So What's Excellent in V40?

[Mooncatt]

Downgrade from the V20? Removable battery is it.

And IR Blaster
And metal body
And LCD display
And no notch
And secondary display
And still on Nougat (I've refused the updates so far)

Sorry, but that's too much for me to loose and not enough to gain when my V20 still functions almost flawlessly. So yes, when you consider the total package, the V20 is almost the perfect phone for me and the newer versions are a downgrade.

 

[talon1189]

And IR Blaster
And metal body
And LCD display
And no notch
And secondary display
And still on Nougat (I've refused the updates so far)

Sorry, but that's too much for me to loose and not enough to gain when my V20 still functions almost flawlessly. So yes, when you consider the total package, the V20 is almost the perfect phone for me and the newer versions are a downgrade.

I couldn't agree more. What is the secret to keeping Oreo off your V20?

 

[Greymire]

And IR Blaster
And metal body
And LCD display
And no notch
And secondary display
And still on Nougat (I've refused the updates so far)

Sorry, but that's too much for me to loose and not enough to gain when my V20 still functions almost flawlessly. So yes, when you consider the total package, the V20 is almost the perfect phone for me and the newer versions are a downgrade.

Whatever you like is cool. Funny how people complain about the notch, but you can set the whole notification bar black and you can't see it. I don't watch video much so not sure if it reappears with video. It didn't when I tried it once. IR blaster was cool but I seldom used it and I never liked the secondary display or the new pop up thing they use instead. I also like the current screen better than the lcd or the V30 phone. But like I said that's just me. I do wish all phones would go back to metal. I don't know what is up with glass except that it's light. I liked the V30 a lot. Truth be told I could have kept the V20 or the V30 longer but battery life on my 20 was annoying. I hated always carrying a spare battery. Beyond that I could have kept it. I buy the V series entirely for the Quad Dac. Headphone jack and microsd storage.

 

[Mooncatt]

I couldn't agree more. What is the secret to keeping Oreo off your V20?

Any time the update notice pops up, I force close the two "System Updates" apps (you have to view system apps). It stays away until I restart the phone.

 

[LuvMusic]

I do wish all phones would go back to metal. I don't know what is up with glass except that it's light.

Glass body phones allow for wireless charging. Metal body phones block the ability to provide wireless charging.

 

[Greymire]

Glass body phones allow for wireless charging. Metal body phones block the ability to provide wireless charging.

I suppose this is true but my wireless charger sits and is never used. Everyone here still plugs it in. But I know a lot of people use wireless. My wireless is slower as well and it's fairly new.

 

[Theot]

I looked at it again today at T-MOBILE. It's a nice device but it's hard for me to justify it for $20 more than the Note 9 with everything the note brings to the table. I don't think the DAC is a selling point for me as I hate wires and went wireless a long time ago and I know I won't spend the money for headphones that will fully utilize the DAC.

Again, it's a nice phone but I don't think the price is justifiable for my use.

 

[middbrew]

And IR Blaster
And metal body
And LCD display
And no notch
And secondary display
And still on Nougat (I've refused the updates so far)

Sorry, but that's too much for me to loose and not enough to gain when my V20 still functions almost flawlessly. So yes, when you consider the total package, the V20 is almost the perfect phone for me and the newer versions are a downgrade.

I'll agree with the IR Blaster and maybe the notch. But that's it.

I'd rather have the glass body for it's lightness and ability to wireless charge.
The V40's OLED screen is so much better then the V20's LCD screen when looking at videos, pics, anything.
The secondary display on the V20 was a great feature, but it's any better than the floating bar used on the V30 and V40.
I'm not sure what the issue is with OREO that you don't want to upgrade, but 8.1 is pretty good.

But, if you really love the V20 and consider it the perfect phone for you, than you should most definitely stick with it. The only thing that will happen is the battery will eventually fail. But being a removable battery you can always replace it for many years to come.

 

[Mooncatt]

I'm not sure what the issue is with OREO that you don't want to upgrade, but 8.1 is pretty good.

I'm not one to crave the newest version of the OS. I've yet to see anything I want in Oreo, and there's always the chance that an upgrade will glitch and screw up the phone. There's also been more times than not that a feature was removed/changed that I preferred having the original way. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[joewoo]

Vs the v20? Speakers... Processor speed... Ram... Better raw files...

