LG Korea has officially unveiled the much-anticipated G Pro 2, the upscaled successor to its previous flagship smartphone of 2013. Unfortunately, the South Korean company did not provide us with an official launch date for the 5.9-inch phablet, but it did hint that it will be on display at this year’s Mobile World Congress, which is scheduled to take place in just eleven days time on Monday, February 24, 2014, in Barcelona, Spain.

The G Pro 2’s specifications look deeply impressive, packing a 5.9-inch True Full HD IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, a Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset powered by four 2.26GHz Krait 400 central processing units, and Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 64GB via microSD), a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera equipped with autofocus and, finally, a 2.1-megapixel front-facing shooter.

The handset will ship running the latest build of Android 4.4.2 KitKat straight out of the box skinned with LG’s famous custom user interface, which, according to the manufacturer, improves your productivity, decreases the amount of time it takes to navigate around the device and allows you to customize your smartphone extensively. This coupled with LG’s traditional rear-facing volume rockers and a bunch of great software features including Knock Code (a development from the incredibly-popular Knock On function that made its debut appearance last year, which enables users to power on their smartphone by simply tapping the screen in any one of 86,367 different combinations) makes for an extremely unique phablet that’s definitely a contender to take Samsung’s Note 3 slot — which is currently at the top of the phablet market.

You can check out the full press release below for the full list of specifications and consumer information:

Today LG Electronics (LG) introduced the LG G Pro 2, its follow-up to the award-winning G Pro, to the Korean public. Much like last year’s G Pro, which was recognized as the Best Smartphone of MWC 2013, the G Pro 2 comes equipped with a state-of-the-art display and new UX features to take user convenience to the next level.

With a stunning 5.9-inch Full HD IPS display and extra slim bezel of 3.3mm, the G Pro 2 offers an industry-leading screen-to-frame ratio of 77.2 percent. A thicker, high-power 1W Hi-Fi sound that’s 30 percent louder than in the G Pro delivers clearer sound with more powerful bass. And to simplify the powering on and unlocking process, LG engineers developed a completely unique feature called Knock Code™ which makes unlocking and using the G Pro 2 easier and more convenient than ever before.

“Knock Code is an example of LG bringing simpler, more convenient solutions to consumers’ mobile lives,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Whereas in the early years of smartphones it was a contest to see how many features could be stuffed into the phones, our researchers took a long, hard look at how consumers were really using their devices in their daily lives and included just the most useful UX features. We think customers will agree.”

An evolution of the popular KnockON feature that was first unveiled last year in the LG G2, Knock Code allows owners to power on and unlock their G Pro 2 smartphones in one easy step by tapping their screens using one of 86,367 “knock” combinations. Thanks to LG’s intelligent algorithm and advanced hardware, the knock pattern can be entered on any area of the screen ― whether the display is turned on or off ― using anywhere from two to eight taps.

The G Pro 2 is the first LG smartphone to benefit from an enhanced 13MP camera with OIS+ (Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) and advanced functions ideal for creating sharing content. LG’s proprietary OIS+ technology adds software anti-shake functionality to the acclaimed hardware-based feature already built into the slim camera module for the best photos and videos possible when in motion or in low light situations. What’s more, the sensors and lens of the rear and front camera on the G Pro 2 have increased in both size and sensitivity, for images that rival many standalone point-and-shoot cameras. Some of the other advanced image capturing features built into the G Pro 2 are:

·          120FPS HD Video Recording and Slow-Motion Editing: Records in 120fps HD and allows editing of video in three different speeds ― one-half slow motion, one-fourth slow motion and original

·          4K ULTRA HD Recording: Records video footage in ultra-high definition mode for playback on 4K TV sets

·          Magic Focus: After the shot is taken, user have the option to select the preferred depth of focus before saving. Users can also press the all-in-focus icon to make every object in the frame look their sharpest

·          Natural Flash: Offers more balanced color temperature and exposure for the most natural-looking photos compared to images taken with a normal flash

·          Flash for Selfie: Reduces the size of the preview screen and adds a bright white background for more “soft” lighting in self-portrait mode

·          Burst Shot: Takes up to 20 continuous shots and automatically edits them to create a video of the captured images

·          Gallery Collage: Allows users to select photos from their gallery to create a collage for easy uploading to favorite social network sites

In addition to the latest components, the G Pro 2 also boasts a collection of upgraded features that complements today’s mobile lifestyle where much of the information we need is in the palm of our hands or in our back pockets. Some of these new UX features include:

·          Content Lock: Provides users more security with the ability to lock files, photos, videos and memos with a unique password

·          Mini View: Enables users to comfortably use the G Pro 2 with one hand by shrinking the display to a size ranging from 3.4 inches to 4.7 inches, depending on the user’s preference

·          Dual Browser: Divides the expansive screen into two separate browser windows for more convenient surfing

Availability of G Pro 2 in markets outside of Korea has not yet been determined but attendees to the 2014 Mobile World Congress can experience the G Pro 2 and its features first-hand at LG’s Booth in Hall 3 of Fira Gran Via.