At MWC, LG announced their new G Pro 2, which was written up for an
early hands-on and some analysis based upon the information given out by
LG’s press release on the device. This is definitely not a device that
was unexpected either, as the Optimus G Pro was unveiled at MWC as well,
and was effectively a similar upgrade from the Optimus G, with a bigger
display, and added a removable battery and microSD slot. What is
different is that the G Pro 2 doesn't have a newer SoC than the one
found in the G2. It's the same MSM8974AA chipset.
In the same vein as the Optimus G Pro, the G Pro 2 is a phablet that is
a direct cousin of the G2. Some news outlets have described it as a
flattened G Flex, but there’s more to it than that. While the G2 and G
Flex both had a flat black bezel in the front, the G Pro 2 adds a
pinstripe texture beneath the glass that makes it shimmer under direct
light.
However, the real story is the back cover, because LG has finally
gotten rid of the glossy finish and replaced it with a matte back cover
that is reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S2, but with a much finer
texture. For a plastic phone, the G Pro 2 is an example of how to do
things right, as the fine texture is understated and looks as if the
clear glossy coat of the LG G2 has been removed to leave the textured
plastic underneath. The side is also a matte plastic, although the
finish is of a much higher grain to approach a glossy finish.
The overall shape of the phone is also very ergonomic, with smoothly
rounded edges that make the shape almost identical to that of the LG G2.
The bezels are incredibly thin as well. LG claims that 77.2% of the
front face of the phone is dedicated to the screen, which is likely
helped by the rear key design that LG is carrying forward from the G2.
Outside of material feel and industrial design, the G Pro 2 continues
to use some of the very best hardware on the market today, with the
MSM8974 SoC, 3 GB of RAM, a 3200 mAh battery, and a 5.9” 1080p IPS
panel. I’ve made a table of the highlights below to compare it with the
Note 3 and the Optimus G Pro. I should also note that before the review I
was sure that the G Pro 2 was running 8974AB as that would be the
latest SoC available for the MWC timeframe launch, but based upon some
tests it never reaches a 550 MHz GPU clock.
|
LG Optimus G Pro |
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 |
LG G Pro 2 |
Display |
5.5” 1080p IPS |
5.7” 1080p SAMOLED |
5.9” 1080p IPS |
SoC |
APQ8064AB, Snapdragon 600, 4x 1.7 GHz Krait 300, Adreno 320 @ 400 MHz |
MSM8974AA, Snapdragon 800, 4x 2.3 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330 @ 450 MHz |
MSM8974AA, Snapdragon 800, 4x 2.3 GHz Krait 400, Adreno 330 @ 450 MHz |
RAM |
2GB LPDDR3 |
3GB LPDDR3 |
3GB LPDDR3 |
WiFi |
802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0 |
802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0 |
802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0 |
Storage |
16/32GB + microSD |
32/64GB + microSD |
16/32GB + microSD |
Battery |
3140 mAh, 3.8V, 11.9 Whr |
3200 mAh, 3.8V, 12.2 Whr |
3200 mAh, 3.8V, 12.2 Whr |
Size/Mass |
150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm, 174g |
151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3mm, 168g |
157.9 x 81.9 x 8.3mm, 172g |
Camera |
13MP w/AF, LED, 1080p30, 720p60, 2.1MP FFC |
13 MP w/AF, LED (Rear Facing) – 1080p60, 720p120, 4K30
2 MP FFC |
13 MP w/AF, OIS+EIS, LED (Rear Facing) – 1080p60, 720p120, 4K30
2.1 MP FFC |
As seen by the table, the G Pro 2 is a direct competitor to the Galaxy
Note 3, and outside of the OIS on the camera, a larger display, newer
SoC, and no Wacom stylus, they’re almost identical. There’s definitely
very little in the way of differences in core specs, so the tertiary
characteristics become far more important. LG is trying to differentiate
their hardware with things like the 1 watt speaker on the back, and the
use of G-RAM to enable panel self-refresh for better battery life.
Software
LG is doing more than just hardware differentiation though, software is
becoming increasingly important to them. Some of the key software
features that the G Pro 2 pushes are a software-based addition to OIS,
“KnockCode”, flash for the FFC, “Magic Focus”, “Natural Flash”, “Mini
View”, “Content Lock”, and “Dual Browser”. I’ll get to the camera
features later, but KnockCode should definitely be at the top,
especially because LG’s entire presentation on the G Pro 2 and other
devices strongly emphasized KnockCode. While it was presented in a
rather silly manner, KnockCode is actually quite good, and a logical
evolution of the KnockOn feature found in the G2. It’s great to be able
to unlock the phone without ever turning the display on, and LG’s
implementation of the feature has no major issues to talk about.
The Mini View feature is also good, but I’m not too sure that this is
the fix for those that don’t want a huge phone. Rather, it is a
workaround for the sheer size of the formfactor when only one hand can
be used. The window can be resized, and the window is created when the
on-screen buttons are swept from one direction to another.
One feature that LG hasn’t really been talking up is Slide Aside, which
is effectively a way of saving up to three applications to view at a
later time. I’m not quite sure how valuable this is, especially because
the multitasking menu effectively does the same thing, although it’s
admittedly not as consistent in saving application states.
Outside of the new features that LG is pushing, the UI is mostly the
same. Out of the box, LG continues to leave QSlide and volume
sliders/brightness sliders in the notification drawer to take up half of
drawer, although all but the quick settings can be removed to tidy
things up, as seen below.
The settings drawer in the tab view is logically organized and the
ability to actually swipe from one tab to another instead of tapping the
tab on top of the display helps a lot, as does the ability to convert
the settings application to a single scrollable list, although I noticed
that some settings go missing when this is done, such as modifying the
front display keys.
The dialer and the contacts aren’t really much to talk about, and I
found that those parts worked just fine, although it certainly shares
quite a bit with TouchWiz when it comes to visual design. The launcher
was smooth and there really wasn’t anything out of the ordinary when it
comes to how LG’s UI is made. It’s almost identical to the one in the LG
G2, and I wouldn’t expect this to change too much any time soon,
although based on Samsung’s changes to TouchWiz I would guess that the
Korean OEMs may be shifting their visual styles soon.