LG V30+ Review: Feels perfect for its price

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LG made appreciable changes to its smartphone approach this year. The high-end LG phones that we came across in 2017 have laid due emphasis on design and have been competitively priced. Recently, the South Korean manufacturer put forth the V30+ which is its true flagship phone for India and for the world.

Priced at Rs. 44,990, the Lg V30+ is a unique proposition. It’s more expensive than the renowned value for money flagship, the OnePlus 5T (Review), and costs significantly lesser than comparable flagships like Galaxy S8 or Pixel 2 duos.

We have been testing the new Lg flagship for more than a week now to ascertain if this is a phone that we can recommend. Let’s discuss further as we proceed with our LG V30+ full review.

Pros

  • Elegant and ergonomic design
  • Water and dust resistant
  • Snappy performance
  • Intuitive software
  • Excellent Audio
  • Excellent battery back up
  • Rear camera performance

Cons

  • No portrait mode
  • Selfie camera performance
  • Blueshift in display

 

LG V30+ Specifications

Model LG V30+
Display 6-inch curved OLED, 18:9, QHD+, 538 PPI
Processors Octa-core Snapdragon 835, Adreno 540 GPU
RAM 4GB LPDDR4X
Internal Storage 128GB UFS 2.0, MicroSD card support
Software Android 7.1.2 Nougat based LG UX 6.0
Primary Camera 16MP, OIS, EIS, PDAF, Laser AF, F/1.6 aperture, two-tone flash+ 13MP, F/1.9 aperture, 120-degree wide-angle lens
Secondary Camera 5MP front-facing camera, f/2.2 aperture
Dimensions and Weight 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm; 158g
Battery 3300mAh, Quick Charge 3.0
Others 4G VoLTE, USB Type-C, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2 LE, dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Water and dust resistant, fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm Audio Jack
Price Rs. 44,990

LG V30+ Design and Build

LG V30+ is without a doubt one of the most premium phones we have seen this year. The design elements aren’t anything new. We have come across numerous phones that flaunt metal-sandwiched-between-glass construction over the last two years, but its due to the subtle design refinements that LG V30+ still manages to feel unique and exciting.

Also Read: How to watch JioTV on your PC

For one, it’s the perfect size. Neither too big, nor too small. And that makes it super ergonomic.

The curved glass on the front and rear, the accessible fingerprint sensor, the 2K display, the rounded metal frame all add up rather nicely. It’s certainly more premium than the OnePlus 5T and isn’t any less than tier-1 flagships like Galaxy S8 or Pixel 2 XL that are a lot more expensive.

As for sturdiness and durability, the phone is water and dust resistant and is military grade certified against drops. LG is also offering one-time screen replacement with every purchase.

  • LG G6 looks awesome and is extremely comfortable to wield.
  • The handset is extremely sturdy and water resistant too.
  • We would have preferred the audio jack on the bottom, but we are glad that it’s still there.
  • The rear power button might feel odd initially, but after a week of usage, we kind-of like it.

LG V30+ Display

The plastic OLED screen on the LG V30+ is the same one that has been sorely criticized on the Pixel 2 XL. Yes, the same blue shift issues are there on the V30+ too. It’s a little disheartening to see such an issue that used to be characteristic AMOLED flaw in 2013 on a 2017 flagship, especially for someone as fastidious about display colors and temperature as us.

However, we must admit that the display issues are over-hyped. You only notice the blue tint when you are looking at the screen from extreme angles. The only practical situation in which we notice the tint is when the phone is lying on my work desk and we are checking something out without picking it up. After about 10 days of usage, we hardly notice the shift anymore.

On Pixel 2 XL its more of a deal breaker because of the expensive price tag, but we wouldn’t advice you to overlook the LG V30+ because of this flaw. Other than the blue shift, the display quality is very good.

  • The LG V30+ has a sharp and vibrant 2K display panel.
  • Contrast is high, whites lean towards the cooler side.
  • You can choose between different color profiles from within the settings.
  • You will notice a blue tint when you view the screen from extreme angles, but it’s not a deal breaker
  • The phone has a customizable Always-on mode and an efficient Comfort-eye mode too.
  • Auto-brightness is very fast and accurate.

LG V30+ Camera Performance

The LG V30+ has a 16MP rear camera sensor with f/1.6 aperture, OIS, and laser AF. This is the one you will be using for all your primary photography needs. The second sensor on the rear has 13MP resolution and a wide f/1.9 aperture wide-angle lens and is better suited for outdoor photography where you’d want to capture a broader scene (so, won’t be used very often).

