LG G Pro 2 Review: Is LG’s Newest Phablet Worth It?

LG G Pro 2 Review: Is LG’s Newest Phablet Worth It?

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Full review of the LG G Pro 2!

LG’s G Pro 2 is an interesting proposition. It’s quite obviously the most expensive device in LG’s current Android lineup (at least until the G3 rolls around) and is the biggest in terms of size. Despite the obvious physical size discrepancy, the G Pro 2 is identical to both the G2 Mini and the G2 in terms of design, something that we’re sure is intentional. Unfortunately, people looking for something different in terms of hardware in the G Pro 2 will be disappointed, as the device uses the same processor that’s present on the G2 which came out last year. A shame, considering that newer smartphones are coming out with faster, better chips, the G Pro 2 sticks with the tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 800.

LG G Pro 2

  • 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
  • 3GB RAM
  • Adreno 330 GPU
  • 5.9-inch IPS display, 1920 x 1080 pixels, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • 32GB storage, expandable via microSD
  • 13-megapixel camera with OIS, autofocus, 4K recording, 1080p @ 120 fps
  • 2.1-megapixel camera
  • 3,200mAh battery
  • Android KitKat 4.4
  • Php 32,990

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Bigger and better

It seems that every company is trying to one-up each other in terms of size when it comes to phablets, but while there’s certainly a lot of other massive phablets out there built by other companies, it seems that LG is only dead set on besting its Korean compatriot. The 5.7-inch display Galaxy Note is surpassed by the 5.9-inch display of the G Pro 2. What’s nice about it is that the G Pro 2 isn’t that much bigger than most smartphones out there, considering the sheer size of the display – when put side by side, the Kata M1 is substantially taller than the G Pro 2, while offering a smaller, 5.7-inch display.

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The overall size of the G Pro 2 meant that it was a bit difficult to use one-handed. You could still use it with one hand, but only just, as our thumb couldn’t fully reach the top of the display without loosening our grip. It shares much of the design language of the G2, and the G2 Mini especially. To be honest, we wouldn’t be able to identify the G2 Mini and the G Pro 2 from each other if they were presented to us without any kind of size reference. This is obviously a deliberate move by LG, as the company moves to establish their own, easily recognizable design language, much like what Samsung has done with their own devices.

Since the company is making the design of its three key smartphones, the G2 Mini, G2 and the G Pro 2 the same, it’s only natural that the company retained the iconic rear key setup in the G Pro 2. While we didn’t have issues reaching for the rear keys (volume rocker, power button), people with smaller hands may have problems reaching for the volume up key. The power/unlock key on the middle of the volume rocker lights up when you have a notification (green for emails, text messages or chats, blue for Facebook notifications), as well as having a notification light on the front, near the top.

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The display of the device is good, and generally has good viewing angles and excellent color reproduction. The side bezels on the G Pro 2 is nice and thin, allowing the 5.9-inch display to fit in a much smaller frame. Another trick that LG used to keep the size of the G Pro 2 down are on-screen Android navigation keys. The keys’ orientation can be changed, and disappears when they need to – when you’re playing games, watching movies, etc.

Software that doesn’t get in the way

We’ve seen how LG’s Optimus UI has grown over the years, and we’re impressed how far it’s come. The Optimus UI is LG’s own layer on top of Android 4.4 that provides enhanced functionality to the device, which includes the company’s Knock On, which is enhanced by the  Knock Code. The former wakes your phone up from sleep with just a simple knock on the display, while the latter allows you to complete unlock your device by tapping on the different corners of the display. Like the G2 Mini, we had mixed results when we used the Knock Code, as the phone sometimes didn’t want to unlock. If we had to guess, we probably had a 90% success rate with the G Pro 2, which is better than our 80% estimate on the G2 Mini.

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One of the nice features that the G Pro 2 has is the Mini View. Swiping at the virtual keys on the bottom left to right (or right to left) will shrink the display into the lower right (or lower left depending on which direction you swipe) that allows you to use the phone easily with one hand, a tacit admission on LG’s part that the device may just be a little too big for some people’s hands.

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Fast performance, even with last year’s hardware

While we were slightly disappointed to learn that the G Pro 2 uses the older (but still solid) Snapdragon 800 processor rather than the newer 801 variant, the device still performed particularly well during our tests. The processor, paired with 3GB of RAM was able to deliver a smooth user experience. The device has no lag whatsoever, and all the transitions and animations were buttery smooth.

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While its synthetic benchmark scores isn’t the best, only managing 28942 points in AnTuTu, it nevertheless managed to run everything that we threw at it, including games like NBA 2K14, Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8. Pair the G Pro 2 up with a game controller, and you’re headed for Android gaming heaven.

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Good camera performance

The 13-megapixel camera on the G Pro 2 is capable of producing great photos, and generally has good color reproduction and overall detail.

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We did notice that the camera had trouble taking photos of fast moving subjects, which is not unusual for smartphones that have optical image stabilization (the shutter is opened far too long).

Impressive battery life

While the sheer physical size of the G Pro 2 makes it somewhat difficult to use for people with smaller hands, it comes with a nice side-effect: there’s much more room to stuff a battery in. In the G Pro 2’s case, it’s a 3,200mAh battery. The battery size and the relatively efficient Snapdragon 800 processor meant that the G Pro 2 was able to last for 9 hours and 20 minutes in our battery run-down test. In actual use, that meant we were able to go for around two days without having to charge the battery with moderate use.

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Verdict: Solid phablet offering from LG, but it’s a little pricey

In the end, the LG G Pro 2 is a pretty solid offering from the Korean company that doesn’t do much to change the phablet landscape in the Philippines. It’s pretty much par for the course these days, with manufacturers going for smaller improvements with each new iteration rather than the great spurts of innovation a few years ago. It’s a viable alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, though people looking for the bleeding edge of smartphone tech may give it pass because of its relatively older hardware. It’s higher price make it a much more difficult choice over the Note 3, which has already enjoyed several price drops from retailers since its launch last year. Of course, if you’re a die-hard LG fan or just like the idea of using the company’s rear key arrangement, or just want a phablet with a large battery, then the G Pro 2 may just be for you.

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