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LG decided to stick to its guns instead of follow a more Appleisque/Samsung path of sealing the battery and removing the SD card slot. As a matter of fact they took it further and decided to make a true improvement to the LG G4 formula and gave us the LG V10.

LG V10 Specs

  • OS: Android 5.1.1
  • CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992
  • GPU: Adreno 418
  • Display: 5.7in IPS LCD ~515ppi
  • 2nd Display: 2.1in 1040×160
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 64GB (sd card slot available up to 2000GB)
  • Battery: 3000mAh (fast-charging available)
  • Dimensions: 6.28 x 3.12 x 0.34 inches (159.6 x 79.3 x 8.6 mm)

LOOKS

Picture of the textured back of the LG V10

I know LG has their smart case and other mfgs will have loads more but from the moment I picked up this phone I was completely confident in carrying it just as it is. The feel of the textured removable back along with the steel sides and subtle heft screams premium. That back also ensures that the phone couldn’t be any further from slippery. No Dbrand or skins needed here.

The phone doesn’t sit completely flat on my desk cause of the 16MP camera hump on the back but it’s not big at all or distracting. I’m not someone who never texts while my phone is on the desk so it’s even less of an issue.

PERFORMANCE

Picture of the LG V10 settings screen showing app memory usage

LG must’ve been feeling incredibly generous cause not only did they give us a nice durable design put they put a lot of power inside to make the V10 a snappy phone.

5.1.1 Lollipop runs smooth as does games with the Snapdragon 808 and a healthy 4GB of RAM with everything being shown through a crispy 5.7” IPS LCD screen which even though it’s more power hungry than AMOLED, battery life is not bad.

 

BATTERY

Picture of the extra battery, battery charger, and SD card from the LG Promo

I’m getting on average about 3.5 to 4hrs screen on time out of that 3000mAh and you could definitely squeeze more out with lite use. It definitely helps that the phone has fast charging and comes with a charger to do so. With the fast charger I can get about 40% to 45% in 30min. I get almost 90% in an hour. That’s about ~1.4% a min if you’re keeping count. Not bad.

If you wanna go from 0 to 100 real quick. LG has a promo currently going which will give you A free battery, battery charger, and a 200GB SD card. Battery is not a problem here.

 

SOUND

LG V10 Sound

Before I even get to how good or bad the sound is, I will say that LG needs to seriously rethink how it markets its devices. Don’t go sending a bunch of reviewers here in the states your phone with accessories it’s not going to come with. It left a real bad taste in my mouth when there was no AKG tuned QuadBeats in the box of my V10 and then come to find out the US variant doesn’t come with them at all. Why?

Moving on, the 32-bit built-in DAC sounds great if you’re listening with the right headphones. Otherwise, it might be hard to tell the difference between the “Hifi” mode being on or off.With certain headphones/earbuds like my MEE M-Duos and my car speakers, I can definitely hear the difference but with my V-Mode Crossfade LPs, I don’t hear any difference at all.

When the DAC is working, its sounds amazing but I can’t say the same for the one speaker on the bottom of the V10 which is loud but tinny.

One thing to note, is for some reason LG limits the volume to 75 which is frustrating. Not everyone including me is satisfied with just 75% volume for all my music/media. Sometimes, I wanna crank it, other times I want it much lower. Either way, the last limitation I expect to find on a high end device is the volume level.

CAMERA

Picture of the LG V10 camera software

I had so much to say about the LG V10’s camera that I had to give it’s own video review. I’ll sum it up quickly here. The auto mode has some exposure issues and like most phones is simply OK in low light. The front facing dual 5MP cameras which work independently of each other (one for standard angle, one for wide angle) are pretty good with enough light and will definitely cover all your selfie needs. The camera software comes with a few different modes including a menu with the most common social media platforms so that you can quickly share your photos and videos.

However, manual mode changes this camera into something else entirely. The manual mode of the camera turns your LG V10 into a great 4K point and shoot in your pocket. The quality is good enough to film YouTube videos/vlogs on with no problem. Audio from the 3 mics is clear and you even have some control over the mics as well. You can enable a virtual “Wind Noise Filter” and even tell the phone which the direction the audio source is coming from so it can pick up the best audio possible and cancel out the rest.

The video recording does tend to stutter at times but not often at all. The LG V10 also gets QUITE hot when recording for extended periods of time like if you’re trying to make a youtube video or one video longer than a few minutes.

CONCLUSION

While other mfgs were busy chasing each other, LG paid full attention to what it’s customers wanted based on the reaction from their previous flagship, the LG G4. The result is what is arguably the best phone of 2015. The LG V10 packs a lot of power with a serious looks and a great camera. To sweeten the pot, you get a removable battery, SD card slot, and an amazing LG Promo which allows you to take advantage of both of those aforementioned options. There’s just no way I can’t recommend this phone.

 

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