LG V30 hands-on, first impressions

Item: LG V30 hands-on, first impressions
Rating: 4.7
Author: Abe Olandres

Perhaps one of the biggest and most exciting announcement here at IFA Berlin this week is the LG V30. With LG’s pivot starting with the LG G6 and followed by the Q6, the LG V30 was set to introduce refinements and incorporate existing best features with the camera and audio.

The LG V30 took off from the great design of the LG G6 but slightly made changes to the build and form factor. Despite having a bigger display (6.0-inch vs 5.7-inch) compared to the Lg G6, the V30 is surprisingly thinner (7.3mm vs 7.9mm and lighter (158 grams vs 163 grams). This is a huge engineering feat considering it’s only been months since the original release of the G6.

The V20 was already a huge device for a 5.7-inch but the V30 feels and looks like just a G6 even if it’s got a 6.0-inch display. The higher 81.2% screen-to-body ratio is another improvement. This time, LG also move to a P-OLED instead of the usual IPS panel. The screen looks gorgeous, to say the least.

We also noticed that the front panel slightly curves at the edges and you can see from closer inspection that the glass spills around the sides just before fusing with the metal frame.

The back of the V30 has that same familiar look from the G5 and G6 with the dual camera setup. The glass panel is also Gorilla Glass with a certain small pattern just below it, almost similar in design to the LG G6+.

The previous camera module has the LED flash sitting in between the two lenses but with the V30, the LED flash is placed on the right side of the two cameras.

The color and the pattern is more prominent if you look closely and when the light hits the surface just at the right angle. The circular power button that serves as a fingerprint scanner sits just below the camera module.

We also took notice of the new dual camera setup with the primary camera featuring a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, the widest aperture opening we’ve seen in a smartphone (even beating the f/1.7 of the S8 and Note8). Even the secondary wide-angle camera (120°) looks promising at f/1.9.

There is quite a number of color options for the V30 — aurora black, cloud silver, Moroccan blue, and lavender violet. We especially liked the moroccan blue color.

We could not find anything that we didn’t like with the V30. On paper and on hand, it looks and feels like the perfect superphone. Nice design, great build quality, great hardware with the Snapdragon 835 (finally!), the dua-camera setup that we really liked in a smartphone and the HiFi DAC for those who love great audio.

We’ll have to wait for it to be released in the Philippines sometime this September and eventually get our hands on a review unit for our final verdict.

LG V30 specs:
6.0-inch 18:9 QuadHD+ OLED FullVision Display @ 2880×1440 pixels, 538ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 2.4GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 540 GPU
4GB LPDDR4x RAM
64GB UFS 2.0
128GB UFS 2.0 (for LG V30+)
Up to 2TB via microSD
16MP Standard Angle (F1.6 / 71°) / 13MP Wide Angle (F1.9/ 120°)
5MP Wide Angle (F2.2 / 90°)
LTE-A 4 Band CA
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
NFC
USB Type-C 2.0
Voice and Face Recognition
Fingerprint sensor
32-bit Advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC
Android 7.1.2 Nougat w/ UX6.0+
3,300mAh battery w/ Quick Charge 3.0, wireless charging support
151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm (dimensions)
158 grams (weight)
Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue, and Lavender Violet

React to this article:

34 Comments

Charm · 8 years ago

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 is an octa-core processor, not quad core. Basta pinoy talaga mag review. Kakahiya.

Kurt · 8 years ago

Tapos may mga wrong spelling pa. Like “dua-camera”. I – edit nila to tapos delete yung comment natin. Tama ka, basta pinoy talaga.

Kael · 9 years ago

I got the same response from SM Hypermarket Tiendesitas and SM East Ortigas. If it’s true, then I might go with the LG V20. I already sold my S8 Plus for this!!!! >.<

Aaron · 9 years ago

aw… S8 Plus.. pero sabi ng representative sa Moa wala pang abiso sa kanila about V30. kinuha nya name and number ko para ma notify ako pag dumating sa pinas para daw may freebies.. sana nga meron sila.. wala pa namang launch date so hoping padin

Joy · 9 years ago

Yes I have been getting the same feedback that they won’t launch LG V30 here in the Philippines. Yugatech pls confirm this

Shaney · 9 years ago

I can’t wait for this phone. Hope that LG makes it available here in the Philippines.

TopherV1 · 9 years ago

It will really be a very bad move not to bring out the V30 here. They just need to showcase the phone well and allow people to test and see how well it works.

Chase · 9 years ago

If LG decides to not sell V30 in the Philippines, it will surely be a great loss to them.
But considering that the LG G6 barely got attention here in our country, it is more likely so.
Praying that it will still be released here in the Philippines, too risky to ship it from Hongkong.

Jules · 9 years ago

I can’t wait for this to come out! Finally, an LG smartphone with all the latest technology and can truly be considered a flagship phone unlike the G6. While Samsung would be the obvious choice for buyers interested in prestige and name, I just do not like the user interface where there are many clicks to get to where you want to be and sometimes what you’re looking for is not there!

Jay Reyes · 9 years ago

Is it true that the V30 won’t be available here in the Philippines? That’s what LG Concept Stores are telling to their customers. Not sure but I read a thread about this. If that’s true, it sucks big time!

Jace Ortiz · 9 years ago

Today, September 17, I went to a concept store in Megamall and they also told me that the LG V30 will not be available here in the Philippines. I hope Yugatech can confirm this as well..