UPDATED 03:20 EDT / OCTOBER 01 2015

NEWS

LG V10 vs. Nexus 6P vs. Galaxy S6 edge+: 5.7” Android phablet competition heats up

Shortly after high-res images of the upcoming LG V10 were leaked by former phone leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks), LG Electronics Inc. officially announced the V10 via a press release.

Due to be officially shown off at an event in New York City today, the LG V10 features a second screen, dual front cameras, and a manual video mode.

The LG V10 combines high-grade stainless steel and a durable silicone skin and comes in five color options: Space Black; Luxe White; Modern Beige; Ocean Blue and Opal Blue. (See image gallery and video below.)

The 5.7-inch, Android-based LG V10 is the latest in a slew of recently launched phablet-sized Android smartphones competing for consumer’s attention, including the Google Nexus 6P, launched yesterday, and the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, launched in late-August.

Before we take a closer look at how the standout features on these Android phablets compare, let’s take a look at how the raw technical specs stack up.

LG V10 vs. Google Nexus 6P vs. Samsung Galaxy s6 edge+: Tech specs

LG V10

Nexus 6P

Galaxy S6 edge+

Screen size

Main: 5.7-inches

Secondary: 2.1-inches

5.7-inches

5.7-inches

Screen resolution

Main: 2560 x 1440  (513 ppi)

Secondary: 160 x 1040 (513 ppi)

2560 x 1440 (518 ppi)

2560 x 1440 (518 ppi)

Screen type

Main: QHD IPS Quantum Display

Secondary: IPS Quantum Display

WQHD AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4

Quad HD Super AMOLED

Dimensions and weight

159.6 x 79.3 x 8.6mm, 192g

159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3mm, 178g

154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9mm, 153g

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (2 GHz dual-core ARM® Cortex™ A57, quad-core Cortex A53) with Adreno 418 GPU

2GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1  With Adreno 430 GPU

Exynos 7422 64-bit Octa core chip (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad) with ARM Mali-T760 MP8 GPU

RAM

4GB

3GB

4GB

Storage

64GB, expandable up to 2TB via microsSD

32 / 64 / 128GB, not expandable

32 / 64GB, not expandable

Battery

3,000mAh (removable)

3450mAh

3000mAh

Rear camera

16MP with F1.8 Aperture / OIS 2.0

12.3MP, f/2.0, 1.55µm pixel size

16MP, f/1.9, LED flash

Front camera

5MP Dual Lens (80-degree Standard Angle / 120-degree Wide Angle)

8MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm pixel size

5.0MP, f/1.9

Optical image stabilization

Yes

No

Yes

Video capture

4K

4K

4K at 30fps

Connectivity

Bluetooth 4.1,  Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, USB 2.0

Bluetooth v4.2, Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi

Bluetooth v4.1 LE, Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi

NFC

Yes

Yes

Yes

Operating system

Android 5.1.1 Lollipop

Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Android 5.1 Lollipop

Special features

Second Screen, Dual Front Cameras, Manual Video Mode

Nexus Imprint, USB Type-C, Android Pay

Dual-edge screen, Apps Edge, Live Broadcast, Samsung Pay, wireless charging, fingerprint sensor

Price

N/A

$499 for 32GB, $549 for 64GB, $649 for 128Gb

64GB at $859.99, 32GB at $779.99 from T-Mobile with no contract.

LG V10: Standout features

Display

Apart from a slightly lower pixel density – 513 ppi vs. 518 ppi – the 5.7-inch LG V10’s main screen is near identical to those on the Nexus 6P and galaxy S6 edge+.

What sets it apart from the competition is the addition of a secondary display inline with the dual front-facing cameras above the main QHD display. This 2.1-inch IPS Quantum display with 160 x 1040 resolution can be used in “always on” mode when the main display is off, or as a “dedicated launching area” for a handful of apps when the main display is in use. This second display’s usefulness also extends to functions inside specific apps, for example, in the camera app some of the controls are relocated to the secondary display to free up space while the main display acts as a viewfinder.

Additionally, notifications will show on the secondary screen if a user is using a full-screen app (like watching a video) to avoid interruptions.

Camera

LG has put a lot of focus on selfies and groufies with the inclusion of 5-megapixel dual front cameras capable of shooting 120-degree wide-angle selfies and groufies or the usual 80-degree selfie.

For the 16-megapixel rear camera, LG has included manual video capture to allow users to set ISO, aperture, and other variables traditionally only found in still cameras.

The V10 also has a new “multi-view recording” feature that uses all three cameras simultaneously allowing the user to pick the best footage.

As for the competition, DxOMark, a popular mobile camera review website, has rated the new Nexus 6P’s imaging capabilities and placed it third-best, after the Galaxy S6 edge in second spot and the Sony Xperia Z5 in first place. The Galaxy S6 edge+ in this comparison has the same spec camera as the standard Galaxy S6 edge.

We will have to wait and see how the LG V10 scores on DxOMark’s test once they get around to testing its camera.

Storage

Unlike the Nexus 6P and Galaxy S6 edge+, the LG V10 is only available with 64GB of onboard flash storage; however, it has the competition beat with the inclusion of a microSD card slot that supports storage expansion up to 2 terabytes. That is a lot of extra storage and handy for when you’re shooting space-hungry 4K video.

LG has not revealed pricing of availability for the V10, but we expect to learn more at today’s event.

Update: An earlier version of this post put the Nexus 6P in second place on DxOMark’s mobile camera rating. This has been corrected. 

LG V10 color options

LG V10 color options

LG V10 manual video mdoe

LG V10 manual video mdoe

Images via LG

Since you’re here …

… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.

If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.