It's lit. The LG V20 has arrived.
After months of rumors and teasers, LG has finally took the sheets off of the V20 smartphone. LG releases it as the successor to last year's V10 and the company's new flagship mobile device for 2016, which was previously the G5.
"The LG V20 upgrades and extends its predecessor's cutting-edge multimedia features a step further, providing distinctive mobile experience and sets a new standard for premium phones for consumers," said LG Electronics and Mobile Communications President Juno Cho in an interview.
Cho did not lie. The V20 has indeed retained the features that people loved about its predecessor. Similar to the V10, the V20 is fitted with a 5.7-inch IPS LCD display. It runs natively at 1440p (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), which equates to 513 ppi. The new release also has a secondary display, which LG made longer and brighter.
But while there are more similarities such as the unique and durable design, great audio playback and good cameras, the V20 also differs substantially from its older brother.
Contrary to the V10's ruggedness and its rubber back, the V20 offers a smoother, more premium feel courtesy of its AL6013 aluminum alloy body. Some comment that it feels more like a G5 than a V10. However, the G5 was made of plastic, just coated with aluminum.
Moreover, LG adopted the G5's camera setup and curated the V20's back with a 16-megapixel OIS shooter with a 75-degree field of view. This was paired with an 8-megapixel fixed-focus camera with a 135-degree field of view. Both rear cameras are adorned with a laser autofocus system and a color sensor. Below them is the power button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor.
With the rear cameras, the V20 can shoot 4K (3,840 x 2,160) videos at 30 fps. The new phone also features Qualcomm's Steady Record 2.0 for less shaky recordings. And while the front-facing shooter is a humble 5-megapixel one with an f/1.9 aperture, LG designed it with "normal" and "wide angle" modes.
Furthermore, the LG V20 sports the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 SoC as the G5. It also comes with 4 GB of RAM and but its base internal storage configuration is set to 64 GB, unlike the G5's 32 GB. The V20 also supports microSD storage expansion cards and carries a larger removable battery pack at 3,200 mAh.
Needless to say, the V20 is much more durable than the G5. Just like the V10, the V20 has a MIL-STD 810G shock resistance rating. And while LG opted for a removable metal backplate, which pops off with a simple button press, it also avoided the G5's modular design.
The V20 features Quad DAC, which according to LG provides a much cleaner audio playback. It also supports 24-bit/48 kHz audio recording and has an active noise cancellation for its dedicated mic for what the company terms as "next-level" audio recording.
Another major selling point of the new LG V20 is that it is the first smartphone to ship with Android 7.0 Nougat. Aside from the Nougat's native allure and new features, LG also made the V20's secondary display have more capabilities using the new OS version.
"Dual Window Display will have you multitasking like a pro. Updated notification features let you reply to messages instantly," says LG. "Got sidetracked? Double tap to access the last app you were using."
The LG V20 is promised to roll out before Q3 2016 concludes, which means units will be on retailers' shelves before this month ends. An official price is yet to be announced but if LG follows the same premium pricing as that of the V10, consumers should expect the V20 to be somewhere around $700. It comes in titan, silver or pink color variants.
