Quick look at the LG V20 Smartphone

Timely mystical pun aside, it truly has been a strange year of mishaps and innovation in the realm of smartphones. To carry on the oddities, GameAxis landed itself a South Korean preview unit of the brand new V20 smartphone from LG. To call it a smartphone and land itself amongst a sea of Samsungs and Apples would be in itself a bit unusual as LG packs it with everything that users actually want.

I haven’t had much time with this preview unit, but here’s what we experienced with the LG V20 preview unit that made me sit up and seriously reconsider my reality of smartphone purchasing choices.

The Titan-coloured V20 unit felt tight in the hands. With what LG says is AL6013 metal – the same material found in aircraft, sailboats and mountain bikes – the V20 felt sturdy in the hand, with some coolness to the touch. There was definite heft to the device, but it really isn’t as heavy as it looks. The slightly angled top and bottom chins are made of Silicone Polycarbonate (Si-PC) and provides a pretty unique styling.

In a collaboration with B&O PLAY,  B&O in-ear earphones come together with the device and guess how they connect? Amazing. Even more surprising is LG’s inclusion of 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC capabilities. To everyone outside of the audiophile world, this just means audio is supposed to sound pretty damn fine. Early tests seem to make this writer emote a pretty large meh, largely in part to the aforementioned B&O earphones. This is a better smartphone package than any out there, but they’re definitely not what you think audio heads want.

Elsewhere the phone looks pretty standard fare until we come to the second screen. Stemming from the original V10, this Franken-dition continues on the V20. How does it fare? You’ll have to find out soon.

Oh did we mention the LG V20 comes with a removable 3200mAh battery? Far out, we know.

Now more often than not in these times, people check out the camera of a smartphone to define their choices, and that’s not a bad thing. In the case of the V20, it’s been a wonderful thing.

Let’s see what it’s packing:
– Steady Record 2.0 provides gyro-based electronic image stabilization
– Hi-Fi video recording by way of the Low Cut Filter and Limiter options to control background noise and even audio recording distance to allow for perfect audio quality
– Both front and rear cameras come with wide angle capabilities to capture more without users having to physically move
– Hybrid Auto Focus for both photographs and videos now incorporates Laser Detection autofocus, Phase Detection autofocus, and Contract autofocus for sharp images even in tricky lighting conditions

We wouldn’t call it the iPhone 7 or Samsung S7 killer just yet, but it’s looking pretty swell at the moment, as seen in our initial tests of just what this new camera is capable of.

This here ends our preview of the premium flagship V20 from LG. We really do think this phablet has a chance to be The Smartphone of 2016. Check back soon for our full review to see if this rings true. You can also head down to our sister site, HardwareZone, for their opinion on the LG V20 as well.

The LG V20 comes loaded with Android 7.0 Nougat OS and the new Google In Apps search function. It comes in Silver or Titan, and now retails at S$998 at all M1, Singtel, StarHub and authorized LG Mobile retailers. Each purchase comes with a mobile casing premium pack worth $88 while stocks last.