Recently, it has become fashionable to release mini versions of flagship smartphones. The meaning of the marketing trick is very simple: a potential buyer sees a top-end device at a high price on the store counter, and next to it is a slightly smaller device with the prefix “mini” in the name. Especially without delving into the technical specifications, a person buys a smaller copy, thinking that he is getting a cool device, only slightly reduced in size.
And now I’ll tell you why I wrote the word “practically” in the announcement. The fact is that the LG G2 mini is not a smaller copy of the LG G2, but a completely different phone, although in appearance it seems to be similar to a flagship. The G2 mini has different body materials, a completely different chipset, a different amount of memory, a different camera, and so on. The same story happens with other vendors: for example, Samsung also has the Galaxy S4 mini, Asus has the PadFone mini, HTC has the One mini, and so on. The only device that, it seems to me, can rightfully be called “mini” is the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact, since its technical characteristics coincide with the technical characteristics of the Xperia Z1, only the screen resolution is lower (this is logical, since at 4.3 inches the diagonal has a higher PPI there is no point in using it).
However, the LG G2 mini deserves attention and should be tested.
It was already said a little higher that the LG G2 mini is slightly different in appearance from its predecessor, the LG G2. Firstly, the dimensions of the mini are slightly more compact - 129.6 x 66 x 9.8 mm versus 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 mm for the LG G2. Frankly speaking, it is not so “mini” according to LG. The younger model weighs 121 grams, and the older one – 143.
At the moment, there are two versions of the mini color: white and black. In the first case, the front and back panels are white, in the second – black. You can diversify with interchangeable branded QuickWindow book covers in almost all the colors of the rainbow.
The design of the front panel is the same, only the location of the sensors and front cameras is different. But the most unexpected thing for me was that the G2 mini does not have an oleophobic coating. Fingerprints cover the entire display area, forming a white coating. In addition, unlike the G2, in the G2 mini the finger glides across the surface of the screen very poorly, I would say extremely poorly. Sometimes I couldn’t even answer the call (swipe on the receive button), as the screen was covered with a thin coating. And it's not a matter of dirty hands. Spots appear immediately as soon as you remove the factory film.
Both models use second-generation Gorilla Glass. However, after several months of active use of the LG G2, its screen remained undamaged, and small scratches appeared on the screen of the LG G2 mini within a couple of weeks.
The bodies of both devices are made of plastic: the edging and back cover of the G2 are glossy, while those of the G2 mini are semi-gloss. Even in the G2 mini, the panel is embossed (a fine mesh of diamonds), but the phone is still quite slippery and is generally comparable in this parameter to the G2.
It fits in the hand, which is naturally better than the mini, as it is more compact: small width and height, sloping shape of the rear panel.
The assembly did not cause any complaints, despite the fact that the back cover is replaceable: the device does not creak or crunch when compressed, the rear panel does not bend towards the battery and does not play. The device feels assembled monolithically.
On top of the front panel there is a speaker covered with a thin white metal mesh. A little higher is a decorative chrome-plated plastic insert. The speaker has high volume, excellent intelligibility and a pleasant timbre. They can hear you well too. There is no echo or other third-party sounds. At maximum volume the speaker does not rattle.
To the right of the speaker is a proximity sensor (there is no light sensor in the device!), next to it is the front camera.
At the lower end on the right there is a speakerphone speaker, on the right there is not a second speaker, but a microphone. Between them is a typical micro-USB connector.
An IR transmitter, a second microphone and a standard 3.5 mm audio output for headphones are located at the top end.
A proprietary “joke” in the form of two volume buttons and a power button is on the back of the device. Unfortunately, I personally could not get used to this arrangement of elements, although I used the LG G2 for about three months. Every time I pressed the “on” button, the device tried to slip out of my hands. Therefore, before pressing, I had to grasp it tightly. Partially saved by the KnockOn function - double “tap” on the screen, either you had to activate the display backlight, or lock the screen.
In the LG G2 mini, the volume buttons are more convex and are more convenient to use. Long press “Up” – launch Qmemo, long press “Down” – launch the camera.
There is no missed call indicator in the device, although in the LG G2 it was located both on the front panel and in the power button on the rear panel (to be more precise, in the bezel).
The back cover can be removed by lifting it by the recess near the micro-USB. On the top left there is a slot for micro-SIM2, on the right - for a memory card and micro-SIM1. Note that this uses two micro-SIM cards.
Comparative sizes:
LG G2 mini (right) and Samsung Galaxy S4
LG G2 mini (left) and iPhone 5
LG apparently has its own ideas about “mini” versions of smartphones, so they decided that 4.7 inches would be quite enough. A strange decision, considering that the LG G2 has a 5.2-inch screen. It seems that they have reduced it by 0.5 inches, but the device is still perceived as far from small.
The physical screen size of the LG G2 mini is 60x106 mm, and the LG G2 is 67x117 mm. The mini display frames are quite narrow: 10 mm at the top, 14 mm at the bottom, and only 3.6 mm on the right and left! Only the LG G2 is thinner – 2.6 mm.
The resolution was also reduced from FullHD to qHD, alas, not even HD. The matrix is TFT-IPS with good viewing angles. It is different from the matrix in the LG G2. In the latter, under certain inclinations, the colors fade into violet and yellow shades. Below is a comparison of LG G2 and LG G2 mini (right):
It seemed to me that the LG G2 mini's screen lacked a little more color saturation, at least definitely not enough green. For example, the standard “green flowers” screensaver on the mini looks almost black and white.
White color
Black color
The brightness of the screen matrix backlight can only be set manually, since the LG G2 mini does not have a light sensor. An inexplicable phenomenon.
I won’t go into detail about the screen settings, since they are the same as in the LG G2. You can find his review.
The device uses a removable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery with a capacity of 2440 mAh, 9.3 Wh. Model – BL-59UH. The battery size is small, I think if the manufacturer removed the buttons from the back, it would be possible to fit a 3000 mAh battery here.
According to official data, the phone will work for 797 hours in standby mode, and up to 22 hours in talk mode.
During the test I got the following indicators:
On average, the device worked for about 15 hours (brightness - 30 - 100): 15-20 minutes of talking per day, sending 20 text messages, 5-7 hours of Internet surfing (3G connection).
Probably, even more could be squeezed out of the device, but the chipset is too power-hungry.
Antutu Tester results are not record-breaking, but very good:
Very briefly: two SIM cards, two separate antennas for 3G, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-F hotspot, SmartShare Beam, IR transmitter. There is no NFC chip, unlike the LG G2.
