Smart Android And Trik-Commenting on Andorid indeed never endless, because smart devices this one is often updated every certain amount of time. So that the market can always be garapnya menerinya with pleasure. And it is not denied if this device has become the lifestyle of each society. To not wonder if the 6th business information and many are turning to mobail smartphone. With Android which thoroughly dominated the mobile industry, choosing the best Android smartphone is almost identical to choose the best smartphone, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is intense.
Introduction
AI is the definitive buzzword of 2018, don't you ThinQ? LG certainly does, so it's jumped on the hype train and created its own AI-focused brand, then slapped it onto what is basically last year's V30 with more RAM and storage - and some brand new AI features of course.
This is the LG V30S ThinQ, which we'll call V30S from now on for our (and your) sanity's sake. Our specific model is actually the V30S+ ThinQ, as it has 256GB of storage. We've already compared the camera output of this model to that of the vanilla, non-AI infused V30, so if you're interested in how much pizazz the AI adds, don't miss that feature.
That said, we admit we're intrigued by LG's latest. The company chose to announce this updated model at MWC instead of a brand new G7, in effect trying to milk the V30 even more. Whereas some manufacturers release new color versions after a few months to boost dwindling sales, LG goes further with more RAM, more storage, and built-in AI. Oh, and yes, refreshed colors, too.
The V30 was probably one of the most underestimated flagships of 2017, flying under the radar for most people and thus definitely not breaking any sales records. The V30S ThinQ has the potential to make a more lasting impression by improving its predecessor's strengths. And with the LG G7 finally around the corner, it better have what it takes.
Can a flagship with last year's chipset really hold its own against the competition? We decided to find out just how good the V30S is when used each and every day as our one and only smartphone. Join us over the next pages as we reveal what this experience felt like.
Design
Everyone's doing the metal and glass sandwich thing for flagships nowadays, and LG is no exception. The V30S is, in our subjective opinion, one of the best looking handsets released in recent times. It may not be a sales champion, but that doesn't make it less attractive. And while it doesn't come with a mesmerizing Twilight color version like Huawei's latest top of the line offerings, the New Moroccan Blue paint job our unit has is still very pretty.
The back's finish doesn't go too far on the shininess scale, yet it does have an understated premium look. For OCD sufferers, we have to note that the fingerprint sensor's color isn't identical to the rest of the back, though we're not sure if this was intentional - to make it stand out more since it is after all the power button too - or just a consequence of how hard it is to match hues applied on different materials.
The V30S is rather slippery, but surprisingly easy to hold and operate with one hand without a fear of it sliding out of your grip. The front is refreshingly symmetrical, and it looks like it will be the last LG flagship to go for that look - notches are in, symmetry is out this year.
The top and bottom bezels are identical in size, but do note that the side bezels are not tiny. That said, you probably won't mind given the handset's respectable 81.2% screen-to-body ratio. Unlike the G6, the V30S doesn't have a logo on the front, as there simply wasn't enough room on the bottom bezel for it.
The metal frame seems sturdy and it's managed to survive a drop on a tiled floor from around 70cm with just one dent - although the blue color chipped away from that particular spot in the process. The V30S is MIL-STD-810G compliant for resistance to extreme conditions, which should further enhance its durability. Of course most of the handset is still covered in glass, so you will want to be wary of dropping it too often (or at all).
The back has that robot look with the cameras serving as the 'eyes' and the power button being the 'nose', which is more cute than disturbing in our view. The B&O logo could even be considered the 'mouth', perhaps, though a weirdly circular one.
Overall, the V30S is solidly built and is a joy to hold, handle, and use. While it might be mistaken for a Samsung from the front by someone not very familiar with the difference in the way the display sides curve, we appreciate the fact that both Korean companies are going for the symmetrical look - at least for now.
Display
Like the V30 before it, the V30S employs LG's first P-OLED panel with 18:9 aspect ratio and very small top and bottom bezels. Unfortunately, if the rumors about the G7 pan out, it will also be the last LG handset to don that setup, and we're a tad conflicted about this.
The OLED panel inside the V30 and the Google Pixel 2 XL caught a lot of flack for the fact that it can't measure up to Samsung's best in a few key areas, but that doesn't mean it's a bad screen per se. The fact that quality control seemed to be pretty hit and miss at the beginning of its production run didn't help either, but while your experience may still differ, we can only discuss the display of our V30S unit. And, in a word, it's fine.
