Samsung’s second dual-camera phone is much more affordable

Samsung has revealed its second dual-camera phone, and while it’s not exactly a budget device, it’s definitely more affordable than its first one. The Korean conglomerate’s Thai website has officially launched the Galaxy J7+, which has one 13-megapixel f/1.7 sensor and one 5-megapixel f/1.9 sensor on its rear. That dual rear camera is also complemented by an impressive front-facing 16-megapixel sensor for HD selfies, videos and some quality livestreaming.

Its dual camera is definitely the phone’s star offering — its other features are pretty standard for a mid-range device. The J7+ is powered by a 2.4GHz octacore MediaTek Helio P20 processor and has 4G LTE, WiFi, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of (expandable) storage, a 5.5-inch 1,920 x 1,080 display and a USB Type-C port. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like it has swappable battery like the J7 does. The J7+ is now available for pre-order in Thailand for around $390, which is considerably more than the J7. It’s not clear if it’s making its way to the US, but if it is, let’s hope it’s better than its basic sibling.

Via: Sammobile, Phone Arena

Source: Samsung

Panasonic’s GH5 can now shoot widescreen 6K video

When Panasonic first unveiled its 4K powerhouse GH5 camera, it seemed to promise 6K, 30fps video. That only turned out to be a burst mode for stills, but now, Panasonic has actually made good by unveiling a 6K anamorphic, 4,992 x 3,744, 10-bit resolution video mode. On top of that, it made 4K more useful by unveiling an “intra-frame,” full 4K, 10-bit option that compresses each frame individually at a robust 400 Mbps data rate.

What Panasonic calls 6K (4,992 x 3,774 pixels) might seem like 5K, but that’s not quite how it works. For 6K anamorphic, the GH5 actually reads out nearly its entire 20.3-megapixel sensor. The resulting 3:2, 18.9-megapixel images have the same number of pixels as 2:1 6K anamorphic (6,144 x 3,072). To shoot that way, you need an anamorphic lens, which squishes the widescreen image to 2:1, and during post-production, it’s stretched back to the correct ratio. (Those lenses produce a unique look, most notoriously the “JJ Abrams lens flares.”)

With the release of this option, the GH5 becomes one of the highest-resolution 6K anamorphic cameras, despite costing tens of thousands less than models from RED and Alexa, EOS HD points out. While the images are 10-bit, the data rate is low for this mode (200 Mbps) compared to rival cameras, however. If you want more data, you can shoot 4K anamorphic (3,328 x 2,496 resolution) at 400 Mbps. Hopefully, Panasonic will bump the 6K anamorphic data rate at some point.

The other new feature, 4K intra-frame capture, may be more valuable, even though it sounds less interesting than “6K.” Most consumer cameras capture video in a so-called “inter-frame” format, like H.264, MPEG-4 or Sony’s XAVC, saving data by recording how one image differs from the next. Intra-frame compresses each file individually, without regard to others, much like how JPEG files work.

The resulting images are easier to edit and work better for action sequences, but they tend to be much larger than inter-frame files. So, Panasonic introduced a 400Mbps “All-I,” 10bit 4:2:2 codec, doubling the previous data rate. That’s a higher throughput than many pro cameras, including Sony’s $7,500 4K FS7 XDCAM, even though the GH5 costs less than a quarter the price ($1,700). As mentioned, the new data rate doesn’t work yet for 6K anamorphic, and you’ll probably need a high-speed UHS-II class SD card.

If those major new feature additions aren’t enough, Panasonic also improved autofocus for both stills and video, and added a new “hybrid log gamma” shooting mode that can be read by certain types of HDR 4K TVs. The new firmware will be available at Panasonic’s website at the end of September.

Via: No Film School

Source: Panasonic

Artificial intelligence could help us see farther into space than ever before

Why it matters to you

This AI algorithm will enable us to see farther into space, and massively reduce the amount of time it takes to do so.

Distortions in space-time sound like they’d be more of a concern on an episode of Star Trek than they would in the real world. However, that’s not necessarily true: analyzing images of gravitational waves could help enormously extend both the range and resolution of telescopes like Hubble, and allow us to see farther into the universe than has been possible before.

The good news? Applying an artificial intelligence neural network to this problem turns out to accelerate its solution well beyond previous methods — like 10 million times faster. That means that analysis which could take human experts weeks or even months to complete can now be carried out by neural nets in a fraction of a single second.