The LG G2 mini uses 1 GB of RAM. On average, about a little over 300 MB free. Not the best result.
The built-in Flash memory is 8 GB. At the same time, 3.87 GB is available for installing applications and storing data. There is a slot for a microSD memory card. Maximum volume 32 GB.
As always in such devices, the mini has two cameras: the first is the main one with 8 MP, and the second is the front one with 1.3 MP. There is a flash, when shooting video it shines at a distance of up to 2 meters, when shooting photos – up to 3 meters.
The main camera has a lens with an aperture of F2.4, the minimum ISO value is 100, the maximum is 3200, the minimum shutter speed is about 1/30000 sec, the maximum is 1/14 sec. The viewing angle is not wide, approximately 30-33 mm. Unlike the LG G2, there is no optical stabilization, there is only digital stabilization. By the way, it works very well, especially noticeable when shooting video.
I liked the quality of the photos: natural colors, wide dynamic range, good sharpness, a little noise in low lighting conditions. In addition, exposure selection is carried out by “tapping” on the screen, focusing is accurate and fast.
Below is a comparison of frames taken on the LG G2 and LG G2 mini (right). In some photographs it is noticeable that the mini did a better job (photo with a bear or magnets on the refrigerator): the picture is a little sharper and the colors are more saturated. But the LG G2 takes better pictures at night.
We should also praise the work of HDR. Usually in smartphones it functions somehow: sometimes it overextends the frames, sometimes artifacts appear, sometimes this function is of no use. In mini it works more than correctly: you get natural colors, while dark areas do not become too light, and bright areas do not become dark. An analogy can be made with HDR in the Samsung Galaxy S5.
The mini version of the smartphone was deprived of many functions of the older model. The photo mode has only a live effect, while the LG G2: VR panorama, dual camera, smart auto mode, “Shot and Clear”. But the LG G2 mini left manual focus, the camera is activated by pressing the volume down button, FullHD video recording at 30 fps. There is no double recording and “Tracking zoom” in video mode.
As I said, the G2 mini records FullHD video at 30 frames per second, regardless of lighting conditions. And this is good. The picture quality is excellent during the day, but at night blurry artifacts appear, but the image remains of high quality. I think many more expensive devices should be jealous. Interestingly, the exposure is adjusted automatically even with digital zoom. There is autofocus, and it works poorly: if you focus once on a near object, then you will have to forget about the distant one for 5-7 seconds. The sound is clear, mono.
Video file characteristics (main camera):
Example photo taken with the main camera:
Example photo with front camera:
Examples of panoramas:
The LG G2 mini uses a chipset from Qualcomm – Snapdragon 400 MSM8226. Inside 4 cores, 1.2 GHz, 28 nm, ARMv7. Adreno 305 is responsible for graphics. Almost all games work, although complex ones still slow down. The problem is solved by reducing the graphics quality. Generally speaking, the device is fast, everything flies, there are no brakes or microlags. All this thanks to the proprietary shell and an adequate chipset.
Brief information and performance tests (Quadrant, Antutu):
Stability test:
Operating system – Google Android version 4.4.2 – fresh! I won’t talk about the shell; all this is in the LG G2 review.
But it’s worth saying that the device was equipped with proprietary features, such as KnockOn - activation of the backlight by two taps on the screen, and a similar action leads to blocking the device; KnockCode – set a lock screen password by selecting a tap zone on the screen. The last function was devoted a lot of time at the presentation of the LG LIII line. In my opinion, it’s an interesting, but inconvenient thing: not only do you have to remember the “tapping” zone, but also the number of these same “taps”.
Music player. The player is represented by a standard application from LG. There is an equalizer from 30 Hz to 16 kHz, Pure surround effect and other presets.
The sound volume in the headphones is quite high. Of course, I would like it to be a little louder in the subway, but overall it’s not bad. It’s difficult to judge the quality of music, since for me personally, almost all smartphones are “the same,” except that the devices costing 2,000–3,000 rubles differ. The LG G2 mini has pleasant bass and clear highs.
The volume of the ringing speaker is average. If you close the speaker hole, the volume level will decrease by about 20%, that is, it will still be clearly audible. Its quality is ordinary.
FM radio. Operates in the FM range: 87.5 – 108 MHz. The screen displays: frequency scale, settings, 6 cells for saving the most interesting stations, switching the sound to the speaker and turning it off. The volume in the headphones is slightly above average, the receiver sensitivity is good.
Video. There is a separate Video Player application. A list of all video files appears.
When playing, the following are available: volume, zoom, SmartShare, screen lock and video playback in a separate window. In the settings you can adjust subtitles, crop video, and select brightness.
The smartphone plays videos of almost all formats and codecs (formats: 3GP, MKV, AVI, MPG, FLV, WMV; codecs: Mpeg4, H263, H264, DivX, XViD), except MPG. There is an AC-3 audio codec. Maximum resolution – 1080p. If any of the videos do not play, install any media player, for example, MX Video Player.
LG followed fashion and called its new device with the prefix mini. I think it became clear from the review that very little remains of the flagship model here: a similar appearance, some controls and a proprietary shell. On the other hand, at the moment the device costs 12,000 rubles. For this money, of course, it does not have to be a mini-copy, for example, unlike the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. It costs about 22,000 rubles, and what the “cast” was made from is about 24,000 rubles.
In general, it doesn’t matter what they called it, what matters is what happened in the end. And it turned out quite well. I liked the ergonomic design, the quality of the screen, camera, and sound. The autonomy did not disappoint either. A smartphone can easily “live” for 2-3 days in a less active mode. The only thing that surprised and greatly disappointed was the absence of an oleophobic layer: the screen quickly becomes covered with a layer of fingerprints and other traces, so the finger glides with great difficulty, and sometimes even interferes with the normal operation of the touchscreen.
I also think that the price could be slightly adjusted downward; after all, for 12,000 rubles there are many competitors with more interesting technical parameters. I think as soon as the LG G2 mini goes on sale in more than just one retailer, everything will change for the better. In my opinion, the adequate cost of the device is about 9,000 - 10,000 rubles.
Roman Belykh (
When the first rumors about the LG G2 Mini first appeared, I wanted it like no other smartphone. Of course, it promised to have the same characteristics as the LG G2, only significantly smaller. But a miracle did not happen - the official announcement brought the LG G2 Mini into the same rank with other “mini-versions” of flagships: the screen is far from Full HD, the processor is simpler, there is less RAM, and the battery is not so capacious. It's a shame, annoying, but still interesting how it turned out in the end. Moreover, the sizes are really smaller, as well as the price.
