I think it may be time to say goodbye to the LG V20

[RaRa85]

I really have enjoyed the V20 since I had it. It's been reliable, unique, a great camera companion, and durable. But I think it's time for me to move on. I had originally planned on keeping the V20 through two years and keep as a backup device and I haven't found anything outside of the V30 and Pixel 2 to entice me enough to seriously consider upgrading rather holding out. However, the latest Samsung Galaxy S9 rumors have really rung my bell and I'm going to hold off until the announcement but here are the strongest cases as to why I'm considering the standard Galaxy S9 (not the S9+) to be the perfect phone for me moving forward.

1. Camera. Not just an incremental upgrade but the real possibility of being able to adjust the aperture between f/1.5 and f/2.4 on the rear camera. I would have to see it in practice if it is true but in theory this would allow for even more interesting shots. In daylight you could shoot at the smaller f/2.4 aperture and get sharper shots for landscapes and scenery and dial it down at night for great lowlight shots. Also their dual pixel focusing is lightning fast.

2. Stereo speakers. If the Galaxy S9 has this feature, I want it.

3. All the extras. Samsung has lead the industry in OLED displays for the last few years running. Great selfie camera. Samsung Pay. Still has a headphone jack. Microsd card expansion which is missing on Pixel phones.

4. I was waiting to see how LG would follow up the G6 but now that they may possibly be starting from scratch and doing a later launch this leaves the stage solely for Samsung.

Everything would basically have to be true for me to still actually upgrade. Also if the Galaxy S9 is as narrow and elongated as the S8 I may upgrade to the V30 or just end up waiting altogether. But rumors considered, Samsung seems to really be prepping one heck of a duo in the coming months.

 

[flyingkytez]

I really have enjoyed the V20 since I had it. It's been reliable, unique, a great camera companion, and durable. But I think it's time for me to move on. I had originally planned on keeping the V20 through two years and keep as a backup device and I haven't found anything outside of the V30 and Pixel 2 to entice me enough to seriously consider upgrading rather holding out. However, the latest Samsung Galaxy S9 rumors have really rung my bell and I'm going to hold off until the announcement but here are the strongest cases as to why I'm considering the standard Galaxy S9 (not the S9+) to be the perfect phone for me moving forward.

1. Camera. Not just an incremental upgrade but the real possibility of being able to adjust the aperture between f/1.5 and f/2.4 on the rear camera. I would have to see it in practice if it is true but in theory this would allow for even more interesting shots. In daylight you could shoot at the smaller f/2.4 aperture and get sharper shots for landscapes and scenery and dial it down at night for great lowlight shots. Also their dual pixel focusing is lightning fast.

2. Stereo speakers. If the Galaxy S9 has this feature, I want it.

3. All the extras. Samsung has lead the industry in OLED displays for the last few years running. Great selfie camera. Samsung Pay. Still has a headphone jack. Microsd card expansion which is missing on Pixel phones.

4. I was waiting to see how LG would follow up the G6 but now that they may possibly be starting from scratch and doing a later launch this leaves the stage solely for Samsung.

Everything would basically have to be true for me to still actually upgrade. Also if the Galaxy S9 is as narrow and elongated as the S8 I may upgrade to the V30 or just end up waiting altogether. But rumors considered, Samsung seems to really be prepping one heck of a duo in the coming months.

Prices for smartphones have gone up every year. We're at the $1000 price now and I feel like that's overpriced, no matter how great it is. I predict the S9 to cost around $900 - $1000 if you factor in the taxes. Samsung has always theoretically made better phones than LG, though LG offers something a little different such as the wide angle plus DAC which I very much enjoy better than a 12MP telephoto lens or curved screens. Also, LG isn't scraping the G series, just renaming it. Honestly, what's really keeping me away from Samsung is their awkward shaped phones which are uncomfortable to hold and use. The S8+ and Note 8 are NOT comfortable or ergonomic, however very pretty.

