Pixel 2 with a Headphone Jack? – LG V30 Review
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2018-05-06
·
1,354 words · ~6 min read
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i did get a couple of things wrong in my review of the lg g5 that was my bad
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but knowing all that stuff at the time still
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wouldn't have changed anything about my conclusion to this day
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i don't believe that the bulky design and the trade-offs in camera quality and
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water resistance were offset by the promise of modular upgrades
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and other than a surprisingly vocal minority apparently neither did most
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people but while the g6 fixed a handful of my
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gripes including adding water resistance it wasn't until the recent launch of the
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v30 that i saw this kind of demand for
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an lg phone review again so immediately after finishing my pixel
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2 video i dropped it for the v30
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let's see how that went after i fill your ears with Corsair's
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message about the new hs50 multi-platform three and a half
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millimeter headset it features 50 millimeter neodymium magnets and more
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check it out now at the link below
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right out of the box the v30 is something that the g series never was
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it's a head turner i've gotten more comments on this than i did during the
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couple of weeks that i spent using the me mix 2 and the mix 2 is a stunning
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looking device lg has taken the same kind of leap
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forward here that samsung did when they went from the plastic s5 to the curvy
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glass and aluminum s6 edge imo
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and under the hood you'll find all the things that the discerning consumer
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would expect from a flagship phone these days
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yes actually all of them with the highlights
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compared to the eerily similar pixel 2 xl being micro sd expansion
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wireless charging and yes a headphone jack and not just any
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headphone jack google placed its bets on users preferring to listen aloud
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equipping the pixel 2 xl with one of the best sets of front-facing stereo
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speakers that i've ever heard on a smartphone while lg
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skimped on a single palm-firing speaker
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and then went all in on the headphone experience and as someone who uses both
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about equally i am really torn on this one like damn
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because the v30s headphone jack is more than just present it stands out
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presumably the reason it's disabled by default is to save some battery life but
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if you listen to music throughout the day as much as i do lg's quad amp hi-fi
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quad dax setting is a must i'm not going
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to say that it is competitive with an external amp and dac that cost as much
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as the whole phone and it should really have a simple touch
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and drag custom eq configuration option but even with those complaints in mind
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this is the first time since probably ever that i felt even
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remotely tempted to use digital filters on a phone the short preset ended up
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being a great match for the trashy pop music that i listen to and it makes this
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device a fantastic middle ground between
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the ho-hum audio solutions that dominate the smartphone market and then investing
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a bunch of extra money not to mention pocket space into something external
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sold then right uh hold on
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let's talk about the screen i didn't mention the blue shift on the
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pixel 2 xl while i was working on my review and the reason is that frankly in
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my opinion that whole thing got blown way out of proportion
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it is more pronounced on the lg made
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po-led panel which appears to be a close relative of the one in the v30 than it
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is on the samsung amoled panel in the smaller pixel 2
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but it doesn't affect any of the angles that i hold my phone at and OLED
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displays of all flavors have exhibited this kind of behavior to varying degrees
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for so long now but i don't even consider it noteworthy anymore so i
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liked the display on the pixel 2 xl and i like it on the v32
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a far bigger concern is the potential for burn-in
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now my pixel 2 xl and b30 are both still
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perfect which is again why i didn't mention it
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but i do have some bad news for you guys now theoretically any OLED can get
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burned eventually some just faster than others
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and if any of the units out there are suffering from baked on on-screen
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buttons after just a couple of weeks this does set off some alarms for me
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the good news though is that by regularly mixing up your on-screen
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elements i should have changed this watch face more often on that subject by
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running lower brightness overall and by
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avoiding notorious apps like waze you can prolong your display's life and to
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give consumers additional confidence lg is offering an extra year of warranty
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just for registering the device as long as you're american
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the rest of the world gets a good old-fashioned sorry about that
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and while as a canadian i can certainly appreciate that gesture i'd rather have
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another year of warranty and on the subject of things i'd rather
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have there are a few other v30 drawbacks that do need to be addressed here the
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battery is a little small for such a large phone it didn't really affect me
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day-to-day and my wanderings about town but
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the xl2's is bigger the camera is also
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immediately and obviously inferior to other similarly priced flagship
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smartphones like the iphone 8 plus galaxy s8 and pixel 2 xl and lg's
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Android skin while functional didn't light my world on fire even though i
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have an unlocked phone it shipped chalk full of bloatware and while their
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animation style actually contributes to the phone feeling really snappy it lacks
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something not just something anything to
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set it apart where's the swipe down for notifications
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on the rear touch sensor where's the squeeze for a google assistant where's
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the system wide camera quick launch
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it only does volume down if the phone isn't locked and
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dare i say it where's the bixby button
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as skinned Android experiences go lg's
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is fine and never offended me in any way
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it even allows the software nav buttons to be remapped google
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and the v30s hardware is both stylish and powerful
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but i feel like all but the hardcore
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wired headphone nerds are going to gravitate towards other options like the
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galaxy s8 or pixel 2 xl
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