Developed by researchers at Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the new neural network is able to analyze images of so-called “gravitational lensing.” This is an effect first hypothesized about by Albert Einstein, who suggested that giant masses such as stars have the effect of curving light around them. This effect is similar to a telescope in that it allows us to examine distant objects with more clarity. However, unlike a telescope, gravitational lenses distort objects into smeared rings and arcs — so making sense of them requires the calculating abilities of a computer.

To train their network, researchers on the project showed it around half a million simulated images of gravitational lenses. After this was done, the neural net was able to spot new lenses and determine their properties — down to how their mass was distributed, and how great the magnification levels of the background galaxy were.

Given that projects like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), a 3.2-gigapixel camera currently under construction at SLAC, is expected to increase the number of known strong gravitational lenses from a few hundred to tens of thousands, this work comes at the perfect time.

“We won’t have enough people to analyze all these data in a timely manner with the traditional methods,” said postdoctoral fellow Laurence Perreault Levasseur, a co-author on the associated Nature research paper. “Neural networks will help us identify interesting objects and analyze them quickly. This will give us more time to ask the right questions about the universe.”

Impressively, the neural network doesn’t even need a supercomputer to run on: one of the tested neural nets was designed to work on an iPhone. Studying the universe in greater detail than ever? Turns out there’s an app for that!

Google reveals its most-searched ‘How To’ tips

It’s easy to forget how difficult DIY repairs were just a couple of decades ago, considering how easy the internet makes it to fix very specific product problems. (My biggest personal victory was fixing a 50-inch LG plasma display that borked a week after the warranty expired, following some extensive Googling.) Now, Google has created a new site that shows exactly what you want to fix, do and learn the most, based on where you live.

The need to to fix windows, walls and doors topped lists everywhere, so the team threw out those results to focus on regional patterns. The results? “North Americans and East Asians need their toilets, people in former Soviet countries are fearless enough to attempt fixing their own washing machines, [and] warmer climates can’t live without a fridge,” Xaquin writes.

Other top searches revolve around cooking, dating, money, dressing and health. For instance, many folks want to know how to boil an egg (maybe we’re becoming too reliant on Google), impress a girl, write a check, tie a bow-tie, pick a lock, lose weight, gain weight and get rid of pimples.

Other items, like cooking asparagus, asking someone to the prom and losing weight tend to be seasonal, Google says. Others are viral, peaking and declining over a short period, with subjects like how to make slime and loom-bands.

The data was culled from searches by users on “How To” do and fix things, one of the most common terms used on Google. The site itself was created by Google’s News Lab, working in conjunction with interactive visual journalist Xaquin G.V. It has a rich, responsive design and works well on mobile, a priority for Google Labs experiments, Data Editor Simon Rogers told Techcrunch. The lab, Rogers said, is particularly interested in experimenting with data journalism as a way to tell or summarize interesting stories in new ways.

Via: Techcrunch

Source: Google News Labs

Overwatch’s highest-paid pro lands $150,000 salary deal

In case you’ve been living under a rock, eSports is massive. So big in fact, that even traditional sports leagues (like the NFL) are getting in on the act. Aside from TV networks, soccer clubs, and F1 racing, of course. And, judging by the latest scoop, competitive gaming may soon boast its own draft day. Yes, eSports teams are trying to outbid each other for the industry’s rising stars. One of these hotshots, North American Overwatch player Jay “sinatraa” Won just signed a $150,000-per-year contract, reports ESPN. As a result, sinatraa will be earning $100,000 more than the league minimum, with revenue-sharing options available. He also happens to be 17-years young.

The high salary came in the wake of a bidding war between two teams, NRG eSports and Cloud9. By the time the back and forth concluded, the offer on the table had risen by $50,000. NRG won the day, with sinatraa’s mother signing on his behalf (because he’s still a minor). The move sees him reuniting with former coach and Selfless Gaming co-owner Brad Rajani, who is now the head coach and manager of the NRG eSports Overwatch team. Neither sinatraa nor NRG have commented on the signing as of yet. Although sinatraa did retweet his fellow Overwatch Team USA teammate Russell “FCTFCTN” Campbell congratulating him on the “big contract.”

Congrats to my boy @sinatraaOW on the big contract. One of the easiest players to work with and at such a young age. You’re a beast dude!

