Introduction
Android slates are available in almost every screen diagonal under the sun, and LG had plenty of targets to aim for, planning their return to the tablet game. An 8.3-inch display looks like the right choice, considering how the scene has changed in the Koreans' absence, more than two years now since their first Optimus tablet.
Compact tablets have become the popular choice, propelled by the success of the Nexus line, while ten-inchers have been struggling to cope with the iPad pressure. On the other hand, Apple too must've felt compelled to respond to the expansion of compact Android tablets, hence the iPad mini, which has a screen diagonal of 7.9 inches sharp. It must be part of the reason too why LG went for 8.3 inches, which is the largest diagonal that can still fit in one hand according to its test.
LG G Pad 8.3 official images
The G Pad's display is of WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolution, for a 16:10 screen aspect ratio. What this means is wider viewing area than traditional 1080p screens, which is more comfortable for reading and web browsing, the flipside being unused screen space when watching video.
The G Pad is powered by a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor with Krait 300 cores - the same combo ticking inside the Optimus G Pro phablet.
The device also integrates into your living room multimedia setup, as there's an IR-port up top for operating HDTV's and set-top boxes, and the integrated QRemote app lets you customize settings for different room locations as well.
Here's a quick rundown of the features found on the LG G Pad:
Key features
- 8.3" 16M-color WUXGA capacitive touchscreen; works with gloves, KnockOn to wake/sleep
- Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean; LG Optimus UI
- Quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset
- 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, geotagging, image stabilization, Time catch shot, and VR panoramas
- 1080p video recording @ 30fps
- 1.3 MP front-facing camera
- 16GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
- microUSB (SlimPort) v2.0
- Miracast
- Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Multi-tasking with mini-apps and optional transparency (QSlide)
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- 4,600mAh Li-Ion battery
- IR remote control emitter
Main disadvantages
- No network data version, Wi-Fi only
- Snapdragon 600 isn't the fastest chipset on the market anymore
- No NFC
- Camera quality is unimpressive
- QRemote app only supports TV's and set top boxes
- No Dual Screen Dual Play
LG has put a 5MP primary camera on the G Pad, which may not sound like much, but it is a tablet after all. Unfortunately, there are a few prominent features missing, such as NFC connectivity and voice call support. Those are all pretty minor shortcomings for a tablet, too, so we doubt anyone will lose interest because of them.
A few other missing pieces when compared with the G Pro include HDR video recording, Dolby Mobile sound enhancement, and most notably the Dual Screen Dual Play ability, which lets you stream content to your TV screen wirelessly or through the MHL port onto a larger display while simultaneously using the screen on the G Pad for something else.
But the argument must've been that what can be done on a phablet isn't necessarily going to be comfortable or useful on a bigger scale. And the G Pad looks like a solid tablet with good in-hand feel thanks its relatively low for the size 338 grams of weight.
LG G Pad 8.3 from our studio
The phablet has a 4,600 battery, which is lower than what you'd find on LG's last tablet but on par with some of the main competitors. We're curious to see how this translates into real usage, and will be sure to test that extensively as we go on.
Up next, we get things under way with our traditional hardware checkup.
Standard retail package
The slim LG G Pad 8.3 comes in an equally compact box featuring the standard accessories. The charger has an output of 1.8A which makes all the right difference compared to the 1A run-of-the-mill chargers and keeps the charging times of the large battery reasonable.
The LG G Pad 8.3 box
A microUSB cable for charging and connectivity alongside some leaflets round out the set of accessories - there is no QuadBeat headset, which most of LG's latest offerings had.
Design and build quality
LG kept the design minimalistic and understated, which works well with the midsize and compact nature of the device. The screen bezels are impressively small - especially on the sides - and the paintjob includes the front of the device, unlike most other LG devices where the front remains black regardless of what's on the back.
The LG G Pad 8.3 measures 216.8 x 126.5 x 8.3mm, which makes it just 6.8mm taller and 0.3mm thicker than the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, while trimming the width by almost 10mm and matching its weight exactly.
Thanks to slimming up the bezels, LG was able to really keep the G Pad 8.3 compact and the fact that it's also very light compared to other midsize tablets should help its case further.
LG G Pad 8.3
The back is made of plastic and metal and on our white version they handled fingerprints impressively well. However the black unit that we encountered back at the IFA was quite easy to turn into a greasy mess. Good news is both versions provide pretty decent grip, so dropping the G Pad 8.3 is not that much of a risk.
The display is obviously a major feature and we'll talk about its image quality in the next chapter. The glass above the display is flat, and the plastic edge that runs around the sides of the phablet meets evenly with the edge of the glass, making the transition from glass front to polycarbonate sides as smooth as possible.
