>LG’s phone division is in an thrilling function right now. They are persevering with to produce first rate handsets with progressive additions every yr, but the company can’t get a lot traction inside the market in the face of strong competition from different brands. The G6 turned into LG’s high-quality smartphone layout in years, launching as one of the first with a small-bezel display, however income have now not rocketed as expected.

The V30 is in a comparable role. Occupying the flagship huge-screen cellphone function in LG’s line-up, the V30 is filled with exciting features, pinnacle-quit hardware and enough proper stuff to fit this yr’s competition. But it’s all over again up in opposition to some huge new devices, in particular the Samsung Galaxy Note eight and Google Pixel 2 XL, leaving LG with an uphill war to make certain the V30 remains in the communique.

The engineering group has given this cellphone every chance to prevail. The 6.zero-inch p-OLED display dominates the the front panel, with slender bezels and a huge eighty one% display screen to body ratio. Unlike the G6, the internals are all current technology: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 64/128GB internal storage, Gigabit LTE guide, microSD growth… I should go on. The twin digital camera gadget from the G6 returns as well, with a mild specification bump as well.

The V30 is a fantastic handset. The G6 became a huge soar ahead in LG’s top class phone design, however the V30 takes things to the next stage with what is probably the most attractive handset in the marketplace. Most of that is right down to the expansive 6.zero-inch 18:nine display on the the front, which feels love it occupies nearly every rectangular inch to be had to it. I’ve used masses of small-bezel handsets this 12 months, but it’s the V30 that looks as if it has the largest display filled in.

Despite the extensive display at the front, LG has stuffed the essentials into a tiny sliver of bezel at the pinnacle. It’s there you’ll find the the front-facing camera, speaker, and numerous sensors. There’s no notch to house these gadgets, that's the best result for content viewing. The drawback here is the V30 does now not have front-going through audio system, which might be located on the Pixel 2 XL. There’s most effective a single backside-firing speaker of average first-class.

The relaxation of the telephone’s construct is premium as well. The edges are a gloss-lined metal, whilst the rear is a clean, fantastically vibrant glass panel. The use of these materials offers the V30 a pinnacle-stop appearance that opponents any flagship, and enhances the stunning Gorilla Glass five-covered display at the the front. The assessment between the silver rear and deep black the front is tremendous, too.

Despite the steel body and glass on both aspects, the V30 is slimmer (7.3mm) and lighter (158g) than different huge-display telephones just like the Galaxy Note 8 and Pixel 2 XL. It’s also supposedly very durable: the V30 is each IP68 water resistant – proper for submersion in up to at least one.5m of fresh water for 30 minutes – and MIL-STD-810G licensed.

I still have a few concerns over the V30’s durability in spite of its stable rankings. Glass on both aspects, particularly glass this is curved alongside its lengthy edges, affords a miles large surface location susceptible to cracking than a cellphone without a pitcher back. It is Gorilla Glass 5, but so is the extremely fragile Galaxy S8. The V30’s use of sleek steel aspects and a sleek glass back makes the telephone pretty slippery as properly, at the least compared to the further sized Pixel 2 XL. This isn’t ideal for extra clumsy users; you is probably high-quality off with this smartphone’s stunning chassis inner a case.

As is the case with maximum huge-display screen handsets, the V30 is less usable in a single hand than the smaller G6. While its 18:nine 6.zero-inch display isn’t as massive as a traditional 16:9 6.zero-inch display, the display is still massive and the top corners may be a venture to reach unmarried-handedly. With that said, I found the V30 to be very cushty to keep and function for its length; the curved edges help lots on this regard. Users with smaller arms should possibly steer clean though.

LG is one of a handful of organizations left who refuse to get rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack on their smartphones. The V30 proudly consists of one along the pinnacle area, so there’s no dongle existence pains here. There’s a trendy USB-C connector on the lowest, with guide for USB three.1 speeds, plus a microSD card slot alongside the right facet. You received’t discover a energy button on the edges, although, as the fingerprint reader on the rear doubles as a clickable energy button in common LG style.

One big omission in order to annoy a few is the shortage of a detachable battery. LG’s 2016 smartphone collection, including the G5 and V20, each protected removable batteries to the joy of users that love this selection. The V30 ditches the detachable battery totally, finishing LG’s status in the marketplace as one of the remaining organizations to provide hotswappable batteries in flagship devices.

The gain, even though, is a bigger battery in a smaller chassis. The V30 is smaller in every size, ensuing in a 12 percentage discount in overall extent in comparison to the V20. Despite this, with out all the associated detachable battery housing, the V30 bumps the battery capacity up to three,three hundred mAh, a three percentage boom. Combined with a greater green SoC and the V30 gives higher battery lifestyles.

You might have additionally noticed there may be no secondary show at the V30. While a signature characteristic of the V20 and V10, LG effectively determined a greater expansive show is the higher choice. Don’t worry, though, as the V30 nonetheless helps among the same always-on functions on the larger show, should you select to allow them within the settings. You can view the time, notifications, quick putting toggles and media controls all on the OLED screen with the constantly-on show enabled (it’s disabled through default).