LG V20

LG V20
LG V20
BrandLG Electronics
ManufacturerLG Electronics
SloganLife's Good When You Play More[1]
SeriesV series LG Ultra-Premium Category
ModelH990DS (Global Dual-SIM)
Asia: H990N (Hong Kong)
America: H910 (AT&T); H918 (T-Mobile); LS997 (Sprint); US996 (US Cellular); VS995 (Verizon); H990T (Mexico); H915 (Canada)
Korea: F800L (LG U+); F800S (SK Telecom); F800K (KTF)
Compatible networks
  • 4G+/LTE-A
  • X12 LTE Cat.12 up to 600 Mbps download speed
First released
  • September 29, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-09-29) (South Korea)
  • October 14, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-10-14) (Philippines)[2]
  • October 21, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-10-21) (U.S.A.)
  • November 2016; 7 years ago (2016-11) (United Arab Emirates)[3]
  • November 8, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-11-08) (Australia)[4]
  • December 2016; 7 years ago (2016-12) (India)[5]
Discontinued2020
PredecessorLG V10
SuccessorLG V30
RelatedLG G5, LG Q8
Form factorSlate
Dimensions159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6 mm
Mass174 g (6.1 oz)
Operating systemOriginal: Android 7.0 "Nougat"

Current: Android 8.0 "Oreo" (international)
Android 9.0 "Pie" (F800L/S/K only)

Unofficial alternative: Android 10, Android 11, Android 12.1, Android 13, Android 14
System-on-chipQualcomm Snapdragon 820
CPUQuad-core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo), HMP (2clusters), MSM8996, ARMv8 64bit architecture, 14 nm
GPUAdreno 530 with VulkanAPI 1.0 full support
Memory4 GB LPDDR4 RAM (3.7 GB usable)
Storage64GB (52GB usable), encrypted EXT4 Filesystem
Removable storagemicroSDXC up to 2 TB*(TexFAT Filesystem)
Battery3,200 mAh/12.3Wh (removable); LG BL-44E1F Li-Ion
Display
SoundBottom-firing mono speaker, ESS Sabre "32bit Hi-Fi" QuadDAC+Headphones Amplifier
Rear camera
  • 16 MP f/1.8 aperture 75° normal angle lens
  • 8 MP f/2.4 aperture 135° wide angle lens
  • OIS,2x Optical zoom, 4K/30fps video recording, Support Google CameraAPI2 manual mode, PDAF(Phase Detection AutoFocus) and Laser AF(LDAF) with Contrast AF, Dual LED flash
Front camera5 MP f/1.9 aperture,83/120° wide-angle lens, FullHD 1080p video recording
ConnectivityUSB-C 1.0 reversible USB2.0 speed, Bluetooth 4.2 with AptX-HD, LE, A2DP, NFC(File sending and Tap&Pay), GLONASS GPS support, IR for LG Remote, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac with dual-band(2.4GHz and 5GHz), FM radio with RDS)
OtherMIL-STD810G US Military standard Drop protection, AL6013 body, PolyCarbonate plastic up&down**, Metal battery cover with NFC antenna, rear-mounted Fast Fingerprint sensor, QuickCharge 3.0, USB Power Delivery Rev. 2, Steady Record 2.0, 24bit/192kHz Studio Quality sound recording to in FLAC audio format, Barometer sensor,"Game battery saver" energy saving function
Websitelg.com/us/mobile-phones/v20

LG V20 is an Android phone manufactured by LG Electronics, in its LG V series, succeeding the LG V10 released in 2015. Unveiled on September 6, 2016, it was the first phone with the Android Nougat operating system. Like the V10, the V20 has a secondary display panel near the top of the device that can display additional messages and controls, and a quad DAC for audio. The V20 has a user-replaceable battery, unlike its successor, the LG V30, unveiled on 31 August 2017.

Specifications

The LG V20 was released in 2016 as LG's second V-series flagship smartphone. Its list of specifications includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 system-on-chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560×1440) IPS LCD with additional secondary display, dual 16MP (75°, f/1.8) + 8MP (135°, f/2.4) rear cameras, 5MP (120°, f/1.9) front-facing camera, and a 3,200mAh removable battery.

Hardware

The LG V20 continues the user-friendly hardware access design of the LG G5, having a removable back chassis of aluminum alloy for a significantly streamlined and convenient battery removal as well as easy access to internal components for any repairs, with polycarbonate plastic top and bottom caps, a USB-C connector compliant with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0, and a rear-mounted power button with an integrated fingerprint reader. It is available in Dark Grey (named "Titan"), Pink, and Silver color finishes. The V20 features a 5.7-inch 1440p IPS LCD display with up to 500 nits of brightness, coated in Gorilla Glass 4, utilizing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The device includes 64 GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card up to 2TB, and a 3,200 mAh removable battery. The removable aluminum alloy cover, as well as the removable battery, is designed to act as shock and impact dissipation in the event that the V20 is dropped, in which case both will pop out from the main body and absorb the impact, dispersing the weight over the battery and cover, leaving the main components and screen less affected by drop damage compared to other smartphones. This makes the LG V20 one of the most drop shock resistant, durable and resilient consumer smartphones currently available.[6] Similar to the V10, a second, supplemental display is located at the top of the device to the right of the 120° wide-angle front-facing camera. The secondary separate display can be used to show notifications, access controls, and apps, as well as display time and incoming messages. Both screens were made larger and brighter than those found on the V10.