The LG G2 Mini does look similar to its big brother, but only when you look at it as a whole. They differ greatly in detail. For example, the indicators above the screen are mirrored: in the LG G2 they are located to the left of the speaker, in its mini version they are on the right. The headset jack has moved from the bottom to the top. At the back - instead of a glossy panel with a texture effect somewhere under the varnish coating - there is a really textured cover. The plastic, in my opinion, is a little simpler, so the smartphone itself overall looks simpler and cheaper.
The most important feature has also changed – the buttons on the rear panel. The two-position volume control has become more convex, it protrudes more above the surface and because of this it is easier to press. This is both a plus and a minus at the same time. On the one hand, volume control has become more convenient. On the other hand, the key works much easier in your pocket or when you type on a phone lying on the table. The LG G2 had the same problem, only to a much lesser extent. The solution is simple: a protective case or a back panel. It is thick enough to protect the protruding button.
Another significant difference lies in the design itself. The LG G2 had a non-removable back cover, and the micro-SIM slot was located on the side panel. The LG G2 Mini has a removable back panel, the slots are hidden under it, and there are several more of them: two for microformat SIM cards, one for a micro SD memory card.
The decoration of the bottom panel remains unchanged - two grilles on either side of the USB port. It looks like the smartphone has stereo speakers. In fact, like the LG G2, the LG G2 Mini only has one speaker. The second grille hides the microphone behind it. It’s a bit of a shame because of such deception, but even in such conditions there is no need to complain about the sound: the smartphone “sings” quite well, only at high volume levels one can hear a strong drift into metallic notes.
Speaking of sound. Through headphones it becomes even more enjoyable. Since I had a non-sale version in my hands, I can’t say anything about the quality of the included headset and tested the sound with my own headphones. For a smartphone, it's quite good, especially considering that the LG G2 Mini is not positioned as a music device.
On the top panel there is a headphone jack, a second microphone and another remarkable detail - an infrared port. Thanks to it, the LG G2 Mini can be used instead of a remote control for home appliances.
The camera visually looks the same as the LG G2. But in fact, she is significantly inferior to her. Instead of a 13-megapixel matrix, there is only 8 MP, there is no sapphire glass, and there is no optical stabilization. But there is still multi-point autofocus, which in my opinion is very nice. The matrix is not simple, but BSI type.
The camera takes pictures quite well by smartphone standards. The photos are bright, noise and significant distortion are noticeable only with a strong lack of light.
The menus and settings in the camera are similar, there are many modes. Just like in other new smartphones from the manufacturer, you can quickly activate the camera by long pressing the volume button.
The second, front camera, is also a little simpler than the flagship: standard 1.3 megapixels versus 2.1 megapixels.
If you look at the numbers, the weakest point of the LG G2 Mini is its screen. In the younger version of the flagship I would really like to see an HD format screen, but instead it is only 960x540 pixels, pixel density is 234 ppi.
| Device name | White field brightness, cd/m2 | The brightness of the black field, cd/m2 | Contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| LG G2 Mini | 307.59 | 0.57 | 540:1 |
| LG L90 D405 | 308.55 | 0.44 | 701:1 |
| LG G2 | 323.81 | 0.4 | 810:1 |
| Sony Xperia Z1 Compact | 383.2 | 0.42 | 534:1 |
| Sony Xperia Z1 | 400.81 | 0.75 | 534:1 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 mini | 288 | 0 | ? |
| Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 | 336.41 | 0.52 | 647:1 |
| Huawei Ascend Mate | 454.76 | 0.58 | 791:1 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | 320 | 0 | ? |
| Sony Xperia T | 421 | 0.28 | 1503:1 |
| iPhone 4S | 434 | 0.53 | 818:1 |
If we forget about the numbers as such, then I personally did not notice graininess, lack of clarity or anything like that. A solid picture, with rich colors and wide viewing angles – this is due to the IPS matrix. However, the brightness and saturation of the picture as such does not mean that the display transmits the image accurately and efficiently. The graphs made using the equipment in the editorial office immediately show that the color gamut of the LG G2 Mini is less than sRGB. The color temperature graph is strongly shifted upward from the ideal value of 6500k, which means there is a strong shift towards cool shades. The graph of the color components of a monochrome gradient is also very far from ideal. And only the gamma curve hints that the screen is not entirely bad. In general, if you focus not only on the subjective beauty/ugliness, then the screen in the LG G2 Mini can safely be considered its weak points.
The smartphone has a quad-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and 1 GB of RAM. The configuration is standard for a mid-range device, although from the “compact version of the flagship,” as the manufacturer itself calls it, you expect something a little more. However, during the entire testing period I did not have a single complaint about the performance and smooth operation of the LG G2 Mini. It never froze, never slowed down, and never failed when passing toys.
The results of testing with special applications also turned out to be very pleasant. In AnTuTu Benchmark, the smartphone received 16882 points, slightly inferior to the flagships of the year before. In comparison with Mini smartphones, this is a very good result; for example, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini received only 11,696 points in the same utility.
Quadrant rated the potential of the LG G2 Mini at 8561 points, Nena Mark 2 gave it 59.9 fps. Next, I ran more graphically intensive tests from the 3D Mark program. In Ice Storm, the smartphone received 4377 points, in the Extreme version - 2540, and in Unlimited 4258 points. Overall, these results indicate that the smartphone handles games and graphics applications quite adequately. Another test program I ran on the LG G2 Mini was Vellamo. In performance testing mode when working with HTML5, the smartphone received 1203 points, in the Metal test - 541 points. Compared to last year's Mini flagship from Samsung, it is somewhat inferior (it had 2053 and 689 points, respectively), but the results are far from bad.
To be honest, I don’t see the point in talking a lot about the shell and menu of the smartphone. It remains the same as in previous models. The set of preinstalled programs remains unchanged.
I’ll say a few words about the proprietary Knock Code blocking utility. The function is first activated in the settings menu, and the smartphone asks you to repeat the code twice and twice you will have to enter an additional PIN code. It will come in handy if you suddenly forget the combination and cannot enter it even the fifth time.
You need to “knock” on the screen to unlock it in the designated area. But at the same time, you do not need to fall strictly into its corners, the main thing is that the direction relative to the original point is chosen correctly. There are a total of 8 consecutive touches in the combination, so, as the manufacturer writes on its website, there can be a lot of options for tapping the code.
During the entire testing of the function, the LG G2 Mini never made a mistake in perceiving the code: it recognized it all those times when I entered it correctly, and was not provoked when I confused the sequence. In general, the function is very reliable and pleasant to use.
