Database Users

Are you, LG G2 owners, upgrading to the LG G4?

Hello XDA.
This is a thing that has puzzled me a bit, so first I'll present my own point of view and then I'd really like to hear what you guys think.
You can see pictures of the G4 here http://www.phonearena.com/news/LG-G4-leaks-in-all-of-its-glory_id68166
My G2 has served me really well, and honestly it doesn't have to be replaced. It's still very fast and gets the job done. However, after 1 ½ year it gets old - it has never been the most interesting phone design-wise and with the new phones having a much more attractive design you get tempted. Add to that, that the battery isn't what it used to be either. What made me buy it back then, was it's absolutely fantastic internals at an affordable price. And I don't regret purchasing it.
The LG G4 looks great - especially in leather - and the fact that it has MicroSD support and a removable battery means that I won't run short of storage (especially when flashing and keeping backups on the phone) and wiping internal storage is no longer a headache. The camera is supposed to be brilliant, but we'll have to see how it works out in real life. The screen looks promising - rumors say it's using 'Quantum Dot' display which results in better color accuracy and is more battery efficient. All good so far!
But according to the latest rumors, this thing comes with a Snapdragon 808. And mildly put, it doesn't look too well. Sure LG didn't have many options - either go with the overheating 810 or put in a worse 808. Not only is the 808 worse than the 810, it's also worse than the 805 in terms of GPU capabilities and power. It's not much but last year most people considered a Snapdragon 805 the absolute minimum requirement for a phone with a QHD display. We all saw how the LG G3 performed with its QHD display - it wasn't bad, but by no means impressive.
I think that LG should've sticked to the 810 and disable two of the four A57 cores on a kernel level. I'm sure a 4+2 setup is plenty processing power, but the Adreno 430 GPU outperforms the Adreno 418 (found in the Snapdragon 808) by a huge margin. In addition to that, Snapdragon 810 supports DDR4 RAM.
I'm torn, and thinking to wait for the Samsung Note 5 and hope it won't come with a UHD display. What are your thoughts?

The Lg g2 had been my best ✆ for three years. It was gorgeous, it was very fast, it lasted all day.
I wasn't impressed with the G3 but I think the G4 has my name written on it. They've had some time to play with the configuration, I'm sure it will be excellent.
They're going to have to crank up the design next year though. Just saying.
Sent from my SM-N910H using XDA Premium HD app

I don't think I'll buy a G4, but I'm pretty sure that my G2 will dress the G4 rom...
_____________________________________Read more write less and be smart

eh i will skip G4 becouse i bought my G2 one year ago and i still need to stay with it for 12 months, but i will probably buy G5 or other 2016 flagship phone

As lg phones are locked down, I'm not gonna buy it. The g2 is great and is still the greatest phone they made. But as a flashaholic and someone who likes modding their phone, an unlocked bootloader is very important to me. I only bought the g2 because it was such great value. It turned out to be such a powerful and fun little beast though with a great community as well. It was lightening in a bottle. But my criteria is a bit more strict now. I'll be sticking with the 1+ for a while

No need. I see no advantage to upgrading because my G2 can do everything I need it to. When I get another phone it'll be a nexus or the Asus Zenphone 2, whichever has the larger community.
Sent From Capsule Corp.

siggey said:
I don't think I'll buy a G4, but I'm pretty sure that my G2 will dress the G4 rom...
_____________________________________Read more write less and be smart
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Either this or I just may break down and grab a Note 5 or S6 Edge after they iron the initial kinks out.
We'll see... G3 is a good phone and would rank higher if the G2 didn't exist but wasn't great enough to make me sell My G2.
With that said...let the games begin

I don't think I'll buy a G4, but I'm pretty sure that my G2 will dress the G4 rom...so do I·

vPro97 said:
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With the G2 being a beast phone there's really not enough to convince me why I should upgrade to the G4 besides the Camera, Removable Battery and Expandable Storage. I live perfectly fine without a Removable Battery and Expandable Storage and the G2 has 32GB of Internal Memory and a 3000mAh battery.. so why bother? There's more chance of me getting a 1+ if I was going to upgrade. I have yet to experience a world with an unlocked bootloader.
Yay for capitalism!
Any like @siggey said,
siggey said:
I don't think I'll buy a G4, but I'm pretty sure that my G2 will dress the G4 rom...
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Click to collapse
This will more than likely happen.

G2 is great with me, but looking for better camera with G4.
FullHD is enough, 2k is not really necessary. More important thing is the battery life - which many people said that 2k display on G3 made the battery worse.