 

[RaRa85]

Yeah price does play a roll as well. $800-850 is reasonable with monthly payments. Actually any phone is attainable these days with monthly payments but I would rather not pay that much for a flagship if I can. I may go for the V30 with the only downside being the front facing camera and weaker speaker if Samsung gets crazy. I don't think the S9 will be that much though. I could be wrong.

 

[Mike Dee]

Yeah price does play a roll as well. $800-850 is reasonable with monthly payments. Actually any phone is attainable these days with monthly payments but I would rather not pay that much for a flagship if I can. I may go for the V30 with the only downside being the front facing camera and weaker speaker if Samsung gets crazy. I don't think the S9 will be that much though. I could be wrong.

Dude... Wait for the price to drop on the V30....it's a home run. Then wait for the Pixel 3 to see where that goes.

 

[RaRa85]

Dude... Wait for the price to drop on the V30....it's a home run. Then wait for the Pixel 3 to see where that goes.

Yeah either or if the S9 doesn't pan out.

 

[flyingkytez]

Yeah price does play a roll as well. $800-850 is reasonable with monthly payments. Actually any phone is attainable these days with monthly payments but I would rather not pay that much for a flagship if I can. I may go for the V30 with the only downside being the front facing camera and weaker speaker if Samsung gets crazy. I don't think the S9 will be that much though. I could be wrong.

I compared the G6 and V30 front facing camera and they both had WORSE quality front facing cameras than the V20 (color was better, less grainy, and wider angle). I don't see any real reason to upgrade to the V30 now that I have the Google Pixel 2 camera app installed. The V20 surprisingly still kicks @**... Plus you don't need to be paranoid with screen burn in when using phone as GPS navigator.

 

[flyingkytez]

Either way, don't toss your V20 just yet. I did that when I got the S8+, regretted it so I ended up buying another V20. Luckily I got it before it was released in stores so the resale value was still very good, plus I got the bundle deal which was worth some money. The resale value for the V20 isn't much anyway so you're better off keeping it as back up or as an MP3 player or IR remote control.

Another thing is I think you get bored of using the same phone everyday, what helps is swapping the phone case every week and changing the theme so it feels like you're using a different phone. Also buy a cheap mid-ranger phone and use it once in a while to get a feel for a different phone. Put the V20 in the drawer for a week, then use it again and see how great it is compared to other phones.

 

[Brjlk]

Won't you miss the wide angle camera?
On the V30 it is much better.

 

[RaRa85]

Won't you miss the wide angle camera?
On the V30 it is much better.

The wide angle and IR blaster would definitely be missed for sure. I was going to substitute the loss of the wide angle by purchasing a moment wide lens but just found out those nice lenses cost about $100 each. I'm not spending that type of money for a lens attachment.

 

[vasekvi]

No wide angle camera is a deal breaker for me now

 

[kbagrows]

I really can't believe the current cost of phones. Got my V20 used on Swappa for $225. I anticipate keeping it another year at least; hopefully longer. Frankly, it doesn't seem to me like the newer phones offer that much of an upgrade.

And.... I'm seriously addicted to the IR blaster. I use it everywhere where the TV on the wall is too loud- at the doctor's office, at bars, etc. Most people don't even notice, but I do love watching people turn around and try to figure out what happened!

 

[vasekvi]

Yeah I hate not having the IR blaster on the V30. But I'm surviving with this battery. I did get a battery case though that I've used sometimes

 

[Mooncatt]

I just can't stand AMOLED screens. Everyone always says they have got much better, but every time I look at my wife's S7E, I'm reminded of that ugly yellow tint and over saturated colors they all have. Until they can fix that, it's an absolute deal breaker for me.

Sadly, I think even with the advancements in the camera and stereo speakers with Samsung or other phones, the V20 is still the overall best package for a phone. It has all the features, does them extremely well, and still has an LCD display. The sacrifices you do make (I.e. Not being the best camera hardware) just aren't that big in the grand scheme of things.

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I'll be using this phone until its dying breath with the way the market is trending towards removing usable features and making it so fragile in the name of looks that it's covered up by a case anyway.

