LG W30 review: Affordable phone, good design but lacks performance

Following the footsteps of its competitor Samsung, South Korean electronics major LG recently announced its India-centric W-series smartphones.  The first batch of smartphones in the series include an entry-level LG W10 and an affordable feature-rich proposition the LGW30. The latter brings V-shaped notch screen, triple rear cameras, big capacity battery and a redesigned operating system that looks almost stock Android to the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. The phone seems to be a balanced proposition in its segment, but how does it fare in real life scenarios? Let’s find out:

Design

The LG W30 looks premium and has a lightweight build. It has a V-shaped waterdrop notch display with limited bezels on the sides and top, and a thick chin at the bottom. The phone’s back is made up of polycarbonate with a glossy profile which gives the impression that it is made of glass. Like other phones with similar build, the phone’s glossy body is a fingerprint magnet and gets easily smudged. However, it has good resistance that protects it from accidental scratches and scuffs.

Display

The LG W30 has a 6.26-inch LCD display of HD+ resolution. The display has a V-shaped notch on the top, which can be customised to look like a U-shaped or full notch through settings menu. There is an option to disable the notch, but that reduces the display size by disabling the screen area around the notch. The display is mediocre and shows shift in contrast when viewed from angles. Though it renders decent colours and the brightness is also satisfactory, its underwhelming resolution makes it look pixelated and render it weak for reading text, surfing web and watching videos. Speaking of videos, the phone lacks WideVine L1 certifications, therefore, it streams content from over-the-top platforms at a max resolution of 480p.

Performance

The LGW 30 is powered by a MediaTek Helio P22 mobile processor, paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage – expandable through microSD card slot. The phone’s performance is disappointing. Though it handles basic tasks such as calling, messaging, etc. with ease, it shows inconsistency in handling anything beyond basics. The phone lags and transitions become choppy, resulting in abysmal user experience. You can play casual games such as Subway Surfer and Candy Crush, but graphic intensive gaming titles such as PuBG and Asphalt 8 is beyond its capability. Powering the phone is a 4,000 mAh battery, which keeps it going for more than a day.

Camera

The LG W30 has a triple rear camera setup on the rear, featuring a 12-megapixel primary sensor of f/2.0 aperture, a 13MP wide-angle fixed-focus sensor of an f/2.2 aperture, and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front there is a 16MP sensor for selfies and video calling.

The photos taken during day light comes out sharp and with good detailing. The colours look vivid and the output is decent. However, the autofocus is sluggish and needs improvement. The wide-angle camera also performs decently in day light but the output lacks detailing and the images come out a bit grainy. The W30 does have a dedicated night mode for low light imaging, but the rear camera struggles in capturing details and the photos taken using night mode come out grainy. The selfie camera works good in adequate light, but the photos come out slightly overexposed at times.

Verdict

Priced at Rs 9,999, the W30 is LG's attempt to make a comeback in the Indian smartphone market. Although the phone offers a premium design and good battery, it lacks the performance and the camera output is satisfactory. It is hard to recommend this phone knowing its weaknesses, but you can consider the LG W30 if you need an affordable smartphone with premium design, decent cameras, good battery and stock Android operating system.