I think like the OP. I have a vs980 but I'm seriously thinking about jumping to T-Mobile. I thought I read last year that LG was going to allow unlocked bootloaders going forward with the G3. Given the fact that the G4 has a Snapdragon processor, an external SD card slot and removable batteries I'm thinking there is a lot of potential for a large dev community (especially since the S6 doesn't offer these things). We'll see.

No. I went back to the g2 from the g3 because I didn't like the size. I would get a g4 mini iff it was 5-5.2 and had a high end processor. As it stands now, the s6 and s6 edge look like more suitable replacements

I'm tired of drama
I'm not going to use LG anymore, LG does not satisfy me.

Having owned a few Android devices, I am getting a feeling that the best way to get android experience is to buy a Nexus device. The hardware and the price are only a part of the equation, although we know Nexus devices normally have a great price-performance relation. What makes Nexus so cool is having less pre-installed bloat or custumizations and it's pretty much guaranteed that for the next three years or so you will be the first in the line to get the android updates. Case in point is the stock ROM situation with the current G2. It gives you a glimpse of what it will be like to use the G4 18 months from now. Even though Lollipop 5.1 has come and gone, and the Nexus devices are now running the latest revision of Android 6.0.x, the G2 is still on 5.0.x. Another great example is my Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet that I bought only a year ago. (This was Samsung's flagship tablet in 2014). Same story here. Still using 5.0, and I imagine Marshmallow is something like six months away and it will be the final update from Samsung. On the other hand, the ancient Nexus 7 is still getting Marshmallow updates.

Anyone jump from LG G5 to LG V20

With the release of the LG V20 just around the corner and it's showing earlier this week, is anyone jumping from the G5 to the V20? I really like the new design and having Android Nougat out of the box. Looks like I'm definitely switching once it releases. What are your thoughts?

I don't really feel the need to. Using android devices since eclair - and the G5 really hits the "sweet spot" as far as hardware/performance is concerned. I don't even mind that root hasn't been achieved for the variant I own. There really isn't anything with v20 that to me, warrants upgrading to it. And we will be getting nougat/7 soon enough. I'll probably be perfectly happy riding out the next two years with the G5.
Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

For the rich guys, they'll probably do. I'm just a college student and got rewarded with this phone because of the honors I got. I'm very happy and satisfied with my G5 and will probably use it for the next 1 1/2 years. The V20 is indeed great, the design is a whole lot better but it doesn't make me regret my G5. The G5 is very good, but LG failed to make more modules. Apart from that, the phone without any modules already works great. I just hope LG will bring Nougat fast.

I don't even find reason to update to v20, G5 is fast smooth with great camera, removable battery, micro SD and will get nougat faster than any other oem.
Tell you the truth I don't find any reason to update to any phone.

I don't really see a reason to upgrade unless it's a bigger screen you want. That alone doesn't really warrant an upgrade (for me anyways). the guy above me said what I have as well, the G5 has hit a sweet spot for me. Although root hasn't been achieved yet for my variant, I still am in love with this phone.

V20 is a G5 with 5,7" and a better audio chip.

Just if you need/want big screen. Otherwise they're pretty much the same phone.

V20 is too wide for me to use single handed and disappointed the battery isnt going to be 4000ma
After having lg g3, g2, and nexus5, I truly miss having root....
I think I will be moving on to one of those refurbished note 7s or just take a oneplus 3 since they both have root and great dev community.
Op3 camera is slightly worse and not sdcard but daytime pix and very close to g5 and with 64gb built in that should be ample to all my needs.
Already posted my g5 on CL.
Very good phone but doesn't fit my needs.

I might, have to see some reviews first and actually hold one. I am with T-Mobile, my phone was a note 5 that had some charging issues. I called to exchange for another and the rep suggested using my score upgrade, getting the g5 and keeping my note, which I did but even with its limited charging ability(only charges wirelessly) I still find myself using the note every couple days. The g5 is just a tad too small for my liking. I think I'll go Nexus or v20, depending on real world impressions. The g5 is nice, nice enough that it will make a great upgrade for my wife coming from the g3.

