LG V30 Vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Comparison Review Of Specs, Features

LG has finally unveiled its V30 phablet to the world, giving Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 another rival ahead of the holiday shopping season. Samsung’s flagship phablet has a bevy of impressive specs and features that pretty much make it a strong flagship killer. But by the looks of things, the V30 is also a tough contender. Let’s compare the two handsets closely to find out which one easily beats the other.

Performance

There’s no competition when it comes to the processing power of the two devices. Both the Galaxy Note 8 and the V30 house the Snapdragon 835 chipset, the latest processor from Qualcomm for now (There are rumors that Google’s Pixel 2 will come with the Snapdragon 836, which is going to be faster than the 835 SoC). It is important to note that the Snapdragon 835 is already 35 percent smaller and uses 25 percent less power than its predecessor. It is also capable of delivering longer battery life, high quality VR and AR experiences, cutting-edge camera capabilities and ultra-fast download speeds.

The Snapdragon 835 is an octa-core chip that is composed of four 2.45 GHz Kryo and four 1.9 GHz Kryo cores. Both the Note 8 and the V30 also come with the Adreno 540 GPU, which has better clock speeds and thermal stability than the Adreno 530. The Adreno 540 is perfectly suited for very demanding 3D games as well as mobile VR and 4K displays, as pointed out by NotebookCheck. Having said these, the rival phablets offer the same quality of performance on paper.

Display

One cannot talk about the display of these devices without mentioning the redesign that LG and Samsung implemented to their new flagship handsets. As expected, the Galaxy Note 8 debuted with a design that’s not too different from that of the Galaxy S8’s. Apple’s biggest rival evidently made the Infinity Display a signature feature of its flagship handsets, so it did not come as a surprise that the Note 8 launched with an edge-to-edge, almost bezel-less front.

The Note 8 is by far the only Note-branded phone from Samsung that sports a screen that measures beyond the 6-inch mark. To be exact, the handset comes with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with 1440 x 2960 screen resolution and 521 ppi pixel density. The Note 8’s display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and features 3D Touch (for the home button only), HDR10 and Always-on technology.

On the other hand, LG used a 6-inch P-OLED screen for its V20 successor. The phone maker claims that because it is using plastic-OLED, the edges of its device’s display can be curved ensuring a more ergonomic grip and better feel in the hand. The last time LG used P-OLED was when it launched the G Flex 2, the second iteration of its experimental Flex series. At the time, LG chose to use plastic over glass substrate because the flexibility and thinness of plastic allowed the company to come up with phone displays that have a wider range of form factors, according to Android Authority.

LG also ensured that the V30’s display is resistant to scratches by covering it with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The display has a 1440 x 2880 screen resolution and 537 ppi pixel density. In addition, the quality of the screen is further enhanced thanks to the inclusion of HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Of course, LG did not forget to bring the FullVision experience or the 18:9 aspect ratio it introduced with the G6 into the V30. Therefore, the V30 also has an almost bezel-less front just like the G6, as per 9To5Google.

Camera Technology

When it comes to this department, the competition between the two is also pretty tight especially since Samsung has caved in to outfitting its new flagship with a dual-camera module. LG has long embraced this camera technology, so it’s very likely that the V30 has the upper hand over the Galaxy Note 8.

Samsung’s dual-camera setup on the Note 8 is composed of two 12-megapixel lenses. One lens is wide angle, while the other is telephoto. Despite being a newbie in the dual-lens market, Samsung is claiming that its rear cameras have better OIS and Portrait Mode than Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus. Samsung’s rear cameras do have optical image stabilization, autofocus, 2x optical zoom and dual-LED flash. It also comes with a software feature called Live Focus that works just like iOS 10.1’s Portrait Mode, according to 9To5Mac.

The LG V30 also boasts of an impressive dual-camera setup, which is composed of one 16-megapixel lens and another 13-megapixel lens supported by an LED flash. The 16MP lens has OIS, 3-axis, phase detection autofocus and an f/1.6 aperture. The other does not have autofocus, but it does come with a smaller f/1.9 aperture. The f/1.6 aperture is the largest aperture on any existing smartphone camera to date, making the V30’s back camera setup very capable of capturing good quality photos in low lighting conditions.

On the front, the Note 8 flaunts an 8-megapixel secondary camera that has an f/1.7 aperture, autofocus and Auto HDR, among other features. Contrariwise, the V30 has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for taking selfies and making video calls.

Miscellaneous

Per usual, the standout feature of the Note installment is its S-Pen stylus. Samsung has kept the signature accessory of the Note series. As a defining feature, the South Korea giant ensured that the S-Pen will be more useful than ever. Samsung incorporated a fun Live Message feature, improved Screen off memo capabilities and enhanced Translate functionality, so that consumers can go beyond the conventional uses of the stylus.

On the contrary, the V series’ defining feature was supposed to be the secondary display. Unfortunately, LG opted to ditch the feature and instead introduced the Floating Bar, which is a semi-transparent bar that’s floating on the user interface. Just like the secondary display, the Floating Bar provides quick access to apps and shortcuts.

In the absence of the secondary display, LG is putting the premium audio features of the V30 under the spotlight. Early this week, the company confirmed that its new phablet will come equipped with Hi-Fi DAC for outstanding sound quality. LG has added digital filters and sound presets as well to offer users more custom options for the sound quality experience they prefer.

Other standout features of the Note 8 include the IP68 rating of its hardware, support for Samsung Pay and Samsung Desktop Experience, the iris scanner, rear-mounted fingerprint reader, wireless charging and Quick Charge 2.0. The handset comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB, 128GB and 256GB internal storage options. The Android 7.1.1 Nougat-running phone also has a USB Type-C port and a non-removable Li-Ion 3,300 mAh battery. Lastly, the Note 8 comes in Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Grey and Deep Sea Blue color variants.

As for the V30, it does not have an iris scanner, but it has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. It is running on Android 7.1.2 Nougat straight out of the box. The IP68 certified handset only has 4GB RAM, while internal storage options are limited to two, either 64GB or 128GB. It also has a USB Type-C port and a quick-charging non-removable Li-Po 3,300 mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0. Color options for the phablet are Aurora Black, Cloud Silver, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet 2.

Given all of their specs and features, which do you think between the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the LG V30 is the better flagship smartphone. Sound off in the comments below.