LG Unveils V20 Android Nougat Phone With 3.5mm Jack, Audiophile Smarts

[MacRumors]

LG unveiled its new flagship V20 smartphone in New York on Tuesday evening, just 24 hours ahead of Apple's iPhone 7 event in San Francisco.

A successor to last year's LG V10, the new 5.7-inch phone is pitched as a "multimedia heavyweight" and boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, a 2560x1440 QHD IPS LCD display, and a fingerprint sensor home button.

The front of the handset boasts an always-on screen "ticker" strip along the top that can display mini apps and notifications, such as music controls and calendar events.

The V20 sacrifices a unibody aluminum design in favor of a microSD slot (up to 2TB) and a removable 3200mAh battery via a metal backplate, while the top and bottom parts of the phone are made from silicon polycarbonate, earning the V20 a MIL-STD 810G drop and shock resistance rating. The device packs a USB-C port, water resistance is non-existent though.

While Apple is expected to drop the headphone jack with the iPhone 7 series, LG is very much relying on the analog port to appeal to audiophiles: the V20 boasts a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and a 72-stage volume control fine-tuned by Bang & Olufsen, with support for most lossless music formats including FLAC and Apple Lossless. It also includes a HD audio recorder able to capture "studio quality audio" from three ultra-sensitive built-in microphones.

The rear of the phone houses a 16-megapixel camera with a 75-degree field of view backed by optical image stabilization and laser, phase, and contrast autofocusing, with a second wide-angle 8-megapixel sensor boasting a larger 135-degree field of view. The front-facing 5-megapixel camera also packs a wide angle mode.

Software-wise, the V20 is the first phone to come pre-installed with Android 7.0 Nougat, which features vertical split screen view, picture in picture, VR mode, file-based encryption, and more.

With Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 suffering from a disastrous global recall due to reports of exploding batteries, LG's feature-packed V20 phablet finds itself first in line to go up against the iPhone 7 Plus, at least for now. While LG is yet to announce pricing and availability, consumers can expect the V20 to hover around the same $800 price point as the iPhone 7 Plus and Note 7.

MacRumors will have full coverage of Apple's iPhone 7 event today, with a live blog on our front page at MacRumors.com and updates in 140 characters or less through our @MacRumorsLive account on Twitter.

Article Link: LG Unveils V20 Android Nougat Phone With 3.5mm Jack, Audiophile Smarts

 

[sunapple]

MicroSD, removable battery, headphone jack... WHAT YEAR IS IT?

 

[Avieshek]

I miss those days of MacRumors in MacRumors.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Anyone who says that a smartphone can take "studio quality recordings" without context cannot be taken seriously.

 

[Avieshek]

MicroSD, removable battery, headphone jack... WHAT YEAR IS IT?

2016

 

[keysofanxiety]

While LG is yet to announce pricing and availability, consumers can expect the V20 to hover around the same $800 price point as the iPhone 7 Plus and Note 7.

If you're going to pay as much for an Android phone as you would for an iPhone, why not just get an iPhone?

Regardless, looks like a nice phone. Certainly will appeal more to a niche market. It's always good to have the option there if you want it.

 

[Nozuka]

The backside has a face.

 

[anthorumor]

If you're going to pay as much for an Android phone as you would for an iPhone, why not just get an iPhone?

Well, some people like Android and/or are invested in its ecosystem. That and SD card and 3.5mm jack.

 

[MonkeySee....]

We've seen this all before. Companies sticking to their guns and will only be a matter of time before they wise up.

 

[Sefstah]

2016

Tell that to Apple

 

[sshambles]

For all those about to be hurt by the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. 10 years. 2005 vs 2015.

 

[Avieshek]

Tell that to Apple

He'll advise me to get an Apple Watch.

 

[solipsism]

It seems at least 1, perhaps 2 or 3 years, premature to use "Phone With 3.5mm Jack" in title as a way of attracting readership.

Let's wait until USB-C-only headphones gain over a 50% unit share of higher-end smartphones before we determine that a 3.5mm headphone jack is newsworthy.

 

[Someone256]

LG v20? Is this a joke? Just buy an iPhone.

 

[RobPeach]

Shame about the slow and sluggish operating system.

No matter what hardware they throw at the operating system for me it won't be as fluid as iOS.

 

[Sefstah]

Wow, how can this cheap knock off phone have a 2TB SD card slot, dual camera with laser focus, better screen and a headphone jack while Apple has what again? Can't say they copied Apple because Apple has none of this!

 

[igazza]

Headphone jack is good.

 

[iGeek2014]

Shame about the slow and sluggish operating system.

No matter what hardware they throw at the operating system for me it won't be as fluid as iOS.

Saw the LG G5 yesterday. Phone looked nice but the software hampered the experience.

 

[Sefstah]

For all those about to be hurt by the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. 10 years. 2005 vs 2015.

My 2015 15 inch Macbook Pro has a headphone jack. What is your point?

 

[keysofanxiety]

Wow, how can this cheap knock off phone have a 2TB SD card slot, dual camera with laser focus, better screen and a headphone jack while Apple has what again? Can't say they copied Apple because Apple has none of this!

Well, Apple has a phone that doesn't need a quad-core processor and 4GB RAM just to run the OS smoothly.

When you boil it all down, there's a possibility that's more important than everything you've just mentioned.

 

[djcerla]

Wow, how can this cheap knock off phone have a 2TB SD card slot, dual camera with laser focus, better screen and a headphone jack while Apple has what again? Can't say they copied Apple because Apple has none of this!

try the "LG experience", then report back.

 

[Sefstah]

Well, Apple has a phone that doesn't need a quad-core processor and 4GB RAM just to run the OS smoothly.

When you boil it all down, there's a possibility that's more important than everything you've just mentioned.

Your right! Lets be happy with no features, yay! Of course it runs smooth if all it does is surf the web and take pictures.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Your right! Lets be happy with no features, yay! Of course it runs smooth if all it does is surf the web and take pictures.

You'll find that stability and performance are far more important than being able to customise the odd icon. That's one of the many reasons why iOS devices are practically ubiquitous in businesses now. They're even being used in medicine and military.

It's an irony you talk about iOS lacking features, when a lot of people who use iOS devices in their livelihood are infinitely more productive than Apple haters could ever hope to be with their Android devices.

 

[Sefstah]

try the "LG experience", then report back.

The phones not out yet, but Im more than happy to try any other phone along with ip7.

 

[miknos]

Seems like the Chinese keep a close eye here to see what users want and what Apple is gonna do.

The always on stripe came from a MacBook pro rumour. As for what users want:
The 3.5 jack. It's a feature now!
Longer battery (removable so you can buy two!)
SD card. No measly 16gb!

And the useless snapdragon-ultra-mega-long-million-ram with mega bla bla bla that does not perform as good as a 2-yo Apple's cpu.