Big, Blazing, and Beautiful
After months of speculation,
LG confirmed
on Wednesday that its Optimus G Pro will be
available exclusively on AT&T on May 10 for $199.99 after contract,
with preorders beginning May 3.
Equipped with a 5.5-inch screen, the phone marks LG's second attempt at a "phablet"-size handset in the U.S., with Verizon's LG Intuition
being the first. While the Intuition didn't quite take off, the G Pro
is a much better device. It performs well, and the G Pro is one of the
first U.S. handsets to feature the swift Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
processor (the others being the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4).
Unfortunately, the phone not only has to compete with the popular
Samsung Galaxy Note 2
, but it will face a looming future rival in the
Note 3
, which is slated for a fall unveiling. In addition,
Galaxy Notes are armed with a stylus, which the G Pro lacks.
Fortunately, along with having great specs, the Optimus is priced
competitively enough to face its Samsung rivals.
Design
One of the first things I noticed about the device was how thin it was. Though this keeps it lightweight for its size (I weighed it at 6.08 ounces) and sleek, the slim 0.25-inch profile made it feel too fragile at times.
One of the first things I noticed about the device was how thin it was. Though this keeps it lightweight for its size (I weighed it at 6.08 ounces) and sleek, the slim 0.25-inch profile made it feel too fragile at times.
As for its size, the
bigger your hand is (obviously), the easier time you'll have using it
with one hand. I have relatively small paws, so there were times when
I'd used my thumb to tap something on one side of the screen only to
have the bottom part of my thumb accidentally select and open something
on the opposite side. To help with one-handed operation, LG includes
some additional settings, like letting you adjust the keyboard or number
pad to the left or right side.
Overall,
however, I had absolutely no problem using it with two hands, and the
handset is indeed attractive. I like the faux-metallic stripe that rings
the edges, and unlike its global counterpart, which has the same
glittery tile design seen on the Nexus 4 and the
Vu II
, the U.S. version has a subtle fishnetlike design on the battery door.
The
phone measures 5.875 inches tall and 3 inches wide. On the left, you
have a volume rocker that's situated flush and quite low on the edge --
almost right in the middle of the body. I found myself often pressing
the empty space between the rocker and the QuickMemo shortcut key (which
sits right above it), when trying to turn up the sound. Up top is a
3.5mm headphone jack and on the right is a sleep/power button. At the
very bottom is a Micro-USB port for charging.
Of course, what's
most noticeable about the G Pro is that 5.5-inch, full-HD IPS screen. It
has a 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution and 400ppi. It sports a 16:9 aspect
ratio, which is more standard on mobile phones than the Intuition's 4:3
ratio.
As
with most high-end LG devices, its screen is bright and extremely
responsive. I like how the display edges are similar to the Nexus 4's,
in that it contours down toward the bezel. It has a wide viewing angle,
and you can see images clearly in both indoor and outdoor lighting.
Colors are vibrant, icons are sharp, and text looks crisp.
I also
have to say that watching videos on this was really enjoyable. Having
that much more screen space is a relief to the eyes, and it gave me a
more encompassing and engrossing experience than smaller handsets do.
I
did see, however, that the whites on the screen had a slightly cold,
blue-grayish tint to them. It's too subtle to notice at first, but when I
compared it side by side with an iPhone, the tint was more apparent.
In
addition, though the screen size is great for entertainment, other
things took some getting used to. For example, texting became a bit more
difficult in landscape. Again, my hands are quite small, and they had a
hard time reaching letters that were in the middle of the keyboard.
Above
the display is a 2.1-megapixel camera and below it are two hot keys
that light up when in use (back and menu), and a physical home button.
This home key is a flush, narrow oval that can also light up with
several different LED colors that I found to be a nice deliberate touch.
The
back of the device houses a 13-megapixel camera with flash. A small
strip of chrome encircles the lens, which bubbles up ever so slightly
out of the back plate. To the left is a small audio speaker. Using a
small indentation on the left edge, you can pop off the backing and
access the 3,140mAh battery and both the Micro-SIM and microSD card
slots. Underneath the plate is an NFC chip. Lastly, if you preorder the
phone, you can get a Quick Cover folio case while supplies last.
