LG Electronics Inc. on Tuesday announced that it would unveil the LG Stylus 2 (pictured above), a 5.7-inch phablet equipped with a stylus, at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) taking place in Barcelona, Spain February 22 to 25.

At 7.4 millimeters and 145 grams, the LG Stylus 2 is both thinner and lighter than the LG G4 Stylus it replaces. The design incorporates a Protruded Flat Display in the front, Spin Hairline pattern on the back and boasts metallic frames on all four edges.

The LG Stylus 2 also sees a number of software enhancements to improve the stylus experience as well as a new stylus with a nano-coated tip replacing the rubber-tipped pen that shipped with the G4 Stylus.

Although not as well equipped, the LG Stylus 2 faces stiff competition from the high-end Samsung Galaxy Note 5, a situation that will only get tougher with the rumored launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 6 later this year.

Before we take a look at how the LG Stylus 2 compares to the Galaxy Note 5 in key areas — most importantly the stylus functionality — let’s see how it stacks up against the competition when it comes to technical specs.

LG Stylus 2 vs. Galaxy Note 5 vs. Galaxy Note 6: Tech specs

Display

The 5.7-inch, 1280 x 720 HD resolution display is a bit disappointing when compared to 5.7-inch, Quad HD display on the Galaxy Note 5 while rumors suggest Samsung is opting for a 5.8-inch, “Slim RGB AMOLED” on the upcoming Galaxy Note 6.

Operating System

The LG Stylus 2 will ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, giving it an advantage over the Galaxy Note 5 which still runs Android 5.1 Lollipop. Although Samsung has announced that it will roll out Android 6.0 to Galaxy S6 and S6 edge devices, there is no news on when Galaxy Note 5 owners can expect to get Android’s latest OS.

The Galaxy Note 6 is likely to ship with the latest Android 6.0 update when it becomes available.

Processor and Memory

With a 1.2GHz Quad-Core processor, 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, the LG Stylus 2 pales in comparison to the Octa-Core, 4GB of RAM powered Galaxy Note 5.

While there’s no news on what processor Samsung might use for the Galaxy Note 6, rumors suggest the device may sport as much as 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of onboard storage.

At least the LG Stylus 2 offers users the option to add storage via a microSD card slot, an option Samsung does not offer on its latest handsets.

Stylus and pen experience

LG has included a number of features in the Stylus 2 that it claims will enhance the user’s pen experience, including Pen Pop, which displays a popup menu with shortcuts to Pop Menu and Pop Scanner when the stylus is removed, and Pen Keeper, which displays a popup warning if it detects the phone is on the move without the stylus back in place.

There’s also a new Calligraphy Pen font which LG says will let users “write as beautifully and decoratively as if using a fountain pen.”

On the Galaxy Note 5, Samsung added a new S Pen with a clicking mechanism to pop the S Pen out. Air Command was improved for the S Pen, delivering more functionality when you hover it on the screen. The S Pen is more precise, gives instant access to your favorites, and even when the screen is turned off, you can now write on it using the S Pen.Another upgrade was improved screen capture for longer, larger screenshots.

Availability and price

LG has not shared when and for how much the LG Stylus 2 will go on sale, but it is likely to cost much less than the Galaxy Note 5 or Note 6 given the difference in specs.

Image via LG