1.7GHz quad-core LG Optimus G Pro unveiled

NTT DoCoMo recently unveiled its new spring line-up, and the LG Optimus G Pro is officially on the starting roster. As previously leaked, it’s a significant upgrade over last year’s Optimus G — which was already a pretty darn nice phone.

LG started off by kicking the original 4.7-inch 720p display to the curb and upgrading the Optimus G Pro to a full 1080p panel that measures a full five inches. The processor has been bumped, too. The new Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core chip is clocked at 1.7GHz, matching the muscular ZTE Grand S in terms of sheer processing power. Other flagship devices like Sony’s Xperia Z and theHuawei Ascend Mate are sticking with stock speeds of 1.5GHz.

With great power comes the need for a great battery, and LG has delivered on that front: the Optimus G Pro packs a generous 3000mAh battery. That’s quite a bit less than the Ascend Mate’s 4050mAh, but the G Pro isn’t quite in half-foot slab territory. 3000mAh should provide LG’s customers with plenty of juice.

Several of the original’s features have been left untouched. The G Pro still has 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera. Those are all still fairly top-shelf specs, and LG clearly didn’t think there was a need to shake things up just yet.

The Optimus G Pro will go on sale in Japan this April, but LG hasn’t announced its plans for the rest of the world yet. An announcement could be coming at MWC 2013, and it’s hard to imagine the company deciding not to push the successor to one of its biggest smartphone successes to date in every market it can.