LG Optimus G Pro at a glance:
- General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; UMTS 1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA, HSUPA; LTE, 100Mbps down, 50Mbps up
- Form factor: Touchscreen bar
- Dimensions: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4 mm, 160 g
- Display: 5.5" 16M-color FullHD (1080 x 1920 pixels) True HD-IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen
- Chipset: Qualcomm APQ8064T Snapdragon 600
- CPU: Quad-core 1.7GHz Krait 300 processor
- GPU: Adreno 320
- RAM: 2GB
- OS: Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
- Memory: 32 GB storage, microSD card slot
- Still camera: 13 megapixel auto-focus camera with backlit sensor, face detection and Best faces feature, touch focus and image stabilization, HDR
- Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps, LED flash, HDR; 2.1MP front facing camera, video-calls, 1080p@30fps; dual video recording
- Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL features (TV Out, USB host), GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, NFC
- Battery: 3140 mAh
- Misc: Optimus UI, Extremely rich video/audio codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
The Optimus G Pro has one of the most powerful chipsets around and
has an intriguing screen. It's both bigger and better than the one on
the the Xperia Z and that's a clear message already. There is the sleek
design too, the slim screen bezel and the Android Jelly Bean edition
enhanced by numerous custom tweaks and eye-candy.
LG Optimus G Pro live pictures
Software features and UI
The G Pro includes 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. You'll find a bunch of standard Google apps like Messenger, Maps with Navigation, Local, Voice Search, Talk, Chrome, Gmail, Search, Plus, YouTube, and access to Play Movies and TV, Books, Magazines, Music, and Store.
The G Pro includes 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. You'll find a bunch of standard Google apps like Messenger, Maps with Navigation, Local, Voice Search, Talk, Chrome, Gmail, Search, Plus, YouTube, and access to Play Movies and TV, Books, Magazines, Music, and Store.
Because the G Pro is running Jelly Bean, you'll also get
Google Now
, which is a search-based digital "assistant" tied
into Google Search and Voice Search. To access Google Now, hold down the
home key and press the Google logo that pops up at the bottom of the
screen.
Other task management apps include a native browser and
e-mail client, music and video players, a calculator, a video editor, a
notebook, a memo pad, a to-do list, an alarm clock, and a calendar.
There's also the mobile office suite Polaris Office 4, and SmartShare,
which lets you share multimedia between DLNA-certified devices.
In addition, there's QuickRemote, which turns your device into a universal remote for things like TVs, DVD players, and projectors.
I used it in conjunction with a Samsung TV, and setup only took only a
few seconds after I configured the handset to power on, mute, and
menu-input the TV.
Some of AT&T's apps include DriveMode,
which will send out a customizable message to incoming calls or texts
when it senses the phone traveling at more than 25 mph; FamilyMap, which
helps you physically locate family members on your AT&T account;
MyAT&T, which lets you check your data and account info; and the
carrier's own brand of messaging and navigation.
The LG touch
You'll also get a note-taking feature, QuickMemo, which lets you jot down notes and doodles either directly onto whatever your screen is displaying at the moment, or on a virtual memo pad. The unit doesn't ship with a stylus, however, and QuickMemo is one productivity app for which a stylus would be especially handy.
You'll also get a note-taking feature, QuickMemo, which lets you jot down notes and doodles either directly onto whatever your screen is displaying at the moment, or on a virtual memo pad. The unit doesn't ship with a stylus, however, and QuickMemo is one productivity app for which a stylus would be especially handy.
There's also QSlide, LG's multitasking window that was introduced with the last
Optimus G
. Back then, QSlide could only overlay a video while
you browsed through your phone and accessed other apps. Now, however,
you can view other apps, like the browser, simultaneously, and you can
resize your QSlide window, too.
QSlide
(left) enables you to view videos while browsing your apps, while
VuTalk lets you collaborate with devices on a shared screen. Annotations
made by others are differentiated by different ink colors.
The G Pro comes with VuTalk, which works very similarly to a
capability in Samsung's S Memo (already included in the first Galaxy
Note). With VuTalk you can create annotations on documents and photos on
your device while sharing it with another VuTalk-enabled device through
either a network or Wi-Fi connection. The handsets display each
other's annotations in real time and are differentiated by separate ink
colors.
Lastly, there's the LG Tag+ app. Though the handset didn't
come with any Tag+ stickers, it's still capable of wireless
communication via NFC. Together with the Tag+ app, the stickers let you
activate certain settings on your phone that you customize. For example,
you could set it up so that whenever you get in your car and tap the phone with a Car Mode Tag+ sticker, it launches Navigation and turns on Bluetooth.
Android Jelly Bean meets Optimus UI
The LG Optimus G Pro is powered by Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with LG's Optimus UI garnish on top.
The custom launcher runs deep into Android and adds tones of
customizations like themes, changeable icons and a slew of LG home-brew
apps.
The Optimus G Pro is LG's first handset we meet running on Jelly
Bean, but there are only few novelties compared to the ICS. Google Now
is on board, the Project Butter gave a boost on the UI smoothness and
frame rate, but that's mostly it. The rest is identical to the Optimus G
Pro user experience.