What is everyone's views about the secondary screen, audio recording enhancements, and the camera/video? Just a gimmick or worth it?

sguerra923 said:
What is everyone's views about the secondary screen, audio recording enhancements, and the camera/video? Just a gimmick or worth it?
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Maybe check out some video about device on youtube? Whats the use of speculation here

Lukijs said:
Maybe check out some video about device on youtube? Whats the use of speculation here
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I have, I'm just asking if that would be a factor in people deciding to switch or not.. This is just a open end discussion. I'm currently using the G5 and of course one size doesn't fit all but it's just to share people's opinions so other can make a decision to switch if they feel like they want to upgrade or not

The V20 is basically an oversized G5 with better audio quality.
Same performance,display,camera.....

I haven't really looked into the v20 tbh. I [email protected] g5 The two lg phones I've had were great, and I love them. (G3, G5) Both of mine ran/run hot though. Either I have really bad luck or lg needs to look at their thermal controls. I might move to another device after I pay off my g5, but I'll always hang onto it.
Sent from my LG-H830 using XDA Labs

ramqashou said:
The V20 is basically an oversized G5 with better audio quality.
Same performance,display,camera.....
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Exactly... and is the Audio quailty worth another £500 on top of what your paying for your G5.... I think not.... However, Im in the UK, so we wont even get to see it.. Unless its imported, but will it support the UKs GSM and UTMS bands

I don't. It's too big for me. And for the music I use iBasso DX80.

The reason of why I chose the G5 over all the available smartphones is because of it's "little" 5.3" screen (+hardware + removable battery + IR Blaster + Dual camera). No thank you I'm not interested in a big 5.9" screen .

External speaker,what about it??
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Anyone know how this is gonna sound/compare to the LG G5 with DAC module ?

LG G5 is a hot smartphone. its a modern marvel
lg g5 is packed with latest hardware and features. One does not need to move on to upcoming ones without need. see our review on g5. Mathew, choozurmobiledotcom

Thinking about buying the 6GB version.

Hello all.
I got the LG v20 but my wife really wants a new phone.
Should I get the 6gb version for myself or should I get her the 4gb version.
In terms of camera and UI speed. How do you think all compare? Meaning the v20 and both axon phones.
Any other aspects I should be thinking about?
Thank you.

I think the LG V20 is a superior phone to the A2017, but that's normal, it's a phone double the price of the Axon. If you already have that, I don't see a real reason for buying an axon 7. If I were you I'd keep the LG V20 for yourself and ask her what she would use her new phone for. Unless she's someone who really needs the best of the best, loves tinkering with phones and needs all the newest features, I doubt she would be disappointed by, let's say, a nexus 5X...
The Axon camera is no good, really. Much worse than my previous N5X. I doubt the 2GB RAM difference between the two axon versions is noticeable. ATM there's not much use for the Force Touch feature of the most expensive model, as well...

borisb said:
Hello all.
I got the LG v20 but my wife really wants a new phone.
Should I get the 6gb version for myself or should I get her the 4gb version.
In terms of camera and UI speed. How do you think all compare? Meaning the v20 and both axon phones.
Any other aspects I should be thinking about?
Thank you.
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First question is your location. If you are in the USA then the Axon 7 is the way to go. The Chinese and European models seem to have more bugs and less frequent updates. As far as the 4gb or 6gb versions I would have to say the 4gb wins. 99 percent of smartphone users have no use for the extra ram and the other bells and whistles you get with the 6gb version doesn't justify the price increase.

Gotcha .... thank you

The Axon 7 can't compare to the V20, they're not in the same league. You get what you pay for, at least until OnePlus get their act together. The camera specifically is by far the weakest point of the A7. As far as flagship level phones go the camera on the A7 might actually be the worst one around. In anything but straight up brightly lit areas the camera produces garbage. It's utterly useless in low light, forget ever taking a photo at night with it. I'm not sure if the sensor is actually that horrible, or if ZTE's trash tier software is the main culprit.

Cyrus D. said:
The Axon 7 can't compare to the V20, they're not in the same league. You get what you pay for, at least until OnePlus get their act together. The camera specifically is by far the weakest point of the A7. As far as flagship level phones go the camera on the A7 might actually be the worst one around. In anything but straight up brightly lit areas the camera produces garbage. It's utterly useless in low light, forget ever taking a photo at night with it. I'm not sure if the sensor is actually that horrible, or if ZTE's trash tier software is the main culprit.
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Yeah you are right. Spend way too much on a phone. Sure beats spending half that on a phone, 150 on a decent camera, and still having 200 or more play with in your wallet. If you hate the axon 7 so much why are you in axon 7 forums?

tabletalker7 said:
Yeah you are right. Spend way too much on a phone. Sure beats spending half that on a phone, 150 on a decent camera, and still having 200 or more play with in your wallet. If you hate the axon 7 so much why are you in axon 7 forums?
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He already owns the V20, no one is telling him to go out there and buy another one. Just because I own the device doesn't mean I'm going to pretend it's magic and sell false ideas to those asking questions. The camera is flat out the worst of anything out there targeting the flagship level overall.
You people who get angry and defensive over any non-endearing words towards your mega corporation built devices are something else.

