LG V20 Review: The Best Smartphone for Audio Geeks and Creators?

After ditching my Galaxy S8+ I’ve been using the LG V20 for the past several weeks. I love its hi-fi quad DAC, the great camera, HD audio recording and other high-powered features that make it the perfect phone for content creators and audio lovers. Or does it? There’s a lot to live about the V20, but there’s also some typical android bugginess. How much of that is too much.

40 Comments

Julia Jo Kvas

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I have an LG V20 & the sound is ok. Could be improved. I have a few tech questions.. 1) Are there any apps that I can fully trust to protect & clean my phone? 2) Is the screen & phone water resistant (if rain drops land on it for example)? 3) Are there any keyboard apps that can make the keys larger (for people with big fingers)? Thank you

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ivan patten

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

lgv20 rocks

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Robby B.

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

What if Apple made this V20? It would likely cost $1500 dollars, no headphone jack, no second screen, no HIFI Quad DAC and no replaceable battery..

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Mike M

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

My LG V20 came with AKG headphones in the box.

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Vasa Piano Covers

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

hey guys,i am planning to buy this phone,but i am worried about bootploop problem,anyone had the experience?

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Msdj Jdndn

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Copped it for 165 new, hoping to avoid customs

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Lino G Rocha

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Anybody compared audio recording quality between LG V20 and ZTE Axon 7. This video review did not touch the recording quality.

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Anas Shaikh

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Got One for less than 300$…(dual sim)
With B and O earphones…
Good deal ?

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Anders Erichsen

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Never had issues with the phone in regards of bugs and iv had it now for a good while… But as any other phone it sucks battery dry quickly. There is absolutely place for betterment but overall the best phone on the marked and no one takes it place.

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Cesar Gordillo

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

If apple built the v20… We would have to wait another few more years and pay 900 or higher… Not a fair comparison.

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Dank knowledge💫🙏🔥💨

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Just subbed up love the truthful ness

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john johnston

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

My LG v20 still work great and still pleasing me

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Jaem Maddog

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

its awesome like the show called blossom

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David Stewart

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Yep… totally agree with your sentiment on the overall build of the V20. I loved the physical build of the V10, I had the White V10 with the Gold side-rails… well still have it… still going strong after I've fixed the overheating issues with copper heatsink tape (highly recommended).
The V20 is definitely a MEH build. LG excel at making phones with interesting features dragged down to the gutter with crappy build quality and an OS that is at best a token effort. They should bring back a phone with the looks of the V10 and its features with a S8/Apple quality screen and make it not necessarily waterproof but at least drop-proof (like the V10).
As long as the batteries hold out I'll keep both phones going until another better phone with removable batteries and headphone jack comes along that beats it. LG don't hold my loyalty with such crappy customer service either.

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Manuel E. Núñez Cervantes

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

He is just a stupid, it is increíble he does not know even what he is talking about.

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Sauce Boss

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

99.9% of people will put a case on it, really any phone. Plus Nova will make your phone bug out like crazy. Use the themes in the LG store problem solved no bugs.

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Dj Speed

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

You are a apple groupie why are you reviewing this phone dude,go suck on your apple

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Dayoung1s5933

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I love how the phone looks it's boss and yes amazing, too!

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porscheoscar

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I've had issues with the screen from being at 100% brightness 6+ hours a day. Typical IPS latency. I will have it replaced under warranty. That aside its the best phone I've ever owned. I have dropped it too many times to count. Still ticking no broken screen although I use a tempered glass protector at $4 a piece. I have a pair of V-Moda M100 and it drives the shit out of them. Gary Clark Jr. sounds too good on the DAC and M100 combo. I record in full 4K and always make use of those DSLR manual controls. The second screen is by far the most useful feature on the phone. I use it to go to the next track on music apps, to see my notifications without disturbing the main screen and makes app switching a one swipe deal. Android 7.0 came fresh out the box and no shitty update screwing up the phone (hello iOS 11 battery sucking bullshit). And the best feature, removable battery. I have half a dozen spares and just swap them out instead of being a wall monkey or carrying a bulky power bank or overpriced Mophie juice pack. One 7 hour battery is like $9-$12. And then there's expandable memory. I have a 256GB Samsung EVO class 10 which loads my enormous video library from Netflix, YouTube Red, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play lickety split. Apple's UFS is probably a half second quicker to load…glad I didn't pay Apple's ridiculous prices for storage. That SD card cost like $40… Apple want $1250 with tax for their 256GB X. WTF…
As for buggyness, lag or freezing. I've had ZERO. Maybe it's because I do the 35 second reboot when I swap batteries so it keep the phone sharp. Or perhaps its because I uninstall non-Google apps that don't make it into my top 10 rotation. Some apps do suck on Android vs. Apple. But the devs should make better apps. But I still wouldn't use an iPhone. No back button? GTFOH….

