LG unveiled the LG Stylus 2 smartphone, which is a direct successor to the LG G4 Stylus, ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC). The device brings a stylus with a nano-coated tip that should improve accuracy over the previous rubber-tipped pen.
Although it has a large 5.7” screen and a stylus just like the Galaxy Note, the LG Stylus 2 seems to be pitched as a midrange device in terms of overall features and specifications.
“LG Stylus 2 provides both the big screen and premium note-taking functions of a premium large phone at a price of a mid-tier phone,” said Juno Cho, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “This device is another example of our commitment to the mass-tier segment where there is so much opportunity for growth and creativity,” he added.
The LG Stylus 2 weighs 145g and is 7.4mm thick. It comes with a lower 1280x720 resolution, a quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 CPU, 1.5 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, a 13MP rear camera, an 8MP front-camera, and a microSD slot.
It will have a 3,000 mAh battery, which given the low resolution should give the device strong battery life. The Stylus 2 also supports LTE, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | LG Stylus 2 |
|---|---|
| Display | 5.7-inch HD In-Cell Touch (1280 x 720) |
| Chipset | 1.2 GHz Quad-Core |
| Camera | Rear 13MP / Front 8MP |
| Memory | 1.5 GB LPDDR3 RAM |
| Storage | 16 GB ROM / MicroSD |
| Battery | 3,000mAh (removable) |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Size | 155 x 79.6 x 7.4mm |
| Weight | 145g |
| Network | LTE / HSPA+ / GSM |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n / Bluetooth 4.1 / USB 2.0 |
| Colors | Titan / White / Brown |
The phone will arrive with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the gate. Among its software features, some new additions will include a new pop-up menu called Pen Pop, which should resemble Samsung’s similar feature introduced in the Galaxy Note 4. The menu offers shortcuts to applications such as Pop Memo and Pop Scanner. There’s also a Calligraphy Pen font now, which allows users to write their notes more beautifully.
There isn’t any pricing information yet, other than the fact it’s a “mid-tier” device, but we do know it will be available in three colors: Titan, White, and Brown.
Adding a premium feature to an otherwise midrange smartphone appears to be LG's big strategy; just yesterday, the company announced the X cam and X screen smartphones, which offer premium camera and "second screen" experiences, respectively.
Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware. You can follow him at @lucian_armasu.
