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LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8

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How do Samsung's and LG's newest hero handsets compare?

LG has just taken the wraps off the highly anticipated LG V30 at the IFA show in Berlin, only a week after Samsung held its own glitzy launch for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 in New York City. Both handsets promise large screens, powerful performance and cutting-edge cameras, but how do the two handsets really compare?

LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Specifications

HandsetLG V30Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Display Size6.0in6.3in
Resolution2880x1440 pixels2960x1440
PPI537ppi521ppi
ProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 835Qualcomm Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895
RAM4GB6GB
Storage64GB64GB
Operating SystemAndroid 7.1.1Android 7.1.1
Front Camera5MP8MP AF, F1.7
Rear CameraDual 16 MP f/1.6 standard + 13 MP f/1.9 wide angleDual 12MP: Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, F1.7, OIS Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.4, OIS 2X optical zoom, 10X digital zoom
Battery3300mAh3300mAh
Dimensions151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm
Weight158g195g
PriceExpected around $1000$1,499

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LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Processing power

The LG V30 runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835, and if you're looking at the international version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, you're staring (presumably with some kind of microscope or X-ray vision) at precisely the same processor.

Samsung will ship the Galaxy Note 8 in some markets, including most likely Australia, with its own Exynos 8895 CPU instead, but most analyses of the differences suggest that they're going to be slight, with the Exynos systems perhaps being a little less grunty in favour of improved battery life.

The practical upshot here should be that it'll be a draw between either handset option, although that may depend on the load placed by each phone's respective launcher. Both LG and Samsung paint their phones with their own apps and launchers at a time when many other manufacturers are taking a lighter step in redesigning Android, and that could introduce a little lag into the proceedings.

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LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Displays

Both the LG V30 and Galaxy Note 8 have large screen displays because that's an increasingly desirable trend for 2017 handsets. The Note 8 pips the V30 slightly in pure size terms as well as with the use of Samsung's curved "infinity display", which means it's essentially bezel free.

One interesting comparison point here is the use of secondary displays. The Galaxy Note 8 uses Samsung's "Edge Display" option, where a slide out panel comes out from the side of the phone to reveal quick contacts and app launching.

A new feature with the Galaxy Note 8 is "App pairing", which allows you to launch two apps simultaneously, one on top of the other. For example, you could launch Google Maps and Spotify simultaneously for in-car use or perhaps a browser and social media app at the same time.

LG is no stranger to the second screen experience, with the V series having one for some time now. The V30 uses a floating tab bar where previous versions of the technology reserved the very top of the display for this purpose.

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LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Cameras

The Galaxy Note 8 is Samsung's first foray into dual lens camera technology, but LG has already had a number of phones with this technology, including this year's LG G6. Samsung only put up the single lens Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ against the G6, but the Note 8 and V30 go head-to-head in dual lens territory.

For Samsung, it's using its dual lens cameras to push the "Live Focus" ability of its cameras, enabling you to dynamically adjust focus while shooting or after a shot has been taken to gain an optimal level of bokeh for your shots. It's also capable of firing off both lenses at once to allow you to pick between your telephoto and your wide angle shot.

LG has long been in the wide-angle game, but for the V30, it has also added a very sharp, very wide aperture lens to its camera game, which should give the V30 increased low-light performance against its competition.

We'll have to wait until we can comprehensively test both handsets, but either should deliver top-notch premium smartphone experiences.

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LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Battery

Samsung's Note series has typically had the largest battery capacities of any of the Samsung handsets, but all that came crashing down with 2016's disastrous Galaxy Note 7. As such, it appears that Samsung played it safe this year with the Galaxy Note 8, opting for a 3,300mAh power pack, which coincidentally is the exact same size as the battery within the LG V30.

Head-to-head in a specifications sense, that might give the V30 a very small edge over the Note 8, simply because while both use the same power-sipping Snapdragon 835 and power-efficient OLED displays, the Note 8 has to power up just that bit more of screen over the course of a single day. For practical purposes, we'd be very surprised if they couldn't manage at least a day's use without requiring recharging in any case.

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