— Russell Campbell (@FaZeFCTFCTN) September 3, 2017

On top of his wages, sinatraa will get all the benefits that come with the Overwatch league including health insurance and a retirement savings plan, and a share of at least 50 percent of all bonuses from tourneys and events. Then there’s the bonus pool of $3.5 million in the first season, and at least $1 million for the year’s champions. What did you expect from an industry that’s well on its way to banking over a billion dollars in revenue.

Source: ESPN

What’s on TV: ‘Destiny 2,’ ‘Bojack Horseman,’ and ‘You’re the Worst’

Fall is here, and NFL action is back. Other than football, this week’s big releases include a new season of Bojack Horseman, plus Destiny 2 and Knack 2 for gamers. On TV, You’re the Worst is back for a new season on FXX, AMC has Fear the Walking Dead and Syfy is airing season one of the crowdfunded Con Man show starring Alan Tudyk and Nathan Fillion. Season finales this week include Insecure, Loaded, Blood Drive, Snowfall and Shooter. Finally, there’s a slew of Ultra HD Blu-ray movies out this week including Blade Runner (The Final Cut), Red,Red 2, The Cabin in the Woods and Rough Night. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• Blade Runner (The Final Cut) (4K)
• The Flash (S3)
• All Eyez On Me
• The Cabin in the Woods (4K)
• Red 2 (4K)
• Red (4K)
• Narcos (S2)
• Supernatural (S12)
• Megan Leavy
• Guardians
• Rough Night (4K)
• Minions (4K)
• The Skulls
• Fletch Lives
• Rebecca (Criterion)
• Lego Worlds (Switch)
• Destiny 2 (Xbox One, PS4)
• Knack 2 (PS4)
• A Hole New World (PS4)
• Don’t Knock Twice (Xbox One, PS4/PS VR)
• RBI Baseball 17 (Switch)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege – Operation Blood Orchid DLC (Xbox One, PC, PS4)
• The Bridge (Switch)
• Morphite (Xbox One, Switch, PS4)
• The Lost Bear (PS VR)
• Happy Dungeons (PS4)
• Double Dragon IV (Switch)
• Songbring (PS4)
• Squish and the Corrupted Crystal (Xbox One)
• Spectrum (PS4)

Monday

• WWE Raw, USA, 8 PM
• American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8 PM
• So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8 PM
• CBS Fall Preview, CBS, 8
• Preacher, AMC, 9 PM
• American Dad, TBS, 10 PM
• Siesta Key, MTV, 10 PM
• Midnight, Texas, NBC, 10 PM
• People of Earth, TBS, 10:30 PM
• Loaded (season finale), AMC, 11 PM
• Will (season finale), TNT, 11 PM

Tuesday

• Difficult People, Hulu, 3 AM
• Marc Maron: Too Real, Netflix, 3 AM
• WWE Smackdown, USA, 8 PM
• America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8 PM
• The Fosters (summer finale), Freeform, 8 PM
• Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9 PM
• The Bold Type (season finale), Freeform, 9 PM
• Fantomworks, Velocity, 9 PM
• Face Off: Game Face, Syfy, 9 PM
• American Horror Story: Election Night (season premiere), FX, 10 PM
• Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (season finale), HBO, 10 PM
• A Season with Navy Football (season premiere), Showtime, 10 PM
• Somewhere Between, ABC, 10 PM
• Hollywood Game Night, NBC, 10 PM
• Shooter (season finale), USA, 10 PM
• The Challenge, MTV, 10 PM
• Being Mary Jane, BET, 10 PM
• The Therapist, Viceland, 10:30 PM
• Dare to Live, MTV, 11 PMp

Wednesday

• Big Brother, CBS, 8 PM
• Lucha Underground, El Rey, 8 PM
• America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8 PM
• Suits, USA, 9 PM
• Salvation, CBS, 9 PM
• Marlon, NBC, 9 & 9:30 PM
• You’re the Worst (season premiere), FXX, 10 PM
• Sinner, USA, 10 PM
• Blood Drive (season finale), Syfy, 10 PM
• I’m Sorry (season finale), TruTV, 10 PM
• Snowfall (season finale), FX, 10 PM
• Garage Squad, Velocity, 10 PM
• Blood Drive, Syfy, 10 PM
• Younger, TV Land, 10 PM
• MTV Undressed, MTV, 11 & 11:30 PM

