Speaking of the cameras, LG has done away with the V10's two selfie cameras. This time you get a single 5-megapixel f/1.9 wide angle shooter on the front. The dual-camera approach has instead been moved to the V20's backside, which includes both a "standard angle" 16MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization, plus a much wider 8MP camera with an aperture of f/2.8.

At a recent press preview in New York City, LG executives actually focused on the V20's video recording more heavily than still shooting. Video stabilization is handled by Qualcomm's Steady Record 2.0, which uses data from the phone's gyroscope to minimize shake by cropping into the frame a bit. The company also claims that the V20 all but eliminates common video distortion like rolling shutter. The camera app provides deep manual controls for both stills and video, as you'd expect from LG. You've got nearly every option you could want, from the usual shutter speed and ISO settings all the way to setting your preferred video bitrate. But it was impossible to judge camera output during our brief hands-on, so we'll need more shooting time to determine how LG fares against impressive competition.

Both Google and LG have been making a big deal about the fact that the V20 runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. If you don't have a Nexus and are too impatient to wait for the next Google phones and whatever else is to come this year, this is your ticket in. LG boasts that it's the first phone anywhere to feature Google's new In Apps feature, which is supposed to help you "find content not only from built-in apps including contacts, emails, text messages and photos, but also from user-installed apps."

But don't expect anything close to stock Android. LG's custom skin is still on top of everything, and while some other Android OEMs like Lenovo / Moto have been cutting down on duplicate apps, LG remains happy to include multiple options for gallery, music, and so on. The HD Audio Recorder app is unique and serves a distinct purpose, but this company could really stand to do some software thinning elsewhere. Plus, Nougat features like split-screen multitasking don't feel as new with the V20 as on the Nexus line since LG has offered this functionality before. Support will be much better at the system level, but more troubling is LG's uncertainty around whether or not the V20 will be compatible with Google's Daydream VR efforts when those are ready to kick off.

So my brief first impression of the LG V20 is that it's a powerful smartphone designed for audiophiles and those serious about creating content like videos and hi-fi audio recordings. Based on specs alone, it seems like a worthy successor to last year's V10. Having a swappable battery is great, and it's nice to see LG carrying that convenience forward. But the phone's appearance has lost some of what made the original stand out, and it also lacks useful everyday protections like water resistance. Whether you like LG's software is a matter of personal taste, but it's disappointing that the company isn't committing to Daydream VR. And who knows how long it'll take for future Android updates to reach the V20 — even if it's shipping with Nougat right now. That said, we're looking forward to giving the V20 a thorough review very soon. It just might prove a winner yet.

Photography by James Bareham.