LG Electronics Inc. unveiled its latest flagship smartphone at IFA Thursday. The V30 does away with some unnecessary features of its predecessor and gains an improved display, wireless charging, additional video features and face and voice recognition.

Official pricing for the V30 hasn’t been announced yet, but you can expect to pay a high price for these features as the V-series tends to be LG’s most expensive phone of the year. But considering the recently launched Note8 from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has a hefty $930 price tag and the upcoming iPhone 8 is rumored to have a $1,000 price tag, more and more smartphones are getting premium price tags.  

Dual-rear camera and improved video features

One of the biggest talking points of the LG V30 is its dual-rear camera, which sports a 16-megapixel sensor with optical image stabilization and a f/1.6 aperture and a 13MP wide-angle sensor. Both cameras are protected by a Crystal Clear Lens, which allows for “more accurate colors and clearer images than a plastic lens.”

Video recording has been improved on the V30 with the addition of Point Zoom and Cine Effect features.

Unlike most phones that will just zoom to the center, Point Zoom lets you zoom in on a specific subject, regardless of its position on the screen, while recording. Cine Effects provides you with 15 cinematic presets of various movie genres.

In the camera’s manual mode, you will have access to Graphy, which applies manual settings (ISO levels, white balance, shutter speed, etc.) from professional photographers to photos taken with the V30. The presets are available from LG’s Graphy website or mobile app.

Audio recording has also been improved with the V30 offering 32-bit sound.

Design and display

The design of the V30 is similar to LG’s G6 launched earlier this year, but the big difference is that the V30 gets an Organic Light Emitting Diode display. Despite having a larger 6-inch OLED (2,880 x 1,440), FullVision display, the actual size of the V30 is smaller than its predecessor thanks to the V30’s reduced bezels.

The V30’s display is slightly curved and features Gorilla Glass 5 panels on the front and rear. LG’s latest flagship also gains an IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating and can be submerged in up to four feet of water for 30 minutes.

Color options include black, silver, blue and violet, but not all colors will be available in all markets.

When it comes to audio, the V30 features Hi-Fi Quad DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) with sound tuning by B&O Play (Bang & Olufsen A/S’ more affordable consumer brand). What is surprising is the prominent Bang & Olufsen logo on the V30. While the U.S. market will feature a V30 graphic on the rear of the device, the majority of markets will have the instantly recognizable Bang & Olufsen logo.

V30 loses secondary screen

The V30 has lost the secondary screen, which became a signature feature of the V-series. Rather the company has decided to replace it with a Floating Bar, a customizable on-screen digital tab that will live on the side of the display. Once tapped, the Floating Bar will display various shortcuts.

LG’s Floating Bar is very similar to Samsung’s Edge Screen. In addition to customizing the shortcuts, users can also customize where the Floating Bar displays and can also disable it completely.

Gains face and voice recognition

In addition to the fingerprint scanner on the rear of the device, the V30 has gained extra security features in the form of face and voice recognition. The V30 can be unlocked instantaneously using face recognition even when the phone’s display is off, while voice recognition uses the person’s voice and a combination of words to unlock the device. The V30 also features Google Assistant.

If rumors are to be believed, Apple Inc.’s upcoming iPhone 8, set to be unveiled on Sept. 12, will also sport facial recognition.

Under the hood

The LG V30 comes with quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4-gigabytes of RAM and two storage options, a 64GB and 128GB variant referred to as the V30+. The device also has expandable storage up to 2-terabytes. The V30 will ship with Android 7.1.2 Nougat.

Unlike the V20, LG has moved away from removable batteries like it did with the G6. The V30 has a 3,300mAh battery, like the Note8, and has wireless charging.  

The LG V30 also becomes the first phone to support T-Mobile USA Inc.’s new 600 MHz LTE spectrum. In a Federal Communications Commission auction earlier this year, the carrier managed to secure 45 percent of the 600 MHz spectrum. LTE Band 71 could potentially mean a stronger and more consistent LTE signal across the carrier’s network in the U.S.

Price and availability

The company is yet to confirm exact pricing of the V30, but LG did confirm that it would cost in the same range as the G6 and V20. This would put the retail price of the V30 between $600 and $800.

The V30 will go on sale in South Korea on Sept. 21, followed by key markets in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The V30+ with 128GB of storage will be available in limited markets.

Images: LG