The primary camera can shoot great images with a wide dynamic range in outdoor lighting. Indoors, the camera shows aggressive noise cancellation which can at times result in the reduction in details. Indoors, we managed to get much better results using Google’s Pixel camera app (ported).

LG has made improvements in performance on the wide-angle shooter, but perhaps this simply isn’t our cup of tea. There is a tonne of modes in the camera app, but unfortunately, there is no portrait mode.

The camera performance is the best in its class, but it is still can’t quite match up to the flagships like Pixel 2 XL or the Note 8.

Also Check: How To Get Portrait Mode On LG V30 Plus and LG V30

  • The camera performance is impressive outdoors.
  • Indoors, we could get better shots using the Pixel camera than the default app.
  • There are numerous shooting modes and a worthy manual mode in the app.
  • There is no portrait mode. You can get background blurr in close-up shots due to wide aperture lens used.
  • Video recording quality is pretty amazing too.
  • Selfies are good when clicked outdoors; indoor performance isn’t impressive.

LG V30+ Camera Samples

 

LG V30+ Performance and Software

The LG V30+ is powered by the best in business Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The LG UX 6.0 running on the phone is based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat, and it isn’t a particularly light interface.

The OS is, however, well optimized and light on resources. If compared side by side, it will be a slower OnePlus 5T or Pixel 2, but that should in no way imply that it’s a slow phone.

The software is feature rich and very intuitive. There are still areas which need improvement. For instance, it isn’t always easy to find features that you are looking for and the search in settings isn’t very helpful.

 

A downward swipe takes you to Google’s in-app search and we like the option to add an extra button to the navigation bar. We are using the QSlide apps button that gives convenient access to mini apps that can pop up in a mini window over other apps.

Other software highlights include a diagnostic tool, smart settings, gaming tools, option to change fonts, a floating bar (that replaces ticker display and is a well-designed bubble app), and theme store.

This isn’t a skin that will appeal to the purist, but those who prefer trinkets OEMs bake in, the software should be appealing.

  • The phone feels fast and snappy.
  • It also supports Google’s Daydream VR platform.
  • The LG UX 6.0 interface has quite a few interesting options that we like.
  • The software is also well integrated with Google services.
  • Software has extensive gesture support including options like double tap to wake and sleep.
  • The fingerprint sensor is extremely fast and responsive. Face unlock is reasonably fast.
  • The phone has Voice unlock option too and it works quite well.

LG V30+ Battery and Audio

Battery backup on the LG V30+ is excellent. It’s been a while since we didn’t have to switch from 2K to full HD resolution for the sake of conserving battery life. The 3300mAh battery can last really long. The battery backup is comparable to OnePlus 5T that we were testing prior to LG V30+. Fast charging is supported as well.

The HiFi Quad DAC on the V30+ should be a treat for audiophiles. The audio output even via ordinary headphones is gratifying. The audio sounded neat and we could hear notes we didn’t earlier pay much heed to. LG also bundles good quality earbuds in the box.

  • Battery backup is excellent. We didn’t feel the need to switch from 2K to full HD resolution to conserve battery.
  • Fast charging is supported.
  • Audio output via headphones is excellent too.

LG V30+ Review: Should you buy it?

If you are looking for a premium flagship grade experience without spending too much there are two options on the Android side of things – The OnePlus 5T and the LG V30+. Out of the two, the LG V30+ is better (in several regards) but it’s also more expensive.

In its price range, the LG V30+ is one of the best available options. The base Pixel 2 variant (with a better camera )is also available in the same budget taking festival season discounts into account but it has its own set of advantages and disadvantages              (Better camera; smaller screen and comparatively archaic design).

We thoroughly enjoyed the LG V30+ experience. Great design, fabulous audio, excellent battery backup and a reasonable camera make it a good recommendation for its price.

Best Phones With Both Dual Cameras And 18:9 Display To Buy In India

Deepak SinghDeepak Singh
Deepak has more than 8 years of experience in covering technology for several eminent publications in India. He currently leads an enthusiastic team of young writers at Smartprix and tries to uphold the highest quality standards.

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1 Comment
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Sushant modi
Anonymous
5 years ago

Google pixel company is fraud and after sales service is very very bad in one year warranty period my mobile got lots of issues and I complaned so many times but when I send it to service center they send my a bill of 30000 of Indian rupees but my google pixel 2 xl is in warranty period within 1 year of bill date I get very disappointed with the Google team and they after sales service very very bad

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