LG K30 and Samsung J7 Star were released near about the same time in Mid 2018. J7 Star is a successor to J7 Prime which came in 2017.
J7 series is one notch higher than LG K30 and falls in the range of LG Stylo 4. In this post, we are going to find out the differences and similarities between these 3 phones and where does the K30 stand in comparison.
So Let’s start with the differences at first –
Difference between LG K30, Samsung J7 Star & J7 Prime
The left one is LG K30, the middle one is Samsung J7 Star and the last one on the right is J7 Prime
1. Price & Release Date – Difference between LG K30, Samsung J7 Star & J7 Prime
| PRICE & RELEASE DATE | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | Samsung J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Number | LM-X410MK/X410TK | SM-J737T | SM-J727T |
| Release Date | May 2018 | July 2018 | May 2017 |
| Current Price | Around $70 | Around $120 | Around $100 |
Samsung J7 star retails for almost twice the price of LG K30. Even J7 Prime is costlier than K30 at present.
As mentioned before, J7 Prime is the predecessor to Samsung J7 Star which came in 2017. J7 star released a year later in Mid 2018 and near about the same time K30 was also launched.
2. Body & Design – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| BODY & DESIGN | LG K30 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Colors | Black | Silver | Black, Gold |
| Body Material | Metal & Plastic | Plastic | Plastic |
| Dimensions | 5.85” x 2.95” x 0.34” inches | 6.03” x 3.0” x 0.34” inches | 5.96” x 3.0” x 0.34” inches |
| Weight | 5.93 oz | 6.38 oz | 6.0 oz |
| Removable Battery | ✖ | ✖ | ✔ |
K30 and J7 Star from T-Mobile are available in Black & Silver colors respectively. However, T-Mobile J7 Prime is available in 2 colors which are Black & Gold.
All 3 phones feel solid in hand, but K30 fits more nicely being smaller in size. K30 uses a metal back and a plastic frame, whereas both J7 Star and Prime, are made up of plastic.
Among the 3, only Samsung J7 Prime has a removable battery.
3. Display – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| DISPLAY | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | Samsung J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Size | 5.3" | 5.5" | 5.3" |
| Display Type / Technology | IPS LCD | TFT LCD | TFT LCD |
| Gorilla Glass / Glass Screen Protection | ✖ | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Pixel Density | 277 ppi | 267 ppi | 267 ppi |
The display quality of all 3 phones is good but the resolution is lower in proportion to screen size.
Even though the screen resolution of all phones is the same, the J7 display is slightly bigger (5.5 inches) than K30 (5.3 inches).
K30 has an IPS LCD display whereas J7 Star / Prime has a TFT LCD display.
LG K30 glass is more prone to damage as there is no screen protection. J7 Star and J7 Prime have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 & Gorilla Glass 4 Screen protection respectively.
4. Hardware & Benchmark – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| HARDWARE & BENCHMARK | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | Samsung J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor / CPU | 1.4 GHz Quad-Core, Cortex A53 | 1.6 GHz Octa-Core, Cortex A53 | 1.6 GHz Octa-Core, Cortex A53 |
| Chipset | 28nm, Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 MSM8917 | 14nm, Exynos 7 7870 Octa | 14nm, Exynos 7 7870 Octa |
| GPU | Adreno 308 | Mali T-830 MP1 | Mali T-830 MP1 |
| Antutu Score | 38303 | 63249 | 61237 |
Like other Samsung Phones, J7 Star / Prime has in-house 1.6 GHz Samsung Exynos Octa-Core Processor based on 14nm. K30 has a 28nm, 1.4 GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor.
The weaker processor in LG K30 leads to a much lower Antutu Benchmark score as compared to Samsung J7 Star & J7 Prime. You can check out the scores with the help of the above table.
5. Software & Connectivity – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| SOFTWARE & CONNECTIVITY | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | Samsung J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android Version | Android 8.1 Oreo | Android 9.0 Pie | Android 8.0 Oreo |
| NFC / Android Pay / Android Beam | ✖ | ✔ | ✖ |
| MHL / Slimport / HDMI Compatible | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Screen Mirroring / Miracast / Screen Share / Smart View | ✖ | ✔ | ✔ |
Samsung J7 Star is upgraded to Android Pie 9.0 while J7 Prime and K30 are still on Android Oreo with very bleak chances of getting an update to Pie.
Out of the 3, only Samsung J7 Star has NFC. It’s a must-have feature nowadays, for hassle-free contactless payment.
HDMI cable is not a part of the Samsung J7 Star / Prime sales package, but 3rd party HDMI cables are available online which assist is screen mirroring without an internet connection. I haven’t found a similar HDMI cable for LG K30 yet.
In K30 there is no option to cast / mirror screen on the TV. Samsung J7 Prime & Star support screen mirroring by the name of “Smart View”. Which when turned on can detect available screen mirroring devices such as Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Android Smart TV, etc.
6. Camera – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| CAMERA | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | Samsung J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| REAR | |||
| Image Resolution / Megapixels | 13 MP | 13 MP | 8 MP |
| Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
| Manual Mode / Controls | | | |
| FRONT | |||
| Image Resolution / Megapixels | 5 MP | 13 MP | 5 MP |
Samsung J7 Star has the best camera among the 3 which produces higher resolution images with better picture quality. Both Front and Rear cameras on J7 Star are 13 Megapixels.
