LG K30 - Review 2022 - McPhail Milver

The LG K30 is an interesting phone to review, if not necessarily to use. We tested the unlocked model, which is bachelor for $179.99 on Amazon (or $139.99 for Prime number members). It's built solidly, but offers pretty depression-end specs and performance for the price, and lacks LTE Band 71. Compared with devices similar the Motorola's Moto G6 Play and E5 Play, it simply doesn't offering enough value for the money. Here'south where the interesting function comes in: T-Mobile also sells a model of the phone for $200 that comes with Band 71, as well as a higher-resolution camera. If you're buying this phone on T-Mobile, add one-half a star to the score at the top of this page.

Pattern and Display

The K30 is fabricated of a sturdy mix of plastic and metal, with a polish metal back panel that hosts LG's traditional rear fingerprint sensor/power button. The phone has a 16:ix form gene with a 5.iii-inch brandish, resulting in somewhat squat dimensions of v.9 by 4.0 past 0.3 inches (HWD) and a weight of 5.9 ounces. The broad body makes it hard to use with one mitt and reach across fully with your thumb.

The screen is a fairly clear 5.3-inch, 1,280-past-720 IPS panel with 277 pixels per inch (ppi), well-nigh the same as the G6 Play (282ppi). Text and graphics await fine and viewing angles are decent. Colors tin can seem a lilliputian faded, however; we prefer the brighter and more accurate colors on the G6 Play. Maximum screen brightness could afford to be higher as well, and the panel gets also reflective to be used in direct sunlight.

A three.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB charging port are on the bottom, a pair of volume buttons are on the left, and the SIM/microSD menu slot on the right worked fine with a 256GB card.

Network Functioning and Connectivity

The K30 is uniform with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, but not Sprint. Unlocked it supports LTE Bands two/4/v/12/thirteen/66. Missing here is Band 71, which allows for improved rural coverage and roaming. Yous get it on the T-Mobile model, which gives you lot a nice coverage boost. Nosotros tested the unlocked K30 on T-Mobile and recorded average performance in midtown Manhattan.

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Wi-Fi on the two.4GHz and 5GHz bands is available, along with Bluetooth 4.2 for audio. VoLTE is likewise supported.

Phone call quality is decent. Transmissions are on the robotic side, though voices come across clearly enough to be understood. Noise cancellation is passable at blotting out some background racket, but you'll still get a fair amount of ambience clatter coming through, along with some skipping and crackling. Earpiece volume is fine.

Processor, Battery, and Camera

The K30 is powered by an entry-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. In the PCMark benchmark, which measures a variety of tasks like spider web browsing and video editing, it scored 3,380, similar to the Moto E5 Play (3,477).

The telephone has 2GB of RAM, compared with 3GB on the G6 Play, and so information technology's not every bit capable at multitasking. There are noticeable instances of sluggishness when launching new apps, equally well as animation lag when swiping between screens or pulling downwardly the notification shade. As y'all might wait, the K30 isn't much of a gaming phone.

Battery life is solid, at 5 hours, 41 minutes of streaming full-screen video over LTE at maximum screen brightness. It's no match for the 4,000mAh Moto G6 Play, which outlasted our 12-hour test video, but it beats the E5 Play (4 hours, 8 minutes). It doesn't support fast charging or take a replaceable battery, simply it should manage a full day of normal utilize without issue.

Camera quality is unimpressive, even for an entry-level device. The 8MP rear camera (downwardly from the 13MP sensor on the T-Mobile model) does okay in good lighting, just tends to struggle in any challenging weather. Generally, it's non very abrupt, tends to blur indoors, and records jittery 1080p video at 30fps that drops frames in lower calorie-free. The 5MP front camera takes soft shots regardless of lighting conditions.

Nosotros haven't tested it, but we await the 13MP rear sensor on the T-Mobile model to offer better clarity in general.

Software

The K30 comes running Android 7.1 Nougat. LG's custom UI layer makes several visual changes to the home screen, app icons, notification shade, and menus. Out of the box, apps are splashed beyond the main screen and the app drawer is removed, but that can be inverse in the Settings menu.

The Amazon Prime model of the K30 features some Amazon advertising in the form of push notifications. A full suite of Amazon apps comes preinstalled, along with Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram, LG SmartWorld, and QuickMemo+. None of the apps can be removed, leaving y'all with 6.09GB of available storage out of 16GB. A microSD menu can give you more space for photos and video.

Conclusions

The unlocked LG K30 has decent battery life and a sturdy build, just information technology simply doesn't offer equally much value as similarly priced phones. T-Mobile customers who live in rural areas may get more value out of the carrier's own model, fifty-fifty if they have to pay a bit more. But if you're ownership unlocked, there are ameliorate options out there, like the Moto G6 Play, which works on all major U.s.a. carriers and has superior hardware across the lath. On the even more affordable end, nosotros similar the Moto E5 Play, which offers nigh of the same features every bit the K30 for a fraction of the price.