We've seen better sunlight legibility, but that doesn't mean the V30S' is bad, it's just good without being record-breaking. The 'bluish whites' trend that has taken most of the mobile world by storm in recent years is alive and well here too, yet most people seem to tolerate unnaturally blue whites quite well so you aren't likely to be bothered by this at all. And if you don't enjoy the default Normal screen color, you can always switch to another preset from Settings, or even make your own custom combination by adjusting the color temperature and RGB levels.
The panel does suffer from the infamous 'blue tint' color shifting when you view it at an odd angle - meaning that parts of the screen that are the furthest away from your eyes get bluer. Since this only occurs at pretty steep angles, we're betting that only those with a serious OCD affliction will really notice it all the time.
There's also some graininess if you glance real close at various shades of grey. Yes, you may accidentally spot this even if you aren't specifically searching for it, but you'll probably only mind if for some reason you look at a lot of pictures of solid grey variations. Because most of what people do on a phone isn't that, we assume the average user won't be put off by this.
All in all, it's not a perfect display, but it is high-res, bright, vibrant, has nice blacks and you will enjoy it much more than it will frustrate you. And that's why it would be a shame if LG gave up on OLED for its smartphones - within a few iterations its tech should be able to achieve parity with Samsung's best, and that would be great news for consumers.
Software
While our V30S unit runs Android 8.0 Oreo, you won't find very many traces of Google's design language inside, with the notification area being the single biggest exception. LG's skin is still rather heavy, although we can't say we're bothered too much by it. And that's because it doesn't go as far as other overlays in trying to change everything just for the sake of being different.
Notification area • Quick Settings
It switches out most of stock Android's looks but doesn't touch the underlying functionality, and it also adds loads of features on top - some of which you may like, some you'll end up ignoring, and a few that are obviously nothing more than gimmicks. Yet none of these actively get in the way of you using your smartphone the way you want.
So while the interface does look mostly different compared to 'pure' Android, it gets the job done nevertheless. If you're a stock Android lover you're probably not looking to buy the V30S anyway, and for most people this skin will be decent, and not bothersome at all (or not very often, at least).
Most of LG's add-ons aren't turned on by default, and this makes the initial setup a breeze even if you aren't the type of person to go through each and every setting before you really start using a phone day in and day out. If you like having more options than what Google intended, you'll be pretty happy with what LG's done with Android on this device.
We still have to note some weird inconsistencies, design-wise, where certain elements mimic those in Google's interpretation of Android and others of the same type don't. Here's the best (or worst, depending on your feelings on the matter) example: the Wi-Fi icon in the status bar is identical to what you'd see on a Pixel (save for an added lock symbol in the bottom right, which shows up when you're connected to a network secured with a password). On the other hand, the mobile network signal indicator that sits right next to it goes for the completely different 'separated lines' look.
The Settings menu is tabbed, and not just one list, but we're not sure why anyone would have a problem with that. The icons for the built-in apps are still a little bit too cartoonish, but so what - in the end tapping on them will get you to the app you need. If you must, you can always switch to another of the built-in themes and even download some more from the LG store.
Tabbed Settings
While that own-brand app-store-like solution from LG does exist on the V30S alongside the Play Store, the company has thankfully resisted the urge to come up with a virtual assistant of its own like that other Korean smartphone maker. LG's app store can safely be ignored for the most part and only used to update certain built-in apps (or for installation of additional LG apps, which is a choice you first get upon the initial setup).
The launcher is devoid of an app drawer by default, but changing that is easily accomplished through Settings. Among its options are choices for icon shape and grid layout, and you can enable a search function when you swipe down on the home screen - yet this might get a tad redundant if you also use the Google search widget.
Home screen, app drawer (not enabled by default)
We like the fact that LG lets you add a fourth button to the navigation bar, which brings down the notification pane when you tap it and then pulls it back up if you tap again. It's a feature we feel should be built into any Android phone that has a screen with a tall aspect ratio, especially over 5.5" in size. Without it, on such handsets you pretty much always have to readjust your grip when sliding down the notification area from the top of the display.
Navigation button options
Finally, a note about updates. Most Android devices fare pretty badly in this regard, aside from the Pixel line and a few notable exceptions from OEMs that aren't Google. That's hardly news at this point. However, LG hasn't been particularly great about issuing prompt updates to its flagships internationally. The situation is oddly different for its home market, with Korean models always receiving new Android versions first, sometimes months ahead of the units sold elsewhere.