First of all, you don't need 6gb ram. I would wait until next gen that uses 830 snapdragon processors, maybe even next after that. Right now it probably only drains more battery.
I only own an axon7 4gb(for less than a week). V20 was my second choice but decided to go with axon 7. The following might be a little biased.
Screen - Axon 7 has better screen. Lg v20 still uses LCD which will have more issues with to much light. You won't find a better screen on any phone within $400. v20 has a bigger screen but that might be an issue for some people
Camera - Axon 7 has a terrible camera. It's not that bad tough. It only suffers in low light scenarios (night time). During day and with manual mode the camera can take decent photos, as well as other phones. It also have problems with focus. A software update might fix all the issue tough. The best camera out there, I think it's on samsung galaxy phones and iphone 7.
Battery - LG has removable battery which was the main reason I considered LG v20. Axon 7 battery is better tough (almost last twice as long according to reviews)
Performance - they should be equal. Lg v20 has 135k score on antutu benchmark. Average axon7 should be on 135k ish as well. On my Chinese axon 7 I got 142k .
Durability - LG v20 is better, but axon 7 is no joke as well. The quality is at least as good as other flagships, if not better
Audio - Both lg v20 and axon7 have the best audio on market. Lg v20 might be better with headphones while axon7 is better with speakers.
As you can't see lg v20 isn't much better even tough double the price. No matter what flagship you buy, there aren't that much differences and there are always compromises.
I chose axon7 because I don't take picture to often and it can still take average-good pictures if i want to.
Something significantly better than both of them would be iphone7 and that is about it.
Something interesting, but not necessarily better is "Xiaomi Mi Mix Mobile Phone Snapdragon 821 6GB RAM 256GB ROM 6.4"Full Screen 2040x1080P FHD Ceramics 4400mAh Battery"
Hmm Ceramic. But was to outside of my price range. Nearly 1k euro.

Experience with the device

Hello,
i am looking to buy this device,
is this worth it?
i want you guys to share your personal experience with the device if possible

Its been a very romantic experience for me.

There are tons of reviews all over the web, I suggest you read them.
If you have any specific questions you can ask them here.

It depends on where you live, and how good the deal is. Otherwise v30 is like a finalised design of the G6 and I would wait for it if I could (end sept), of course, by then it'll have other competition

The G6 was DOA when it was released with a 821 processor in a supposed 2017 flagship phone. Consequently sales of G6 are terrible, the good side of this is that G6 prices are falling rapidly. If price is the deciding factor, then G6 is a great option. Otherwise I'd look at oneplus 5 (for development), HTC U11 is a very solid phone, Nokia is about to release a flagship, pixel 2 will no doubt be awesome.
G6 is a pretty good phone, nothing special, nothing bad either...you won't be disappointed or thrilled.

I went to the g6 from the g4. It was sad to say bye bye but the g6 has exceeded my expectations in all aspects. Most notably water resistance, speed, camera, price, and battery life.
My partner has the galaxy s8. They noticed little improvement from the s6(?)! This is a flagship phone and it is cheap!

nchc said:
The G6 was DOA when it was released with a 821 processor in a supposed 2017 flagship phone. Consequently sales of G6 are terrible, the good side of this is that G6 prices are falling rapidly. If price is the deciding factor, then G6 is a great option. Otherwise I'd look at oneplus 5 (for development), HTC U11 is a very solid phone, Nokia is about to release a flagship, pixel 2 will no doubt be awesome.
G6 is a pretty good phone, nothing special, nothing bad either...you won't be disappointed or thrilled.
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Have you actually used it? I have a feeling you haven't.
SD 821 is still a top processor today and this phone runs anything i throw at it no lag, no stutter, no problem. I had a chance to "test drive" Galaxy S8 with it's "superior" SoC and i didn't like it at all. The system was stuttery and laggy mess, even after hard reset, and games ran same as on G6. The only difference you're gonna see today is in benchmarks. So in the end G6, even with it's somewhat "inferior" SoC, is a lot smoother and more responsive phone overall.
Having a faster SoC means nothing if your UX is unoptimized and bloated lag-fest - Samsung style.
We may see a difference in 3 or 4 years, when games and apps might actually be more demanding, but not today. Today G6 is the better, smoother runnnig phone that's why, in the end, i choose it over S8 and i'm loving it.
+It has a better camera, better audio quality (and i'm using non-Quad-DAC version), same battery life, better in-hand feel, no ****ty and pointless edge display and is a lot tougher to break.

