The LG V30+ is the premium flagship smartphone that LG launched a few months ago. It is one of the most exciting smartphones that LG has manufactured yet, and we got to spend some time with it. So here’s our review of the LG V30+.
Unbox of the LG V30+
Technical Specifications
The LG V30+ is a 6-inch smartphone that is the lightest in its category, and it is the first thing that we noticed taking it out of the box. It is running on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Chipset, has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space, hence the name, Plus. You can also give the storage space a boost with a microSD card of up to 2TB. It still runs on the Android OS 7.1.2 Nougat, which would have been nice to have Oreo onboard already. But according to LG, the update will be coming.
At the front, the LG V30+ has a Full Vision OLED display with an 18:9 Quad HD+ resolution, which makes all things displayed on it look pretty and sharp. On the top left corner, you will find the 5MP front-facing camera that shoots at a 90-degree angle and a wide -90-degree angle with an aperture of F2.2. So you should have no problem bringing your group of friends into the frame for a wefie.
Right at the back, there’s the dual-tone flash and LG’s signature dual rear cameras where one shoots at a standard 71-degree angle and the other at a wide 120-degree angle.
Located just below the cameras is the Home button, which also doubles up as the fingerprint reader that’s very responsive.
Camera
What excites people about the smartphones these days is how good the camera or cameras is. So since I was tasked by a friend to shoot some behind-the-scenes photos for his wedding, I brought along the LG V30+. Here are the images.
Having the wide-angle lens is a great help when it comes to taking photos. The images taken turned out well and I received lots of good feedback about the quality of the pictures. I also observed that there was a significant reduction of the fish-eye effect at the four corners when shooting in wide-angle as compared to the G6.
Sadly, no one mentioned about the photos taken in low-light condition because that’s where the noises come into play. That said, we do have to be fair to the outcome of the images taken by the V30+ as smartphones are never well-known for sharp pictures taken in low-light conditions. Besides, the V30+ has a manual mode, so if you want to take better quality photos in low-light, you can try using that. Just remember to bring a tripod along.
New Video Features
LG introduced two new features to the V30+ called the Cine Video and the Point Zoom. What the Cine Video does is to give you a handy set of colour-grading filters to apply onto your video before you start shooting. With the video already colour-graded, what’s left to do is just to upload the video.
The Point Zoom, on the other hand, breaks the conventional way of zooming in and out on an object when filming. It does not limit you to zoom in only onto an object that’s in the centre of the frame. Now, it allows you to pick and choose whichever object that you want to zoom in as long as it is in the frame. Here’s what I meant.
Audio Quality
Onboard the LG V30+ is the Hi-Fi Quad DAC, which produces 50% clearer sound than the single DAC. I was listening to my music on the V30+ with my Audio Technica M50x, and I have to say that it was the best audio experience I’ve experienced yet on a smartphone. Enhancing it with the Sound Presets and Digital Filters, the songs turned out to be more vibrant and fuller as promised. Having such high audio quality on the go makes commuting a lot more bearable.
Battery Life
The LG V30+ has a conservative 3,300 mAh battery. Unlike the LG V20, the battery is embedded and non-removable. During my test and after taking half-a-day of wedding photos, I still had 52% of battery life to spare, which is surprisingly good. The battery lasts me slightly more than a day during normal usage.
I had my suspicion over the 3,300 mAh but not anymore.
Buy or Bye
The LG V30+ has managed to surprise me a lot mainly because I had thought that LG would want to compete head-to-head with the newest features that some of its competitors have embedded into their smartphones. However, it is evident that LG wants to get the fundamental features and functions right before embarking ambitiously on introducing more innovations.
That said, it does not mean that the V30+ lacks any selling points. It has a fantastic wide-angle lens that, in my opinion, the best in the smartphone market right now, and has features like the Point Zoom and Cine Video to give creators more options to create their content. And it also has the Hi-Fi Quad Dac that offers you the highest quality audio experience on a smartphone.
Come to think about it; the LG V30+ has a slice of everything that one needs on a smartphone. Yes, it’s not perfect, but if you are looking for a smartphone that has it all balanced out and well-built, you can consider the V30+.
The LG V30+ retails at S$1,098 and is available in Aurora Black, Lavender Violet, Moroccan Blue and Silver.
So what do you think? Leave your comments down below.
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