LG V40 Review: It is still the best LG that has ever built is insufficient

Certainly LG V40 is the best smartphone released ever. It contains the best cameras, the best width, the best performance, and the most accurate design for any LG phone you have ever. In 2018, this is not enough for more than just Ran in the upscale smartphone space. At $ 950 closed, V40 seeks to play in the Galaxy Note9 and iPhone XS. The sad truth is that it is for all this phone correctly, it makes it wrong enough (or simply, and not so) to get himself out of the dispute.

The intermediate battery life, strange decisions about image processing, and the lack of full capabilities close to the distinctive capabilities of all except for hard -line LG fans (if there is such a thing) has already placed LG behind Samsung, Google and Apple. Shipping with a year -old version of Android at a price approaching a thousand dollars is only a little to add to the V40 call.

If all this looks like a lot of NitPicking, then you are not wrong: V40 is not a failed story – it’s the exceptional success that will be compared.

Specifications

Goodness

Not very good

Design, devices, what is in the box

It is similar to V40 in many ways that you preceded. But this year’s phone feels elegant and more accurate, only in general The most beautiful. I can’t say what a matter is, but V40 is really a nice phone to keep it – it’s relatively light, and although the slippery, it has a distinct feeling, I thought that LG phones had fought to achieve it completely. It is covered in Gorilla Glass 5 everywhere, so we hope that the glass body will resist at least the effects of relatively well.

This is a complete chaos of cameras.

The fingerprint scanner is located on its back (as in the G7, the power button is no longer), and there is a Google launch key dedicated to the left side of the phone. I am not sure that I would like to use it a lot, but at least he is not assigned to Bixby. The scanner scanner is in a very good location, and I have no real complaints to report their response or accuracy – it’s very good. The speaker is launched in the V40 from the earphone and the bottom of the phone, which is the last area where you will find the USB-C Chage and Quad Dac.

The headphone socket is increasingly rare.

The new and improved OLED screen is a leap for generations on the last year’s painting-which relaxes a lot. Although it is not completely at the other level of Samsung offers for brightness angles and viewing corners, these new LG OLEDs are enjoyable and provide the surrounding brightness and great improved contrast. I think there is a real concern that LG will stay behind Samsung in OLED, but V40 sees that the gap is very closed, if not completely eliminated. The HDR screen also supports, so that you can take advantage of the extended color chain in applications like YouTube and Netflix.

The V40 OLED screen is a significant improvement on the phone last year.

In the box, you will find a fast LG charger with a USB-A cable to C and a bit of brand ear headphones (at least in an unbelievable American style).

Cameras

I will be honest: I don’t like the way the pictures come out of LG cameras. It is treated to the point of searching for cartoons: excessive saturated, with a huge exaggeration in the edge and ridiculous contrast. Do not look realistic remotely. Everyone may not agree with me on this, and I admit it. My complaint does not end with the personal quality of treatment.

Satisfaction in the automatic HDR from LG is a border comedy.

The switch between the three rear cameras in V40 often takes a very long time, and it appears that the lens close in particular takes the ages. For the new phone, this is unacceptable. Do not compensate for the new LG camera tricks this faded performance, either: “Triple Shot” is not like what I was hoped to be (a way to immediately capture from all three sensors). In this mode, the phone takes a picture of each of the three cameras, one by one, over a day, about five seconds, and turns it into a non -glorified video “Zoom”. Whatever in LG it was responsible for this, their rule must question the progress of the foregoing – the advantage has no meaning as it is bad for use.

The same scene that was filmed with all three different cameras leads to a different white balance and color definition files.

Everyone in all, although I can appreciate different views, V40 cameras allow me to take a picture of them, the actual user experience with those cameras is not great. What should be an important and distinctive feature of this phone is very disappointed.

Should you buy it?

no. There is simply no good reason to pick up V40, unless you can get a very large discount on it. Since it is a LG phone, I imagine that the transportation company deals will fly quickly and angry during the holiday season here in the United States, but I doubt that Note9 of Samsung will be backward, and it is simply the best phone this year. V40 is a good phone, but the places that do not – or often, as they do not amount to the competition level – make it very difficult to recommend anyone as a phone to already buy it.

How long will you stare at this Android version? who knows!

Note 9 has more storage, better battery life, better cameras, and better screen. Pixel 3 XL works better, has newer software (with more frequent updates), lasts longer, and takes much better pictures. The pixel until it costs less. Certainly, the V40 has an additional headphone socket and an additional camera, but these differences are not meaningful.

For all LG for improvement and repetition on its main phones, its competitors are still better. This is the real problem here. It is not that the LG phones are innately deprived so that they are unpleasant or impractical for use, as they are that the LG competitors are very good. Apple, Samsung, Google and Huawei are major smartphones in themselves, and for all LG they have done to make their products better over the years, these companies have been constantly outperformed. With V40, this is still true. This may not be a very satisfactory conclusion, but this does not think it can be avoided.

Purchase

• If you dig the processing of the eccentric images from LG and I really like the idea of ​​three cameras

• If you can get a very good deal on it

Do not buy it

• If the battery life is a great concern

• If you want fast software updates

• If you want the best value for your money