WstrKuNoužč said:
Have you actually used it? I have a feeling you haven't.
SD 821 is still a top processor today and this phone runs anything i throw at it no lag, no stutter, no problem. I had a chance to "test drive" Galaxy S8 with it's "superior" SoC and i didn't like it at all. The system was stuttery and laggy mess, even after hard reset, and games ran same as on G6. The only difference you're gonna see today is in benchmarks. So in the end G6, even with it's somewhat "inferior" SoC, is a lot smoother and more responsive phone overall.
Having a faster SoC means nothing if your UX is unoptimized and bloated lag-fest - Samsung style.
We may see a difference in 3 or 4 years, when games and apps might actually be more demanding, but not today. Today G6 is the better, smoother runnnig phone that's why, in the end, i choose it over S8 and i'm loving it.
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Yep, using LG G6 to type this.
Agree with all your statements. I didn't say the G6 was bad, it just doesn't have a distinguishing or marketable feature. 821 chip is great but it wont sell phones in 2017, all the other major manufacturers realised this and delayed releasing flagship phones to get 835s.
Unmodified Samsung's are crap but have brilliant development support and as such are easy to mod and developement last years (my first android is the original galaxy which I purchased before the hype and is still has active development). G6 wont be in active development for long, its a simple numbers game.

nchc said:
Yep, using LG G6 to type this.
Agree with all your statements. I didn't say the G6 was bad, it just doesn't have a distinguishing or marketable feature. 821 chip is great but it wont sell phones in 2017, all the other major manufacturers realised this and delayed releasing flagship phones to get 835s.
Unmodified Samsung's are crap but have brilliant development support and as such are easy to mod and developement last years (my first android is the original galaxy which I purchased before the hype and is still has active development). G6 wont be in active development for long, its a simple numbers game.
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Even G3 is still very active in development today so i don't really believe G6's is just gonna stop or slow after a while.

nchc said:
I didn't say the G6 was bad, it just doesn't have a distinguishing or marketable feature.
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Well, there's the price. Got it for less than €400 so that certainly distinguishes it from other flagships.
And it's not a particularly good phone I admit, but it's not a bad phone either, certainly not for this kind of money.

it's not a Good phone or a Bad phone. it's a GREAT PHONE.
awesome:
- dual lens & great manual mode
- form factor & industrial design
- flat screen non-Amoled w/natural colours
- QuadDAC
- price
not-as-awesome
- screen may be HDR and DolbyVision ready, but colour accuracy and brightness could be better
- no notification light is a drag -- no way to know if you missed a text, call or email if you don't use Always On Display or wake it to check
- seems that LG spent a lot of time optimizing the cameras (appreciate it, LG!), and less time optimizing the OS (is there a battery drain issue?). for those ppl dissing the SD821 SOC, let's not forget that it's the same guts as the darling Pixel phones, AND also a step up from last year's Galaxy S7/Edge, which many ppl raved about. that said, the 821 just doesn't feel as snappy as it could in the G6 -- not quite like the Pixel experience.

ASW1 said:
Well, there's the price. Got it for less than €400 so that certainly distinguishes it from other flagships.
And it's not a particularly good phone I admit, but it's not a bad phone either, certainly not for this kind of money.
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Exactly what I said a few posts up too
---------- Post added at 11:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:31 PM ----------
WstrKuNoužč said:
Even G3 is still very active in development today so i don't really believe G6's is just gonna stop or slow after a while.
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I hope so, but we'll need a few more devs (and a bloody unlock for dual sim) for the G6 to have such longevity. I also have a G1 and developement has slowed to only one dev.

thanks guys for your responses i still haven't decided if i want to buy this device.