Thursday

• Beat Shazam, Fox, 8 PM
• Battle of the Network Stars (season finale), ABC, 8 & 9 PM
• Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8 PM
• Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 8 PM
• Chiefs/Patriots, NBC, 8:30 PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 9 PM
• Whose Line is it Anyway?, CW, 9 PM
• Love Connection, Fox, 9 PM
• F*ck That’s Delicious, Viceland, 9:30 PM
• The Gong Show (season finale), ABC, 10 PM
• Zoo, CBS, 10 PM
• The Mist, Spike TV, 10 PM
• The Guest Book, TBS, 10:30 PM
• Nuts + Bolts (season finale), Viceland, 10:30 PM

Friday

• Bojack Horseman (S4), Netflix, 3 AM
• Fire Chasers (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• One Mississippi (S1), Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• The Confession Tapes (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• Greenhouse Academy (S1), Netflix, 3 AM
• #RealityHigh, Netflix, 3 AM
• Spirit: Riding Free (S2), Netflix, 3 AM
• Fabrizio Copano: Solo Pienso En Mi, Netflix, 3 AM
• Joaquin Reyes: Una y no Mas, Netflix, 3 AM
• Masters of Illusion, CW, 8 PM
• EIF Presents: XQ Super School Live, Fox / ABC / NBC / CBS, 8 PM
• Broke and Famous (series premiere), Reelzchannel, 8 PM
• Room 104, HBO, 11:30 PM

Saturday

• Georgia/Notre Dame college football, NBC, 7:30 PM
• Oklahoma/Ohio State college football, ABC, 8 PM
• Halt and Catch Fire, AMC, 9 PM
• Wild West (season finale), BBC America, 9 PM
• Con Man (all S1 episodes), Syfy, 10:05 PM – 12:50 AM

Sunday

• Giants/Cowboys, NBC, 7 PM
• Outlander (season premiere), Starz, 8 PM
• Orville (series premiere) Fox, 8 PM
• Teen Wolf, MTV, 8 PM
• The Walking Dead S8 preview special, AMC, 8 PM
• Top Gear America, BBC America, 8 PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8 PM
• Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN, 8 PM
• The Deuce (series premiere), HBO, 9 PM
• Endeavour (season finale), PBS, 9 PM
• Fear the Walking Dead (fall premiere), AMC, 9 PM
• Top of the Lake (season premiere), Sundance, 9 PM
• The Spouse House (season finale), TLC, 10 PM
• Get Shorty, Epix, 10 PM
• Unsung Hollywood, TV One, 10 PM
• Ballers, HBO, 10:30PM
• $100,000 Pyramid, ABC, 10 PM
• The Strain, FX, 10 PM
• Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 10 PM
• Insecure (season finale), HBO, 11 PM
• Talking Dead: Fear Edition (fall premiere), AMC, 11 PM
• Rick & Morty, Cartoon Network, 11:30 PM

Apple Ends Its Annual Music Festival in London

Apple has confirmed to Music Business Worldwide that its annual Apple Music Festival has ended after a decade-long run.

Apple Music Festival, known as iTunes Festival prior to 2015, was a free annual concert series that saw big name artists and bands like Elton John, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Ozzy Osbourne, Florence + The Machine, Pharrell Williams, and Usher performing at the Roundhouse in London, England.

Other notable performers over the festival’s ten-year history include Amy Winehouse, John Legend, Snow Patrol, David Guetta, Paul Simon, Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding, Jack Johnson, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Linkin Park, Arctic Monkeys, Paramore, Alicia Keys, Adele, Bruno Mars, Kings of Leon, and Ed Sheeran.

Apple Music Festival performances were broadcast live and on-demand through Apple Music. U.K. residents could apply to win tickets to the Apple Music Festival on Apple Music and through various media partners.

Apple didn’t provide a reason for ending the annual music festival, and it didn’t comment on the possibility of it returning beyond 2017.

Tag: Apple Music Festival
Discuss this article in our forums

MIT’s new algorithm predicts how much pain a person is in by looking at photos

Why it matters to you

Pain-predicting AI could help doctors discover if any of their patients are faking it.

Isaac Asimov’s First Law of Robotics states that a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. But that does not mean a computer can’t tell us whether a person is in pain — and then neatly rank that pain level into some objective measure, like a computer science textbook written by the author of Fifty Shades of Grey.

