LG V10 review: two-screen beast a strong challenger to Galaxy Note 5

With two screens and two selfie cameras, the new LG V10 is one of the most impressive high-end phablets on the market.

LG has taken a gamble with the V10’s design. SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg

After wowing us with the G4 last summer, LG has decided to pull out all the stops with the V10.

Launched last month for about Dh2,399, the V10 takes aim at high-end phablets such as the iPhone 6S Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

Make no mistake, LG has decided to throw everything into this beast. It has not one but two screens, its primary display stretched out to 5.7 inches.

It also has not one but two selfie cameras, for both personal and group shots. And at long last LG has included a fingerprint scanner on the rear of the phone for easy unlocking via your index finger.

Once again, however, it’s the rear-facing camera that really stands out. The V10 retains the G4’s incredible 16MP snapper, adding more manual controls for both stills and videos.

The result is the best smartphone camera on the market, with an automatic mode that delivers incredible images and plenty of control options to keep the more adventurous photographers happy.

The V10’s primary display is, as per the G4, a Quad HD display that offers a more muted, naturalistic colour palette than the Amoleds of Samsung and others.

With a pixel density of 515 ppi, the Star Wars trailer looked great, with deep colours and smooth rendering, almost as impressive as the iPhone 6S Plus.

LG has taken a gamble with the V10’s design, pointedly deciding not to try to match the glamorous curves of the likes of the iPhone and the Galaxy S6 Edge range.

Instead the V10 is encased in a no-nonsense rubberised back and solid metal sides. It weighs in at 192 grams, exactly the same as the iPhone 6S Plus, but nearly 40g heavier than the Galaxy S6 Edge+.

The V10 is therefore unlikely to win over smartphone users for whom premium design and lightness is the be all and end all.

But with its impressive display and astonishing camera, it more than holds its own against high-end phablets from the likes of Apple and Samsung, making it one of the best smartphones on the market.

q&a just the job for selfie lovers

John Everington offers more insights into the new LG V10:

You mentioned something about the V10 having two displays.

It’s not a genuine second display like the Yotaphone. The V10’s second “display” is a narrow strip that perches to the top right of the main display. It can be customised to display five of your most recently used apps, five of your favourite contacts, controls for the music or upcoming calendar items.

And is this a useful feature?

It belongs in the same category as the edge sidebar on the Galaxy Edge range: a neat little feature but hardly essential, and perhaps a bit of a waste of space on such a large device.

You also mentioned two selfie cameras.

This is far more interesting. There are indeed two front-facing 5MP cameras, one with an 80-degree lens for the portrait style, personal selfie; the second 120-degree lens is for the landscape style, group selfie. Perhaps not essential, but a more compelling feature for the selfie-conscious.

Sounds good. What else do I need to know?

The V10 is one of the few premium smartphones left with a removable battery, a feature that still seems to be important to a number of users. While there’s no room for a second Sim card, there’s a slot for a Micro SD card. The phone comes pre-loaded with Android Lollipop, overlaid with the not particularly aesthetically pleasing LG skin.

And the most important question of all …

It’s available in “Space” black, “Luxe” white, “Modern” beige, “Ocean” blue and “Opal” blue.

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