I love my g6. It's one of the most valued and Balance ed phones for me. I own honor 8 Pro, s8 plus and Moto z2 play.
Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

nchc said:
The G6 was DOA when it was released with a 821 processor in a supposed 2017 flagship phone. Consequently sales of G6 are terrible
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You said in a later post that the G6 just has nothing special to compete and I agree with that. But not that the processor has anything to do with it. The average consumer doesn't know or care about the processor in their phone, or most of the other specs that we obsess over. The average consumer bases their decision on much more important factors: 1) what's being advertised heavily; 2) what looks sexy; 3) what will impress their friends; 4) what is prominently displayed at their carrier.
I do feel that the more aggressive pricing we are seeing now counts as a distinguishing feature. If you have the opportunity to show people they can have "just as good" of a phone for half the price, you can sell them. But it's hard to even make that case when people walk in the door wanting an iPhone or GS8 just based on marketing.

Sales are not terrible just not where LG needs them to be. They sold more then 14m G6 devices, yet Goolge didnt even sell 2 million Pixels.
Its a great device I actually switched from the Pixel. I wish the camera was Pixel speed but otherwise I am happy with this device.

WstrKuNoužč said:
Have you actually used it? I have a feeling you haven't.
SD 821 is still a top processor today and this phone runs anything i throw at it no lag, no stutter, no problem. I had a chance to "test drive" Galaxy S8 with it's "superior" SoC and i didn't like it at all. The system was stuttery and laggy mess, even after hard reset, and games ran same as on G6. The only difference you're gonna see today is in benchmarks. So in the end G6, even with it's somewhat "inferior" SoC, is a lot smoother and more responsive phone overall.
Having a faster SoC means nothing if your UX is unoptimized and bloated lag-fest - Samsung style.
We may see a difference in 3 or 4 years, when games and apps might actually be more demanding, but not today. Today G6 is the better, smoother runnnig phone that's why, in the end, i choose it over S8 and i'm loving it.
+It has a better camera, better audio quality (and i'm using non-Quad-DAC version), same battery life, better in-hand feel, no ****ty and pointless edge display and is a lot tougher to break.
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Wow that's surprising for a SD 835 device. The LG G6 wins for 2017 unless next month's launch of the even better LG V30! That LG brings so much hype that the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 looks boring. LG optimizes their phone so good that LG G6 camera, smooth UI, and battery life is great and awesome. LG is best.

I got this device to and its awesome !!
Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

Is the V20 still worth buying for <$200 USD

Hi, long time XDA user here. I'm currently using a OnePlus X. I was considering springing for the new OnePlus 6, but I really shouldn't spend that much money right now. I saw that the V20s (a phone I was interested in previously) are very affordable now and I imaging for 200 bucks I can push my upgrade down the road for a bit, maybe until the OP6+ comes out. I've had an LG phone before and liked it , but it's been quite a few years.(Windows Mobile fellas, not even Windows Phone)
1. Is the V20 still viable, does it run well with current apps and networks?
2. How is the ROM support doing nowadays, and is the rooting process in general still possible from the firmware that currently ships on the phone? (I'm not sure what LGs stance on bootloader locking is)
3. Do custom roms make use of the secondary screen at all?
4. What are the phone's weakest points or biggest annoyances today? As in, what hasn't really stood the test of time?
Thanks for any info you can provide me.

Kevin1a said:
Hi, long time XDA user here. I'm currently using a OnePlus X. I was considering springing for the new OnePlus 6, but I really shouldn't spend that much money right now. I saw that the V20s (a phone I was interested in previously) are very affordable now and I imaging for 200 bucks I can push my upgrade down the road for a bit, maybe until the OP6+ comes out. I've had an LG phone before and liked it , but it's been quite a few years.(Windows Mobile fellas, not even Windows Phone)
1. Is the V20 still viable, does it run well with current apps and networks?
2. How is the ROM support doing nowadays, and is the rooting process in general still possible from the firmware that currently ships on the phone? (I'm not sure what LGs stance on bootloader locking is)
3. Do custom roms make use of the secondary screen at all?
4. What are the phone's weakest points or biggest annoyances today? As in, what hasn't really stood the test of time?
Thanks for any info you can provide me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs
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Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I was looking for.

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs
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I wouldn't say that with the active development of Lineage OS and Any Kernel.
Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
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This sums it up. Seems the v20 is dead. Maybe oreo will bring more development but I doubt it since a lot of people have moved on

WhiteWidows said:
I wouldn't say that with the active development of Lineage OS and Any Kernel.
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Oh yeah lineage that half baked os that's unofficial and you lose main features of the phone and have to flash constant updates or use work arounds to have basic functionality, yeah that's development right there.
Sent from my LG-H910 using XDA Labs