LG's cool lockscreen is on board - by default swiping a finger at any
spot of the lockscreen creates a magnifying glass effect, showing you
what's underneath as if you're looking through a rain drop. You can also
place up to four shortcuts that will unlock the phone straight into an
app.
The lockscreen
You can change the lockscreen clock style or replace it all together
with a different style. The four app shortcuts are customizable, too.
Lockscreen options
The bottom of the homescreen fits up to 7 shortcuts (including the
shortcut to the App Drawer) and that's two more than what TouchWiz
offers on the Samsung Galaxy S III. You don't have to use all available
slots though - you can discard all but the App Drawer shortcut if you
want.
As usual, the shortcuts are visible on any of the homescreen panes.
With the exception of the app drawer shortcut, you can rearrange, delete
or replace any of these with shortcuts of your choosing, even folders.
In fact most aspects of the phone's behavior can be customized, you can
go to as small detail as the capacitive key backlight and the transition
effect between homescreen panes.
The homescreen
The LG home-backed tweaks and enhancements are by no means limited to
the visuals. The Q Slide option makes it possible for you to watch a
video while using other apps, while the system-wide QuickMemo
integration allows you to take a screenshot anywhere in the phone and
take notes over it.
You can resize widgets or you can even shrink a widget down to the
corresponding app's icon. Also if you move a widget over an occupied
slot on the homescreen, the icons underneath immediately move out of the
way, which is really neat and comes as part of Jelly Bean.
Reordering and resizing widgets
Adding stuff to the homescreen is done by tapping and holding on a
blank area of a homescreen. A context menu appears, allowing you to add
various customizations to your phone. The tabs along the bottom let you
select the appropriate app, widget or wallpaper, which you can add to
the homescreen of your choice. Gridlines will appear when you hold and
drag an app or widget, allowing you to easily place it on the
homescreen.
Placing widgets and changing the wallpaper
If a certain icon isn't to your liking you can always change it to
whatever you prefer. There's a wide choice of different icons and you
can even choose to make one of your own.
Customizing icons
The contextual menu is accessed the straightforward way - just hit
the menu button. It gives you a quick access to a bunch of different
settings menus as well as choosing a different theme.
LG has also enabled a ton of other customization to the the
homescreen looks and behavior. There's a dedicated setting for looped
homescreen scrolling and the so-called screen effect changes the
transition effect between homescreen panes.
The notification area was also been tweaked by LG to allow you to
rearrange the toggle buttons shown there. You are also free to add and
remove toggles from the edit menu. You can add an insane amount of
shortcuts here, but don't worry that they won't fit on the screen - the
row becomes side-scrollable so you can still access them all.
As usual, if you've got a music track playing in the background,
quick controls will show up here. You can also drag notifications to the
left or right to dismiss them.
By default you get seven homescreens to fill up with widgets and
shortcuts, but you are free to delete any that you don't need to speed
up navigation. You can also set the default homescreen to any of the
panes.
Homescreen preview • The notification area with reorderable settings
The task manager on hasn't changed a whole lot since ICS. It shows
you all of the currently running apps, and lets you stop them by swiping
them to the left or right. It is accessed by holding down on the
hardware home button. There, you'll also find a shortcut to Google Now, a
Jelly Bean exclusive.
Additionally, there are number of icons at the bottom, which allow
you to quickly open up a particular app or even stop all apps
simultaneously.
Finally, there's a shortcut to the task manager.
LG's task manager lists the currently running apps, but also lets
you uninstall apps and gives you info on your storage. It comes with
its own dedicated widget, which shows a graph of the available RAM and
conveniently offers a button to clear up memory.
The app drawer lists all your available apps and widgets, with a
dedicated tab for user downloads. There is a button in the top right
corner, which triggers edit mode and lets you to easily reorder and
uninstall applications.
The app drawer menu
You can opt to make the icons in the app drawer smaller too. If you
select an app whilst in edit mode, a pop up will let you see information
like RAM usage, etc.
App drawer options
LG borrowed a trick from Samsung's TouchWiz and implemented its own
version of Samsung's Smart Stay - called Wise screen. It uses the
front-facing camera to detect if you're looking at the screen. This
means you can browse the phone for hours on end without it auto-locking
itself. We can confirm that the feature works very well.
