Gadgetory

some say LG's latest smartphone is a samsung galaxy note 2 copycat I'm Taylor Martin this is PocketNow and this is the lg optimus G pro versus a samsung galaxy note 2 when Samsung unveiled the 5.3 inch galaxy note in 2011 if you imagined it would ever blossom to a thriving popular brand there was a time when 4.3 inch smartphones were considered too large so it was hard to see how a 5.3 inch phone would be necessary or wanted yet the Galaxy Note was a surprising success for Samsung and one year later it introduced the galaxy note 2 but not before other companies jumped on the smartphone tablet hybrid bandwagon LG was among the first to recognize Samsung's success in the blossoming market and introduced some so-called phablets of its own the optimists view the optimist view - and now the Optimus G pro from day one many have considered the Optimus G pro to be a galaxy note2 look-alike almost a carbon copy although the two devices have their differences in hardware design and even feel it's impossible to deny where LG got its inspiration for the Optimus G pro it's like they thought oh let's use that design but slightly tweak it and stuff better specifications inside both the galaxy note 2 and the Optimus G pro feature chassis is made almost entirely of plastic the Galaxy Note 2 incorporates a more smooth rounded design while the Optimus G pros edges are sharper both are equipped with 5.5 inch displays on the front paired with a single physical home button beneath flanking the home buttons are capacitive buttons for menu and back but note that the order is different on each the galaxy note 2 sports hits back button on the right and the Menu button on the left the Optimus G pro has a back button on the left and menu to the right also the Optimus G pros home button doubles as a notification light which is nice but the tactility of the button feels very cheap almost like a holo toy versus a silent smooth click of the brush button on a note 2 there are similarities all around the edges such as button import placement power button on the upper portion of the right edge volume rocker on the left headphone jack on the top left corner and microUSB bottom center the optimus G pro does have an additional button though the Q button for a user to find shortcut at 172 grams the Optimus G pro is noticeably lighter than the 183 grams galaxy note 2 and as surprising as it may be the Optimus G pro feels less substantial and more flimsy cheaper than the note 2 both are nine point four millimeters thick yet the note 2 feels thinner thanks to the tapered edges that said the optimus G pro is physically narrower than the note 2 by a noticeable four point four millimeters LG cut all the unnecessary bezel from around the sides of the display on the G protein features roughly double the bezel on each side although the Galaxy Note 2 feels more sturdy and substantial if you can overlook how lightweight and cheap it feels the optimus G pro certain has the upper hand in hardware and design once you take a look inside the differences between the two extra-large smartphones become quite clear the 5.5 inch display on the Galaxy Note 2 is a 720p HD Super AMOLED panel at roughly 267 pixels per inch the optimus G pro features a 5.5 inch 1080p true Full HD IPS plus display at 401 pixels per inch and the difference is quite apparent the saturation and contrast of the AMOLED panel are definitely far greater than the LCD on the optimus G pro both offer great viewing angles and brightness but the Optimus G pro wins by landslide and color reproduction and clarity other specifications for the galaxy note 2 include 16 32 or 64 gigabytes of built-in storage a micro SD card slot a 1.6 gigahertz quad core Exynos chip set and a megapixel camera 2 gigabytes of RAM and a 3100 million of our battery the Optimus G pro has 32 gigabytes of built-in storage a micro SD card slot for expansion 1.7 gigahertz quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip 2 gigabytes of RAM 13 megapixel camera and 8:31 40 million of our battery both come with your typical host of connections Bluetooth 4.0 NFC Wi-Fi b/g/n etc and both come with HSPA+ connectivity though the note 2 supports far more bands and both offer LTE connectivity but our galaxy note 2 is the global variant which lacks LTE support at first glance the software on the optimus G pro in the Galaxy Note 2 look very similar LG's custom interface mimics the more popular TouchWiz nature UX by taking some design cues from nature and including various nature wallpapers and a water droplet lockscreen animation LG also included miniature q slide apps for videos TV internet memo and q voice not unlike pop-up browser popup video or s note on the galaxy note 2 