Working with two SIM cards is implemented in active mode and is quite convenient for the user. At the bottom of the screen there is a row of touch buttons, the rightmost of which leads to the SIM profile management menu. Simple and convenient - on the one hand. On the other hand, it is enough to remove one “tick” to fall out of the network. Moreover, for some ridiculous reason, I managed to do this by accident several times, without noticing it. Then I turned my smartphone off and on so that it could find the network again, and only the third time I realized what was going on.
Finally, as usual, I’ll tell you about the working hours. Despite the fact that the battery capacity of the LG G2 Mini is not very large (2440 mAh), it held up very well throughout testing. In active daily use mode, it can work for about 2 days. At the same time, by use I mean three to four hours of music at a volume above average (through headphones), a couple of hours of surfing the Internet (browser), active Instagram surfing, communicating for an hour and a half a day on the phone and other mobile joys of life. The smartphone was rarely able to lie quietly. At the same time, the pedometer was turned on all the time, which eats up a lot of battery resources. Without it, the operating time is even a little longer - up to 3 days. In general, there is definitely nothing to complain about the operating time of the LG G2 Mini.
Despite the fact that my initial expectations about the LG G2 Mini were not met, I liked the smartphone. Reliable, fast, comfortable in the hands, with a good interface and a very good camera. I didn’t want to part with it at the end of testing. It fully justifies its cost of 3,500 hryvnia ($275). But at the same time, I cannot say that it is without shortcomings. The most important of them is the screen. In a modern smartphone, especially of this class and presented with such words (a compact version of the Flamag, in case anyone has forgotten), it would be worth using a better solution. At a minimum, with HD resolution, which is already actively used in devices from other manufacturers. Another drawback of the smartphone is its performance, which is somewhat inferior to last year’s mini-versions of the flagships. True, this minus is most likely noticeable only for those who are chasing performance or using very resource-intensive programs (I didn’t come across any of those). I can recommend the LG G2 Mini to those who are looking for a beautiful, compact and reliable mid-class smartphone.
5 reasons to buy LG G2 Mini
2 reasons not to buy LG G2 Mini
Detailed testing of a smaller version of the Korean company's flagship smartphone
We managed to get acquainted with the compact version of the flagship smartphone LG G2 during the MWC 2014 exhibition, held in Barcelona in February. During the exhibition, a smaller smartphone with a flagship design, called LG G2 mini, was presented to the general public along with the updated LG L3 series of budget smartphones, the most interesting of which, the LG L90, we have already tested. Now it's time to talk about the LG G2 mini model, which belongs to a more expensive segment. “The new product was developed as a smaller version of the award-winning LG G2 and is ready to delight new users with premium functionality,” the official press release says. In reality, however, it turned out that this model, like most modern smaller modifications of top-end devices on the market, is far from a real flagship in terms of technical characteristics, although it can offer quite a wide range of functionality. In terms of hardware, the new product is closer to the mentioned LG L90 model from the budget series than to the flagships, especially to the top-end LG G2 device, so we believe it is more appropriate to compare the review hero with the L90, and not with the flagship, compared to which LG G2 mini looks too simplified.
| LG G2 mini | Samsung S4 mini (GT-I9195) | LG L90 | Motorola Moto G | Asus Padfone mini | |
| Screen | 4.7″, IPS | 4.3″, S-AMOLED | 4.7″, IPS | 4.5″, IPS | 4.3″, IPS |
| Permission | 960×540, 234 ppi | 960×540, 256 ppi | 960×540, 234 ppi | 1280×720, 326 ppi | 960×540, 256 ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (2 Krait 300 cores) @1.7 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.2 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.2 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @1.4 GHz | |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1.5 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Flash memory | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8/16 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | microSD | microSD | No | microSD |
| operating system | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.2 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.3 |
| Battery | removable, 2440 mAh | removable, 1900 mAh | removable, 2540 mAh | non-removable, 2070 mAh | removable, 1500 mAh |
| Cameras | rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (1.9 MP) | rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (1.3 MP) | rear (5 MP; video 720p), front (1.3 MP) | rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (2 MP) | |
| Dimensions | 130×66×9.9 mm, 121 g | 125×61×8.9 mm, 107 g | 132×66×9.6 mm, 124 g | 130×66×11.6 mm, 143 g | 129×66×8.7 mm, 105 g |
| Average price (Ya.Market) | T-10752410 | T-10404626 | T-10712907 | T-10580925 | T-10612758 |
| Offers LG G2 mini (Ya.Market) | L-10752410-10 | ||||
Unfortunately, LG tends to send test copies of its mobile devices without packaging and, accordingly, a complete set of accessories, but in principle it is known that the LG G2 mini smartphone only includes a charger and a connecting cord - there are not even headphones there, so tell nothing special to talk about anyway.
In appearance, the LG G2 mini retains common features with the flagship smartphone of the line - the powerful top-end device LG G2. Actually, it is the appearance that is the little that unites these two devices. Unfortunately, as in most cases, LG released its mini version of the flagship, not only reducing the dimensions of the device, but also greatly weakening it in terms of technical characteristics. As a result, in most technical parameters, the LG G2 mini model has nothing in common with the original LG G2.
But even in terms of design, differences can still be found. The sloping, streamlined rear back, rounded on all sides, is not glossy, but textured and rough, which generally has a positive effect on ergonomics, but the device, of course, has lost its glamor and gloss. Due to the rough back wall, smaller dimensions and light weight, the smartphone has become even more comfortable to hold in the hand, and there are practically no fingerprints left on the back surface - the back of the LG G2 mini smartphone turned out to be completely non-marking and more pleasant to the touch than the glossy and slippery back wall its flagship brother.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the front side: the protective glass covering the front panel of the device has rather weakly expressed grease-repellent properties, which is why the display quickly becomes covered with dirt and grease, and at the same time it is also difficult to wipe off - it is difficult to clean it with a dry cloth without a special liquid.
The body of the smartphone is entirely made of plastic - there is no metal here. The plastic, of course, is of high quality and probably durable (LG has no problems with this), but the smartphone does not look expensive - the materials here seem simpler than those of the flagship. On the LG G2, under a layer of varnish on the back cover, some complex pattern was visible, the colors played, shimmered - there is nothing like that here. Along the side perimeter there is a silver strip, textured to look like rough sanded metal; exactly the same strip was present on the side edges of the LG L90. However, this is just a coating on the plastic body, and not real metal.