LG V20 Still A good Phone
Well maybe you would like a different perspective. I fist laid eyes on the LG V20 in a Verizon store about a month ago but they would not sell it to me because it is not made anymore. So I just purchased an unlocked version from B&H in New York. My first attraction to this phone is the second screen which i think is extremely useful. Then i noticed that the LG V20 has a removable back panel so you can replace the battery. I have been looking for that ever since my NOTE 4 bricked two years ago. in the interim I had a Motorola Pure X which took a look for me to part with. SO that was all I needed to make the choice to buy it. now i do not have to carry a battery brick or make sure i am near a charger all day. i can carry a spare battery in my pocket. Next fringe benefit was finding out that this phone has 3 cameras, 1 front facing and 2 rear, one of them being a wide angle lens. But the love keeps getting better... add to that a removable SD card up to 256 GB or more when they come out with one, fingerprint censor, 64 GB phone and you have a pretty serious contender. I love this phone. I love it so much i but another one. Actually at the moment i have 3. Oh and yes, probably one of the only phones left that has both a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a type C charging port. The Audio and DAC units in this phone is better than most high end audio gear that you would find in a music studio, and i am a musician. I have heard of complaints about the camera quality, but to that i say if you want pictures with that kind of quality, go out and buy a Nikon! Also i have heard that manufactures are moving away form 3.5 mm jacks and removable batteries because they want to make the phones more water proof. Bull Hockey!! Are people so obsessed with phones that they cannot leave the thing alone for a 10 minute swim. The real reason is because the manufacturer doesn't want you keeping a phone more than 2 years so they make the batteries last only that long and if you cannot replace the battery, you need a new phone. (or you can go the route of trying to put a new battery in your phone and butcher it to death).
Long story to say do not count the LG V20 out yet. it is a superb phone, has many features that a lot of other phones just do not have. I am very pleased with both of mine and i love the second screen.
The only bad experience i have had is that in order to get Verizon's Visual Voice mail, i had to purchase a Verizon version, and the front camera crapped out after a week. It was supposed to be new, but the box looks like it has been ridden around the world, so i doubt it was new. SO i am sending that back but still have both of my unlocked US996's.

cnjax said:
The v20 is basically end of life, bootloader unlocking and root, is dicey depending on the variant you buy, development slowed down to a trickle for some time, common issues include, poor cell reception, screen retention, bad mics, the v20 is still waiting for Oreo and the phone was released over two years ago and probably will never see another os upgrade after that. Currently second screen only works on stock based roms.
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Like, how is December 2016 is more that 2 years ago? Kid, are you sane? More so, Shap 820 even didn't existed more than 2 years ago, it is still actual chip not legacy like some 810, and 835 is pretty much == 820 rebranded and repainted
---------- Post added at 06:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:09 PM ----------
Kevin1a said:
1. Is the V20 still viable, does it run well with current apps and networks?
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Yes, because it's powered by SD820, not Snap 430 or 600 or something
Kevin1a said:
4. What are the phone's weakest points or biggest annoyances today? As in, what hasn't really stood the test of time?
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The weakest point is battery somewhat degraded over time, I could have like 7hrs SOT on Wifi on the start but now after cold winters it shows its age and gives me around 4.5...5 SOT on same router. but battery is exchangeable easily and I hope to buy more fresh one
Some people claim they got screen retention, it's more visible the more southern country you live and more brighter you must set you screen to

I still am keeping it as a backup phone but I am using a different DD. I did take it on a trip though with the 10800 ma battery I have for it. I'm running a stock 918H and it still fairly fast. The SD card and headphone jack are nice too. Still a good buy at $150 or so

I love the second screen and the DAC but being forced to run the stock ROM is a PITA as it's very sluggish. I have a Mi A1 that runs circles around the V20 in terms of performance, which is sad. Meanwhile, if you try to solve the lag, running Lineage OS defeats the purpose and outweighs the benefits of the phone as you won't have the DAC, second screen nor full camera functionality.

Absolutely it is worth it. You can pick up a V30 with a slightly faster processor, and slightly better camera (and that is debatable) for $250. However, you will lose the replaceable battery, the second screen, the IR blaster.
The people that say they are having performance problems have hardware issues. Even stock non-rooted, runs plenty fast, but if you use Alpha ROM, and debloat all the carrier bullsh** then it runs like a beast.
-- Brian

runningnak3d said:
Absolutely it is worth it. You can pick up a V30 with a slightly faster processor, and slightly better camera (and that is debatable) for $250. However, you will lose the replaceable battery, the second screen, the IR blaster.
The people that say they are having performance problems have hardware issues. Even stock non-rooted, runs plenty fast, but if you use Alpha ROM, and debloat all the carrier bullsh** then it runs like a beast.
-- Brian
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I don't have hardware issues. The stock ROM (de-bloated or not) is well known to be sluggish. As I stated in my post, the phone is completely different if running Lineage at the cost of the unique functionality. Aside from many people complaining of the performance under stock as being sluggish, this guy describes it perfectly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZl2GpxekrQ&t=3s

