LG Optimus G Pro review

Now that the G Pro is coming to North America after all, I decided to take the device for a spin. I’ve had a phablet (and often two, with the Note II) in my pocket for a couple of weeks now, as I attempted to eschew my comparatively puny iPhone 5 in favor of the bigger world of the Optimus G Pro. I’ve learned seven things, about myself and about this phone, that together left me with a distinct impression about this device — and how evolution seems to have failed me.

1. Dear Darwin

Try as I might, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to comfortably use a phone as big as the Optimus G Pro. In only one of my (not small) hands, half the 3-inch-wide device becomes effectively inaccessible — even dialing a phone number involves some crazy contortions — and in two I have to smush my palms together to get my two thumbs aligned. The most comfortable method for me was to hold the phone in my left hand and manipulate it with my right index finger, but that’s a difficult pose to strike given how often I’m holding subway poles, fiddling with my keys or some other gadget, or trying to surrepititously send messages underneath the table without seeming rude.

LG does what it can, offering easily-accessible power and volume buttons on the sides of the phone instead of the top, and rounded the sides so the 9.4mm-thick device fits a little more comfortably into your hand. The G Pro is also a bit narrower than the Galaxy Note II — about 4mm, mostly in the bezels — which makes a big difference in how you hold the device. The wide, short home button (which cleverly doubles as a notification LED) is easy to reach, though the Back and Menu buttons that flank it can be hard to hit. And to reach the corners of the dialer, or star an email in Gmail, or to pull down the notification shade, you’ll either need two hands or a lot of practice shifting the phone around in your hand to reach all its nooks and crannies.

2. The fall

I clearly need a lot more practice shifting the phone around, because I can’t stop dropping the Optimus G Pro. Luckily the white plastic body is more resilient than it feels, because it’s still chugging along with only a couple of scuffs after several stints on my floor and in the street. I'm not just worried about breaking the phone, either — the slick, almost slimy back of the phone doesn’t do a flagship device justice. I do like the checkered "Disco City" vibe on the back, but without any texture anywhere on the device it doesn’t feel as good as it looks. LG can definitely do better than this — the glassy Nexus 4 is slippery too, but it exudes a level of class the G Pro can’t match.

On the plus side, the back is removable, so you can just peel the plastic off the body and easily replace the battery, the SIM card, or access the microSD slot. But (and I never thought I'd say this) I'd personally rather have a well-constructed device like the HTC One even if it means no access to the battery.

3. My Jetpack Joyride

This is unquestionably the most immersive phone I’ve ever used. I missed subway stops playing Jetpack Joyride and Temple Run 2, I walked into walls and people while reading with Pocket. Not only is the Optimus G Pro’s screen big — 5.5 inches — and high resolution — 1920 x 1080 — but it’s bright, vibrant, and exceptionally accurate even when you’re looking at it from awkward angles. I typically hunt down my iPad or laptop when I’m watching anything longer than a GIF, but with the Optimus G Pro I didn't mind the compromise. I watched the latest Star Trek Into Darkness trailer over and over, and hardly noticed the difference between watching on my phone and on my iPad mini.

Unlike the HTC One, though, whose display seems to be leaping out of the phone at you, the G Pro’s screen feels a bit recessed. It’s far superior to the Galaxy Note II, or the Optimus G, or almost any phone I’ve used, but my eyes don’t love the Pro like they love the One.

I'm probably spoiled by the One at this point, honestly. The G Pro's single mono speaker really isn't any worse than other cellphone speakers, but it grates my ears, which are now used to the booming stereo sound from the One. Sound is quiet and tinny on the G Pro, and you'll definitely want headphones – but again, that's par for the course outside of HTC's offering.

4. Inbox Triage

A few days into my time with the G Pro, I had one of those days where I forget Gmail exists, and at 9PM there are 196 emails unread in my inbox and my blood pressure is skyrocketing. So I sat down, pulled out my phablet, and dove in.

I’ve never worked through an inbox so fast. That’s partly thanks to the great Gmail experience of every Android phone, but the G Pro is special. The big screen offers plenty of room to see full threads, and affords such a roomy typing experience that going back to the iPhone’s keyboard felt massively claustrophobic. LG also uses the display real estate by offering "QSlide apps," which are essentially widgets that display above your current app and let you take notes, see your calendar, or watch a video — you can totally text and watch a video at the same time, so take that, Samsung. But you can also add an event to your calendar without ever having to leave your email, or quickly take a note and later send it to Evernote. Even adding things straight to Evernote is particularly fast — there’s a button on the left side of the G Pro called the "QButton," which you can set to open any app with a single press.

The pop-over widgets work impressively well, as does everything about the Optimus G Pro. The Qualcomm Snapdragon S600 processor inside was more than up to any task I threw at it, even my Nitrous-aided races down the streets of Asphalt 7 or my gloriously anarchic Grand Theft Auto rampages. There are a few spots where Android isn’t perfectly smooth or fast, from browser scrolling to panning and zooming in Maps, but this phone performed as well as I could possibly expect.