LG has announced its second flagship smartphone of 2017 at consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin. The smartphone comes in the form of the LG V30, succeeding the V20 that launched in September last year.

Although in the past the V series hasn't been made available globally, it sounds like the V30 will be so how does it compare to last year's model? We have put the specs of the LG V30 up against the LG V20 to see what the differences are.

LG V30 vs LG V20: Design

  • LG V30 waterproof
  • LG V30 smaller in footprint
  • Both MIL-STD-810G compliant

The LG V20 features a lovely lightweight premium aluminium build with super slim bezels surrounding the display. On the back there is a dual-lens camera setup with a flash to the left, along with a circular fingerprint scanner beneath the camera module. Branding is kept to a minimum with a small LG logo at the bottom of the display and a V20 logo at the bottom of the rear.

It measures 159.7 x 78.1 x 7.6mm and hits the scales at 176g. LG made the V20 MIL-STD-810G compliant in order to better resist shock and impact, but there is no waterproofing on board. The LG V20 features USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The LG V30 continues with the premium design standard set by the V20 and G6, though rather than an aluminium build, it has a glass rear like the G6. A dual-rear camera setup is present with a circular fingerprint sensor beneath the camera module again, though the flash is positioned to the right of the lenses this time round.

The V30 measures 151.7 x 75.4 x 7.6mm and weighs 158g, making it smaller and lighter than the V20. The front has an almost all-screen front, moving the LG logo to the bottom of the rear, while the V30 logo is positioned in the centre. USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack are on board again, along with IP68 waterproofing and MIL-STD-810G compliancy.

LG V30 vs LG V20: Display

  • LG V30 has a larger display 
  • LG V30 has OLED over LCD
  • LG V30 has 18:9 aspect ratio over 16:9

The LG V20 features a 5.7-inch display with a Quad HD resolution that puts its pixel density at 513ppi. It's an IPS LCD display and it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. There is also a 2.1-inch secondary display with a 1040 x 160 pixel resolution at the top of the main display, allowing for access to various notifications and information.

The LG V30 comes with a 6-inch OLED display, making it the first LG device to offer an OLED panel aside from the flexible G Flex smartphone.

The 6-inch display has a 2880 x 1440 pixel resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 537ppi, making it sharper and crisper than the V20 by a fraction and a secondary display is present again but in the form of a 'Floating Bar' that can be swiped away when not required, rather than a fixed bar at the top of the display.

As you might recall, the V30 is smaller in footprint than the V20 despite offering a larger display. This is down to the change in aspect ratio. The V30 offers LG's FullVision display with a 18:9 aspect ratio, as found on the LG G6. It also comes with Dolby Vision and HDR 10, making it better equipped for entertainment over its predecessor.

LG V30 vs LG V20: Camera and audio

  • V30 has higher resolution rear cameras
  • Both have dual-rear cameras
  • Same resolution front camera, but facial recognition on the V30

The LG V20 placed a big focus on camera and video capture, as well as audio, being the first smartphone when it launched to include a 32-bit Quad DAC from ESS and feature ESS's HyperStream 2 audio technology. It has a dual-rear camera with one 16-megapixel sensor offering an f/1.8 aperture and one 8-megapixel sensor with an f/2.4 aperture.

Laser autofocus, optical image stabilisation and an LED flash are all on board, while the front snapper is 5-megapixels with an aperture of f/1.9.

The LG V30 comes with a dual-rear camera too, made up of a 16-megapixel sensor with a 70-degree field of view, OIS and a f/1.6 aperture, and a 13-megapixel sensor with a 120-degree field of view and a f/1.9 aperture.

LG claims the f/1.6 aperture allows for 25 per cent more light than a f/1.8 lens, like the V20 offers. In terms of the front camera, the V30 has a 5-megapixel resolution like the V20, but it also offers facial recognition. There is also a Quad DAC on board, an MQA player and two microphones for video recording so a heavy focus on video and audio once again.

LG V30 vs LG V20: Hardware

  • Faster more capable processor on V30
  • USB Type-C and Quick Charge on both
  • Slightly larger battery capacity on V30 and wireless charging support

The LG V20 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, coupled with 4GB of RAM and a choice of 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. There is microSD on board for storage expansion and the V20 has a 3200mAh battery capacity.

Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 is supported and USB Type-C is present for charging on the V20 but there is no wireless charging.

The LG V30 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 platform, which should mean it is faster and more capable than the V20. The processor is supported by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and there is microSD on board again for storage expansion.

The V30 has a 3300mAh non removable battery capacity, charged via USB Type-C with Quick Charge supported, along with wireless charging.

LG V30 vs LG V20: Software

  • Both Android with LG's UX software
  • V30 has some extra features

The LG V20 launched on Android Marshmallow with LG's UX 5.0 software over the top, while the LG V30 launches on Android Nougat with LG's UX 6.0+ software on top.

The software experience will no doubt be similar between these two models but a few additional features will arrive with the V30, including enhanced security measures, functions that take advantage of the new display and a new camera feature called Graphy that will be found within the manual camera mode.

LG V30 vs LG V20: Conclusion

The LG V30 features a premium design like the V20 but it introduces a few tweaks here and there, including a switch from aluminium to glass and aluminium meaning wireless charging support, as well as waterproofing.

The new V30 also offers a larger display, higher resolution display and rear cameras, enhanced software and a different form of secondary display, as well as a faster processor and more storage as standard.

The V20 was a powerhouse of a phone but based on the numbers, the V30 will be too and a well worthy upgrade for the V20 users out there.