Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs. LG V30 – Which One is the Best Choice?
There’s been a fight between Samsung and LG regarding their flagship devices since LG first came out with their V – series and took the smartphone market by storm.
This year we have two devices to compare: LG V30 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Which one is better and why? Let’s see the details below.
Design
Galaxy Note 8 has kept their signature design and features a metal and glass case with an Infinity Display which is still curved. It’s a large phone, having a small downside: the fingerprint scanner is still next to the camera setup and it’s difficult to reach to.
LG doesn’t have a signature look, having their V30 feel like the G6 and resembling with the V20 and V10. The newest smartphone, LG V30 has premium glass and metal encasing in a much smoother manner, with curved sides to fit well in the hand.
Both devices have amazing resolutions and displays: Galaxy Note 8 2960 x 1440 pixels, LG V30 2880 x 1440 pixels.
Performance
LG and Samsung feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor for their new smartphones, with a difference in RAM. LG V30 has 4 GB RAM and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has 6 GB RAM. Both devices come in two versions: 64 GB or 128 GB internal storage, with a difference that Samsung Galaxy Note 8 can have 256 GB iteration.
Camera
LG and Samsung have been great at using excellent cameras for their phones.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has a dual rear camera setup, 12 MP both cameras having OIS, one of which having a 2x optical zoom and f/2.4 aperture. You can digitally zoom the camera to 10x but it will result in some quality loss. OIS will help balance this issue while you zoom this much. The camera setup in Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is fast in focusing due its dual pixels and OIS featured in both camera sensors. The front camera comes with a 8 MP sensor and ƒ/1.7 aperture.
LG V30 has a dual camera setup too, with one sensor having 16 MP and a f/1.6 aperture with 71-degree field of view and a 13 MP sensor having a f/1.9 aperture and 120-degree field of view. The difference between Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30 is that the latter has OIS only on the main lens. Other features regarding camera are: Cine Log, Graphy and a lot of manual controls for taking photographs. The front camera has a 5 MP sensor with a ƒ/2.2 aperture.
Extra Features
Both smartphones come with features like wireless charging, fast charging through Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support, and dust and water resistance. LG V30 adds more to the table with impact protection (MIL-STD 810G certified).
Audio is great when we’re talking about LG V30, where they have a Hi-Fi Quad DAC and B&O Play headphones coming in the box. Users will be able to stream small file sizes with a high-resolution audio.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has the S Pen and other previously used features for their smartphone lines such as screen capture and editing it, smart selection, translation of text, creation of notes, Screen Off Memo. There is also a new feature: Live Message with the S Pen. This feature will allow the user to record the path of writing and send it as an animated GIF along with effects such as sparkles, neon light and more.
Other specs such as battery life (3,300 mAh), expandable storage are similar for both devices.
In terms of software LG V30 is working on Android 7.1.2 Nougat while Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is working on an earlier version, Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
Having mentioned all the great features and similarities between both devices, we reach the conclusion that both Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30 are great and if you intend on getting one of these, you won’t be disappointed.
I found LG’s quirky but powerful V10 in early November 2015 after Samsung had emasculated their Note 5. I still use my (not yet two year-old) V10 on occasion and I’d even gone as far as getting a V10 for my fiancée on December 9th 2015; an early Christmas present. I remember this as though it were only last week.
In 2016 I was getting a V20 one way or the other and I’d hoped to team it with my Note7 but that wasn’t to be. The V20 is a superb device. It does all that I require and has exceeded my high expectations for it going on eleven months pretty soon. The tech landscape changes all the time. Hardly everything seems to last for a month before the next ‘latest and greatest’ is there for us to buy.
LG, as I regard their actions, is having their smartphone-emasculating moment in sealing the V30’s battery up like a mummy inside a sarcophagus. I’m old(er) and old school in my liking user replaceable batteries but for now that’s all gone like yesterday’s news. I have yet to lose a phone or smartphone to ‘drowning’ and if that were to happen, well, that’s why I have been paying insurance for the past decade or so; ever since Verizon instituted the scheme. I only ever, once, filed a claim when my stepdaughter lost a lightly-used Droid RAZR I’d given her when her mom asked me to add her to my phone plan and this was in July of 2012.