The LG V30, without a doubt, seems to be one of this year's hottest smartphone, largely because it gets everything right: the gorgeous screen, the user interface, and its premium look. It has all the bells and whistles one expects from a top-tier device and more.
Before it formally announced the phone, LG confirmed several key features of the LG V30 weeks ahead, offering a glance at the phone's revamped user interface and, perhaps more significantly, the camera, which the company then claimed has an aperture of f/1.6 — the widest of any smartphone camera currently. This, in particular, was exciting.
Fast forward to now, with the LG V30 fully revealed, demoed, and given to reviewers and critics to play around with. Feedback has so far been excellent, with some even saying it's the smartphone to get this year.
There's A Problem With The LG V30 Camera
But some are now discovering a possible problem with the phone's camera. According to 9to5Google, photos shot with the phone aren't taken with the advertised aperture. A quick look at the EXIF data actually shows photos are taken with an f/1.7 aperture instead of f/1.6.
On paper, that might not appear to be much of a difference, but photographers know better. A wider aperture — in photography, a lower number denotes a wider aperture — means more light can enter the camera, making photos and low light scenes look better.
It remains uncertain as to why this is occurring, and LG has yet to offer official word. Still, 9to5Google speculates that this might not be a case of false advertising but a simple software bug. Keep in mind that LG V30 units floating around are pre-review ones, so it's possible they might still have kinks and hiccups. It's likely that the camera app hasn't been updated to fully take advantage of the LG V30's hardware.
Even with this slight anomaly — that's likely going to get fixed, — the LG V30's camera is nothing short of impressive. Check out Engadget's video preview of the phone's camera capabilities. This phone could have one of this year's best shooters, but we have to wait for the Google Pixel 2 or iPhone 8 to make judgments in that department.
LG V30 Specs
Announced at the end of August, the LG V30 is LG's latest flagship following the G6. It's got the same FullVision display but slightly bigger at 6.0 inches, and it's OLED this time, which is pretty fantastic because that means it has Always-On display features. It's a flagship through and through, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip onboard, 4 GB of RAM, up to 128 GB of storage, and a 3,300 mAh battery.
This is the second V series phone to have dual cameras but the first one to drop the signature secondary display, which has been replaced with a floating bar you can access a la Assistive Touch. The dual shooters are 16 and 13 megapixels, while the selfie camera is at a modest 5.
Its release date remains unannounced.
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