At LG’s MWC 2014 booth, the company is also showcasing the new LG G Pro 2, its latest flagship phablet. Building on its success with its flagship G2, the G Pro 2 now features a similar design language with its smaller-sized flagship, with all physical buttons moved to the back of the device.
Compared to its last-generation Optimus G Pro, the new G Pro 2 has been significantly overhauled with better hardware all around. There’s a new 5.9-inch Full HD IPS display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.26GHz chipset with 3GB of RAM, LTE and a generous 3200mAh battery. The G Pro 2 also features an upgraded 13MP “OIS+” rear camera sensor (which now can record videos in 4K resolution as well as 120fps slow-mo at 720p) and 2.1MP front-facing cameras. There’s also a new Magic Focus mode that snaps images at various focal lengths, allowing you to view the same image with different subjects in focus in the Gallery.
One of the most obvious differences found on the G Pro 2 is with the new display. The Narrow Display Technology on the G Pro 2 significantly reduces the side bezels to a mere 3.3mm – giving the impression that there front is almost all-screen. It looks very good, but there will naturally be doubts when it comes to one-handed usage of the device: stretching my thumb to tap the opposite end of the screen almost always results in an accidental tap somewhere near where the bottom of my thumb is.
At 8.3mm thick and weighing only 172g, this is also one of the lighter phablets in the market. Considering its screen size, the G Pro is actually pretty comfortable to hold.
Like the company’s latest models, the new G Pro 2’s physical buttons – the power and volume keys – have all been moved to the back below the camera sensor. The back cover also ditches the rather unglamorous shiny back cover on the old Optimus G Pro in favour of a much better matte and textured one. As with the G2 Mini, it makes the phone a lot easier to hold, especially when it is one that is this big.
In addition, the company is also touting that the G Pro 2 sports a 1W Hi-Fi Sound speaker that is supposedly 30% louder than before, and provides richer bass output. At the booth, it was very packed and loud but the audio output was still good on the G Pro 2 – which perhaps shouldn’t be doubted if it really is a 1W speaker that LG’s fitted inside the G Pro 2.
In terms of software, the new G Pro 2 will run on Android 4.4 KitKat featuring the same Knock Code and Knock On/Off features found in the other LG flagships. Other features such as QSlide multi-apps are also present, as is a new Content Lock feature together with the Dual Browser view to open two browser windows at the same time. There’s also a Mini View mode that’s very similar to Samsung’s One-Handed Operation mode, shrinking the display to one side of the screen for better one-handed usage.
For now, the G Pro 2 remains a South Korea exclusive device, but it is likely to be available globally later this year.