The work in question was carried out by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They developed an artificial intelligence that is able to predict how much pain a person is in by looking at an image. The system, called “DeepFaceLIFT,” is a machine-learning algorithm that was trained on videos of people wincing or showing other signs of discomfort. From these videos, it was able to learn the different subtleties in a person’s facial micro-expressions that would help estimate the level of pain they are in, when taken in association with self-reported pain scores. The algorithm can be honed according to a person’s age, sex, and skin complexion, and turns out to be a lot more accurate than previous one-size-fits-all research projects.

MIT’s machine-learning project might sound sadistic but it has useful potential real-world applications. At present, the so-called “gold standard for pain measurement” is something called the visual-analog scale (VAS) pain metric. While useful, this VAS metric is entirely self-reported, which makes it both subjective and context-dependent, and its range can vary significantly between different people. An algorithm is unlikely to ever totally replace these kinds of self-reported systems for a variety of reasons (imagine telling a patient in hospital that you’re denying medication because the computer says they are not exhibiting the right pained expression!), but it could be a useful clinical tool in the quest to make pain reporting more objective. It may be especially valuable in determining whether or not a person is being honest about their pain levels — and not faking it.

There is still work to be done on the project, but the hope is to eventually develop it into a mobile app that could be accessed by physicians.

A paper describing the project was recently published in the Journal of Machine Learning Research.

MIT’s new algorithm predicts how much pain a person is in by looking at photos

Why it matters to you

Pain-predicting AI could help doctors discover if any of their patients are faking it.

Isaac Asimov’s First Law of Robotics states that a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. But that does not mean a computer can’t tell us whether a person is in pain — and then neatly rank that pain level into some objective measure, like a computer science textbook written by the author of Fifty Shades of Grey.

The work in question was carried out by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They developed an artificial intelligence that is able to predict how much pain a person is in by looking at an image. The system, called “DeepFaceLIFT,” is a machine-learning algorithm that was trained on videos of people wincing or showing other signs of discomfort. From these videos, it was able to learn the different subtleties in a person’s facial micro-expressions that would help estimate the level of pain they are in, when taken in association with self-reported pain scores. The algorithm can be honed according to a person’s age, sex, and skin complexion, and turns out to be a lot more accurate than previous one-size-fits-all research projects.

MIT’s machine-learning project might sound sadistic but it has useful potential real-world applications. At present, the so-called “gold standard for pain measurement” is something called the visual-analog scale (VAS) pain metric. While useful, this VAS metric is entirely self-reported, which makes it both subjective and context-dependent, and its range can vary significantly between different people. An algorithm is unlikely to ever totally replace these kinds of self-reported systems for a variety of reasons (imagine telling a patient in hospital that you’re denying medication because the computer says they are not exhibiting the right pained expression!), but it could be a useful clinical tool in the quest to make pain reporting more objective. It may be especially valuable in determining whether or not a person is being honest about their pain levels — and not faking it.

There is still work to be done on the project, but the hope is to eventually develop it into a mobile app that could be accessed by physicians.

A paper describing the project was recently published in the Journal of Machine Learning Research.

LG V30 vs. Galaxy S8 Plus: Curved screen or high-end audio?

The LG V30, the successor to the LG V20, is less a follow-up than a top-to-bottom re-imagining. Gone is the V20’s secondary ticker display, replaced by an edge-to-edge screen and narrow top and bottom edges. The V30 has a powerful dual camera, and hardware that’s on par with the leading flagship smartphones.

But there’s never been more competition. The LG V30 competes squarely with Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus, which shares roughly the same dimensions. How does it fare? We pit LG V30 vs. Galaxy S8 Plus to find out.

Specs

LG V30

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Size
151.7 × 75.4 × 7.4 mm (5.97 × 2.97 × 0.29 in)
159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm (6.28 x 2.89 x 0.32 inches)
Weight
5.57 ounces (158 grams)
 6.1 ounces (173 grams)
Screen
6-inch OLED
6.2-inch Super AMOLED
Resolution
2,880 × 1,440 pixels
 2,960 x 1,440
OS
Android 7.1.2 Nougat
 Android 7.0 Nougat
Storage
64GB, 128GB (select markets)
  64GB (U.S.), 128GB (International)
MicroSD Card Slot
Yes
 Yes
NFC support
Yes
 Yes
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
 Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Samsung Exynos 8895 (international)
RAM
4GB
 4GB (U.S.), 6GB (select markets)
Connectivity
GSM, CDMA, HSPA, EVDO, LTE
 GSM, CDMA, HSPA, EVDO, LTE
Camera
Dual 16MP and 13MP wide angle rear, 5MP wide angle front
 12MP rear, 8MP front
Video
4K
 4K
Bluetooth
Yes, version 5
 Yes, version 5
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
 Yes
Other sensors scanner 
Gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, proximity sensor
Accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, compass, heart rate, proximity sensor, iris scanner
Water Resistant
Yes, IP68 rated
 Yes, IP68 rated
Battery
3,300mAh
 3,500mAh
Charger
USB-C
 USB-C
Quick Charging
Yes
 Yes
Wireless Charging
Yes, Qi and PMA
 Yes, Qi and PMA
Marketplace
Google Play Store
 Google Play Store
Color offerings
 Silver
 Black, silver, gray, blue (international), gold (international)
Availability
TBD

AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Unlocked

Price
Unannounced
 $850
DT Review
Hands-on
4 stars out of 5

The LG V30 ships with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 onboard, the same octa-core processor that powers the Galaxy S8 Plus. In synthetic tests, it’s about 30 percent faster than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 821. There’s no evidence the 835 in the V30 is faster than the version in the Galaxy S8 Plus, you can rest easy knowing that it won’t be slower.

The V30 and Galaxy S8 Plus share more in common than a processor. They have the same amount of RAM (4GB) and the same 64GB of base storage, along with a MicroSD card slot for expandable space. They both use Bluetooth 5, and support NFC — though the S8 also has MST technology used for Samsung Pay.

When it comes to internals, the V30 and Galaxy S8 are as evenly matched as phones come. LG says it optimized the V30’s architecture for heat management and dispersion, which could give it a slight advantage in some benchmarks. But considering the phones have the same processor, storage, and RAM, and we’re expecting the two phones to handle apps and games about the same.

Winner: Tie

Design, display, and durability

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The V30 might be similar to the Galaxy S8 Plus on the inside, but it’s a different story on the outside.

The V30 trades its predecessor’s secondary display for a 6-inch screen that’s curved on all four corners. It extends the full length of the phone’s front, with thin borders on the top and bottom. The Galaxy S8 Plus has an edge-to-edge screen too, but with a crucial difference: It’s curved on both sides. This gives you more screen real estate (and it looks cool), but may make it harder to grip the phone.

On a technical level, the V30 and S8 Plus’s screens aren’t all that different from each other. The former’s OLED screen has a Quad HD+ resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 pixels, which falls slightly short of the Galaxy S8 Plus’s 2,960 x 1,440 pixels. At 6.2 inches, the S8 Plus’s screen is a little larger than the V30’s, but it’s also less sharp with a pixel density of 529 ppi versus the V30’s 537 ppi.

The contrast between the V30 and Galaxy S8 Plus are more pronounced on the back. Both feature slightly protruding dual-camera modules, but the V30 has a circular fingerprint sensor in an easy-to-reach position, and it doubles as a power button. Meanwhile the S8 Plus’ fingerprint sensor is next to the camera and it’s hard to reach. It also makes it too easy to accidentally smudge the camera with your finger.

Both the V30 and the Galaxy S8 Plus have glass on the back and front, and they’re both IP68 rated to withstand water up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.

It’s tough picking a winner here. Design is subjective, and we think both the S8 Plus and V30 look great. The V30 does have a slightly sharper screen, and the fingerprint sensor isn’t in an infuriating spot, so we’re giving it the win.

Winner: Tie

Battery life and charging

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The V30 technically should have worse battery life than the S8 Plus, but in our initial testing it doesn’t seem to be the case. The V30 has a 3,300mAh battery, slightly smaller than the Galaxy S8 Plus’s 3,500mAh battery, but we’ve been seeing phenomenal battery life on the V30. The S8 Plus will last you a day plus some change, but we’ve been ending most work days with the V30 with a little under 50 percent remaining. It’s impressive.

Both phones benefit from the Snapdragon 835 processor’s efficiency optimizations, and they both support wireless charging. While the V30 and Galaxy S8 Plus support fast charging, it’s not the same standard. The Galaxy S8 Plus has Samsung’s Adaptive Fast Charging, which fully charges the S8 in about 90 minutes, while the V30 has Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 4.0. Qualcomm says it can deliver up to five hours worth of power in five minutes.

The V30 and Galaxy S8 Plus are quite close in the battery department, but we’ve seen the V30 outperform the S8 Plus in battery life already.

