One of the defining features for LG's V-series of handsets has been the secondary display. Above the 16:9 1440p screen, there was a second part that could be used for shortcuts, media controls, and more.
But with the V30 that was announced today, that's all gone, as it's been replaced by the Floating Bar. No longer is it present for you at all times; instead, there's an icon on the side of the screen that you can tap to open it.
Note that you can move the Floating Bar to any area on the left or right side of the screen. One of the things that bothers me about it is that it's not always there. When you're playing a game, using the camera, or watching a video, it disappears.
The feature really feels like LG is throwing a bone to lovers of the secondary display on the V10 and the V20, as it's not even on by default. You have to turn it on through Settings, where you can also configure the shortcuts that are provided.
As you can see, there are fewer options for what can be shown in the Floating Bar than there were for the V20. Obviously, there's no need for a 'Signature' anymore, but you lose out on 'Upcoming plans', which would show you calendar notifications. These are things that really aren't beneficial without a screen that's on all of the time, but still, it's lost functionality.
When the device is asleep, there's now the option of an Always-On Display, which was never necessary before; indeed, when LG first launched the secondary display with the V10, it said that it was there so you wouldn't have to unlock your phone to check the time. You still don't have to, and you can access the new Floating Bar from the Always-On Display.
The nice thing about this is that it's an OLED screen, so it's not entirely backlit like the LCD was in previous generations.
I'm really not sure how I feel about the Floating Bar just yet, compared with the additional functionality that was offered with the secondary display. I'll still have more time to get used to it before I write up a full review in a couple of weeks, so we'll see.
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