We’ve just seen the most robust fall mobile phone releases in a long time. From the iPhones to an iPhone-like, the Lumias to the DROIDs, the Nexuses to the Priv. And also the OnePlus X, but we can stop counting at this point. A couple of these devices came from manufacturers who put up flagship machines this very same model year: one was a “plus” to a company’s device lineage, the other “One” was regarded as a necessary evil to its respective maker. HTC and OnePlus, in the end, decided to trail their main high-end device of the year with “diet flagship” slabs.

Enter LG.

The V10 comes to us as a premium-level follow-up to the chaebol’s premium-level spring chicken that has gone through rounds of heavy discounts and a rolling update to Marshmallow. So, why would you pay up to double the price of a G4 right now for one of these puppies? What’s so new about this new device line from Seoul? Well, like any great cake, it starts with a great base layer and ends up with copious amounts of icing.

Video Review · Hardware · Software · Camera · Performance

Pros/Cons · Pricing/Availability · Conclusion

LG V10 Review Video

Index

Hardware

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It’s large, ugly and it knows it. LG heavily promoted the heavy-duty build to the V10. The 316L-grade stainless steel frame comprises the body of the device with its sidings exposed for flair. The top and bottom caps are reinforced with hard silicon for added shock protection. The removable back is also covered in that silicon, which is also good for some scratch resilience as well. While we aren’t exactly dealing with what we normally consider premium materials, the silicon makes for a more comfortable grip while the diamond patterning affords more in-hand tack. This thing will cling on many a slanted surface. And that feeling of heavy-duty security — literally heavy at 192 grams — counts more than any perceived luxury you get. Beyond that feeling, you’ll see in our test notes whether or not the V10 lives up to the MIL-STD-810G standard of shock resistance from drops from up to four feet.

LG’s kept to its signature beveled lozenge slab form (160 x 79 x 8.6mm) — though unlike the G Flex series devices and the G4, this one’s flat. It’s also carried over a habit for packing as much screen onto the face of the phone as possible. Underneath that Gorilla Glass 4 sits a singular Quantum IPS LCD unit that measures about six inches at its longest diameter. The split comes between the main 5.7-inch quad-HD display and a separately driven 2.1-inch Second Screen, measuring 160 x 1040. The uniform pixel density comes out to 513ppi.

The only real qualm we have against the panel is that grayscale colors get pasty or washed out when exposed to sunlight. That’s one of the weaknesses of its “Quantum IPS” technology as it allows for more light to pass through those crystals in the display: since pure grayscale colors require all three RGB subpixels to open up, light can easily splash and refract from within and outside of the display. It makes looking at the gray notification shade a surreal experience outdoors. Other than that, visibility is just a tad less of a problem than what we’ve seen from the G4. Still, other LCD and AMOLED displays literally outshine this one. But if you’re looking for a sharp image with accurate colorage, this display’s got it. And we like it.

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We’re used to LG’s back-mounted volume/power toggles by this point. If you’re new to the whole thing, you’re about to learn something new with us and LG as its engineers have integrated a fingerprint sensor into that power button. Everyone else has them, Android Marshmallow is said to make better use of them and, frankly, it’s a surprise this didn’t make it to the G4. The LG-manufactured Nexus 5X had it, but the V10 comes under the company’s own banner, not Google’s. It’s the way forward for LG smartphones and so be it for them to start on biometrics later rather than never.

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The button does its job. Tapping the power button and keeping your finger on it for less than a third of a second will unlock the phone — fast as these sensors usually are in other phones. The bad news is that when used in conjunction with Android Pay … well, you can’t use it with Android Pay right now. We’ve been tapping the V10 onto NFC point-of-sales terminals all across Boston and when the device prompts us for authentication, it will ask for the pattern lock code or PIN. Never a fingerprint, like I was able to use on the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+. We’re in contact with Google on this issue and will update if and when they get back to us.

The three — count them, three — cameras on the phone may seem like overkill, but it’s actually cool beans. Specifically, in a curious case of engineering and design Tetris, there are two front-facing cameras that sit left of the Second Screen. Whether the novelty of the cameras begat the need for LG to fill what might have been wasted space with extra display or vice versa, it’s certainly nice to cram out any possible dead space there can be on a phone.

Index

Software

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Android 5.1.1 comes out of the box with the LG V10 — literally one step up from the G4’s 5.1 — though nothing much has changed in LG’s proprietary UI. We could definitely waste your time going through the verbose and unnecessary Smart Notice feature again. After all, its power-hawk tendencies can now allow you to actually close down a resource-intensive app instead of just scolding you to use the app less often. We could also retrace through the lack of app support for the would-be useful Dual Window and QSlide apps or the awesome customizable navigation bar that allows you to tap a button to pull down the notification shade. But we’ll forego boring you with ditto from our LG G4 review.

The Second Screen is calling our names. Literally.

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Let’s say first that you’d be surprised at how little sense a bottom-mounted screen would make. If we kept LG’s engineering intact and had to move those selfie shooters along with the screen, well, we’d get ready for a few sexy snaps of our palms. Second, even disregarding engineering concerns, we’re not sure as to how this would be ergonomically beneficial to us. Having your grip defend the bottom of a massive phone forces either your thumb into arcing downwards against your palm muscles or you into a more precarious grip to comfortably use the screen. Moving your finger up to secure more real estate on this huge phone — because if you don’t, good luck on the whole gravity thing — while swiping your thumb across the width of the device takes more work. Also, playing hopscotch with that navigation bar would probably provide more frustration than convenience.

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Be careful what you wish for in device design without thoroughly thinking it over.

What you can do with that Second Screen is certainly something worth thinking over. It can be toggled off if you’d like it to, though that part of the panel will still be lit and will still register touches (yep, we checked). So, it’d be a waste to not try it out. In fact, you’re also allowed to keep that screen on while the main display’s on or even when it’s not. Don’t worry, it shuts off when the proximity sensor gets triggered, say, when the device is placed face down or in a pocket.

While the main screen is off, the phone will display more info-dense notifications as they’re pushed and leave their associated icons up. It also pops up the date, time plus battery and weather icons. A swipe to the right brings up quick toggles for ring/vibrate mode, Wi-Fi, flashlight and quick access into the camera.

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Light up the main display and you have more multitasking options including a suite of LG’s apps (LG Health, calculator, QCapture+, clock and settings). Of course, you have to have quick access to five special contacts. You can also switch between the last five apps you used — something we wished Samsung would apply with its Edge features. To top it off, you can control media playback and check up on the next agenda item on your calendar. Nothing over the top, nothing too complicated and use versatile enough to keep it useful. The Second Screen is not a ticker, it’s a toolbar.

The shimmy up to the Second Screen, while introducing minimal drop risk, actually does better to get out of the way of the rest of the UI while still being present and available. The top placement of the screen gives your thumb an improved axis to move about.

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If you can do with the Second Screen in your life, you’ll find it becoming like a racquet or sword — an extension of your hand. If you don’t want to be bothered about this mess, you can turn it off. Either way, it’s a fine addition to the device.

Index

Camera

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The LG G4 comes with an optically-stabilized fixed f/1.8 aperture 16-megapixel rear-facing camera with a sensor size of 1/2.6-inch, replete with dual-tone flash, colorimeter and a laser emitter for autofocusing. So does the V10. Each of those front-facing cameras sport a five-megapixel sensor. One has an 80-degree field of vision for those conventional solo selfies, the other one, at 120 degrees, will suck in your friends and unwitting passersby as well. The option to not fishbowl your face if you’re partaking in a true selfie is definitely appreciated as is the groufie thing that shouldn’t exist as a term.