The V30S is still on the February security patch
We're hoping LG will change its stance on the matter and at least deliver monthly security updates to its high-end offerings everywhere, but you should never base a purchase decision on our hopes and dreams.
Performance
Even though it's powered by last year's Snapdragon 835, the V30S is won't leave you wanting when it comes to performance. The phone is fast no matter what you throw at it, and thanks to the 6GB of RAM it employs multitasking will never be a problem.
The only issue we've had, and it's a small one, is that sometimes when you quickly double-tap the Recents button in order to switch to the last used app, the phone only registers the first tap, and thus you're presented with the multitasking carousel. Otherwise, though, we've had absolutely no hiccups whatsoever, no unexpected slowdowns, nothing of the sort.
That said, for overall 'smoothness' of the software experience, the V30S doesn't match a Pixel. Not the second-generation devices, not even the originals from 2016. This isn't unique to LG's recent flagships, however, and is more a testament to how insanely focused on that hard to describe 'smoothness' Google has been and less about other OEMs doing something wrong.
Of course, that's not really an excuse for LG or Samsung or Huawei not to finally step up their game in this regard. While Samsung or Huawei may think their sales numbers being so high means people are just fine with a little bit less smoothness than a Pixel delivers, LG isn't doing as well so this might actually turn into a differentiating feature at some point in the future - if it actually decides to care, that is.
Battery life
On paper, the V30S' 3,300 mAh cell isn't small by today's standards, but it's not record-breaking either. That said, battery life has been great. So much so, in fact, that with our normal use we haven't actually managed to bring the handset to the point where the Battery Low alert shows up - at 15% left.
Said use occurs primarily while connected to Wi-Fi, with an hour or two of 4G, and about an hour or two of streaming music via Bluetooth for each day off the charger (a total of 14-17 hours). In the screenshots below you can see a few examples of what we've achieved in terms of screen on time. Obviously when judging how adequate the V30S' longevity will be for you, keep in mind our use case described above and don't ignore how much juice was still left in the cell at the end of each day.
Battery life
The usual disclaimer applies here: your results may vary significantly based on the connectivity situation where you're at. Low mobile network signal level heavily impacts battery life, while using the phone primarily on mobile data will also eat into your numbers. However, we'd venture a guess and say that the V30S should last you through a day even if you're more of a power user than we are.
Camera
We're still wondering why LG is the only company to see the value in having a secondary wide-angle camera on the rear. Especially now when three-lens setups are becoming a thing, it would be quite baffling if no manufacturer chose a setup consisting of one normal-angle, one wide-angle, and one zoom lens. Hopefully LG itself will consider something like that for the V40.
In the meantime, we've played with the V30S' snappers and overall have been satisfied with their output, with the exception of the selfie camera which isn't really comparable to the best units inside other flagships. The wide-angle shooter on the back is really good for capturing more things at once, and this is especially helpful for shots of landscapes or cities, in our experience - but it also comes in handy when you have a large group shot to frame.
We're only sorry that LG still isn't able to visualize the HDR effect live in the viewfinder like Samsung and Apple are doing with their latest phones. When you use the HDR mode on the V30S, the capable HDR algorithm will do a really nice job of restoring details in the highlights and shadows but you will only be able to appreciate this after the shot has been taken.
Before you look at the assortment of samples we've prepared during the time we've used the V30S as our main phone, note that all of the shots were captured using the "AI CAM" setting with Auto HDR on. The former because AI is the big focus of the V30S (hence the ThinQ branding), the latter since it produces better pictures with a negligible performance penalty.
When shooting outside during the daytime in good lighting conditions, the V30S' main f/1.6 16 MP sensor with OIS delivers pleasing visuals, and the built-in AI helps the handset recognize what you're pointing it at, and thus apply the best possible processing for each shot. You get at least decent detail levels and not too much noise.
LG V30S daytime photos taken with the main 16 MP sensor
Using the wide-angle lens for the same subjects will obviously result in more things being inside the frame. That said, this 13MP sensor has f/1.9 aperture so when light levels go down even slightly it won't do as good a job as the main one. And by the nature of it being wide-angle, you may see distortions at the edges of the photos. Comparing the same shots taken with both rear cams revealed some interesting differences in color rendition in a few cases.
LG V30S daytime photos taken with the wide-angle 13 MP sensor
At night the normal angle camera performs decently too, but LG's definitely employing heavy noise reduction - which cuts noise indeed, but also turns some of the details into collateral damage. A 'bright mode' is automatically applied when ambient lighting levels are low, and that should aid in creating better photos. When there's at least a little bit of light around you the images you'll capture are quite good and, while not the best we've ever seen, they rise well above the average.