As you can see in the photographs, there are no buttons placed on the sides of the device - they are all assembled into a single block on the back surface of the device. The basic functions of these buttons are standard: the central key turns on and locks the smartphone, and the other two, top and bottom, are responsible for adjusting the volume. Expanded capabilities of the block of hardware buttons provide additional functionality in control: holding the top button for a long time launches the Qmemo application, and the bottom button calls the camera from sleep mode. The central key is protected from accidental pressing by two protrusions on the sides. This innovative approach to the placement of controls was first demonstrated in the flagship LG G2, and it is quite expected that it is retained in its smaller version, the LG G2 mini.
However, even this block of keys here is not made exactly the same as that of the flagship device: unlike the LG G2, the central key of the review hero is not backlit, and therefore does not implement the functionality of the notification indicator. As a result, the light indicator was not embedded either in the upper part above the screen (as usual), or in the back button (like on the flagship), and the LG G2 mini was left without any indicator at all.
On the back surface of the smartphone, in addition to the block of buttons, there is traditionally a camera window framed by a metallized ring and a peephole for a single-section LED flash (there is no pre-installed software for using the flash as a flashlight).
The front panel is completely covered with protective glass, the frames around the screen are quite narrow, especially on the sides (less than 4 mm), which allowed the smartphone to have such compact dimensions for this screen size. And they didn’t leave any extra space underneath the screen either: the block of hardware control buttons has been removed, and instead there is a customizable strip of virtual buttons on the display, so that the frame under the screen is simply symmetrical to the frame above.
The back cover here is a removable element; it comes off quite easily from the body and is traditionally secured with several plastic latches. Under the hood, everything is arranged conveniently and thoughtfully - the developers can only be praised for this. All card slots (there are three of them) are located so that nothing obstructs access to them, and there is no need to remove the battery. However, hot swapping of SIM cards is still not supported - the card will not be recognized until you reboot the device.
One SIM card slot is embedded on the left, the other on the right, and above it there is also a slot for microSD memory cards. Both SIM cards here are used in a reduced Micro-SIM format, the slots are numbered, although there is no physical difference in their functioning - the cards can be safely inserted in any order, everything else can be configured through the menu. Officially, memory cards are supported up to 32 GB, but experiments prove that 64 GB will be recognized - there are no problems with this.
At the top and bottom ends, everything is arranged conveniently and familiarly: at the top, in addition to the audio output for headphones (3.5 mm), you can also see the peephole of the infrared transmitter. It serves to emulate the remote control of various equipment - for this purpose, the corresponding software is already preinstalled in the smartphone.
At the bottom, in addition to the universal Micro-USB connector, the developers placed two grilles on the sides for sound output from the ringing speaker, so the sound of a smartphone lying on the table does not overlap. But the Micro-USB connector itself only supports USB 2.0 speed mode and cannot work with connected external devices - USB-host (OTG) mode, unfortunately, does not appear among its capabilities.
As for the color modifications of the LG G2 mini model, it is known that the smartphone will be available for sale in four colors: titanium black, lunar white, red and gold. In addition, the device will be available in different versions: with support for one or two SIM cards, as well as with the ability to use in 3G/4G networks. In our case, we were dealing with the LG D618 model with support for two SIM cards, but without support for LTE (4G) networks - it was with this version that sales of this device began in our country.
The LG G2 mini smartphone is equipped with an IPS touch matrix of average quality. The physical dimensions of the display are 59x104 mm, diagonal - 4.7 inches. The screen resolution in pixels is 960x540 (qHD), the dots per inch density reaches 234 ppi.
The display brightness can only be manually adjusted. There is a proximity sensor that locks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to process 8 simultaneous touches.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, there is an anti-glare filter, which in terms of reducing the brightness of the reflection is slightly worse than that of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - LG G2 mini, then they can be distinguished by size):
Due to the difference in size, color tone of the screen surface and the color of the frames, it is difficult to visually accurately determine which screen is actually darker, but statistics from the graphics editor show that the LG G2 mini screen is still slightly lighter (photo brightness 118) than Nexus 7 screen (brightness 94). The reflection in the screen noticeably triples, which suggests the presence of an air gap between the surface of the matrix and the outer glass. There appears to be a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating on the outer surface of the screen (much worse than that of the Nexus 7), so fresh fingerprints are removed a little easier and appear at a slightly slower rate than with regular glass.
When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 365 cd/m², the minimum was 4 cd/m². The maximum value is not very high, however, the screen has anti-glare properties, so in bright daylight the image on the screen should be visible. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is no automatic brightness adjustment. At any brightness level, there is virtually no backlight modulation, so there is no screen flickering.
This smartphone uses an IPS matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
The screen has good viewing angles without a significant color shift even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen and without inverting (the very darkest shades when the view is deviated to the right). For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the LG G2 mini and Nexus 7 screens, with the screen brightness initially set to approximately 200 cd/m². There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (when photographing, the color balance in the camera is forced to 6500 K). And a test picture:
Color reproduction is good, colors are saturated on both screens, there are differences in color balance. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens, but the contrast at an angle in the case of the LG G2 mini decreased due to the increase in black levels. And a white field:
The brightness at an angle of the screens has decreased (at least 4 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the LG G2 mini the drop in brightness is less than that of the Nexus 7. The black field when deviated diagonally brightens strongly and acquires a purple tint or remains almost neutral gray. A photo from the Nexus 7 shows this for comparison (the brightness of the white areas in the perpendicular direction of the screens is the same!):
And from another angle:
When viewed from a perpendicular perspective, the black field uniformity is good, but along the edge there are areas with slightly increased black brightness:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is average - about 680:1. The black-white-black response time is 23 ms (13 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 35 ms. The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The index of the approximating power function is 2.17, which is slightly lower than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve practically does not deviate from the power dependence:
Color gamut is close to sRGB:
The spectra show that the matrix filters moderately mix the components with each other:
As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is far from ideal, since the color temperature is higher than the standard 6500 K, the deviation from the spectrum of an absolutely black body (ΔE) for most shades is small, however, both ΔE and color temperature vary significantly from shade to shade - this has a negative effect even on a visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
The screen quality is not the highest. The maximum brightness is borderline - however, taking into account the good anti-glare properties of the screen, it should be enough for comfortable work on a clear day outside. The advantages of the screen include the absence of flicker and a color gamut almost equal to sRGB. The main yet unnoted shortcomings are a very weak oleophobic coating, strong highlighting of the black field when the gaze deviates from perpendicular to the screen, and mediocre color balance. In addition, the manufacturer saved on automatically adjusting the brightness to the external light level.
