LG has shown off the LG G Pro 2 phablet at MWC in Barcelona ahead of the official opening of the trade show and Pocket-lint was on hand to have a look and play with the new 2014 device.

The new device replaces the LG G Pro, looking to expand and enhance its phablet offering.

Design

The follow up to the original 5.5-inch G Pro announced in 2013, the new G Pro 2 features an even bigger 5.9-inch 1920 x 1080 screen that is akin in size to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. That gives it a pixel density of 373ppi.

Thin, light, and surprisingly not as big as you would expect, the key here is the incredibly thin side bezels and the removal of all physical buttons from the front of the device.

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Instead users will be asked to use the rear rocker switch, identical to that found on the 2013 range, and a new unlocking system called Knock Code that means you simply have to tap on the screen in a special combo you select to unlock the phone.

In contrast to the crisp clear glass on the front of the device, the rear is a mottled textured surface that is neither leather or plastic to touch.

Specs

On the specs side of things the G Pro 2 is a powerful machine capable of shooting 4K video from the 13-megapixel camera on the rear and processed by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 3200mAh removable battery.

It will come with 16GB / 32GB of storage.

Software

As you would expect the phone will run Android 4.4 KitKat from day one and come with LG's tweaks and enhancements, mainly two new features specific to the G Pro 2.

The first is a dual screen mode, which allows you to run two apps on the screen at the same time, and the second is the option to miniaturise the screen from 3.4-inches to 4.7-inches to be able to use the phone one handed - presumably as you walk down the street with your coffee.

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In practice and although it's a weird concept, both new options are easy to access and easy to use and we can see it working really well for the single handed user who mostly wants to benefit from a bigger phone 80 per cent of the time.

Other new software features include a selfie mode that will show the camera window smaller surrounded by a white screen so it can throw some light on your face, even it if is just white monitor light.

Quick verdict

Our time with the LG G Pro 2 was brief and crowded, but we like what we see. Sadly at the moment LG isn't confirming that it will be launching the G Pro 2 in the UK, however with a multitude of LG UK people present at the event and a keenness to show press from around the globe the new device, we suspect that the G Pro 2 will be getting a global rollout. Phablet fans will certainly hope that is going to be the case.

Samsung, a new challenger just entered.