LG V30+: A first look at a hotly anticipated phone
15.11.2017
Translation: machine translated
Its predecessor was one of my favourite phones of the year. Now comes the LG V30+. I was allowed to test it briefly at the IFA in Berlin and now it's on my desk. A detailed look at a device that I have high hopes for.
At last. The LG V30+ is finally on my desk. Sure, I'm happy about every new phone on my desk, but I have clear favourites. The Essential PH-1 because it's new and the LG V30 because the LG V20 was one of my phones of the year in 2016. So the V30 should really make a splash just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
I'm not immediately surprised by how the phone looks or feels, as I was able to hold it at the IFA in Berlin a few months ago. Only briefly. And only under supervision. That was enough for a quick look. But the detailed presentation of the phone had to wait. Because it wasn't really possible to fiddle with the demo device.
Therefore: a second first look at a phone that is about to show the big names in the scene what else phones can do.
It looks like any other phone
The V30+ lies in front of me. Packed in a box with a digitec seal, which means that the box has been opened before. The reason why my brand-new device has been opened before is that the V30+ is not being released on the European market. This means that the original plug in the box does not fit into our sockets. We therefore have our partners replace the plugs so that you can charge your phone. Minimal language settings are also made so that you are not completely lost, as the phone only speaks to you in Korean with Hangul characters. The SIM lock is also removed at the same time.
If, contrary to expectations, your phone comes with an alphabet that you can't read, I wrote a guide for the V20 back then. After a first look at the settings, I can say that it still works.
But now! The phone. I still can't get over the fact that LG has removed the second screen at the top. As a reminder, the LG V20 had a second screen at the top in addition to the normal screen, on which shortcuts are displayed. In my review, I said that although this wasn't the most obviously useful feature of all time, it had nevertheless crept into everyday use in a pleasant way.
Of course, the second screen was a marginal phenomenon on the market and it was also more or less clear that the system would not be widely popular. No matter how useful it was, it was a phone from a smaller manufacturer - yes, LG is no Samsung or Apple, not even on the Asian market - that was only widely available in Asia.
Well, that's how good ideas get lost. But LG has installed a software solution.
Probably the lightest flagship
The LG V30+ weighs just under 160 grams. With SIM card probably 160 grams. That's extremely light and it feels that way too. I find it somehow astonishing that the weight of a SIM card accounts for around 1.25 per cent of the total weight
.
Does it feel cheap? Yes and no. Sure, I'm used to heavier phones, but that doesn't make the LG V30+ feel cheap. This is mainly due to the thin metal edges on the side, which give the phone a hard edge.
So, enough for a first touch. And I know you, dear reader, you're thinking "What kind of review is this?" My answer. None at all. Because the review is yet to come. Because doing a review after unpacking it once doesn't do anyone any good. Because in the end, when you buy it, you'll have it in your hand for a little over ten minutes. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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