LG G2 mini review: Big mini

Controls

Besides the 4.7" IPS display, the G2 mini front panel accommodates the earpiece, the 1.3 MP secondary camera, capable of 1080p video capture and the proximity sensor. Sadly, the status LED light of the G2 is missing here, so is the ambient light sensor.

LG G2 mini front

The left and right side of the LG G2 is completely bare.

LG G2 mini left and right sides

The top of the LG G2 houses the secondary mic and the IR emitter for the remote control functionality.

LG G2's top with the IR blaster

The bottom has the primary microphone, the loudspeaker and the MHL-enabled microUSB port. The G2 mini's connectivity port supports TV-out, USB on-the-go and USB host.

LG G2 mini's bottom looks the part

LG G2 mini's back is where things get interesting. As we already mentioned, there's the trademark LG configuration that includes the volume-rocker with the Power/Lock key located in the middle. On top of that button trio is the 8MP camera and the LED flash are here. The G2 also has a 13MP version.

When the screen is locked a long press on the Volume Up key launches the Quick Memo tool, while a long press on the Volume Down control fires up the camera. You can use this key as a shutter button, too.

LG G2 innovative take on the back

The Power/Lock button lacks a LED-lit rim that doubles as a notification LED on the LG G2. That's a pity, really, as this leaves the phone without any notification light to speak of.

The key placement spares you lots of unnecessary finger stretching, the location of all three keys is really convenient but it takes a bit of time getting used to it.

The battery, microSD and SIM card slots.

You can pop the battery cover and get access to the 2440 mAh battery, which, fortunately, is user replaceable. We're happy to report that the microSD card slot and SIM card slot are on the top left and are hot swappable.

Display

The LG G2 mini is built around a 4.7" display. It's an IPS LCD unit with a nice quality. Unfortunately, we are a bit let down by the resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. As a result of the relatively subpar resolution, the pixel density is just 234 ppi.

The 4.7" display is of qHD resolution

It's not the sharpest around, which is understandable. Nevertheless, it's a fairly bright screen with good viewing angles, although there's contrast compression and color shift at extreme angles.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Nokia 808 PureView
  4.698
• Apple iPhone 5
  3.997
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  3.997
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  3.549
• Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
  3.419
• Nokia Lumia 925
  3.402
• Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4
  3.352
• Samsung Omnia W
  3.301
• Samsung Galaxy S
  3.155
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  3.127
• Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom
  3.118
• Nokia N9
  3.069
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.970
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2.950
• HTC One S
  2.901
• BlackBerry Q10
  2.856
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  2.832
• Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
  2.801
• BlackBerry Z30
  2.790
• Huawei Ascend P1
  2.655
• Sony Xperia ZR
  2.672
• Nokia Lumia 900
  2.562
• HTC One Max
  2.537
• Nokia Lumia 720
  2.512
• HTC One
  2.504
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Samsung Galaxy S III mini
  2.422
• HTC One (M8)
  2.371
• Motorola RAZR i
  2.366
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2.307
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2.269
• HTC Desire 600 dual sim
  2.262
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Nokia N8
  2.144
• Oppo Find 5
  2.088
• BlackBerry Z10
  2.051
• Apple iPhone 4
  2.016
• HTC One mini
  2.003
• LG G2
  1.976
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
  1.955
• Samsung Galaxy Camera
  1.938
• LG G Pro 2
  1.922
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• Huawei Ascend P6
  1.865
• LG G2 mini
  1.838
• Sony Xperia V
  1.792
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Meizu MX3
  1.754
• LG Optimus 4X HD
  1.691
• HTC One V
  1.685
• BlackBerry Q5
  1.682
• LG Optimus Vu
  1.680
• LG Optimus GJ
  1.666
• HTC Desire V
  1.646
• Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
  1.622
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  1.578
• Samsung Galaxy Core
  1.563
• LG Optimus G Pro
  1.552
• LG Optimus 3D
  1.542
• Samsung Galaxy Core LTE
  1.542
• Nokia Asha 302
  1.537
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Nokia Lumia 610
  1.432
• Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo
  1.393
• Sony Xperia E1
  1.372
• Gigabyte GSmart G1355
  1.361
• Samsung Galaxy Grand
  1.321
• HTC Desire C
  1.300
• Nokia X
  1.291
• Nokia Asha 501
  1.270
• LG Optimus L7
  1.269
• LG Optimus L9
  1.227
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E dual
  1.203
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket
  1.180
• Sony Xperia tipo
  1.166
• Samsung Galaxy mini 2
  1.114

The sunlight legibility isn't the worst we've seen, but it definitely leaves room for improvement. You'll struggle to read or view anything outdoors if it isn't cloudy.

Battery life test

The LG G2 mini houses a 2440mAh battery, which LG says is the largest in its class and we are inclined to agree (the Moto X packs a 2200mAh battery in a similarly sized package). LG has been doing very well in the battery department ever since the LG G2 and it has done the very best it can in the G2 mini as well.

As a result, the phone's endurance rating is 76 hours, which is one of the best scores any mid-ranger has ever posted. This means you can easily get two days of 1 hour web browsing, video playback and 3G talk each in a single charge.

For a more detailed breakdown of the LG G2 mini battery performance check out our blogpost.

Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our battery test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating.

Our battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you want to learn more about it.