Wise Screen
Performance
I tested the LG Optimus G Pro on AT&T's network in our San Francisco office, and call quality was great. Voices sounded clear and sharp, and volume range was at a reasonable level. Though I could hear a bit of static sometimes when my friend spoke, it wasn't overly distracting. Audio didn't cut in and out, my calls didn't drop, and I didn't hear any extraneous buzzing sounds when we weren't talking. Likewise, I was told my voice sounded clear as well. When I spoke to my friend outside near car traffic, my friend said she couldn't even hear any of the noises going on in the background.
I tested the LG Optimus G Pro on AT&T's network in our San Francisco office, and call quality was great. Voices sounded clear and sharp, and volume range was at a reasonable level. Though I could hear a bit of static sometimes when my friend spoke, it wasn't overly distracting. Audio didn't cut in and out, my calls didn't drop, and I didn't hear any extraneous buzzing sounds when we weren't talking. Likewise, I was told my voice sounded clear as well. When I spoke to my friend outside near car traffic, my friend said she couldn't even hear any of the noises going on in the background.
Speaker quality was also respectable,
but not as sharp as in-ear audio. Though music sounded full, voices
sounded harsh or sharp on max volume. At the same time, I was told that
when I spoke through speakerphone, I sounded very far away.
Because
the handset comes with Dolby Mobile technology, you can improve your
music-listening experience when you plug in headphones. In addition to a
full EQ module you can customize, you have the ability to enhance the
bass, treble, and vocals.
LG Optimus G Pro (AT&T) call quality sample
Listen now:
Data
speeds were very fast and remained consistently steady. On average, the
handset loaded CNET's mobile site in 5.17 seconds and our desktop site
in 12.83 seconds. The New York Times' mobile site took about 3.7
seconds. ESPN's mobile site took 3.62 seconds, and its full site loaded
in 9.63 seconds. Ookla's Speedtest app showed me an impressive average
of 40.45Mbps down and 13.24Mbps up. Finally, clocking in at just 18.5
seconds on average, the phone is one of the fastest, in recent memory,
at downloading and installing the 32.41MB game Temple Run 2.
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| LG Optimus G Pro | Performance testing |
|---|---|
| Average 4G LTE download speed | 40.45Mpbs |
| Average 4G LTE upload speed | 13.24Mbps |
| App download (Temple Run 2) | 32.41MB in 18.5 seconds |
| CNET mobile site load | 5.17 seconds |
| CNET desktop site load | 12.83 seconds |
| Restart time | 34.5 seconds |
| Camera boot time | 1.84 seconds |
The
device is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. I can
attest that it's incredibly fast -- small tasks like quitting to the
home screen, browsing through the app drawer, pinch zooming, and
scrolling through text were all executed without hesitation. And
more-complicated tasks were done just as smoothly. On average, it took
just 1.94 seconds to launch the camera and 34.5 seconds to restart the
phone altogether. During my time playing the graphics-intensive game
Riptide GP, there was no stuttering or unexpected shutdowns with the
app. Graphics ran swiftly, with a high frame rate, and the phone was
responsive to my slight movements.
During our battery drain test,
the 3,140mAh battery lasted 8 hours for continuous video playback and
20.63 hours of talk time. In both tests, data was turned off. During my
day to day use, I noticed that, anecdotally, the battery would drain
quite quickly. It would be full up to 40 percent, but after spending
about 15 or 20 minutes using the camera, surfing the Web, or playing a
few games, I'd already be in the red. According to the FCC, the handset
has a digital SAR rating of 0.64W/kg.
Conclusion
When I first reviewed the unlocked G Pro back in March, I questioned its potential to compete against the Note because of its lack of a stylus. While I still think that a stylus would be a useful addition to a phone this big, I'm not going to make as big of a deal about it as I did then. Why? Simply because the G Pro is $199.99.
When I first reviewed the unlocked G Pro back in March, I questioned its potential to compete against the Note because of its lack of a stylus. While I still think that a stylus would be a useful addition to a phone this big, I'm not going to make as big of a deal about it as I did then. Why? Simply because the G Pro is $199.99.
That makes it
the same price as the first Note, and $100 less than the $299.99 Note 2.
For $100, I'll gladly forsake the use of an S Pen. Especially since
it's still a great performer, has the same size screen, and comparable
specs.
If you're curious about what Samsung has in store, there's
no harm in waiting. But fall is a long ways off, and if you want a
supersize, ultrafast phone now and to save some extra cash while you're
at it, the Optimus G Pro won't let you down.
Engadget LG Optimus G Pro Reviews (Critic Reviews 7.8/10, User Reviews 8.8/10)
CNET LG Optimus G Pro Reviews (CNET Editor's Rating 4/5, Average User Rating 5/5)
GSM Arena LG Optimus G Pro Reviews (Design 7.8/10, Features 8.0/10, Performance 8.1/10)
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