Clumsy ones, this phone’s for you

LG V20 gives you speedy use, great audio and one really tough build

By Alvin R. Cabral

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Published: Fri 23 Dec 2016, 8:22 PM

If you look at this smartphone (phablet?) from behind, it looks like a robot, thanks to its dual camera, placed right at the centre. As with all robots, the LG V20 will take care of things for you — and may even spoil you, just like some of the flagships we’ve seen over the last year. The successor to the V10 is the only smartphone not named Nexus or Pixel that comes with the latest Android 7.0 Nougat OS. And it’s back with some of its predecessor’s old tricks — plus a few improvements that’ll get your curiosity up.
We’ve got a beast that has a military-grade build. Since the unit wasn’t mine, I didn’t dare try a drop test on it. But if you want proof of how tough it is, just scour the web and allow its durability to amaze you. Hint: it underwent 60,000 validation tests to confirm its toughness.
With a rich 5.7-inch QHD IPS display of 513ppi — way ahead of the iPhone 7 (326ppi) and Google Pixel (441ppi), and easily comparable to the deceased Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (518ppi) — you can imagine how much you’ll enjoy your screen-time. There’s also the return of the patented second screen on top — now with even more customisation options — which essentially stretches out the overall display to about 5.9 inches. Also, if you’re looking for that tiny hole in which to slip in your SIM or microSD card, don’t bother. The back cover is removable — which also means you can replace the battery!
Using it is fine, but it’s a bit odd that LG opted for the Snapdragon 820 instead of the 820 — even though it still boasts of 4GB RAM. Battery life is fair: you can get through over 24 hours with mixed use, but make sure your charger is at the ready if you intend to fire up all cylinders. As for the camera, LG has added some improvements: while the images and videos turned out as well as advertised, the results from low-light situations left me scratching my head. One takeaway: the audio. You can toggle Hi-Fi sound mode and enjoy the quad-DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) system, which is ridiculous. And don’t forget the very accurate fingerprint scanner on the rear as well as… the good ol’ 3.5mm audio jack. It’s future-proofed as well with USB Type-C.
AND SO…
LG V20 would've received higher rating were it not for our beef with the camera; I also wouldn’t mind a longer battery life. That said, this phone is for power users — and clumsy ones as well. If ever (God forbid) you find yourself in a situation requiring self-defence, this gadget could come in real handy.
alvin@khaleejtimes com

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