The LG Optimus G Pro is official ... at least in Japan

LG's high-end Optimus G has sold over one million units, and LG recently passed Apple as the number two cellphone maker (including feature phones) in the U.S. Its next move? If the Japanese market is any indication, it will be an upgraded version of its flagship, the Optimus G Pro.

Specs

Japanese carrier NTT Docomo revealed its lineup for the next few months, and it includes the LG Optimus G Pro. The handset looks similar to the Optimus G, albeit with some nice upgrades.

It joins the Droid DNA, Xperia Z, and Huawei Ascend D2 in the 5-inch, 1080p display club. It also sports a faster 1.7 GHz Snapdragon Pro processor, a higher-capacity 3,000 mAh battery, and a 13-megapixel camera. The device runs Android 4.1 Jellybean.

Much of the rest is familiar. It retains the Optimus G's 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal memory, and LTE.

Global launch?

Unless you live in Japan, though, there's no guarantee you'll see the Optimus G Pro. LG hasn't officially announced the handset, and there isn't yet any confirmation of availability outside of the land of the rising sun.

We found its predecessor to be one of the best smartphones around, but in the fast-moving mobile market, its hardware will soon be old hat. If LG is going to keep playing the high-end game, we'd expect to see the Optimus G Pro popping up in North America before long.

Source: NTT Docomo [1] [2], via Engadget