LG V30S daytime photos captured with the main 16 MP shooter
Shooting with the wide-angle cam at night will result in darker photos, but most will still be usable, if you can tolerate the overall softness in them, along with the loss of details that have fallen prey to the aggressive noise reduction. It's probably best to generally stick to shooting with this sensor during the day.
LG V30S nighttime photos taken with the wide-angle cam
Selfies are the V30S' weak spot in the camera compartment, and that's no surprise if you check out its specs and realize they're shot by a very small 1/5" sensor, with f/2.2 aperture and 5 MP resolution. This isn't to say you should never ever use this phone for selfies - just keep in mind that the front-facing camera has some limitations, and so if you're after the perfect shot you'll probably need to do some preparation and take into account the shooting conditions more so than with competing flagship smartphones.
The selfie cam has two field-of-view modes - narrower at 82-degrees, and wider at 90-degrees, but they both come from the same sensor and the images are oddly at the same resolution (so it's not just a case of cropping) - there is some resizing going on for sure. The differences between the two are marginal at best, as you can see from our nighttime samples below - the same scene has been shot once with each mode.
LG V30S selfies, day and night, narrower and wider field-of-view
All in all, we'd have liked to see more detail everywhere and much less softness, especially in low-light shots, but we assume that the size of the top bezel where the camera is housed contributed some physical limitations as to how big the sensor could be, and the direct result is obvious.
Frustrations, niggles, annoyances
Of course, as with any product, there are still some kinks where the thing just doesn't work as it's supposed to causing mild annoyance. There is no major deal breakers with the V30S but has a few pet peeves with some of the aspects of this smartphone.
While the auto-brightness works well in most cases, we found a weird issue with it, namely that it would never, under any circumstances, go under 15%. You can be in a pitch black environment and it's still going to be at 15%, which isn't all that great for your eyes.
Of course, you can manually adjust the slider to a lower setting, even all the way down to 0, but you will need to do this every single time if you use the phone in darkness. It's obviously nothing more than a software problem which would be easy to fix through a software update, but at the moment it hasn't been addressed.
Auto-brightness won't go lower
The proximity sensor seems to have a very small radius of operation too. It will turn the screen off if you're holding the phone to your ear normally while in a call, but the second you try to go 'hands-free' and simply balance the V30S between your face and your shoulder things go wrong. The sensor isn't doing its thing anymore, and thus the screen will turn back on. Since at least a part of your face is touching the handset, you will almost always 'tap' things you didn't mean to - and the big buttons in the call screen don't help in this regard.
We can't count how many times we've inadvertently put a call on hold or on speaker in such circumstances. This might be a result of how small the top bezel is, as that's where this sensor is housed. We only mention this because it's the first time we've ever encountered such problems, on other devices the proximity sensor simply keeps the display off even if you aren't holding the device at a perfect angle to your ear.
The touchscreen feels a bit too sensitive, at times mistaking a scrolling action for a tap - this can result in an unintended Like on Facebook, or a picture going full screen when all you wanted was to scroll past it. It doesn't happen all the time, but we have encountered such behavior at least a couple of times a day.
The V30S comes with support for Wi-Fi 802.11ac, which is great, but speed tests never went above 120Mbps for downloads in our experience, while being in the same room with the router. That's even though other phones with a 1x1 antenna setup always go past 300Mbps in exactly the same place. This odd limitation doesn't apply to upload speeds, though.
Representative speed test on Wi-Fi 802.11ac
We can't definitively say whether this is a hardware problem or a software one, and downloads even around 120Mbps will certainly be fine for most people. There's also a chance that the issue arises from some weird incompatibility between the V30S' Wi-Fi stack and the Asus router we've used for testing, so we aren't going to say you will always be confronted with this limitation, but it's something to keep in mind nevertheless.
As with most recent flagship smartphones running Android, Bluetooth auto-reconnecting (to previously paired devices) is a bit hit and miss. With certain accessories you'll find that the V30S reconnects without a hitch, but then sometimes it won't - which means you'll have to go into the Bluetooth menu on the phone and manually select whatever it is you want to connect to.
Powering off the accessory and then on again after a failed reconnect will yield a positive outcome in about 90% of cases, but for some reason this doesn't always work. Such problems seem especially prevalent on handsets with Qualcomm chipsets, from what we've gathered so far.
