- Analysis by KJ David
The third installment of LG's flagship V lineup, the LG V30, is definitely a charmer, slapping on new pros to the V20's already-high-end offering. Having said that, we also caught a few uninviting cons along the way.
Its mutations over the V20 are led by a much-refined display, coming in the form of a 6-inch OLED FullVision screen 
decked out with a QHD+ (2880 x 1440) definition , a Gorilla Glass 5 cover glass (the latest as of its release), and a rare 18:9 display aspect ratio . Further, it scores a significantly-high 538ppi pixel density -- not too shabby for a 6-incher. Supplementing its upgrades on the display front is virtual reality (VR) support, primarily through Google's Daydream software . Intriguingly, the V30 abandons LG's second screen concept 
, which, though highly-promising on paper, may have failed to capture the hearts of some of its tech-savvy target clientele.
Related: Best phablets
Note that despite stretching the screen real estate, the V30 is a smaller device compared to its predecessor, with its aluminum alloy shell (with Gorilla Glass 5 cladding) measuring only 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.4mm, while the the V20 measures 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6mm. Moreover, it boasts IP68-grade dust- and waterproofing as well as a MIL-STD-810G certification for use in extreme environments , which we are not used to seeing on smartphones with its kind of artsy pros and cons.
Related: Best waterproof smartphones
Joining its ultra-high-end screen and slender form factor (for a 6-inch device) in its list of pros is the V30's dual-rear-camera setup, consisting of a 16-megapixel f/1.6-aperture main camera and a secondary 13-megapixel wide-angle (up to 120 degrees) cam . The V30's cameras are bundled with premium-class video capture capabilities, particularly, 4K-2160p video-recording , Hi-Fi audio capture , and 16 color-grading presets . Sadly, it retains the V20's 5-megapixel-only selfie camera , which was all but outmoded when it came out, especially with the rise of 13-megapixel-and-higher selfie shooters.
Related: Best Camera Smartphones 2017
As for its pros and cons under the hood, the V30 snuggles into an upmarket shelf spot with its 64-bit Snapdragon 835 2.45GHz quad-core processor , 4GB LPDDR4x RAM , and Adreno 540 graphics engine . These components combine to make it one of the fastest LG flagships to date. Speaking of fast, the V30 reaches a staggering 979Mbps peak data rate on LTE Cat 16 networks , which is among the highest out there (as of September 2017). We would have loved to see something more than a 3300mAh power capacity , though, knowing that a few other premier smartphones pack at least 4000mAh in the tank. This is exacerbated by its dismal 100-hour standby time and 4-hour talk time . Additionally, it does not reach for anything more than 64GB of inbuilt memory (UFS 2.1) , even though several slightly-older flagships boast up to 256GB storage memories. That said, the V30 does support an enormous 2TB's worth of microSD storage .
Available in Moroccan Blue and Cloud Silver, the V30's specs, which lean heavily towards display and imaging, make it a solid update to LG's premier smartphone line, consequently calling out to tech geeks who are in search of a high-caliber smartphone for multimedia and productivity.
You Should Also Be Interested In These:
- Don't Buy The Wrong Phone! Celliminator Will Find Your Perfect Phone
- Best Phones As Of June 2025 (12 Categories)
- Best LG Phones 2025
- Newest LG Phones 2025 (latest Models)
Full Menu