in the wall type tasking field the galaxy note 2 has a major advantage multi window and s-pen not only can you open s know atop any application using the S pin you could technically have three or four applications open at once using multi window pop-up browser and s note sure it's a little ridiculous but it's there for the taking but the more you use LG's interface the more it becomes clear how much more in depth and heavily-laden LG's customizations truly are the Settings app for example is tabbed and hardly looks anything like the stock Settings app also the Optimus G pro comes with a ton of various applications pre-installed 78 to be exact those vary from the usual apps like Google+ YouTube or the camera to LG's own apps like smart wallet cue translator cue shopping smart touch and many many more the notification shade is another area where the Galaxy Note 2 and Optimus G pro have a lot in common along the top are numerous settings toggles for Wi-Fi GPS or airplane mode it also has a slider for display brightness but the Optimus G pro also has room for the qslide apps performance is an area neither of these devices struggle in the Optimus G pro Snapdragon 600 give it a little more muscle for synthetic benchmarks using the antutu for example the Optimus G pro scored an impressive 1995 - the Galaxy Note 2 16 - 41 and using the quadrant standard test the Optimus G pro scored a staggering 1207 6 while the Galaxy Note 2 scored a more average 6814 lastly in the SunSpider JavaScript test the Optimus G pro took the cake once again with a score of 950 six point nine milliseconds - the Galaxy Note 2's 1060 milliseconds but in day-to-day performance both of these devices operate on a very high level showing little to no signs of lag or stuttering when switching between applique or running multiple applications allow pop-up browser qslide apps or multi window we haven't had the optimus G pro long enough to comment fairly on battery life but the Galaxy Note 2 on most days lasts for an entire day of moderate to heavy usage seldom requiring an additional charge to get through the day if the 30 140 million power battery performs as well as the 3100 milliamp hour battery in the galaxy note 2 there should be nothing to worry about and for those getting this Korean model it comes with a spare battery and dock that doubles as a battery charger in the box lastly cameras both devices are on par with one another in the software side of things the interfaces are equally easy to understand and use and both feature almost the exact same modes such as burst shot panorama best shot etc as far as output goes the Galaxy Note 2 is regarded as having one of the best eight megapixel cameras on a smartphone ever the Optimus G pro comes equipped with a 13 megapixel sensor side-by-side the output of these two cameras is quite different the Galaxy Note 2 tends to produce warmer much more saturated pictures while the Optimus G pro tends to produce more washed out pictures however its pictures offer more detail in a higher output resolution actual true-to-life colors lie somewhere in between the super saturation of the galaxy note 2 and the washed out pictures on the Optimus G pro that said both cameras are about on par in terms of detail and quality and if you're pleased with the performance of the Galaxy Note 2's camera you should be mostly pleased with the Optimus G pro's camera it's not the best but it's nowhere near the worst after all is said and done if you're in the market for a 5.5 inch device both the Optimus G pro and the Galaxy Note 2 are both high-caliber devices the Optimus G pro of course is newer and offers a slight boost in performance and a much higher resolution and higher density display the Galaxy Note 2 nearing 7 months old is beginning to show some age and it could be months before we see another successor on a device with a 5.5 inch display 1080p matters which gives the Optimus G pro some clout and LG has come a long way with phablet oriented software the Optimus G pro is finally a nice entry from LG in the extra large smartphone category and it gives the Galaxy Note 2 a run for its money that said the Galaxy Note feels and operates like a more refined product if you need the latest and greatest the Optimus G pro will suit your needs but if you want a device with a little more polish despite its age go with the Galaxy Note 2 that's all for now and I hope you enjoyed the video if you did be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel and stay tuned for more optimistic you pro content over the next week you can follow us on twitter google+ and facebook at pocket now or you can follow me at casper tech on twitter i'm taylor martin and i will see you next time you