LG V30

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LG V30

The LG V30 is the second high-end phone from the manufacturer for this year after the LG G6, which is so far in memory right now. With this new flagship, which is already on sale for $ 629.99, LG places a model of the most complete in specifications and design.

The Good:
The LG V30 almost has it all: a great camera, speedy processor, huge OLED screen, excellent battery life, waterproofing, >wireless charging, microSD storage and the best headphone jack on a phone.

The Bad:
Ergonomic quirks can make the V30 awkward to hold. You may miss some shots due to slow camera >autofocus. >Carrier-specific versions come with annoying bloatware and logos.

With a new OLED screen, thinner build, improved dual cameras and a quad-DAC (digital-to-analog audio converter) built into the headphone jack, LG's marketing it as both a luxury phone and a content creator's dream, with particular focus on videographers (who can shoot pro-style Log format video) and audiophiles.

In the US, the 64GB phone costs between $810 and $840 depending on cellular carrier, with an unlocked version compatible with all four major US carriers retailing for $830.

Everything else you should know

-Battery life: It's pretty great. I make it to bed every night with battery to spare, even on days I shoot a bunch of photos or use the phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot for an hour on the train. We measured around 17.5 hours in our standard video drain test -- where we run a local looping video in airplane mode -- just a half-hour shy of the similarly excellent Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus.

-No removable battery: The LG V20, this phone's predecessor, was one of the last flagship phones with a removeable battery. Sadly, the slim glass design means it's no more.
Raw performance is on par with the fastest Android phones we've tested. (Not surprising; they all have the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip.)

-Water resistance: We took a shower with the LG V30, dropped it into a vase full of water and left it at the bottom of a bucket for 28 minutes (twice) to test LG's IPX8 water resistance claims. It passed with flying colors.

-Durability: LG also claims the V30 passed a laundry list of military-grade durability tests, including repeated drops. We haven't done a drop test yet -- but know it only took one accidental, shallow fumble to put a sharp ding in the phone's aluminum band.

-Virtual reality: The LG V30 works with Google's Daydream View VR headset, unlike previous LG phones. It wouldn't be my first pick because LG's OLED screen sometimes shows ghostly afterimages near dark objects, but I tried it and it works.

-App drawer: Like many LG phones, and the iPhone, the V30 doesn't have an app drawer by default. (You can add one.) Every app lives on the home screen. The downside is that if LG won't let you uninstall an app, you can't easily hide it either.