Winner: LG V30

Camera and audio

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

When it comes to cameras, the V30 and Galaxy S8 Plus couldn’t be more different.

LG’s dual camera trend continues with the V30. The rear shooter has one 16-megapixel sensor and second 13-megapixel sensor with a wider angle. It puts them to good use: The V30 can capture wider-than average crowd and landscape photos; the V30’s Point Zoom mode lets you control the pace and focus of the zoom; and Cine Video puts expertly color graded filters at your fingertips. The V30 has a f/1.6 aperture, a world’s first in a smartphone.

The Galaxy S8 Plus has a a single 12-megapixel sensor that hasn’t changed all that much from the Galaxy S7’s camera. Its 1.44 micron pixel size and f/1.7 aperture shoot great low-light photos, and the dual-pixel design speeds up autofocus. The Galaxy S8 Plus has Selective Focus, which adds a blur or bokeh effect with software around a subject. Sadly, the results don’t always look natural.

The front cameras are a bit more comparable. The V30 has a 5-megapixel wide angle camera. The S8 bumps the count to 8 megapixels, but we expect roughly the same quality when it comes to selfies.

The V30’s dark horse is a Hi-Fi Quad DAC, which delivers 32-bit playback on headphones and the phone’s loudspeakers and comes with four pre-defined audio profiles. Generally speaking, you can expect music and videos to sound better on the V30 than on the Galaxy S8 Plus.

It’s too soon to tell which camera reigns supreme, but we’re letting the V30 have the round. Its dual cameras give it a little more flexibility than the Galaxy S8 Plus, and its abundance of photo tools (more on those later) are icing on the cake.

Winner: LG V30

Software

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Galaxy S8 Plus ships with TouchWiz, Samsung’s Android skin. Perhaps the highlight is Samsung’s Bixby assistant, which taps into the 10 different Samsung apps that come pre-loaded on the Galaxy S8 to serve up contextually useful information. It uses voice and image recognition to identify objects, recommend products, and more. TouchWiz also supports the Dex Station, a dock (sold separately) that transforms the Galaxy S8 Plus into a fully functional desktop replacement. When the Galaxy S8 Plus is in desktop mode, you get a Windows-like interface that supports mouse and keyboard input, and a suite of free productivity apps.

The V30 doesn’t skimp on software features. It runs a version of Android that’s pretty close to stock, save a few aesthetic changes. But it comes with Graphy, a camera feature that lets you mimic the style of an “inspiring image,” and Cine Effects, which lets you apply up to 16 different color-grading presets before you shoot a video. There’s Video Studio, an editing suite that lets you trim and merge files into a full-length clip. There’s also the Floating Bar, which is meant to replace the lack of a secondary screen on the V30; it lets you quickly access shortcuts.

Unfortunately, neither phones run Android Oreo, the newest version of Android. Both Samsung and LG have committed to updating their phones in the future, but for now, both the LG V30 and Galaxy S8 Plus are stuck on Android Nougat (though the V30 runs Android 7.1.2 versus 7.1.1 on the S8).

On a strictly feature level, the Galaxy S8 Plus wins the software round. While the V30’s experience is a little closer to stock Android than TouchWiz, apps like Dex and Bixby are huge value adds if you have the hardware (and the patience) to take advantage of them. The S8 Plus also works with the Gear VR for virtual reality, and the Gear 360 camera.

Winner: Galaxy S8 Plus

Availability and Pricing

The Galaxy S8 Plus is available from every major carrier and retailer, including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. It starts at $850 unlocked, and most carriers offer it on a monthly payment option.

We’re expecting major carriers to sell the V30 when it launches later this year, but LG hasn’t published pricing and availability. The Galaxy S8 Plus wins by default on availability — you can’t buy the V30 yet. But if the V30 undercuts the S8 Plus on pricing, it’ll be a tougher call.

Winner: Galaxy S8 Plus

Overall winner: Tie (for now)

There’s no doubt that the V30 is the best smartphone LG has ever released. It packs a powerful processor, a beautiful screen, and a capable pair of cameras. And if LG’s claims about the V30’s audio are true, it’ll sound absolutely fantastic.

But the V30 isn’t perfect. It doesn’t feel as great in the hand as the Galaxy S8 Plus, and it lacks Samsung’s software suite. Depending on the price, the Gear S8 Plus may very well hold its own.