The LG V30 is one of the most feature-rich flagships of 2017
With so many smartphone manufacturers dropping useful components,
It's nice to finally get my hands on something with all the bells and whistles
this is the retail version of the phone
that I purchased myself here locally
And it's time to see if the LG V30 is durable
(Intro)
Now you might have forgotten about this phone since it was announced seven weeks ago, and only now becoming available to purchase
Let's hope it's worth the wait.
The scratch test is first. Frederic Mohs designed this scratch test back in
1812 to differentiate between different minerals the six inch display is covered in Gorilla Glass five
Plastic wood scratched at a level three, pure sapphire would scratch at level eight or nine, so when the screen of the LG V30
Scratches at a six or seven it's to be expected. The iPhone 8 and the Samsung Note 8 both scored the same
down at the bottom of the phone there is no home button it's located around the back of the phone due to most of the
Front surface area being dedicated to the screen which I am a fan of.
The closer we get to screens filling up the entire front of the phone, the better.
Up at the top of the phone,we have the front facing five megapixel camera
Under that same Gorilla Glass 5, so no damage to the lens will be happening here.
The earpiece, which actually doubles as a microphone when recording video in loud envirements.
Is recessed pretty far into the phone body. The grill is metal which is good
But that recess is the perfect spot for dust and dirt to collect. Speakers are magnetic as well
So if you work around metal shavings like an auto mechanic
Welder or bank robber metal shavings are attracted to that speaker magnet and could get inside
shredding that speaker cone
Blowing the speaker so having a metal grille with small vent holes is a good thing for people with physical jobs
But it would be easier to keep clean
If that grill was more flush with the surface of the glass like on the iPhones or the Samsung's
instead of a gaping hole
On the back of the phone we have the glass covering that
Wireless charging. The LG logo at the bottom is recessed under the glass so no scratching it off down here
Same with the V30 logo in the center of the phone
It's also under the glass and will never rub off or get damaged ever.
One thing that can be damaged though is the fingerprint scanner
Some fingerprint scanners are unscratched like on the iPhone or the Oneplus 5, but this one can be damaged
It's pretty safe to say that with normal use the fingerprint scanner will never get this scuffed up
But it's also
Unfortunate that after the abuse, the scanner is unable to read my fingerprint anymore
Constantly displaying, "The sensor needs to be cleaned". And also for the record most other phones survive the same
Level of abuse and still function just something to keep in mind don't let the scanner get scratched
It'll still work as a button of course just not a fingerprint scanner
I went incredibly
in-depth on this dual camera setup during my LG V30 tear down video
Popping open the camera unit itself to look at the pretty incredible: Ten Bit Image Sensor
I'll link that video in the description if you want to see this phone reviewed from the inside
It is good to know though that the exterior of the camera is protected from scratching
No plastic to be found, even the frame around the lens is metal
Continuing our search for premium materials brings us to the sides of the phone and judging by the sound of my razor blade
(Sound Of Metal Scratching Metal)
We're looking at pure metal. The nice thing is that it's not painted metal either so any scratches
Or drops will just expose more silver, the same color keeping this visible damage to a minimum
The volume buttons are also made for metal and up here at the top of the phone next to the headphone jack
This solid metal. The antenna bands are plastic, but that's normal along the sides of the phone
We have our SIM and expandable memory tray. I do like how LG kept things simple and didn't force
Any extra unwanted?
Buttons on us like Samsung did with Bixby. I wouldn't be opposed if there was an extra
programmable button along the side as long as we get to choose what it does like activate the camera or mute button or maybe a
More useful voice assistant the bottom of the phone is metal
We have the loudspeaker holes and the USB C port all of which are water-resistant jumping back to the 6-inch
1440p
OLED display we find that 10 seconds from my orange lighter were enough to permanently damage the pixels which turned white and never recovered
Personally I do prefer LED displays over LCD displays the absolute blacks make videos look super good
So I'll forgive the non reviving pixels
It's also pretty safe to say that I'm probably the only one on the planet dealing with flame damage. The LG V30 is
IP 68
water-resistant. The same level at the Samsung Note 8 and one step above the iPhone 8 all of which were released this year during the
Structural Ben test we checked the frame of the phone for weak spots as well as checking to see if the Flex
Compromises the waterproofing adhesive around the edge of the glass panel
There is a very minor flex to the phone when bent from either side
But there is no separation of either slap of glass the adhesive holds it tight and the phone remains structurally sound
Surviving the bend test no matter what side the phone is flexed from. This is a solid premium feeling phone on every single surface
I'll give LG a thumbs up for this one while Apple Google
Essential and sometimes Motorola are pulling useful features from their flagships LG is still here
Alongside Samsung cramming every useful thing they possibly can into the phone while keeping a solid durable build
This is daily driver material for sure check out my teardown of the LG V30 you haven't already. The aerial shots
I got of New York City while using the rear camera are pretty impressive
Come hang out with me on Twitter and Instagram and thanks a ton for watching. I'll see you around