 

[flyingkytez]

I just can't stand AMOLED screens. Everyone always says they have got much better, but every time I look at my wife's S7E, I'm reminded of that ugly yellow tint and over saturated colors they all have. Until they can fix that, it's an absolute deal breaker for me.

Sadly, I think even with the advancements in the camera and stereo speakers with Samsung or other phones, the V20 is still the overall best package for a phone. It has all the features, does them extremely well, and still has an LCD display. The sacrifices you do make (I.e. Not being the best camera hardware) just aren't that big in the grand scheme of things.

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I'll be using this phone until its dying breath with the way the market is trending towards usable removing features and making it so fragile in the name of looks that it's covered up by a case anyway.

Totally agree with you. Used to be a Samsung guy for many years. The AMOLED screen always looked a little off, photo edits would turn out too exaggerated because of the display panel difference with PC/AMOLED screen. Plus the fear of burn in, especially when using it as a GPS navigator in the car (Google Maps, Waze). The V20 does offer the best overall package... many smartphones these days are "simplifying" their phones by removing features and adding nothing new. I also appreciate the FLAT display... curved screens are just a pain to use everyday in the real world. BTW I've used this phone longer than expected.. am satisfied enough to continue using it longer especially with the new Google camera mod app, photos look really good + the removable battery, I haven't seen any problems with battery yet since I'm cycling through 5 of them.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

I just can't stand AMOLED screens. Everyone always says they have got much better, but every time I look at my wife's S7E, I'm reminded of that ugly yellow tint and over saturated colors they all have. Until they can fix that, it's an absolute deal breaker for me.

sRGB

Used an iPX and that display is remarkably accurate.

 

[Aquila]

that ugly yellow tint and over saturated colors they all have.

S7's display mode can be changed to "basic" and that fixes the color saturation issue. Inaccurate and oversaturated colors aren't inherent to OLED, they're just the default setting on Samsung phones - but aside from the iPhones, Samsung's OLED's are quite a bit more accurate (in basic mode) than their LCD counterparts.

 

[Mooncatt]

S7's display mode can be changed to "basic" and that fixes the color saturation issue.

So I've heard, and even that still looks too far off and saturated compared to the V20.

 

[RaRa85]

Wrong forum.

 

[Aquila]

So I've heard, and even that still looks too far off and saturated compared to the V20.

That is because the V20 is very inaccurate compared to Samsung displays. It's a relatively poor LCD display to begin with and it is not properly calibrated. The V20 has a very limited color range, it's white is shifted extremely blue and it's Delta-E color accuracy is pretty far off by modern standards.

The V20 has an average delta-e of 4.59 (range of 3.96 to 5.1). The best LCD of it's year had a 0.89 (iPhone 7) and the best LCD on any phone ever had a 0.25 (iPhone 8+).

With 0 being perfect, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8+ (two LCDs), iPhone X, LG V30, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 2, Samsung Note 8, (five OLEDs) etc. are all indiscernible from perfect with the naked eye (with the Note 8 being the least accurate device in that list, yet still almost twice as accurate as last year's best display, the iPhone 7). The iPhone 8, 8+, X, Pixel 2, Pixel 2XL and V30 all are in the range of .24 to .27 and the Note 8 is approx. .49.

The LG V20 is approximately 1484-1940%, with a mean of 1736%, less accurate than the 2017 flagships and is about 410% less accurate than the best LCD displays that were available for purchase and released in the same season.

As a comparison, the LG G4, a 2015 device with a notoriously poor display, had a delta-e of 4.11, which was not good (well below average) in 2015 and yet was still better than the G5, V10 and V20. The G6 improved substantially with a 4.0 and the v30 is amazingly accurate in comparison, but that is a more or less properly calibrated OLED, not an LCD.

If you like the way that the V20 looks, then you are unlikely to like the way that properly calibrated displays, including the V30, will look.

 

[RaRa85]

If you like the way that the V20 looks, then you are unlikely to like the way that properly calibrated displays, including the V30, will look.

Nope. I like whatever I'm looking at. The V20's display is fine to me. The V30's display is fine to me so I'm not the correct person to judge these things. However I've always been jealous of Samsung's displays and found them to be better.