Today we have the pleasure to be working with another one of those larger than usual phones. The LG Optimus G Pro quad-core powerhouse smartphone from LG, available next week from AT&T. This is arguably LG’s flagship smartphone at the moment and aims to take on the GALAXY S 4 and the Note II, with a 5.5-inch 1080p display and more. Take a peek at our extended hands-on below.
LG officially announced the Optimus G Pro back at Mobile World Congress and we got some time with it then, but then May 1st they confirmed it would be available exclusively in the US from AT&T complete with 4G LTE. Can this compete with the Note II? Read on to get a glimpse of what to expect.
The LG Optimus G Pro has nearly every single feature checked in the must-have category as of late. A 5.5-inch 1080p full HD IPS+ display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 1.7 GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, an impressive 13 megapixel camera, and much more. We won’t have all those S-features like the GALAXY S 4, but it’s still impressive.
LG wrapped the device in a lightweight plastic, and the back is removable revealing a 3,140 mAh battery and micro-SD slot for expanding storage. Then of course we have a 2.1 megapixel front camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, an IR-blaster (remote control) Quick Memo (on-screen writing) and AT&T 4G LTE all on board. So it’s a pretty packed device. Sadly we only get Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, unlike Samsung who’s releasing most devices lately with the absolute latest version of Android. Here’s our hands-on and unboxing:
As you can see, the Optimus G Pro is pretty massive. It has a very similar look and feel as the Note II, but is actually quite a bit lighter and easier to hold. Then again you won’t get an S-Pen stylus, or the WACOM digitizer either. The IPS display looks pretty gorgeous, and we love the 1080p, but we’ll need more time with it to fully decide what we think.
One important note is their attempt to simulate Samsung’s success here. They’ve added that dedicated home button on bottom, which we aren’t fans of, but it feels sturdy and is easy to tap. Overall the hardware is decent from our initial impressions but again, we’ll need more time to fully decide what we think. Check out a few additional pictures below and stay tuned for our full review. Would you take this over the Note II, or are you waiting to see what the rumored Note 3 has in store? Let us know.
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This is my first 1080p smartphone & I really enjoyed using it. I bought the unlocked model from eBay that has a lot of Korean apps & also the TV antenna for the DMB that Korea gets. LG has done an excellent job on the Optimus G Pro. It’s plastic but LG knows how to use plastics. It doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy. The fit & finish is excellent. It’s super fast & does everything I want it to do. It doesn’t have the SPEN like the Note 2 but I don’t use that anyway so no loss there. If you’re deciding between this & the Note 2, you can’t go wrong, they are both awesome devices.
Looks nice … but, I use the S-Pen on my Galaxy Note 2 all of the time. A must have feature for me.