Every time a new phone is launched, we all think “How the hell did they manage to come-up with something better? I thought the possibilities ended with the previous version.”
The world of gadgets, especially cell phone handsets, is an ever-evolving one. Almost every month, some or the other company launches a handset that claims to do things in a better way than the already existing ones.
This time it is LG V20 Singapore. Let’s see whether the new kid on the block deserves your hard-earned money or not.
Design
It is a slim, sleek looking phone at 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.7mm and weighs just 177 grams. This means that it is lighter and slimmer than its predecessor LG V10. There’s a fingerprint sensor-cum-power button at the back which works like the home button of iPhone. It is quite responsive but may take a while to get used to.
The phone has been given a smooth, military-grade aluminium casing with removable back panel. This translates to a swappable battery which is a great relief for people who travel a lot and like to keep a spare charged battery, in case their power bank, too, runs out of charge. The aluminium casing gives this phone a premium yet sturdy look.
The top and bottom of the phone are made of silicon polycarbonate, a hard material which is built to survive more than a few drops. The top has a couple of microphones that capture 24 bit audio at 48kHz. The bottom has a 3.5mm audio jack with a USB type C charging port. Volume buttons rest on the left side and are easy to access.
It is available in three colours: Titan Black, Silver and Pink.
Display(s)
For those who are still wondering why did we add that ‘s’ to the word ‘display’ here, it’s because LG added a secondary 2.1 inches wide screen to the primary 5.7 inch Gorilla Glass 4 screen with a QHD (2560×1400) resolution, in V20. This means you can view graphical information at 515 PPI, which is impressive.
The primary screen does everything, cell phones screens usually do and the additional, smaller, always-on secondary screen displays notifications, holds shortcuts for your frequently-used apps and shows you other information, like date and time. You can also use it to toggle between quick settings and display notes of up to 24 scrolling characters, like “Pick up kids at 6”.
Combined with multi-window feature of Android Nougat, the secondary screen is a delight for those who love multi-tasking. Now you can watch that video or play your favoutite game without being disturbed by the notifications.
Performance
With Snapdragon 820 and a 4 GB RAM, this is a future-ready device. Add to that, a good graphic processor like Adreno 530 and it is able to handle any futuristic, graphic and processing-intensive app or game smoothly.
There is an on-board storage of 64 GB and a slot for expanding the storage capabilities to make sure, there is enough space for all your apps and selfies. The device supports latest WiFi AC protocol, has Bluetooth v4.2 and NFC.
Overall, the performance is smooth and snappy as you’d like it to be.
Battery, Camera and Audio
Sometimes an age-old technique is way more reliable and useful than a new trend. Similar is the case with phone batteries. LG understood this well and presented V20 with swappable 3200 mAH battery. A swappable battery is any day better than the non-removable ones as you can stock an extra, in case one runs out of power.
Coming on to the camera, you will love it, if wide-angle shots are your favourite. V20 comes with 3 cameras and somehow manages to look good with them. The back panel has a 16 MP standard shooter and another 8MP wide-angle one which is capable of capturing up to 135 degrees of scenic beauty present in front of it. There is a 5 MP front camera which can toggle between the regular 83 degree mode and the wider 120 degree frame. This can come-in really handy when you need to click a groufie with your gang.
The pictures are clear and crisp but the colours look a bit toned-down. Low-light images are also just acceptable and nothing to boast about. The wide angle lens while capturing more information, distorts the images towards the corner giving them an unrealistic, fish-eye look.
The best feature of this phone is its audio. This is an audiophile’s phone. You can take it to a concert and record your favourite song with the utmost clarity and deep bass tones. You’d love listening to songs in your own voice after recording them on V20. This is because V20 records audio at 24 bit which is much more accurate than the usual 16 bit and has three microphones combined with four digital-to-analog converters which help a great deal in noise reduction. One can buy this phone just for its audio-abilities.
Conclusion
While this phone scores high in audio, display and performance departments, the camera, design and battery backup are modest at best. At the base price of $800ish, this phone is a decent purchase.
Check out our latest price below.