 

[recDNA]

HTC Thunderbolt. Worst phone I ever had.....

I loved mine
I rooted and flashed every new rim that came out. I had a blast and learned a lot about Android operating systems
It wasn't a bad phone with extended battery and a rim you liked.

 

[Mike Dee]

IMHO, the short answer is "Yes."

Samsung: Can't say the V40 is better than any of the current Galaxy devices but the emphasis in the design is different. Biggest difference for me is the separate DAC for audio. If sound quality is important to you, than the V40 has a leg up.

Huawei: I have a Huawei tablet and have to say EMUI doesn't work for me. I much prefer the OS skin that LG uses.

Pixels: No headphone jack, no seperate DAC, no sale for me. The big advantage is regular updates. I think the LG competes depending on what you are looking for.

OnePlus: If you are talking about the 6+, similar feeling for me as the Pixel, minus the regular updates, though OnePlus does seem to be competing in this area.

In the end, it depends on your personal use case. Regardless of the choice, there will be trade-offs.

The Pixel DAC is built into the adapter so it is a separate DAC. The Pixel DAC is actually better than other onboard DACs. I actually use the DAC from the Razer phone which has higher output than the LG V series for low impedance headphones.

 

[Mike Dee]

I looked at it again today at T-MOBILE. It's a nice device but it's hard for me to justify it for $20 more than the Note 9 with everything the note brings to the table. I don't think the DAC is a selling point for me as I hate wires and went wireless a long time ago and I know I won't spend the money for headphones that will fully utilize the DAC.

Again, it's a nice phone but I don't think the price is justifiable for my use.

If you want a great Bluetooth experience try the Sony headphones with LDAC. As long as the phone has Oreo it will support it.

 

[Theot]

If you want a great Bluetooth experience try the Sony headphones with LDAC. As long as the phone has Oreo it will support it.

I've read about LDAC, can you really notice a difference?

 

[Mike Dee]

I've read about LDAC, can you really notice a difference?

Big difference....closest you will get to wired sound

 

[Theot]

Big difference....closest you will get to wired sound

Good to know, thanks!

 

[flyingkytez]

My V20 for example has second screen and ir blaster. Replaceable battery is handy. I use wireless headphones so quad no big deal for me. What's there to draw me to V40?

Just more powerful camera and video recording quality really.. stellar low light. nothing else new. Probably easier to use one-handed because of the new narrow design. Audio experience is a little better with the quad DAC and surround sound software. Phones nowdays are already "good enough" so don't expect to be blown off your feet, it's a good piece of hardware however, with incredible microphone recording technology specifically made for content creation. No removable battery but you get a much more battery efficient hardware.. battery tests show the Note 9 lasted 10 hours, the V40 lasted 9 houts (streaming video, WiFi only). I have two phones with sealed batteries and they still hold a charge exactly the same as when I bought it years ago (I use them for music).

Photography and video recording is important to me esp. capturing life moments and I think 2 years with the V20 was long enough, I'm still keeping the V20 though. I started to get into video creation and the V40 outperforms all flagships in terms of video recording, especially with the mic setup it has. The Note 9 is good too but the V40 has a little more to offer to me at least. The Pixel 3 takes good photos but video recording is absolutely terrible, the mic recording quality sucks badly. The V20 is still useful because the POV of the wide angle is bigger, so I'll still use it for photos (plus the GCam app on it). Just wait until GCam gets ported to the V40.. it'll be game over.

You can most definitely get by another year with the V20, it's not a problem at all. The V20 still rocks and destroys all mid-rangers today (still competes with some flagships today esp. with GCam mod).

Recommended review by Juan Bagnell: https://youtu.be/70JLkowlGXs

 

[nolerltw]

Coming from a V30 (V20 & V10 before that) The V40 takes very noticeably better pictures in everyday situations. I have not used the telephoto much but the "normal" camera and the wide angle are a great improvement over the V30.

 

[ffejjj]

I was at a Sprint store today checking out the V40. The thing that stood out to me was it had a hard time focusing.

I had to give it an extra second or two and sometimes even that wasn't enough.

How is the camera preforming for those of you that have the phone?

 

[Fred98TJ]

Wander over to androidauthority. They just posted a side by side photo comparison of the Pixel 3, Pixel 2, iphone X’s, LG V40, a huawei. V40 fared pretty much at the bottom of the list most of the times. Just a couple of times it did well.