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(Update: Officially confirmed) LG V30 price set to undercut Note 8, but is it cheap enough?
Update, September 13: LG Korea finally revealed the pricing of the V30 in Korea, and they match the leaked prices mentioned in the original post.
To summarize:
Galaxy Note 8 (pricing details roundup)
- 64GB – 1.09 million won ($966)
- 256 GB – 1.25 million won ($1,108)
The next question is – will LG price the V30 at roughly the same level around the world or will we see big differences from country to country?
Original post, September 11: The final phase of this year’s battle for flagship supremacy is almost upon us, with both the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30 gearing up for a US release in the coming weeks.
As expected, Samsung’s reborn phablet is swallowing up most of the pre-release attention, but LG’s equally impressive multimedia-friendly machine is a compelling alternative. A major factor between the two for buyers will undoubtedly be price, with the V30 expected to undercut its larger rival.
Yet while previous rumors pegged the latest V-series phone as a sub-$700 bargain-in-waiting, a new report from The Korea Herald suggests we might need to shell out a little more than we all originally thought.
The publication’s sources claim that the standard 64 GB model will retail in South Korea for 949,300 KRW ($883), which comes in below the Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s 1,094,500 KRW ($968) price tag.
In the US the Note 8 goes for $929 from Samsung’s official store. With that in mind, if the report is correct, it’s likely that the V30 will settle somewhere between the $800-$850 mark, which is a decent saving, but potentially not enough to sway those who were already intimidated by the Note 8’s bumper price.
The V30's rumored price tag will be a decent saving over the Note 8, but potentially not enough to sway those who were already intimidated by the Note 8's price
With the G6 drawing plaudits earlier this year with its eye-catching near-bezel-less display, back-to-basics approach (especially after the G5’s modular missteps), and – most pertinently considering the imminent V30-Note 8 showdown – a favorable launch price compared to the Galaxy S8, LG is in the best position it’s been in the global market for quite some time.
Its financials tell a different story though, with the company’s smartphone wing posting losses for an incredible nine quarters in a row. Rather than risk it all to ensnare the discerning digital native crowd, the company is now seemingly switching its focus to the global mass market.
Yet the V30 has all the trimmings of a marquee handset, with enticing features such as its much-vaunted P-OLED FullVision display, Bang & Olufsen-powered audio repertoire, and an all-round flagship-grade spec sheet.
With that lofty proposition in mind, perhaps LG is still dreaming a little too big with its V-series if it truly wants to capture a larger audience, especially at a time when other manufacturers already offer flagship-standard smartphones at sub-flagship prices.
We’ll find out whether the LG V30 is worth your time and money as we put it through its paces for a full review in the coming weeks. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on the phone’s potential price tag in the comments below.