Speaking of Bluetooth, the V30S has a neat setting that promises to start up a specific app every time you have connected to a Bluetooth device, and you can set a different app for each accessory. That's great in theory but in practice we found that it only worked as advertised for one of our Bluetooth speakers.
Bluetooth smart setting
There's a Screen sharing option that you can access from the Quick Settings menu, and it's supposed to work via Miracast and Chromecast. Yet while it's reliable in connecting to TVs supporting Miracast, Chromecast is a different story. Quite a few times it didn't find any available devices to cast to, even if a Chromecast was active on the same Wi-Fi network and could be accessed from other smartphones without a problem.
Finally, here's a very specific software issue that we hope you won't encounter. In order for your Garmin smartwatch of fitness band to show you notifications on your wrist, you need to grant the Garmin app on your smartphone 'special access'. On every other handset, this is done once after you've installed it, as the setting sticks. Not so on the V30S, unfortunately. This Notification access setting constantly turns itself off, and we found we needed to go into Settings and toggle it back on at least a couple of times each day. Once again this is something that would easily be fixed in a software update, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Notification access setting which turns itself off randomly
Conclusion
The V30S is a good smartphone. It compares well to other flagship Android devices in pretty much all respects. Its only real downsides is that it's a flagship which is not using the latest chipset and the fact that the selfie camera image quality is nowhere near flagship territory.
The Snapdragon 835 is definitely no slouch, even today, when it comes to performance, and handles everything you may throw at it without a hitch. That said, people buying this handset in 2018 may feel a fear of missing out - FOMO, as they say. There's no way around this - today's top dog for high-end phones not made by Samsung, Apple, or Huawei is the Snapdragon 845, which you'll see inside dozens of devices by the end of the year, most probably including LG's yet to be announced G7. So if you're thinking about choosing the V30S, that's one thing you'll have to be okay with.
Additionally, if you're the type who obsesses over selfies and uses the front-facing camera more than the rear setup, you might be disappointed with the V30S in this regard. Don't get us wrong here - it certainly produces passable selfies, but in this area it doesn't quite live up to its competitors.
On the other hand, the dual rear cameras deliver shots that make the handset a contender for at least the Top 5 from this point of view, even today when Samsung's Galaxy S9 duo and Huawei's P20 Pro are available. There are obviously differences between the output of those phones, the Pixel 2, the iPhone X, and the V30S', but they aren't huge or of the dealbreaking variety. In the end, some people will be more pleased with the pictures shot on the V30S, others with what another flagship is capable of, but that all comes down to personal preference.
LG's software UI keeps getting better with every iteration, changing less things about Android while adding features that you simply can't find on a Pixel. It's also easier than ever at this point to simply ignore those add-ons if you want to. You may find the skin's design a tad too colorful or cartoonish, but LG does provide a theme engine, which should alleviate the problem at least somewhat.
The core functionality you expect to get from Android in this day and age is all still in there, unaltered underneath LG's unique paint job. The main issue with LG's software isn't the way it looks or performs, it's how unfocused on timely updates the company seems to be, especially for units sold outside of Korea. Back in 2016, the V20 was the first handset to launch running Nougat, beating even Google's original Pixels to the punch.
Since then, however, LG's been less than reliable even delivering security updates, and while big new Android releases do eventually make it to its flagships, you'll be waiting around for months after Google's already sent them out to its smartphones. You may not be bothered by this situation at all, but we still feel it's important to stress.
Despite having played the smartphone game for a very long time now, LG is outshined, sales-wise, by its Korean neighbor Samsung. Perhaps that's a consequence, at least in part, of its marketing budget not being anywhere close to that of its nemesis. Still, the fact that you don't see LG in the Top 3 of smartphone makers doesn't mean it can't produce great devices.
The V30S looks pretty, has a premium metal and glass build that's now a requirement for this price point, is very easy to handle, and might surprise you by being a tad lighter than you'd expect. It performs admirably, feeling fast no matter what your use case may be, without any hiccups or slowdowns whatsoever.
It shoots great pictures with its main camera array and employs a wide-angle lens that is still unique to LG's smartphone range. We think you can't really appreciate how useful that is until you've actually owned a device with such a setup, especially if you travel a lot or enjoy snapping pictures of cityscapes or interiors or other tight spaces.
Like LG itself in the smartphone world, the V30S truly is an underdog, though one you'll ignore at your own peril.
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