Hands-On: LG G Pro 2 and G2 Mini
As the name implies, the G2 Mini is a smaller version of the G2, which is LG's current flagship smartphone. It doesn't quite live up to its name.
In order to "miniaturize" the phone, LG reduced the size of the screen from 5.2 inches to 4.7 inches. It also lowered the resolution from full HD to qHD. After spending a few moments with it, I can say that it is nice, but lacks the premium feel of the G Pro 2 and G2. It is a bit squatter and thicker, and the materials are not as nice. It found the phone easy to hold and use, but I disliked the scratchiness of the rear cover. It is a good size, though, and it might appeal to those who would rather have a smaller phone than today's behemoths.
The screen is a bit of a disappointment. I wish it were a 1080p HD display. It has one-quarter as many pixels as the G2, and it was obvious to my eyes. Still, it is very bright and colorful. LG makes good screens, and, despite the resolution, the G2 Mini's is still high quality.
The Mini has a similar design esthetic to the G2 and G Pro 2. That means there are no buttons on the front, it has a silver band circling the outside, and all the buttons are on the back. Speaking of which, the buttons are positioned close to the top of the back surface. There's a screen lock/power button in the middle and volume buttons above and below it. The whole assembly has a curved feel to it and it is really easy to tell which button you're pressing. There are no other buttons around the outside of the phone. The microUSB port is on the bottom and the headphone jack is on top.
As with the G Pro 2, the G2 Mini uses the Knock Code feature. As I said of the G Pro 2, the feature is a bit difficult to get the hang of. It didn't want to work and I had to repeat the code several times to get it to work. I would hope that over time this feature gets easier to master.
The user interface is identical to that of LG's bigger flagship phones. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat with LG's customizations on top. I found it to be very fast on the G2 Mini and didn't see any hiccups in performance in the pre-production units on hand.
LG hasn't said if or when the G2 Mini will hit the U.S., but my guess is it will arrive before summer.
Hands On with the Motorola edge+ (2022)
Hands On with the Motorola moto g stylus 5G (2022)
Hands On with the TCL Stylus 5G
Hands On with the T-Mobile REVVL 6 Pro 5G
Hands On with the Motorola edge (2022)
