LG G2 mini review: Big mini

Phonebook

Not much has changed when it comes to the phonebook in Android 4.4 KitKat. It's quite straightforward and easy to navigate, with a dedicated tab for your favorite contacts for quick access.

The standard phonebook

There's plenty of contact information you can assign to each contact and it still remains neatly organized.

Editing a contact

Telephony with native video calling

The LG G2 mini has great earpiece volume and there are also native video calls available right in the phone app. Smart Dial also works like a charm and searches both names and numbers.

The dialer • Smart Dial

The LG G2 mini's loudspeaker earned a score of Below Average in our dedicated loudspeaker test, which means that you are ought to miss important calls and notifications in noisier environments. You can find more about the testing process here.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overal score
LG G2 mini	65.2	67.7	64.6	Below Average
HTC One (M8)	65.8	64.7	75.7	Average
HTC One	69.3	66.6	75.9	Good
Apple iPhone 5	66.8	66.1	67.7	Below Average
HTC Desire X	63.6	61.6	69.6	Below Average
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus	65.7	61.5	66.6	Below Average
Samsung Galaxy S III mini	66.5	63.0	76.0	Average
Sony Xperia V	65.5	61.1	66.2	Average
LG G Pro 2	66.7	64.9	75.7	Average
Sony Xperia go	66.5	66.1	77.9	Good
Samsung Galaxy Express	67.7	66.6	75.7	Good
Samsung Galaxy Grand	74.1	66.2	76.0	Good
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo	72.1	65.8	73.3	Good
LG Optimus L7	66.7	66.6	75.6	Good
Motorola RAZR XT910	74.7	66.6	82.1	Very Good
HTC Desire	76.6	75.7	84.6	Excellent

Great messaging capabilities

Laid out in threads, the messaging department is quite neatly organized.

Swiping gestures

Thanks to the 4.7" screen, typing is easier than on smaller droids, LG or otherwise. Swype-inspired finger tracking is also present, but has limited language support.

Additional input methods include Google's voice input, as well as split and regular landscape keyboards. Also included is handwriting support for multiple (downloadable) languages, and a special keyboard that can be nudged to either side of the screen for one-handed operation.

The G2 mini supports numerous input methods

Adding any multimedia content to the message, like photos or video, automatically turns it into an MMS. You can also customize your speech bubbles and background.

Adding an image from the clipboard automatically turns it into an MMS • Customization options

The Gmail app includes the usual inbox filtering options (Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates). LG's own Email app is similar to Google's, except that it can handle multiple POP or IMAP inboxes, which is useful for when you want to keep track of multiple accounts.

The Gmail and Email apps offer different benefits

The Hangouts app is Google's attempt at a one-stop shop for all of your IM needs. The app offers group video chats, emojis, photo exchange, history sync across multiple devices, and can even be integrated to handle your SMS/MMS conversations as well.

Google Hangouts