’s not where Samsung put the fingerprint sensor (a travesty of ergonomics they have continued with the otherwise excellent Galaxy Note 8).

I’m not upset by how LG has so thoroughly aped the Galaxy 8-series design language here; LG clearly knows a good thing when they see it. And it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll see a similar design (though perhaps with even less bezel) from the iPhone 8 when it launches later in September 2017.

It kind of reminds me of when Ford rolled out the updated Fusion in 2013 and it borrowed heavily from the design language of Aston Martin — few were upset because it was simply a good design language. There are certainly some slight design differences between the V30 and the S8 — the screen curve and back glass side curves are much more dramatic on the S8 leading to a narrower metal frame around the left and right, and the V30 only has volume buttons on the side (you’ll find neither power nor Bixby [cue eye roll]) — but you’d be forgiven for thinking these two phones come from the same manufacturer.

That might be something LG is banking on here. Sat on the store shelf next to a Galaxy S8, the LG G6 simply isn’t as appealing. The screen doesn’t pop the same, it feels chunkier thanks to the squared-off sides and flat front, and it’s just not as attractive of a device. The V30, on the other hand, hits all the same sexy notes as the Galaxy S8 in a way that’s almost certainly intentional — and in a way that I have no problem with.

The V30 takes the things that I love about both the G6 and the Galaxy S8 and merges them into one device. You get a beautiful, solid, and great-feeling device with great cameras, a quality display, and more than enough processing oomph. I like the G6 because the wide angle camera is great and it’s a good all-around phone. I’ve fallen in love with the V30 because it’s a delight to hold and use.

LG has a truly incredible phone on their hands, but it remains to be seen if they can turn it into a true hit when they have to compete against Samsung and Apple.

LG V30

• LG V30 hands-on!
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

TomTom watches push you to roll back your ‘fitness age’

Instead of launching a fitness watch or two at the IFA conference, TomTom has announced three new features for existing devices that could provide that push you need to get fit. The first one is called Fitness Age, because it tells your age based on your fitness level. It computes for the result by comparing your VO2 max to other people’s of the same age and gender. In athletic training, VO2 max means the maximum amount of oxygen you can consume per minute for your weight and is a key indicator of cardio fitness and endurance.

Depending on what your Fitness Age is, you’ll get Fitness Points every time you exercise. The more activities you do, the more points you get, and if you get 500 points thrice a week, you’ll see your Fitness Age go down little by little. The last feature called Personalized Workouts will then analyze how you’ve been doing. It will adjust the intensity and duration of the 50 different running and cycling workouts it offers based on your fitness level.

TomTom will release these features, along with phone notifications and autopause, across its existing sportswatch range. If you have one of the brand’s fitness watches, keep an eye out for the major software upgrade sometime this September.

Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!

Source: TomTom Fitness Age, TomTom Personalized Workouts