The sound of the LG G2 mini is average: quite loud, clear, but with a predominance of predominantly high frequencies. The voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, the conversation is quite comfortable. The sound output grille here is cut into the bottom end, and not into the back wall, like the LG L90, so the sound is not muffled when the device is lying on the table. In the settings, you can programmatically enhance some audio effects, but this can only be done when you connect headphones. The smartphone is pre-installed with a standard voice recorder, which is used only for creating audio notes - it cannot record telephone conversations from the line using standard means. There is also an FM radio in the smartphone; it is possible to record broadcast programs.
The main, rear 8-megapixel camera shoots with a maximum resolution of 3264×2448. This camera can shoot video with a maximum resolution of 1920×1080 (30 fps). The quality of video recording can be judged by the test video below (video: MPEG4 Video (H.264) 1920×1080 30 fps 17 Mbps, audio: AAC 48 kHz stereo 155 Kbps).
In the camera interface settings, it is possible to use shooting modes other than the usual one: panorama, continuous, sports. The settings menu is conveniently placed across the entire screen in the form of a visual and intuitive matrix of interactive squares. The camera is equipped with multi-point autofocus for better depth of field adjustment. The hardware volume control key is also used here to work with the camera: if you hold the volume down key longer, the camera will be activated even when the screen is off, and pressing it again will allow you to take a picture.
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Good sharpness in all plans. |
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For distant plans, sharpness practically does not drop. |
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The sharpening on the branches is almost invisible, and at the same time they are worked out well. |
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Good sharpness across the entire frame. |
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The spruce trees on the left side of the frame merge. In the shadows the noise reduction work is noticeable, but very moderate. |
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Noise in the shadows is handled well. |
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You can notice small ripples on the contours of objects - the result of sharpening. |
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The camera chooses the exposure well, but sometimes overexposes it a little. Good sharpness across the entire frame and in all plans. |
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The camera does macro quite well if you focus on the desired object. |
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The text is worked out well, although it is slightly processed by sharpening and noise reduction. |
For an 8 megapixel camera, the images are very clean and good. Of course, noticeable sharpening can be found in the pictures, and the work of the noise reduction is visible, but in general the pictures look very decent thanks to good and uniform sharpness. In general, the sharpness of the optics is a fairly important parameter in a smartphone camera. If the natural sharpness is good, you can save on processing, which usually ruins the image. Therefore, a camera with good optics has a greater chance of success. And if the sensor is not very noisy, then it can turn out very good.
The optics in this module are decent, and the sharpness is good in all plans and across the entire field of the frame. Thanks to this, the camera does not abuse sharpening. But the noise reduction let us down. Its algorithm looks a bit old; in some places it works clumsily and spoils small details and fine lines. At the same time, it copes well with noise in the shadows without turning textures into mush. Otherwise, there are no complaints about the camera. It turned out to be quite decent and is well suited for artistic and, especially, documentary photography.
The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks; There is no support for fourth generation networks (LTE) in the modification supplied to our market. Data transfer speed is limited to HSPA+ mode to 21 Mbps. The communication capabilities of the device are implemented modestly: neither the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band, nor NFC technology, nor connecting external devices to the USB port (USB Host, OTG) is supported here. You can standardly organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The navigation module can work with both GPS and the domestic Glonass system.
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There were no spontaneous reboots/shutdowns observed during testing, as well as system slowdowns or freezes. Unfortunately, the smartphone did not provide an LED sensor for notification of charging status and incoming events.
The layout and arrangement of buttons on the preinstalled keyboard are standard: switching languages is done by pressing a special button with a globe image. It’s convenient that there is a dedicated top row of number buttons - you don’t need to switch the layout from letters to numbers and back every time. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. For ease of operation with one hand, the keyboard can be moved to one of the edges of the screen. This feature, obviously, was inherited by the LG G2 mini from top-end smartphones with larger screens - for a 4.7-inch screen, this functionality is perhaps redundant.
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The smartphone supports two SIM cards using the Dual SIM Dual Standby standard. Apart from a special button for quickly changing the priority SIM card, the implementation of working with two SIM cards is generally standard for this platform. There is only one radio module, so there can only be one active conversation. In terms of capabilities, the slots for SIM cards are equivalent, but only one of them can work in 3G mode at a time. It is worth noting separately that, unlike the LG L90, whose hardware buttons under the screen were not backlit, which could result in a rather unpleasant confusion with “blindly” pressing a button to quickly change the priority SIM card, here these buttons are virtual. So in this matter, the LG G2 mini has a clear advantage over the LG L90 model. By the way, a number of virtual control buttons here, like those of the flagship LG G2, can be reconfigured to suit your taste, and you can not only change the order of the buttons, but also select the background background.
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LG G2 mini currently runs on the latest version 4.4.2 of the Google Android software platform. On top of the OS interface, the company has installed its own user interface called Optimus UI. The shell gives the user much broader functionality than the proprietary Android OS interface; a lot of additional convenient features that were first implemented in the firmware of the flagship LG G2 are retained here. For example, there are also Plug & Pop tooltips and Guest Mode, and QSlide multi-window mode allows you to simultaneously run up to two applications in smaller windows on the same screen. The infrared port is complemented by a special program for remote control of equipment. The smartphone also contains the rudiments of gesture control capabilities - there are not as many of them as in top-end smartphones, but it reacts to turning the case over, and can even recognize the owner’s face.
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The Knock Code functionality, based on tapping on the screen, is also implemented here. In addition to activating and turning off the screen, you can now also set a password, which will be based on the choice of the point where you touch the screen. When unlocking, the user can enter a combination of presses anywhere on the screen and in any corner of the display. Also, the distance between the pressing points can be greater or less - the smartphone will still recognize the combination.
The LG G2 mini hardware platform is based on a single-chip system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8226). The central processor here has 4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores operating at 1.2 GHz (CPU-Z shows 1.19 GHz). The device has 1 GB of RAM, and the storage available to the user for uploading their own files is less than 4 GB of the nominal 8 GB. The memory can be expanded using microSD cards up to 32 GB (in our case, 64 GB worked), but connecting a flash drive via an OTG adapter will not work here - the device does not support this mode.
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For comparison, let's take a dual-core modification of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, the configuration of which includes two Krait 300 cores (1.7 GHz) - on such a platform, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini (GT-I9195) smartphone runs. The LG G2 mini smartphone is based on the MSM8226 SoC, which is also called Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, but its central processor has 4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores with a frequency of 1.2 GHz. As for other competitors, the configuration of the MSM8226 platform turns out to be largely similar to the configuration of the quad-core platform of the Taiwanese MediaTek - MT6589. They have similar CPUs (4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores), but the GPUs are different: Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 includes Adreno 305, while MediaTek MT6589 uses PowerVR SGX 544MP.
