The LG V30 will cost over $1,000 in Europe, as suggested by a new listing of the device posted by Romanian electronics retailer Quickmobile which revealed it will be selling the device for LEI 3,999.90, which translates to approximately €870 or $1,036. With Romania having a value-added tax (VAT) rate of 19 percent, it seems likely that the LG V30 will be even costlier in some other EU countries like Croatia and Hungary where VAT rates on consumer electronics amount to 25 and 27 percent, respectively. Those figures represent a significant increase compared to the $749.99 price tag that is likely to be attached to the unlocked variants of the LG V30 in the United States, as indicated by the company’s recently announced Twitter sweepstakes.
Quickmobile’s listing also states that consumers can expect the LG V30 to start shipping at some point in September, which is another piece of information that isn’t in line with the smartphone’s expected U.S. availability as the device isn’t expected to be released stateside before October and will likely only go up for pre-orders this month. The difference between the possible EU and U.S. price tags of the LG V30 can partially be explained by the fact that prices in EU include VAT and other applicable fees, whereas the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) doesn’t account for taxes, licenses, and registration fees in the U.S. Regardless, it seems that the LG V30 will still be somewhat costlier on the Old Continent and be closer to the price of the Galaxy Note 8, its main Android-powered competitor. As far as the U.S. market is concerned, the device should be around $150 to $200 cheaper than Samsung’s latest phablet whose full retail value circles around the $950 mark, depending on specific wireless carriers and licensed retailers.
The LG V30 is still expected to be offered with a variety of installment plans from mobile service providers in Europe, though it remains to be seen whether LG’s distributors will be incentivizing consumers to pre-order the device with some free accessories, discounts, or other offers. The fact that the handset is seemingly launching in Europe simultaneously with its U.S. release also marks a significant product strategy shift for LG which never officially released the LG V20 in Europe, though the unlocked variant of the company’s 2016 flagship was and still is obtainable through resellers. Regardless of its exact price tag, LG’s decision to debut its new phablet in Europe at the same time it releases it in the U.S. suggests that the company is now placing a larger focus on the Old Continent.
The handset itself was officially unveiled in the run-up to this year’s IFA, a Berlin, Germany-based consumer electronics trade show where LG detailed a device that’s more similar to the G6 than its direct predecessor; the LG V30 boasts a tall FullVision display panel with an aspect ratio of 18:9, i.e. 2:1, and scraps the secondary display panel in favor of a floating action bar which users can manipulate in any way they see fit while still being able to dedicate a portion of the phone’s screen real estate to app and action shortcuts. The LG V30 boasts a nearly bezel-less design and offers IP68-certified resistance to dust and water, in addition to supporting a number of wireless charging standards and Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology via a USB Type-C port.
LG’s latest and greatest flagship is also powered by the Snapdragon 835, a Qualcomm-made system-on-chip (SoC) built on the 10nm process mode which already proved its worth in the likes of the energy-efficient Samsung Galaxy S8, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, and the Xiaomi Mi 6, and should make the most of the V30’s 3,300mAh non-removable battery. The handset ships with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal flash memory expandable via a microSD card slot, whereas the V30+ model boasts 128GB of storage space. The unit listed by Quickmobile is the base variant with 64GB of native storage and is available in silver and blue color options, though it remains to be seen whether more variants will eventually make their way to Europe.
One of the main selling points of the LG V30 is its dual camera setup comprised of a 16-megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/1.6 and a 13-megapixel (f/1.9) unit, with the two being arranged in a horizontal manner and flanked by a dual-LED flash. While the V30 is extremely unlikely to outsell the Galaxy Note 8 this fall, LG is still hoping the Android 7.1.2 Nougat-powered device will perform well enough to help its mobile unit bounce back from its recent issues and return to the black in the near future.
