The V10 was LG’s answer to Samsung’s Galaxy Note line. Huge screen, rugged design, and an auxiliary screen used for showing notifications were a great combination, making the V10 quite popular. Its successor, the LG V20 kept the best parts of the old model, bringing some welcome upgrades, like a dual camera setup on the back, and the inclusion of much faster processor. Let’s check what the main differences between two models are and is the LG V10 still a good choice.
Design, Dimensions
The LG V10 sports a rugged design, with the backside made out of rubberized plastic featuring dotted design for phenomenal grip. This was an excellent choice since the phone is huge, tricky to use with one hand. With rubberized back, the V10 lies in your hands extremely well, and the rubbery feel makes it quite comfortable to hold. The V20 dropped the rubberized back in favor of the combination of aluminum and silicone. The grip isn’t as good as with the previous model; despite this, the V20 is still pretty stable while holding it. Both models are MIL-STD-810G certified, making them resistant to drops from up to 4 feet.
The V10 had the power button and volume rocker placed on the back, below the main camera, while the LG V20 features power button and volume rocker placed on the sides.
The two models are almost exactly the same size. The LG V10 measures 159.6 x 79.3 x 8.6 mm, being only slightly wider and a millimeter thicker than the V20 (159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6 mm). Generally, the V10 and V20 are huge devices meant for people who don’t mind having a humongous-looking phablet.
Hardware, Display
The V10’s main problem was the chipset used. Even though the device debuted in October 2015, it features a dated Snapdragon 808 (4×1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 & 2×1.8 GHz Cortex-A57, along with Adreno 418 GPU). While the chipset isn’t slow or anything, there are much better choices for powering a flagship device than the Snapdragon 808. There are 4 GB of RAM and 32 or 64 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via an SD card slot. Overall, the phone performs very snappily, but it could’ve been faster.
LG didn’t make the same mistake with the V20. The device is powered by extremely powerful Snapdragon 820 (2×2.15 GHz Kryo & 2×1.6 GHz Kryo with Adreno 530). With 4 gigs of RAM, the phone is a proper powerhouse; the 820 isn’t as fast as the latest 821, but it still offers piles of power and is capable of chewing through anything you throw at him with ease. There are two storage options; 32 GB and 64 GB with a dedicated SD card slot for expanding storage space.
Instead of making the display curved from both sides, LG decided to place an auxiliary screen above the main display, used for showing time, weather, and notifications. The main screen measures 5.7-inches is of IPS type and features 1440p resolution. The secondary display has a resolution of 160 x 1040 pixels and measures 2.1-inches. The display is the same on both devices, excellent for any kind of work, offering natural looking colors and wide viewing angles. The only potential problem is its huge size, but if you have a problem with that you won’t think about buying a LG V10 or LG V20 anyway.
Camera
The LG V10 features an excellent 16 MP (f/1.8) main camera, supporting laser autofocus, OIS, LED flash, and HDR. The camera is excellent and will snap nice photos even during the night. It’s capable of taking 2160p@30fps videos. On the front, you can find a dual 5 MP (f/2.0) selfie snapper.
The LG V20 came with a dual main camera setup. On the back, you can find a combo of one 16 MP (f/1.8) sensor and one 8 MP (f/2.4) sensor used for bokeh effect. The camera offers laser autofocus, OIS, LED flash, and HDR; photos are crispy, with lots of details and natural colors. The main camera is capable of recording 2160p@30fps videos. The selfie snapper has 5 MP (f/1.9).
Battery, Software
One of the V10’s main problems was its poor battery. The battery has only 3000 mAh, barely capable of lasting through one whole day of usage. The V20 sport a bit larger battery (3200 mAh) that should last longer, since the Snapdragon 820 is better at conserving power.
The V10 came with Android Lollipop and is upgradable to Android Marshmallow. The V20 comes with the new Android Nougat coated with LG’s UX 5.0.
Conclusion
The LG V10 is hard to find since the phone launched in just a few selected markets. If you can find it, expect a price of around $420 (an average price on Amazon). The V10 is a great phone for the price, but if you don’t want to charge the battery every day, look for some other model. The LG V20 can be found for around $800, offering rugged chassis, dual camera on the back, plenty of power under the hood, and an excellent dual-screen solution. If you don’t mind a huge screen, the LG V20 can be a great choice. On the other hand, if you’re okay with a Snapdragon 808 and a relatively poor battery, the V10 can be a great phablet for the price.