LG V30+ ThinQ Review

LG V30+ released in October of last year (2017) isn't exactly a brand

new phone, hitting right at seven months since it's release but that's

not at all old either by smartphone cycle standards.

The February to mid-April update to Android Oreo has brought it

(almost) up-to-standard in the latest Google-ly features, but LG has

also brought in it's ThinQ software; This brings the V-series into LG's

A.l. for loT and smart appliances ecosystem.

The LG V30+ has a lot going for itself, although the only difference

between it and the original V30 is the latter has twice the amount of

internal storage and comes with LG Quad Play headphones in the

box. With double the storage over the original variant and new A.I.

features, how does the V30+ hold it's own in 2018?

Answer: Like A Boss.

Display

The 6-inch, QHD+ OLED Full Vision Display packs in 5xx pixels at 2880
1440 resolution that can be bumped down to 1080p to consume battery
life. It retains the same 18:9 aspect ratio that LG brought to the industry
with the LG G6, although the V30+ is a bit wider and taller though
thinner and lighter-

Blacks are deep, with the navigation
bar blending into the otherwise thin
bezels flawlessly. Colors pop with
true to life vibrancy, but the "cool"
calibration tends to give whites
bit of a blue hue:

Really?

I personally prefer a cooler color
profile rather than warmer
smartphone screens tend to either
lean towards blue others red (like
Samsung) which tends to favor
screen burn-in on AMOLED screens
anyway. LG phone displays tend to
have this character trait" as seen
in the Pixel 2 XL, through the screen
in the V30+ is clearly a generation
or two improved.

And It's worth mentioning that the
secondary screen that the V series
was known for is replaced by what
LG is calling the Floating Bar:
software version of the actual
second screen of the V10 and
V20 that's tucked away to the
side by default




The Floating Bar gives you access to a few otherwise
inaccessible tools like Extended Screenshot
and GIF Creator


The four panes of the floating bar allow you to assign up to
five shortcuts to your most used apps, Contacts and even
answer calls and access music controls.

All in All, the floating bar retains
the functionality of the missing
secondary screen while keeping
the display true to the 18:9 ratio.
It provides more functionality,
while taking up less space than
Samsung Edge Display for
example. When activated, you can
also swipe to answer calls.

Hardware: Glass and Metal
Sandwich, Dual-Wide Lens Camera,
Quad DAC Audio

The internals are nothing to scoff
at either, the V30+ comes armed
with the Snapdragon 835, 4GB Ram,
and 128GB of internal storage. This
time of the year, smartphones (like
the G7 ThinQ) are being shipped
with a Qualcomm Snapdragon
845 so the V30+ may seem a bit
behind the curve but the 835 is no slouch at all. It introduced features like smallerz more energy-efficient cores and faster gigabit LTE speeds - the 845 is to the 835 what the Snapdragon 821 is to the 820 (an overclocked version of the same chip). The looks are fairly unitarian, with the usual metal band sandwiched between the Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back of the device. The glass curves and meets the metal band, creating a unibody design.

The back of the V30+ is not only a fingerprint magnet, but it is prone to scratches - so get a case ASAP.

The "Aurora Black" LG V30+ is a sleek, unibody union of metal and
glass with one micro flaw...

After around a week of use in the humid
spring climate of Houston, I noticed that
dust particles can get stuck in the seam
where the screen and metal band meets,
and it's noticeable when the light shines on
the device from certain angles:

Discovering this was frustrating...

The upside is, it's IP68 certified (waterproof
for up to 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of
water), so I guess you could "bathe" the
V30/V30+, or give it a shower....

More distinctive features are the dual
Wide Angle lenses of the camera and the
Hi-Fi Audio of the 3.5mm headphone jack,
thanks to the phone's 32-bit Quad DAC
(Digital-to-Analog Converter).

Customize your sound in the Quad DAC settings

Sound Presets view for Hi-Fi Audio

Digital Filtering can add color to your sound,or provide a more
accurate flat sound.

The 32-bit Quad DAC is an ESS 9218P from
ESS Technology, the same manufacturers
who provide D/A converters for companies
like Apogee Electronics' (Duet, Ensemble,
and Quartet and Symphony) Audio
Interfaces.

It makes for superior audio when listening
through wired headphones or a speaker
setup- and even though the Quad Play
headphones LG included in the box does
decent job showcasing the audio quality
of the V30+, it takes a pair of over the ear
monitors (or AUX connection to a decent
vehicle setup) to really appreciate what the
Quad DAC brings to the table.

CamBam

Everyone has heard about the 16MP and
12MP Dual lens set-up on the V30+, but the
new ThinQ moniker added to the splash

screen after the Android Oreo update
brings Al smarts to the LG flagship.

Activate the Al Cam, and the app begins to identify the contents
within a scene,and choose the appropriate mode for you

Most premium smartphones come with

dual lens cameras, but LG is one of the only
manufacturers to go against the grain and
utilize those dual lenses to provide an wider
field of view 125° to be exact.

The normal 16MP lens offers a 71°
standard view, so the wide angle 13MP
sensor captures over twice the scenery in
your pics.

Standard Angle 71° View

Wide Angle 120 Lens

The dual-lens, wide angle cameras is one of
the best setups available on a smartphone
and when every other phone maker is
going for portrait mode and bokeh effects
dare I say unique?

The only real standout weakness is the
software for the 5MP front facing camera.
I say that because I downloaded third
party software that made all the world of
difference in quality and noise reduction.

Performance, Battery Life, Stability

I have always appreciated the sheer power
and tons of features stuffed in LG flagships,
since the G3. The Nexus 5 have LG the
expertise of delivering a stock Android
experience, and the Pixel 2 XL allowed
them the opportunity to perfect Android
customization. I point this out because that
implies that they know how to minimize
the amount resources their Android skin
takes up on top of the Stock OS. They are
literally one of the few manufacturers that
can layer Android and keep it as smooth as
Google intended it to be.

The LG V30+ hit 1910 single-core and 5814
multi-core in Geekbench 4:

That's up to par with average flagship
from 2017, but not quite up to snuff with
the latest Snapdragon 845 toting devices
like the Galaxy S9 which scored 2,422
single-core score and 8,351 multi-core
score.

Conclusion

A Lot of people who were livid supporters of
the V series may have been disappointed
to discover the omission of the removable
battery, and possibly the second screen
but the addition of IP68 certification,
Wireless Charging, Quick Charge 3.0 (4.0
with the right Charging Adapter) and
software that somewhat provides the
informative convenience the second
screen once did, are necessary changes to
keep the V-series modern. Everything else
that you come to expect from the brand:
extensive Video Recording and editing
tools, Hi-Fi Audio,Dual wide angle lens
cameras are here with a plethora of

upgrades. The only real standout weakness
is the software for the front facing 5MP
camera. I say that because I downloaded
third party camera apps that made all the
world of a difference.

The LG V30+ makes for a great alternative
to the more popular flagships, remains one
of the better options for general users and
one of the first looks for content creators.