K30 has a 13 MP rear camera but the front camera is only 5 MP. The Rear and Selfie Camera on J7 Prime is 8 MP and 5 MP respectively.
The rear camera on all 3 phones supports autofocus but it’s much faster on K30, thanks to Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF).
Among the 3, only K30 features Manual controls in the form of Manual Autofocus & ISO sensitivity adjustment.
7. Audio & Sensors – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| AUDIO & SENSORS | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | Samsung J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loud Speaker Location | Back | Right | Right |
| Surround Sound | DTS:X 3D Virtual Surround | ✖ | ✖ |
| Fingerprint Sensor | ✔ | ✖ | ✖ |
Samsung has placed the loudspeaker in the right place. Instead of back, it’s mounted on the right. On K30 due to the rear placement of the speaker, it gets blocked when placed on a table.
LG K30 provides better audio quality via earphones. It supports DTS:X 3D Virtual Surround sound.
Both Samsung J7 Star & Prime lack a fingerprint sensor and had to resort to facial recognition for screen unlocking which is slower in comparison. LG K30 has a fingerprint sensor on the back which doubles as a power button.
8. Battery – LG K30 vs Samsung J7 Star vs J7 Prime – Differences
| BATTERY | LG K30 | Samsung J7 Star | J7 Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Capacity | 2880 mAh | 3300 mAh | 3300 mAh |
| Battery Life / Talk Time | Up to 13 hrs & 40 mins | Up to 27 hrs & 40 mins | Up to 27 hrs & 40 mins |
Samsung J7 Star / Prime has got a higher capacity battery (3300 mAh) than LG K30 (2880 mAh). The rated Talktime of J7 Star / Prime is twice that of LG K30. Which is quite surprising and the real-world results may vary.
LG K30 Dark mode – Double Your K30 Battery Life
Similarities between LG K30, Samsung J7 Star & J7 Prime
| What they share in common | LG K30, Samsung J7 Star & J7 Prime |
|---|---|
| BODY & DESIGN | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Memory Card Slot / Expandable Memory | ✔ |
| Waterproof | ✖ |
| DISPLAY | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Screen Resolution / Wallpaper Size | 1280 x 720 pixels |
| Contoured / Curved Edge | ✔ |
| NETWORK | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Sim Size/Type | Nano |
| GSM/CDMA | GSM |
| GSM Unlock Status | Locked |
| Carrier | T-Mobile/MetroPCS |
| Wifi Calling | ✔ |
| VoLTE | ✔ |
| SENSORS | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Accelerometer | ✔ |
| Gyroscope / VR Compatibility | ✔ |
| Magnetometer / Digital Compass / Geomagnetic Sensor | ✔ |
| Ambient Light Sensor | ✔ |
| Proximity Sensor | ✔ |
| CONNECTIVITY | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| USB Port | Micro USB 2.0 |
| USB OTG | ✔ |
| Bluetooth | ✔ |
| Wifi | ✔ |
| Wifi Tethering / Hotspot | ✔ |
| GPS | ✔ |
| IR Blaster / TV Remote | ✖ |
| AUDIO | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5 mm |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Notification LED Light | ✖ |
| Quick Charge / Fast Charging | ✖ |
| Wireless Charging / Qi-enabled | ✖ |
| MEMORY/STORAGE | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Internal Memory / ROM | 32 GB |
| Expandable Memory | ✔ |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Facial Recognition / Smart Unlock | ✔ |
| Flashlight | ✔ |
| Google Assistant | ✔ |
| Split Screen /Multi Window | ✔ |
| CAMERA | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| REAR | |
| Autofocus | ✔ |
| Flash | Single LED Flash |
| Zoom | Up to 4x, Digital Zoom |
| Video Resolution | 1080p @ 30 fps |
| HDR | ✔ |
| Face Detection | ✔ |
| Slow Motion | ✖ |
| Time Lapse | ✖ |
| Video Stabilization | ✖ |
| FRONT | |
| Selfie Flash | ✖ |
| Video | 1080p @ 30 fps |
| Root Status | K30, J7 Star & J7 Prime |
| Can be Rooted | ✖ |
| The Bootloader can be unlocked | ✖ |
| Custom ROM availability | ✖ |
The above table shows the similarities between K30, J7 Star and J7 Prime. It also covers those features which are missing on all 3 phones and can be found elsewhere in some other high-end Android smartphone.
CONCLUSION
From the above comparison, we can conclude that in some areas K30 was able to beat J7 Star & Prime, but the overall result is in favor of Samsung J7 Star.
Strong areas of LG K30 over J7 Star / Prime –
- Lower Price
- Metal Back
- Being more compact fits nicely in the hand
- IPS LCD display
- Phase Detection AutoFocus
- 3D Virtual Surround Sound
- Fingerprint Sensor
Samsung J7 Star wins in these departments –
- Bigger screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Screen Protection
- More Powerful Hardware
- Latest Android Pie 9.0
- NFC
- HDMI & Screen Mirroring Support
- 13MP Selfie Camera
- Higher capacity battery with much better battery life
You may also like to check out the below comparisons –
LG K30 vs K40 vs Aristo 4 vs Stylo 4 – Antutu Test
LG K30 vs Moto E5 Play vs E5 Plus
LG K30 vs LG Stylo4 vs Stylo 5
For any correction or query, please leave a comment below.