The LG G Pro 2 launched last week in Korea and yesterday I was able to briefly play with it at the LG press conference. Just like the LG G flex, the display is amazing and, despite its large size (5.9-inch) the device feels surprisingly light. The manufacturer managed to keep the footprint small, thanks to a super thin 0.4 mm bezel! At 172 g, the new LG flagship is only 3g heavier than its smaller competitor the Samsung Galaxy Note which is equipped with a 5.7-inch display.
Update: we have published a more complete review of the LG G Pro 2
Product Design
The LG G pro 2 is very light and keeps a rather small footprint for a 5.9-inch display smartphone, LG managed to deliver 0.4 mm only bezel to deliver that result. Although the body is made out of plastic, probably to maintain a light weight, the subtle texture on the back is quite elegant and makes it comfortable to hold. Just like the G2, the power button is placed on the back alongside the volume rocker, just below the rear camera lens. The back cover is removable and below it you’ll find the microSD slot.
Performance and Hardware
The LG G Pro 2 is powered by a 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (with 3GB RAM) which has an Adreno 330 graphics processor integrated in it. This is very similar to the LG G2 in terms of hardware. Across the board, the user interface is very responsive.
The 3,200 mAh is nothing special, nowadays, such capacity has become the standard for phablets. For instance the LG G flex gets a 3,500 mAh battery while the Huawei Mate 2 (6.1” display) pushed the envelope to 4000 mAH.
On the connectivity side, LTE and HDPA+ are there, since we do not yet in which markets it will be released besides Korea, we do not know which carriers may get the device in the US.
Display and Video Quality
The full HD (1080p ) 5.9” IPS display display is gorgeous and delivers a great image quality with bright colors and deep contrasts. To see how the viewing experience feels, I played a HD trailer over WiFi from Youtube, the result was quite good, the video was fluid, and the image quality was awesome. LG touts state-of-the art audio quality, and the ambient noise during the event prevented me to really check on that. I can tell that the sound volume is quite powerful and certainly sufficient to enjoy watching movies on the G Pro2.
Camera, the highlight of the device
LG really focused on the camera for this new phablet, with high-end features such as 4K video capture and slow motion, and the addition of a few camera software updates.
Slow Motion
The LG G2 features great image capture capabilities and the LG G Pro 2 pushes the envelope even more. The camera is definitively the highlight of this smartphone which delivers a few interesting new features.
First of all the G Pro 2 is able to record HD video at 120 fps and allows allows editing of video in three different speeds — one-half slow motion, one-fourth slow motion and original.
4K video capture
4k is the new grail for consumer electronics manufacturers, especially those who also sell $K TVs, so LG could not resist to add 4K ULTRA HD Recording. During the event I shot a short 4K video, but it was not possible to see the result on a 4K TV.
Magic Focus
Magic Focus allows for selecting the areas where you want the focus after a shot is taken and before saving the image, I briefly tried the feature and it was easy to use.
LG added a few more features to the camera: natural flash, with more balanced color temperature for more natural images, flash for selfie, burst shot with up to 20 continuous shots that can be edited to create a video and gallery collage to create collages from the user’s gallery.
LG Custom Features
Knock On
LG is very proud of its Knock On features which basically replaces the code that unlocks a phone. It is indeed faster to knock four times on a device than pressing number, and you do not need to wake the screen.
Mini View
By swiping on the menu key at the bottom of the screen you activate mini view. Basically the screen shrinks to a size ranging from 3.4 inches to 4.7 inches, in order to make one-hand usage more comfortable.
Dual Browser
Multitasking is a trending topic when it comes to smartphones and tablets, so LG added a cool feature to allow users to view 2 webpages in one view. (see photo)
Conclusion
I am a big fan of phablets since the release of the first in its category, the Galaxy Note. The LG G Pro2 is definitively a brilliant device, with an amazing display and a great camera. Additionally, despite is huge 5.9” display, LG managed to keep the device size reasonable and the weight surprisingly light. I am really curious to see how the 3,200 mAH battery holds the distance with this performance-packed gadget.
Key Specifications:
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 (2.26 GHz Quad-Core)
- GPU: Qualcomm Technologies’ Adreno™ 330
- Display: 5.9-inch Full HD IPS (1920 x 1080), Slim Bezel
- Memory: 3GB DDR3 RAM / 16GB/32GB eMMC ROM / microSD slot
- Camera: Rear 13.0MP OIS+ / Front 2.1MP
- Battery: 3,200mAh (removable)
- Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
- Size: 157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3mm
- Weight: 172g
- Network: LTE / HSPA+
- Connectivity: Bluetooth Smart Ready (BT 4.0) / USB / WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) / NFC / SlimPort
- Colors: Titan Black, White, Silver
- Other: Knock Code™, 1W Hi-Fi Sound, Content Lock
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