To get an idea of the performance of the platform of the smartphone under test, we will conduct a standard set of tests.
For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed their “obstacle courses” on previous versions of test programs.
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Here's what we can say based on the testing results. The performance of the new product was not very high. If you compare the mini-flagship LG G2 mini with the “real” flagship LG G2, the difference will seem noticeable (about two times according to AnTuTu results). The top-end LG G2 smartphone has moved away from its miniature successor as much as the Samsung flagship has moved away from its mini brother, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini. Compared to modern market leaders, the LG G2 mini smartphone can only reach the title of average - its performance is enough to equal, for example, the Motorola Moto G. By the way, the test results of the LG G2 mini are almost the same as those of its relative mentioned above, the model LG L90, which is logical: after all, these smartphones are built on the same platform. However, the L90 is noticeably cheaper.
Regarding the comparison of two different platforms with the same name, we can state that the two Krait 300 cores (1.7 GHz) of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini outperformed the 4 ARM Cortex-A7 cores (1.2 GHz) of the LG G2 mini smartphone in all tests. So, it turns out that Snapdragon 400 is different, and you still need to carefully look at the more detailed specifications to make the right choice.
As for the competing MediaTek MT6589, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 system turned out to be approximately on par with it, especially if we take the more common version MT6589T with a higher core frequency (1.5 GHz versus 1.2 GHz). However, in terms of graphics, Adreno 305 is clearly ahead of the PowerVR SGX 544MP video subsystem in all tests, albeit not by much.
Test results in MobileXPRT, as well as the latest versions of AnTuTu 4.x and GeekBench 3:
When testing the graphics subsystem in the cross-platform 3DMark test for the most powerful smartphones, it is now possible to run 3DMark in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
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Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:
| LG G2 mini |
LG L90 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 4 cores ARM [email protected] GHz) |
Motorola Moto G (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 4 cores ARM [email protected] GHz) |
Samsung S4 mini (GT-I9195) (Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 2 cores Krait [email protected] GHz) |
Alcatel OT Idol X (MediaTek MT6589T, 4 cores ARM [email protected] GHz) |
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| Epic Citadel, High Performance (fps, more is better) |
58.3 fps | 58.6 fps | 58.6 fps | 59.4 fps | 46.6 fps |
| Epic Citadel, High Quality | 57.1 fps | 57.4 fps | 57.5 fps | 59.2 fps | 43.1 fps |
| Epic Citadel, Ultra High Quality | 48.7 fps | 43.3 fps | 35.0 fps | 50.6 fps | 14.7 fps |
| Bonsai Benchmark | 31.3 fps/2197 | 29.2 fps/2050 | 25.1 fps/1759 | 32.8 fps/2302 | — |
| Basemark X, Medium Quality | 4323 | 4313 | 4423 | 5225 | — |
| Basemark X, High Quality | 794 | 790 | 839 | 1547 | — |
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To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.
LG once again pleasantly surprises with the presence of full support for all necessary decoders in its smartphones. Unlike most of the reviewed devices from other companies, the capabilities of the built-in video player of the LG G2 mini were enough for trouble-free playback of all our standard test videos. At the same time, no problems were observed with the sound, and in the third-party MX player you don’t even have to switch to hardware playback in Hardware+. That is, to put it simply, the LG G2 mini will play any video downloaded from the network without any problems (at least with a resolution of up to 1080p).
| Format | Container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Standard video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
To test the output of video files on the screen of the device itself, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames/ With). In the tests, we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware+” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:
Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.
In general, the intervals between frames (or groups of frames) alternate a little unevenly and in the case of 1080p files at 60 fps, some frames are always skipped. When playing 720p and 1080p video files, the image of the actual video file is displayed exactly along the edge of the screen. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights. However, dark scenes may not look very good, as the darkest shades are inverted when tilted to the right (that is, when tilted up or down when watching a movie) and have a noticeable difference in color tone.
The capacity of the lithium-ion battery installed in the LG G2 mini is slightly smaller than that of the LG L90, but still amounts to 2440 mAh, which is considerable for a smartphone. The difference between these two batteries is so insignificant that no deterioration was noticed in the battery life tests: the new test subject also demonstrated excellent battery life, even a record for its class. Of course, this became possible not only because of the capacious battery, but also due to the fact that LG has learned to optimize the performance of its batteries well (its own subsidiary, LG Chem, helps make batteries for the company’s smartphones).
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D Game Mode | |
| LG G2 mini | 2440 mAh | 16:00 | 10:00 am | 5:00 a.m. |
| LG L90 | 2540 mAh | 15:20 | 10:00 am | 4 hours 50 minutes |
| Motorola Moto G | 2070 mAh | 15:20 | 8:00 am | 4 hours 20 minutes |
| ZTE nubia Z5 mini | 2300 mAh | 11:05 am | 8:00 am | 3 hours 50 minutes |
| Alcatel OT Idol X | 2000 mAh | 10:00 am | 6 hours 40 minutes | 4:00 am |
| Fly Luminor IQ453 | 2000 mAh | 10:00 am | 7:00 am | 4 hours 10 minutes |
| Oppo Mirror R819 | 2000 mAh | 10:20 am | 8 a.m. 20 p.m. | 5:00 a.m. |
| Meizu MX3 | 2400 mAh | 13:20 | 8:00 am | 4 hours 25 minutes |
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted more than 16 hours until the battery was completely discharged. When continuously watching YouTube videos in high quality (HQ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted 10 hours, and in 3D gaming mode - about 5 hours.
As a result, we have, in principle, a good device from a well-known manufacturer, which generally meets all the necessary requirements in order to rightfully be called a middle-class smartphone, but it is clearly not up to the task of reaching the flagship level. The smartphone has a nice, neat design, inherited from its older brother, and good ergonomics of the body, a good camera, as well as a very wide range of functionality of the proprietary shell. And of course, it is worth praising the record autonomy that has been achieved recently by most LG smartphones.
