Well, that was quick. It’s only been two or so months since LG pulled officially pulled back the curtains on its flagship Optimus G smartphone, but it seems the Korean company isn’t done fiddling with the formula just yet. According to a recent report from Korea’s MK Business News, LG is already preparing a followup (tentatively called the Optimus G2) that could launch as early as next May.
At this point it’s tough to say whether or not the G2’s spec sheet is already set in stone, but MK’s report paints a pretty impressive picture. First up is the rumored inclusion of a 5-inch, 1080p display — LG is hardly the first to take the plunge into 1080p territory (that distinction goes to Taiwan-based HTC and its Butterfly J). During my week spent with Butterfly J’s American cousin, I found its 1080p display to be an impressive performer despite some minor flaws and it’ll be interesting to see how well LG’s own homebrew panel fares.
Honestly, the timing isn’t exactly a surprise here — both LG and its eternal rival Samsung were both expected to release 1080p smartphones in the first half of 2013 — but there’s more to the G2 than just a pretty screen. If the report holds true, then the G2’s internals are nothing to sneeze at either as an unspecified 2GHz Qualcomm chipset is expected to run the show. The original Optimus G was one of the snappiest I’ve gotten to play with in quite some time thanks in part to its beefy Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, so the G2 has a hell of a bar to live up to. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to have been much digging done when it comes to the G2’s battery — a wimpy little thing could spell doom for a device like this.
May might seem like a long way off, but don’t be surprised if the further leaks start trickling out well in advance. Frankly, between the Optimus G and the Nexus 4, LG has managed to impress me in ways I didn’t think the beleaguered company was capable of — here’s hoping the G2 is just as pleasant a surprise.