The LG V10 took the smartphone arena with a bang as it outshone the LG G4, but there are those who were still critical of the angular stainless steel and silicon back of the handset.
Well, the LG V20 is actually here to take care of this flaw and many others while at the same time taking all the good stuff of the V10 to the next level. But how do the two compare against each other?
LG V10
The LG V10 was launched towards the end of 2015, being the company’s flagship ahead of the G4. It features a stainless steel body with a silicon rear while the front part comes with a primary and secondary screen, with the latter screen able to work even when the former is off. The main screen is 5.7 inches in size and boasts a QHD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. This translates to a pixel density of 515ppi. As for the secondary screen, it delivers a resolution of 1040 x 160 pixels. It will display things like notifications, app shortcuts, dates and time, among others.
In terms of dimensions, the LG V10 measures 159.6 x 79.3 x 8.6 mm and weighs 192g. LG offers the phone in five color variants of luxe white, space black, ocean blue, modern beige and opal blue. Priced at about $670, the LG V10 is powered by Android Marshmallow, but it should be in line to receive Android Nougat.
Under the hood, the LG V10 packs a Snapdragon 808 SoC that maxes a clock speed of 1.8GHz on two cores while the other four cores clock a speed of 1.44GHz. This processor is paired with a 4GB RAM (DDR3) and 64GB of expandable storage.
In terms of cameras, the LG V10 has a 16MP snapper on the back with a decent aperture of f/1.8, a LED flash, and OIS. On the front part, you will find two 5MP snappers that promise better selfies and video calls. To keep the phablet alive, LG went for a 3000mAh battery unit, which is also removable and can be fast-charged via Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology.
LG V20
Coming in as a successor to the LG V10, the LG V20 borrows a few things from its predecessor. You will come across a slightly different design language where the stainless steel is dropped in favor of aluminum. The silicon backing of the V10 now appears at the top and bottom of the V20, however, the same 5.7-inch QHD display has been retained in addition to the secondary screen. Actually, LG has kept faith in the same screen specs for the new phablet, but it is a lot brighter than last year’s version.
You also get a speaker at the bottom of the handset and another in the earpiece. There are four DACs that promise improved sound and an EQ that includes right/left balance controls. Although technically the same, the LG V20 measures 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6 mm, which makes it slightly slimmer than its predecessor.
Under the hood, the LG V20 comes with the best hardware specs for 2016 Android flagships. These include a Snapdragon 820 SoC that maxes a clock speed of 2.15GHz, a RAM of 4GB (DDR4) and onboard storage of 64GB. Like the V20, the storage on the LG V20 can also be expanded via a microSD card of up to 2TB.
The camera of the LG V20 takes a different turn from the V10 but brings something similar to the LG G5. You get a dual-camera setup of 16MP and 8MP with f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures, respectively. Feature such as OIS, PDAF, laser autofocus and dual-tone LED flash are on board. Surprisingly, the South Korean tech giant ditched the dual-lens setup for the front camera and instead reverted to a single 5MP lens with f/1.9 aperture.
Battery-wise, there is a slight improvement in the capacity with a new 3200mAh unit now in place, but it still removable like its predecessor. Another improvement can also be seen on the fast charging technology of the LG V20, where Quick Charge 3.0 has replaced v2.0 of the V10. It gets even better as the new handset is actually the first to come out with Android 7.0 Nougat preinstalled, something that LG V10 users might see after months.
As for the pricing, LG has left it to carriers, but it is possible the LG V20 could tread the same path as the V10.
So, is the LG V20 worth an upgrade from your V10? Let us know your views in the comments.
After reading this article and also looking at spec chart, I’m sticking with my V10… For now. I don’t see anything that great different. In fact, if LG makes the next iteration of the Nexus6, I’ll be looking there. Especially if it still has front speakers. Btw, my V10 has sustained at least 3 waist level drops (in a budget case) with no damage… Will the aluminum body take that?