Additional features include an IR blaster, FM radio, a dedicated 24-bit high fidelity audio recorder able to record up to 24-bit/192 kHz with manual channel controls for effective noise elimination of up to 50% in audio/video recording compared to other smartphone audio recorders,[7] Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, as well as dual sim support for the H990N/H990DS international versions which doesn't take the microSD card slot like in most other dual sim supported smartphones. The V20 shipped with Bang & Olufsen H3 in-ear headphones for a limited time, and the phone's audio specifications and sound is tuned by the same company in some countries, including the international variants (indicated by the B&O logo on the back of the cover). Every model of the V20 includes the dedicated ESS Sabre ES9218 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC,[8] able to drive up to 600 ohm headphones to enhance wired headphones sound output quality with specifications of 130 dB SNR, 124 dB DNR and -112 dB THD+N.[9] The LG V20 is currently the most powerful smartphone to have a removable battery.[10][11]

Videos can be recorded with FLAC (lossless) audio tracks.[12]

Software

The V20 ships with Android 7.0 Nougat and LG UX 5.0+ software. It was the first Android device to ship with Nougat.[13][14] Updates to Android 8.0 Oreo for various models were released, but later versions are not supported.[15]

LG supports unlocking the bootloader on US996, allowing them to be rooted and custom ROM images to be installed if available. There is no LG support for unlocking the V20 bootloader; it is reported to be possible though means of DirtySanta (except H918 which instead relies on Lafsploit), but difficult and with the risk of damaging the phone,[16] and custom ROM images such as LineageOS have been unofficially produced.[17]

Unique features

The V20 released with a strong combination of features, including user-replaceable battery, higher quality audio than the competition and strong camera hardware and software. It also had an infrared (IR) blaster that allowed it to control televisions and other remote controlled devices.

As part of its focus on audio and video, it had several strong points. It was one of the few phones at the time with an ultrawide camera, as well as laser autofocus. It had high acoustic overload point(AOP) microphones that allowed recording in very loud concert settings. It also had configurable bitrate video and audio recording, with lossless audio and steerable sound focus and waveform display while recording.

As of Q1 2021, the V20 remains the only phone with a user-replaceable battery, DAC audio, 3.5mm headphone jack and IR transmitter. The phone developed a cult following, despite the bloatware and lack of an easily unlocked bootloader.

References

  1. ^ "LG V20". LG USA.
  2. ^ "When will LG V20 be released in Philippines? - GadgetMatch". gadgetmatch.com. 14 October 2016.
  3. ^ "LG V20 Specifications, Price, Release Date, Dubai, UAE - Tech Bite Me". techbiteme.com. 12 February 2019.
  4. ^ "LG V20: Australian Price And Release Date". 19 October 2016.
  5. ^ "LG V20 With Android 7.0, Dual Screen, Dual Rear Cameras Launched in India". NDTV.
  6. ^ "LG V20 Drop Test - LG Gulf". YouTube.
  7. ^ "LG V20 will have the world's first 32-bit Quad DAC". Phandroid. 11 August 2016.
  8. ^ "The ES9218P SABRE HiFi SoC; 32-bit Stereo Mobile DAC with 2 Volt Headphone Amplifier". ESS Technology. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  9. ^ "What is the LG V20's "Quad DAC" and how does it affect audio quality?". Android Authority. 5 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Hands on: LG V20 review". Techradar. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  11. ^ "LG launches V20 smartphone with Android 7.0 Nougat". The Verge. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  12. ^ LG V20 overview by GSMArena
  13. ^ "NEW LG V20 TO BE WORLD'S FIRST PHONE TO LAUNCH WITH ANDROID 7.0 NOUGAT". LG Newsroom. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  14. ^ V., Cosmin (22 September 2016). "LG V20 becomes world's first Android 7.0 Nougat smartphone on the market, on sale from September 29". phoneArena.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  15. ^ "LG H990DS(LGH990DS) aka LG V20 Dual". LG-firmwares. Retrieved 29 January 2021. This link for H990DS, site has firmware for other V20 models.
  16. ^ "How to root/unlock bootloader Lg v20 h990ds?". XDA Developers Forums. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2021. Thread started 18 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Devices - LG". LineageOS Wiki. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LG V20.
  • Official website
  • "Official Quad DAC press release" (PDF). 2016-11-08. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-10.
  • Phone specifications
  • Measured technical specifications of the ESS Sabre ES9218 32-bit DAC
  • Audiophile DAC
  • Reddit community discussion
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