Above the display we find the usual setup - an LG logo, proximity sensor and the secondary 1.3MP front-facing camera right next to it. Obviously, the LG G Pad 8.3 does not support dual-video recording, which means you'll have to choose which camera to capture video with.
The proximity sensor and front-facing camera are above the display
There's no hardware Home button below the display, as all three capacitive buttons are integrated into the screen.
The left side of the G Pad 8.3 is bare, while the right features a power/lock button as well as the volume rocker. Both buttons have an almost vertical orientation compared to the rounded sides, and offer good resistance while being easy to press and locate.
The bare left side • The Power/Lock key and volume rocker on the right
The top of the G Pad has an IR emitter for the remote control functionality and the 3.5mm audio jack. Here's where you'll also find the microSD card port hidden under a plastic flap. It's easy to open yet locks in place firmly. The mechanism feels like it should last a while without breaking.
At the bottom you'll find the microUSB port next to the microphone pinhole.
The 3.5mm audio jack, microSD card slot and IR port on top • MicroUSB and mic pinhole on the bottom
The battery on the Pad 8.3 is non-removable, so you'll have to settle for enjoying the pleasant texture on the back panel without being able to see what's underneath. The 5MP camera is not centered like on most tablets, and is instead placed in the top left corner. There's flash to speak of, and no camera bump either, so the device sits flat when you rest it on its back. There are twin speakers on the right side, top in landscape.
The back features only the 5MP camera and a pair of speaker grilles
The G Pad 8.3 is a solidly built yet compact midsize tablet which has a lot going for it in terms of both handling and portability. The slim waistline and nicely-textured back panel make holding it a breeze, and the low weight means that you'll have no problems with it in a casual setting.
Handling the LG G Pad 8.3
Display
The eye-catching 8.3" capacitive touchscreen of 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution is definitely one of the LG G Pad's key selling points. The pixel density equates to about 273ppi, which is amongst the highest you'll find on a similarly-sized screen. LG is keen on making lots of noise about how the colors are rendered on their panels, compared to Samsung's AMOLED displays. Long story short, LG claims the G Pad 8.3's display shows 100% accurate colors, unlike AMOLED screens.
Of course, we took it for a test drive ourselves and we can safely confirm that the images indeed look great and colors pop, especially the reds. Here's how it stacks up to the Google Nexus 7, that has a LED-backlit IPS display of the same resolution, although at a notably smaller diagonal.
The Pad 8.3 display • Next to the Google Nexus 7
The LG G Pad 8.3's display is not only sharp, but has very good resistance to reflectivity and almost no contrast loss when viewed from an angle. Previous LG screens would show contrast shifts at a much smaller angle and with a much stronger intensity.
The screen scored one of the highest contrast ratios we've seen on a tablet, and also one of the lowest brightness levels we've tested, tablet or smartphone. has about the same brightness though the contrast is better.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | |||
| LG G Pad 8.3 | 0.09 | 100 | 1112 | 0.33 | 345 | 1047 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 | 0.27 | 221 | 831 | 0.53 | 440 | 821 |
| Google Nexus 10 | 0.26 | 223 | 859 | 0.50 | 443 | 878 |
| Sony Xperia Tablet Z | - | - | - | 0.53 | 531 | 996 |
| Sony Xperia Tablet S | 0.35 | 334 | 947 | 0.67 | 526 | 783 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 3 | 0 | 149 | ∞ | 0 | 379 | ∞ |
| Apple iPad mini | 0.25 | 208 | 838 | 0.51 | 458 | 812 |
| Apple iPad 3 | 0.21 | 167 | 809 | 0.6 | 477 | 779 |
| Apple iPad 4 | 0.21 | 163 | 797 | 0.63 | 476 | 762 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 | 0 | 200 | ∞ | 0 | 328 | ∞ |
| Asus Google Nexus 7 | 0.25 | 244 | 954 | 0.36 | 327 | 908 |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 | 0.27 | 223 | 832 | 0.49 | 406 | 821 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 | 0.31 | 257 | 826 | 0.55 | 502 | 915 |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus | 0.17 | 196 | 1141 | 0.34 | 424 | 1236 |
The capacitive sensor on the screen is very sensitive and will detect touches even if you're wearing gloves, using a long fingernail or an improvised stylus (like keys, some pens, etc.).
Here's the Pad 8.3's display matrix up close:
LG G Pad 8.3 display matrix
Battery life
The G Pad 8.3 features a non-removable 4600mAh battery. We weren't able to do our full battery endurance test as it requires data network connectivity, but we did test web browser and video playback performance.
The G Pad ran for right around 7 hours and 4 minutes of constant browser usage before giving out, which puts it around the middle of the pack.