LG V30

[Anonymous]

Anyone know if o2 intend to stock the LG V30 when it comes out?

[Cleoriff]

Great news. Hope it meets all your expectations @a_hcir

[a_hcir]

OK, some first impressions..

The device is gorgeous.  It looks a lot slimmer than it really is - it looks like a baby toy compared to the Nexus 6p it replaces, however if you put them side by side it's clear that it's not actually much smaller.  The screen is very good - I was nervous about it being carp after the initial reviews.  The colours seem a little more muted than the Samsung OLED in the 6P, which is fine by me as I prefer them to be a bit more natural.

The default launcher is actually pretty good.  It's functional and seems clean enough, the rest of the device software has all the hallmarks of the Korean phone makers - a few junk applications littered around, unnecessary "help" screens that launch as you are attempting to do anything for the first time, and so many settings added to the settings section that you feel like it will take half a year to wade through them all.  The default apps (dialler, messenger) seem to have taken some cues from the google equivalents - they seem functional.

Wireless charging is brilliant.  Using a $3 charging pad I bought from AliExpress and it's gone from 50-100% within around 2.5 hours (that's with me playing around at the same time).  

Sound quality with a decent pair of headphone is really something.  Not had a chance to play around extensively with the Quad DAC settings, but I imagine in terms of sound quality for audiophiles this is the phone to beat.

Yet to test: call quality & camera...  

[a_hcir]

OK, so the call quality seems great. There is a hill I always go down on my commute where the voice quality gets a lot choppy, but is fine with this phone. It's comfortable to hold when making calls, and bluetooth performance is great.

Only tried the camera in moodlit room and the photos look really good. Looking forward to trying it out some more this weekend.

I must say that I feel less anxiety knowing that not only have I got 64gb of storage, but also that I've got another 64gb micro sd to fill, as well. I was always juggling downloads on the 6p.

Network performance seems great, just ran a speed test where I'm maxing out my 200mb broadband, unfortunately can't get a decent 4g rating here, but I know I was getting over 50mbps at work due to the speeds of downloads from Google play.

Also of interest is that there is an FM radio app preinstalled, which is nice.

So far, I'm really happy with it. Seems a shame that a flagship like this is going to get minimum exposure due to cpw's exclusivity.

[gmarkj]

Nice to hear your thoughts about this.
This is one (of the many) being considered as I am due an upgrade in the new year.
Although there is also the G6, the Mate 10 Pro, the HTC U11+, and the...

[a_hcir]

So maybe spoke a bit too soon about the screen being perfect! My eyes have been drawn towards a single dead pixel 1cm from the left of the screen, in the vertical centre. In the olden days this would have caused me to freak out, but given that I'm cursed when it comes to LCD's (seriously, they hate me. Even the one plasma I owned had a hot pixel!). I'll ignore for now and moan at CPW if it continues to distract.

Still living the phone, though!

[a_hcir]

So day three impressions:

Despite the dead pixel, the screen is otherwise good. It's the first android mobile I've owned where I can actually turn the brightness too low when I'm reading in bed at nighttime, which is quite astonishing. Usually I have to use Twilight or Moon Reader to further dim the display.

The finger print sensor on it is absolutely amazing. You barely need to touch it to get it to unlock instantly (and I literally mean - fraction of a second - you're at your homescreen the instant your finger barely touches it!). It feels miles ahead of the sensor on the 6P and the iPhone 7, almost magical in it's function.

I haven't had reason to connect a cable to it yet because of my cheap wireless charging pads, which are working great. Just need to put a bit of electrical tape over the LED of the one in the bedroom as it's a little too bright... The ability to tap the device to wake it out of slumber is new to me and works great, especially when it's on charge.

I was concerned before getting the phone about the supposed LG bloatware - with many online guides asking you to buy apps to disable the LG apps - IMO completely unnecessary. The phone seems to be smooth with the stock OS.

I've moved back to the Google Now launcher (really missed my google news/traffic/interests 'feed'!)

Last of all - battery life. It's actually really good. I had the battery changed in my 6P recently under warranty and could barely get a full day of use out of it when new. The same heavy use with the v30 - I had over a third of the battery left at bedtime.

So... That's it for now. It's shaping up to be a decent device. Still in two minds whether to complain to CPW/LG about the dead pixel - maybe I'm too picky and life's too short...

[gmarkj]

If you do decide to change it then the quicker the better.
Having had the G4 bootloop problem I can recommend going the LG root. Not used CPW though so can't comment.

[a_hcir]

Cheers, gmarkj. I did reach out to lg's support to ask about allowable levels of dead pixels and got a no bs response of "send us pictures of your screen". I think I can live with it, though, I haven't noticed it today at all.

Still loving the device, btw!

[a_hcir]

Ok, thought I'd give an update since it's been two weeks with this bad boy...

First of all, top marks to Carphone Warehouse's customer service.  I went in, showed the single dead pixel and they exchanged it without quibble.  Only annoyance is that they didn't have any in stock so I had to hand in my phone and pick up the replacement the next day.  Now got a device with a seemingly perfect screen.

Over the past few days I've been experimenting with the camera and the wide angle camera is astounding - it's like being able to step six feet backwards.  Apparently this is a feature LG have on many of their phones - I have no idea why the competition aren't replicating it - it's awesome.

The ability to remove the navigation bar from the bottom of the screen has been well used (plus I noticed my 6p has the nav buttons burned into the screen when I went back to use it whilst waiting for the CPW exchange!), as has the function to stretch apps to fill the full 2:1 ratio of the screen - so far it has worked with all apps I've tried it with.  

All in all...  I'm loving this device.  It's fast, the battery lasts for ages,the call quality is great, the wide angle camera is awesome and the quad DAC makes listening by headphones a joy.

Score: 3.09 out of Pi

[gmarkj]

You're doing a great job of selling this as my next phone!
Did you look at the Huawei Mate 10 Pro or was that not out at the time?

Edited to add: Great news about how easy it was to solve the pixel issue as well!!