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E V

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I have a MacBook Pro 2011 that is bulletproof like you said but my iPhone 6s Plus has proven to be just as buggy as the Note 4 it replaced, especially with IOS 11.

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Dilip Vishwanath

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Should I get the s8 or the v20??

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cynanne1

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

You are not the first person on YouTube mentioning that this phone is buggy. Thanks for your detailed review.

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Tunghoi Lam

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

15:25 I strongly disagree with his statement ," If Apple had built this phone ……….. ". Apple is not interested in making phones like the V20, they are interested in recycling the same phone every year , knowing that isheep will love it, and tech reviewers will hype it up . The V10 and the V20 are in a different league. You are asking too much of Apple to be daring. Bought my mum the V10, its more beautiful and more capable than an iphone , but sadly however, the V10 slipped under most peoples noses.

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Larry Smith

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Stop eating greasy french fries between takes. CLEAN YOUR FINGERS AND CLEAN THE PHONE YOU LAZY BUM!

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aao kabhi haveli pai....

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

How is the battery???

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Chris Won

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Why is this guy doing reviews when he doesn't even know what a qdac is lol

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Varun Nair

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

This guy just cares how a phone looks like. Never coming back to this channel again

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Johnny Marvéll

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

so the screen is "meh"… but you don't explain why. Also, WHY THE FUCK DOESN'T ANYBODY TALK ABOUT THE USER INTERFACE!!!! FOR FUCK'S SAKE!! (btw how the hell are we supposed to see the U.I. when you censor it?!)
The reason many PC people get smart telephones is because the U.I. is appealing!!! who gives a shit about the themes?!And how did it get buggy?! if you put in shit that shouldn't be there, o course it'll bug out!

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Johnny Marvéll

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

500 hundred dollars LOL more like 1,000 now…

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Johnny Marvéll

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

the question is, will the high fidelity DAC, when turned on, drained the battery faster?

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Connor Kenway

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Got my V20 for $20 yes $20!

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Jamike Felix

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I would have gone for the v30 but the lack of removable battery killed it for me. I also went for it because of the "quad" DAC but I think that a portable DAC would be better since I can use it with other sources such as my computer.

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Alexandre Magalhães Donnert Somogyi

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I think the V30 fix the bad things you mentioned.

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ben cherian

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Guys.. Don't anyone has screen retention problem ? Means the icons or alphabets remain faded in background even if we get out of an app say example Whatsapp

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Toney M.

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

The iPhone battery isn't really that great compared to the v20. I've had both, the v20 and the iPhone 7+ the v20 is for people who want it all, it's not meant to be pretty, it's meant to be functional.

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ayyappa ramachandran

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

I'm a reviewer but I don't know… I didn't do the research

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Frank Bostick

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Ive been rocking tgis phone since Jan 2017. I still love it! I run the Google Now Launcher and have had zero issues. As for the DAC, try it with Astro A40's, it sounds amazing!!! Another tidbit is that the USB-C can be used with some multi port adapters, meaning that it can output video via HDMI. (Choetech seems to work best for me.)

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ChopC

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

You should shy away from tech reviewing. You seem to have as much knowlage of it as the the rock in baywatch.

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Niranjan Pazhani Chamy

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

don't judge android based on lg. try using sony or pixel or one plus. i agree with everything you said. that's the compromise i would make because of the ess dac inside that alone costs one third of the price

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sugat sartape

June 10, 2018 at 5:21 pm

Lg v20 best smartphone i love v20

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