LG has today announced the new G2 mini, a slightly smaller version of its flagship G2 that is scheduled to get its official launch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. The handset sports a 4.7-inch qHD display — that’s half an inch smaller than the original G2’s — coupled with midrange specifications.

Rather than following the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact — which is essentially an Xperia Z1 in a smaller form factor — the only thing the G2 mini really has in common with the original model are its name and its looks. LG has stripped away all of its high-end internal components and replaced them with midrange ones.

Rather than a 1080p display, then, the G2 mini’s resolution is a disappointing 540×960. It has a Snapdragon 400 processor as opposed to a Snapdragon 800, just 8GB of internal storage instead of 16GB, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera rather than the G2’s 13-megapixel snapper.

There’s no LTE, either, but you do get a microSD card slot, a removable 2,440mAh battery, and the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system skinned with LG’s own user interface.

The G2 mini will be aimed at budget-conscious consumers, and it will be available from March in Russia and other European markets, followed by the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

• ViaThe Verge