Despite my article last month about the dangerous trend of pointless upgrades in the smartphone world, I recently upgraded my phone anyways. It’s not as frivolous as it sounds. My old phone kept freezing, so I paid a little extra to get a shiny new device, rather than get another refurbished one for free.
The decision made fiscal sense, at least I tell myself as much.
I jumped ship from Samsung to LG. As a smartphone enthusiast, I find that LG is trying harder to innovate than Samsung is. As stated in the above article, continuing to innovate is crucial for the tech community to keep progressing. I also moved from a standard flagship device to a phablet. For those not in the know, a phablet occupies the space between phone and tablet. When I played with the LG V10 in store, it felt large but manageable; however, I found it to be monstrous when I got it home. The image below should put it into perspective.
Most of my readers are probably wondering why I need such a big phone. The short answer is I don’t. Size was not the deciding factor for me. The V10 boasts incredible internal components that I could not pass up. It sports 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal memory (this is the V10 standard), and expandable storage for up to 2TB of extra data with a micro SD card. In layman’s terms, I can fit a lot of stuff on this phone. It will be nice not having to worry about pictures taking up too much space when I go abroad next year.
The camera is also pretty good. While it is not on par with Samsung, the average user, myself included, will not notice a significant change in picture quality. The dual front facing cameras are also a nice touch. One offers close ups for video chat and selfies while the other offers a wide angle for group selfies. I can’t say that I’ve rigorously tested the front cameras as I have the back because I have never been one to take more selfies than are absolutely necessary. For the most part, the camera functions as expected.
Here is a picture of my betta, Ras Al’Gihl, the demon’s fish, taken on the V10 camera. I really have no other pictures to share because this fish is about as interesting as Crawfordsville is right now.
The most interesting aspect of the V10 is its secondary display. It functions similarly to that of the Galaxy S6 and S7 edge phones by displaying notifications and other information without waking the main screen, thus conserving more battery overall. Apps can also be pinned to the second display, making them accessible when away from the home screen. While this feature is nifty, I don’t find myself using it that much. I mostly use the second display to toggle back and forth between Google and my dictionary app while doing German homework. Besides that, the V10 can serve as a giant pocket watch, constantly displaying the time without waking the home screen.
Design wise, the V10 leaves a little to be desired. Its plastic back does not appear as premium as its competitors like the iPhone 6S Plus and the S6 Edge Plus. However, this should not be a deciding factor in those interested. 90% of users are going to slap a $10 plastic case on it, so it doesn’t make a huge difference. In addition, the finger print scanner is not always accurate. My Samsung Galaxy S5 usually unlocked by the second try, but the V10 frequently requires a few more attempts. It is a frustrating glitch that is likely to be fixed in the next update, but for now I will suffer through it. I refuse to go back to punching in pass codes or drawing patterns like some kind of caveman.
In terms of actual size, I’ve managed to adjust to this monster of a phone. I’ve had to make some lifestyle changes, mostly where my pens go in various pairs of pants. I can manage to use about two-thirds of the screen while holding it in one. I can get to the other areas with my free hand. At times, it does feel more like a tablet than a phone which is not always a bad thing. The display allows articles to be displayed more naturally, and apps feel more cohesive overall. If anyone is looking to dive into the world of phablets, the LG V10 is the best bang for your buck.