At the same time, the smartphone differs from the company's flagship in many ways: a mediocre quality screen with an almost complete absence of oleophobic coating, lack of automatic brightness adjustment, notification indicator, support for OTG mode, inexpressive sound, modest performance of the hardware platform in general and the graphics subsystem in particular. . In terms of most characteristics, the LG G2 mini smartphone has nothing in common with the flagship LG G2 - do not be fooled by the big name, which makes you think that this is the same top-end smartphone, only reduced in size. In fact, the LG G2 mini model is closer and is almost a complete analogue of its brother from the budget line - LG L90. As for the cost, the L90 itself, with its price of 10 thousand rubles, looks slightly overpriced, and for the LG G2 mini they ask for another two thousand more - 12 thousand rubles. This price does not quite correspond to the status of the device and its capabilities; the smartphone is clearly overpriced. It is clear that there is a markup here both for the brand and for the external resemblance to a real flagship, but still, now there is a wide variety of mid-level models on the market, where the competition is much higher than in the top segment, so expect high sales of the LG G2 mini model at such an inflated price it is quite difficult.
Set a trend. ahead of time
Unique control button
The camera and volume control button is located on the lid of the smartphone - this is a truly natural and convenient way to control the device.
Personal information is securely protected
LG G2 mini supports KNOCK Code technology, which allows you to set a combination of touches on the screen known only to you. The combination can consist of from 2 to 8 touches and can be easily entered in any part of the display, even with one hand.
Camera 8 MP
Take incredible photos and shoot FullHD videos.
The quality is ensured by an 8 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and many useful settings.
Everything will be in focus!
Turn on the camera and adjust the depth of field to your liking. Get great portrait, landscape and group photos with the LG G2 mini's 9-point autofocus. And the photo of moving objects generally deserves special praise.
Instant Hints
PLUG & POP technology automatically shows compatible applications with the device you have connected to LG G2 mini. Connect a stereo headset or USB cable to your smartphone and immediately select the desired action.
Guest mode
Create a separate profile for third-party users using the Guest Mode feature. Now children or friends will have access only to those functions, files and applications that you choose for them.
Mini - outside only
Inside this elegant smartphone, LG developers have hidden modern mobile hardware.
A 4-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a 2440 mAh battery will give you maximum performance and long battery life.
4.7 inch TRUE IPS display
The LG G2 Mini delivers great design and performance, but what makes it stand out is the impressive picture quality on its innovative 4.7-inch IPS display.
Dual SIM support
With two SIM cards you get the perfect work-life balance, especially with the ability to set different ringtones for each SIM card :)
The sizes of devices have grown significantly in recent years, and now even devices with a 4.7-inch display are called “mini”. But it turns out that there are still people who don’t want a “shovel” for themselves. Another revelation is that not everyone is like you, my little geek, and not everyone needs the latest Qualcomm processor and 100500 GB of RAM. Unlike the one I recently met, the LG G2 mini is far from a flagship, but it’s not budget either. This is a good mid-class smartphone with many of the favorite buttons on the back cover and features like double-clicking to unlock.
The body is made entirely of plastic and is more reminiscent of L series smartphones (more specifically) than its progenitor. What remains from the latter are the characteristically thin frames around the display (though they are just as thin) and the controls on the back cover. The main difference from this is, perhaps, the absence of on-screen touch keys. I have mixed opinions about the design: there doesn’t seem to be anything repulsive in it, but there isn’t much that is attractive either. Buying a G2 mini is like buying a gray car - practical, but there's no chance to stand out. What I really liked was the bottom edge, on which there is a very nicely designed speaking microphone, speaker and MicroUSB connector.
The back cover is now textured and, jokes aside, reminds me of my grandmother's glasses case, at least tactilely. Outwardly, this is an unremarkable surface on which the camera window, lock and volume control buttons are placed in a single block, and a flash is located a little further away. The keys are slightly raised above the lid, which allows you to find them “blindly”. Tactile feedback is clear, especially on the lock button. Under the hood are slots for two MicroSIM cards and a MicroSD, but the vast majority of the space is occupied by a 2440 mAh battery. I’m not even sure that this solution is better than the gloss in the LG G2, but it’s definitely more practical.
On top is an infrared port that helps control household appliances (and not only those made by LG), an additional microphone for noise reduction and a headset jack. The side edges were left empty.
On the front there is a speaker, a proximity sensor and a 1.3 MP front camera, below there is a 4.7-inch display, and below it is the campaign logo. With such and such a diagonal - and mini? Well, I don’t know, I bought a Nexus 4 with a similar diagonal and considered it large.
The design was made as simple and ergonomic as possible, turning a blind eye to those who would like to stand out from the crowd. This is also evidenced by the colors in which the device is presented: black and white. We must pay tribute, despite the collapsible design, no backlash was noticed.
As I already said, the display of the G2 mini is significantly larger than that of its classmates. This is probably more of a plus, although it transforms the device into inter-class struggle. But the resolution for a 4.7-inch diagonal is unacceptably small - 960 x 540 pixels (243 pixels per inch). The matrix is made using IPS technology, but the manufacturer has concealed how the display is protected. It does not scratch much, but there is no oleophobic coating. There is also no air gap, which has a good effect on the overall impression. Maximum brightness is sufficient, although I can’t say that working in the sun will be comfortable. The image is a little warmer than usual, but nothing critical. Due to the lack of a light sensor, the display brightness can only be adjusted manually.
LG G2 mini is equipped with two camera modules. Front - 1.3 MP. The only thing worth noting in it is a feature for selfie in low light conditions, when the main part of the screen is filled with a bright white background, and the viewfinder is significantly reduced. The main camera received an 8 MP sensor. It is worth praising, as it is at a good level for a budget device. The white balance suffers a little, but not critically. Excellent focusing and shooting speed, good sharpness. There are still problems, but mostly only in low light conditions. There is no optical stabilization, but there is digital stabilization, and it does a good job (an example of video shooting can be seen below). In the camera application, they left few of the features of the older model: “live effect” and manual focus. Autofocus doesn't work well in video. The HDR mode is well implemented, and, unlike , it is here. Volume buttons can act as camera buttons.
The smartphone is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor (MSM8226) at a frequency of 1.2 GHz, the Adreno 305 chip is responsible for graphics. As for memory, there is 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage, which can be expanded with a MicroSD card (up to 32 GB) . Several versions of the smartphone went on sale: one on a similar chip, but with LTE support – MSM8926, and the second on Nvidia Tegra 4i 1.7 GHz (also with LTE support, for the Latin American market). The performance is enough for everything this display can show: if you want to play Dead Trigger 2 at maximum settings, everything will work smoothly, but the grain will be such that you will want to make the graphics simpler. The results in synthetic tests are similar to those of the LG G2 mini, and my Nexus 4 is only slightly inferior to them. I have no comments on working with the smartphone. The latest Android 4.4.2 operating system with the proprietary OptimusUI shell is used.
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