Upgrade s9+ or lg v30

[joostin2020]

Hey guys, new member here. Currently on a s7, looking to upgrade.
Looking at a v30 or s9+, and looking for help in the decision.
Battery life is important to me.
I'm not a huge camera user, but will take the occasional video. Expecting my first child, so will probably try to capture those moments. I do listen to music quite a bit through spotify or podcasts on I heart, which is usually on headphones or Bluetooth.
I'm on Verizon if that changes anything.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Almeuit]

Personally if I was choosing between those... I would go w/ Samsung. It is just really hard for me to trust LG nowadays (at least in the Smartphone world).

 

[dpham00]

What he said. I don't trust lg that much with their current state in smartphones.

With that said the v30 should give you better battery life. The s9+ will have better pictures. While you said that you are not a huge camera user, the s9+ will take better shots which could mean the difference between a clear shot and one that looks blurry. In that regard I believe that the Pixel 2 XL is better although it isn't on your list.

LG does have a better dac, but the music on my s9+ sounds good. If you are an audiophile with high end equipment though then the v30 would have better sound.

 

[joostin2020]

I looked into the pixel, but I really don't like the idea of no headphone jack. Otherwise that would be very high on my list.

 

[KP8819]

I looked into the pixel, but I really don't like the idea of no headphone jack. Otherwise that would be very high on my list.

Congrats on having your first child!
Agreed about the headphone jack... It's not important to many but its really important to me. I upgraded my S7 to the S9 and am very happy. The battery life has been beyond great for me but depending on use it does vary between users.

Between these two I'd definitely go with the S9.

 

[jasonb]

I wanted the V30 so bad. Unfortunately when I tried it, it had issues getting along with the Bluetooth in my car stereo. I do like my S9+ though.

 

[joostin2020]

I wanted the V30 so bad. Unfortunately when I tried it, it had issues getting along with the Bluetooth in my car stereo. I do like my S9+ though.

How is the battery life on your s9+

 

[chanchan05]

LG does have a better dac, but the music on my s9+ sounds good. If you are an audiophile with high end equipment though then the v30 would have better sound.

Spec sheets show that the S9 has a 32bit DAC. It's capable of 32bit/384Khz audio, better on paper than the V30's 32bit/192Khz audio. It's just not as promoted by Samsung.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8966&idPhone2=8712

 

[dpham00]

Spec sheets show that the S9 has a 32bit DAC. It's capable of 32bit/384Khz audio, better on paper than the V30's 32bit/192Khz audio. It's just not as promoted by Samsung.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8966&idPhone2=8712

This site rates the v30 better in wired performance.

https://www.soundguys.com/best-smartphones-for-audio-16373/

 

[chanchan05]

This site rates the v30 better in wired performance.

https://www.soundguys.com/best-smartphones-for-audio-16373/

That's why I said "on paper". Without knowing the actual DAC, we can't really make comparison.

 

[paridge]

I wish Samsung would promote the DAC. I hadn't even noticed anything about it in the blogs. But maybe it's more of an audiophile thing? I had the S8+, and as soon as I listened to music on the the S9+ through the Bluetooth in my car, I was blown away by the improvement in the sound. It's not even close.

 

[ffejjj]

I like the V30. Battery life is important to me and the V30 just lasts.

 

[jtcannonball]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top tier phones. We can give you advice that's likely leaning towards our preferences that made up our minds. I prefer a telephoto to wide angle lense so plus 1 Samsung. I prefer Samsung Pay so another plus. I feel it's a better screen on my S9+. I think LG has better FPS. The cameras on auto take much faster point and shoot photos with less blur than my V20 or G6 did. These were the deal clinching points for me. I felt the LG phones were very nice though.

 

[chanchan05]

I wish Samsung would promote the DAC. I hadn't even noticed anything about it in the blogs. But maybe it's more of an audiophile thing? I had the S8+, and as soon as I listened to music on the the S9+ through the Bluetooth in my car, I was blown away by the improvement in the sound. It's not even close.

Well since you played through bluetooth, the DAC means irrelavant to your usage. The onboard DAC only affects wires sound output through the 3.5mm jack. Which means if you use anything other than a 3.5mm jack or the loudspeaker to play your audio, it's not using the onboard DAC. Bluetooth audio would use the DAC on the headset or speaker.

 

[joostin2020]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top tier phones. We can give you advice that's likely leaning towards our preferences that made up our minds. I prefer a telephoto to wide angle lense so plus 1 Samsung. I prefer Samsung Pay so another plus. I feel it's a better screen on my S9+. I think LG has better FPS. The cameras on auto take much faster point and shoot photos with less blur than my V20 or G6 did. These were the deal clinching points for me. I felt the LG phones were very nice though.

Did you note if one camera on auto was faster to point and shoot without blurriness. Like trying to capture a quick moment

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

Agree 100% on going with Samsung out of the two, even though I think I'd strongly prefer the audio of the V30, and not having the edge display, etc.

 

[neil74]

Bluetooth audio is imo better on the Samsung, there is just something slightly off about the audio on the v30 over Bluetooth.

Screen and camera also better on the Samsung. For everything else I pretty much prefer the V30

 

[Ranny99]

Just remember Oreo supports multiple Bluetooth codecs. So if your car supports AAC it would sound better on the S9 than the V30, until it receives update.

 

[joostin2020]

Any other opinions?

 

[Toes Up]

I understand that the camera isn't real important to you now, but if you are going to have a kid my guess is that you will be taking more photos. That said, I would lean towards the Pixel XL2, especially if you can get it at a good price. Otherwise, I really like the S9+.

Good luck.