Initial Reactions

[dropnbassonu]

Yeah I am curious about this too. My current phone I only have set at 28 percent so I would like to see if low brightness setting is an issue on this.

No hotspot issue for me at any level of brightness or screen color. I do however notice the banding when the screen brightness gets to 30% or lower. I'll need some time to decide if it's a deal breaker or not. I wouldn't usually notice it, but now that I do........

 

[chriskwarren]

No hotspot issue for me at any level of brightness or screen color. I do however notice the banding when the screen brightness gets to 30% or lower. I'll need some time to decide if it's a deal breaker or not. I wouldn't usually notice it, but now that I do........

Ugh. Not good news....the banding is something I hoped was just an issue with pre production units. I'm picky about displays and have been spoiled by Samsung.

 

[whiteshadow001]

Could you post some test pictures with it to see how the camera is?

 

[monkeypunch35]

Could you post some test pictures with it to see how the camera is?

I took a few photos while out at dog training tonight. All were shot in Auto Mode at different darkness levels. Our official sunset is 7:01pm.

This was taken around 6:15pm central time.

These two were taken around 6:55pm. The first is Auto Mode, the second Auto Mode in wide angle. Taken at the same time, from the same spot.

This one was taken at 7:10pm.

And this one at 7:15pm. It was way darker then what it appears. Reminds me of how TV cameras make things look lighter then they actually are in person.

I accidentally focused on his bottom half in this photo. Should have taken a few more. I think his head looks terrible because of that. His paws, I think, look like a good photo. More testing shall be done tomorrow evening around the same time.

I came from the LG G3, so I don't have much to compare to camera wise. But, I did like the feature of being able to use the AE/AF Lock feature to set the focus and light level in varying light level photos.

I am interested to see how this stacks up to the Pixel 2 XL. If that camera is marginally better, I will stick with the V30 and its headphone jack, wireless charging and SD Card. But, if the Pixel camera blows this away, I may jump ship.

 

[Greatsrj23]

Can someone explain what this hotspot issue is? I've never heard of it before.

 

[SchinkenSpicker]

No hotspot issue for me at any level of brightness or screen color. I do however notice the banding when the screen brightness gets to 30% or lower. I'll need some time to decide if it's a deal breaker or not. I wouldn't usually notice it, but now that I do........

What do you mean by banding? How does it look like? Does it look like a pc monitor doing this:

Can someone explain what this hotspot issue is? I've never heard of it before.

I thought hotspot issue means this:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/09/lg-v30-hands-on-lgs-oled-displays-still-have-quality-issues/

But the writer of the article is calling it "banding" too.

I hope someone can clear this up ... maybe provide a photo or a simple paint sketch of the issue?

 

[e_georgia]

Ugh. Not good news....the banding is something I hoped was just an issue with pre production units. I'm picky about displays and have been spoiled by Samsung.

can you take a picture from banding ?

 

[chriskwarren]

What do you mean by banding? How does it look like? Does it look like a pc monitor doing this:

View attachment 270446



I thought hotspot issue means this:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/09/lg-v30-hands-on-lgs-oled-displays-still-have-quality-issues/

But the writer of the article is calling it "banding" too.

I hope someone can clear this up ... maybe provide a photo or a simple paint sketch of the issue?

In that Arstechnia article you linked, if you look just above the LG letters on the V30 you can see white stripes running horizontally on the screen.

I saw another article where they zoomed in and you can see it much better. In the article you posted they never zoomed in. Here is my best attempt to show the bands on the arstechnia pic you linked to, but I don't have the original image and other images I have seen its more pronounced:

 

[NationalTrust]

Maybe my old eyes just aren't that good. I watched some Netflix and HBO and thought the screen was gorgeous. Haven't noticed any banding or hotspots so far in my normal everyday use.

 

[MA2GA28]

The hotspots refer to the color changes on the screen (light gray spots on a gray screen). Banding are the horizontal lines that go across the screen, sometimes unrelated to color or looking like the above example of color banding.

Both items are relative deal breakers for me, TBH, so it's unfortunate they are still present. Probably also rules out the P2 XL since it's the same panel.

UGH.

 

[dannyar11]

You all need to just buy the phone and enjoy it. If something so marginal is going to ruin your experience or deter you from purchasing a mobile phone that you will most likely only have 6 months-1 year, then nothing will make you happy. Just about every mobile phone has had some minor annoyance that people find a way to nitpick about.

 

[TrueBlueKew]

Can someone explain what this hotspot issue is? I've never heard of it before.

Here's a thread I started on issues regarding the display in low light (hot spots, uneven color, banding etc.). It involves both pre-production units, as well as and retail units out in South Korea:

https://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-v30/835245-quality-issues-v30s-oled-display.html

 

[SchinkenSpicker]

Thanks chriskwarren and MA2GA28 for the clarification!

I'm looking forward for more user experiences to see how much it affects everyday usage.

 

[middbrew]

Can someone explain what this hotspot issue is? I've never heard of it before.

Check out this thread.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-v30/835245-quality-issues-v30s-oled-display.html#post6000847

 

[Diehlirious]

Did you have the mandatory Verizon branding on the back ? And did it have on startup the Verizon splash screen ? How bad was the carrier bloat ?? can anyone yet confirm if T-Mo will have any branding ?

I really wanted unlocked but no way to know when they'll be available.

I completely understand, I'm waiting for the unlocked version too. B & H Photo has a page up for the unlocked V30 & says it's coming soon..

 

[MA2GA28]

You all need to just buy the phone and enjoy it. If something so marginal is going to ruin your experience or deter you from purchasing a mobile phone that you will most likely only have 6 months-1 year, then nothing will make you happy. Just about every mobile phone has had some minor annoyance that people find a way to nitpick about.

Personally, I keep my phones for at least 2 years. Currently using my Droid Turbo, which is still going relatively strong 3 years later. So any issue for an $800 piece of tech that I will use everyday is definitely worth considering.

But thanks for your opinion on other people's purchasing habits.

 

[FutureMech]

Personally, I keep my phones for at least 2 years. Currently using my Droid Turbo, which is still going relatively strong 3 years later. So any issue for an $800 piece of tech that I will use everyday is definitely worth considering.

But thanks for your opinion on other people's purchasing habits.

Indeed, if you buy a high end phone i expect it to be 95% perfection, with NO DEFECTS at all, outside of lemons which can happen anywhere, LG has a history of poor display issues too.

 

[Greatsrj23]

Can the "banding" or "hotspot" issues get worse over time? The only pictures i've seen are with this dark/grey screen comparing the V30 to the Note 8....I'm more concerned about how the phone will look during every day use....gaming, instagram, reading posts on Android Central.....I don't usually notice stuff like this but once it's pointed out to me then I probably won't be able to not see it.

 

[SupraLB]

Install the Google Camera software for their HDR+. It works great on my V20 and the HDR+ technology from Google is far superior to any other camera. Their algorithms tackle HDR much better.
It won't be with Pixels 2's new lens, but at least you can compare the software.
>>https://www.xda-developers.com/google-camera-hdr-customization-raw-support/

 

[Hoggles]

I typically don't stare at grey screens at low brightness levels, for any length of time. So I'm glad the possible issue won't be an issue for me.