So I have a slow phone? Holy crap! I had no idea!
Stop spreading FUD, and learn how to do things like disable rctd, ccmd, logging, CPU throttling...
-- Brian

runningnak3d said:
Absolutely it is worth it. You can pick up a V30 with a slightly faster processor, and slightly better camera (and that is debatable) for $250. However, you will lose the replaceable battery, the second screen, the IR blaster.
The people that say they are having performance problems have hardware issues. Even stock non-rooted, runs plenty fast, but if you use Alpha ROM, and debloat all the carrier bullsh** then it runs like a beast.
-- Brian
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runningnak3d said:
So I have a slow phone? Holy crap! I had no idea!
Stop spreading FUD, and learn how to do things like disable rctd, ccmd, logging, CPU throttling...
-- Brian
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Your sarcasm isn't appreciated and I'm not spreading fud - this is fact. I've done lots of tweaking and no amount of it will fix what LG did to the stock ROM. You're acting as if I'm the only person who has pointed out the shortcomings of the V20. The fact is, it is a fantastic phone with bad execution of the OS by LG. To be clear, I still use mine but it will soon be retired to secondary usage as my Mi A1 is way better as a DD.

No, I am sure there are plenty of others out there complaining as well -- that also don't know the first thing about how to get the most out of their phone.
Is the V20 the end-all / be-all? Nope, but it is the last great flagship phone that was released. Everything since is just a waste of money.
-- Brian

We just bought our T-mobile V20's this year. Great phones for about $150 in excellent used (hard to tell they were used) condition. Great photos and DAC, among other things. We couldn't find anything comparable for that price, new or used.

Mine is still great. Stock, unrooted, H990DS with a zerolemon 10000mAh extended battery. The image retention doesn't bother me - it's not permanent. I use the widescreen camera a lot, and charge the device once every 3-4 days. The IR transmitter sees plenty of use too, as does the DAC and the dual SIM.
There's nothing else that fits my needs. Dreading when it dies.

I just got me V20 H918 in excellent condition with 3 batteries and 4 cases for $185 shipped. I've come from G4 which started to have GPS lock issues, sometimes. My LG G3 GPS is no longer working at all. lol. Not sure what's up with that. Was this fixed in v20 or is this just tear and wear on GPS chip or something?
My main attraction point is camera manual controls and i mean white balance K numbers and mic for loud concert recording as well as removable battery and i prefer bigger screens and 5.7 upgrade from 5.5 on G4 is welcomed too. Oh and DAC was other feature that attracted me as well. What's weird that G4 concert recording was terrible but G3 was fantastic. Never distorted. Hoping V20 has great mic like G3 did. Let me know your thoughts.
I will NOT buy a phone if it doesn't have removable battery as i refuse to spend $800 on phone every few years and be forced by manufacturers due to profit.
Don't know any other manufacturer that lets you do white balance in K values. I wish aperture would be f=1.6 or f1.5 but had no complains with 1.8 on G4. Kinda sucks wide angle is f2.4, as it should be 1.8 or lower. It seems ppl use that camera more often. I guess night shots in standard angle is to use.
Thought about pixel but don't have manual control like LG does. If you guys have any suggestions on used phone <$250 that blows V20 out of water please let me know. I use to be Samsung Galaxy lover but since LG introduced manual controls i switched. There was pro photographer article on G4 camera so ppl that think iphone or samsung has better camera u should read that article. But let me know if there is something better.
P.S
In process of rooting it as i need it for kernel auditor for screen colors profiles (Vomer DeepRich) and kernel i/o scheduler control and kin screen and lux too, among few more other apps. Came with 10u so downgraded to 10p, bootloader unlocked already. Next will be laf exploid root method.

I just reflashed the excellent Alpha ROM on my V20 and managed to rid myself of a significant portion of the sluggishness I mentioned by getting rid of Magisk. I'm not sure what was going on but Magisk was definitely slowing everything down on my V20. Recommend if you buy this phone to stay away from Magisk or at least keep this is mind if you intend to root.

im on Mi A1 right now and im planning also to switch to V20.