There have been a lot of ‘almost great’ smartphone releases in 2017, and the LG V30 is another such example. There’s a lot of great, if not excellent things about this phone, but at the same time there are a couple of issues that, in the face of strong competition, are hard to ignore.

Beautiful design with an expansive, small-bezel display; Packed with features including Gigabit LTE, high-quality DAC, water resistance, microSD expansion and headphone jack; Excellent rear cameras

LG’s p-OLED display technology needs work; Unimpressive, clunky and bloated software

I have mixed feelings about LG range of smartphones. Over the previous two years, the company has had a rough time of competing with the likes of Apple and Samsung with their flagship G-series range of smartphones.

There is something to be said about expectations. The LG V20 surprised many as one of the best smartphones of 2016, and proved that the V series of devices from the South Korean manufacturer are indeed its standout offering at the moment.

Solidly constructed body; Superb camera performance; Speedy Processor; Bright and crisp display

A tad expensive; Lack of conventional power button not for everyone

With big phones increasing in popularity, the LG V30 lands in a space that's more competitive than ever before. The Samsung Galaxy S8+ and the Note 8 are particular rivals and there's competition from devices like the (more affordable) Huawei Mate 10 Pro .

Great design and build; Waterproofing; 3.5mm headphone socket and headphones sound great thanks to Quad DAC; Wide-angle camera; Good battery life; Good fingerprint sensor placement

Display isn't the best quality out there; Some software quirks (failed Bluetooth) and bloat apps; Camera performance could be better in some areas

The V30 is a really good phone in a sea of great ones, and it just doesn't do enough to stand out from the crowd.

Compact design; great battery life; and top-of-the-line specs; Camera app brings excellent features and shooting modes; Quad DAC offers superior sound...

Display is inconsistent and duller than other OLEDs; UX 6.0+ skin doesn't improve on the Android experience; Image quality isn't as good as its peers

If there's a sleeper phone that's been on our radar for a while here, it's the . LG has been teasing this phone for what seems like an eternity. We actually got our with it a couple of months ago in August.

I've been using a LG V30 for a couple months, check out my first impressions , and last week a T-Mobile retail version arrived while the V30 finally hit store shelves. If you use your phone for video creation and you still enjoy music through a standard 3.5mm audio jack then the V30 is the best...

Elegant design and superb feel in hand; Fun and creative video tools; High quality dual rear cameras; 3.5 mm headset jack with Quad DAC; Long battery life; Future proof on T-Mobile with 600 MHz support

Auto-brightness is wonky; Price is about $100 too high; Doesn't launch with Android 8.0 Oreo

The camera has become the defining facet of high-end smartphones, perhaps more than any other feature. New handsets are compared first on the basis of their photography skills. Breakthroughs like dual lenses and the ever-popular Portrait Mode have done an admirable job of condensing the capabilities...

Slim; light design; Delightful wide-angle camera; Immersive display; Excellent audio from the Quad DAC; Headphone jack

Mono bottom-firing speaker; LG software learning curve; Poor battery life

A strong competitor for 2017's best Android phone.

OLED screen; Highly creative video mode; Wide-angle camera; Superb audio; Great battery life

Lacking video and photo editing features; Screen edges very sensitive; No unlocked version yet

The LG V30 has everything an Android fan could wish for (apart from stock Android)

Good low light shooting and wide angle feature; Great audio quality for listening and recording; Beautiful; yet durable design

Still some camera imperfections; Slightly bloated software experience; Could be slimmer