The LG G Flex is the Korean company’s first device that punches the bendable technology into mobile devices and puts them one step closer to a future where completely flexible devices will be a reality. At first glance the G Flex might look like their previous flagship device like G2 but the cruved display which you can actually bend and it still retians the flexibility, the self-healing back panel are definitely attractive.
Specs
- 2.3GHz Snapdragon S800 processor
- Adreno 330 GPU
- 2GB RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage
- 6-inch P-OLED, 720P Display
- Dual band Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Miracast
- microUSB v3.0 – SlimPort, USB OTG
- Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, Compass, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, LTE (Cat4)
- 13MP Rear and 2.1MP front-facing camera
- 3500mAh non-removable battery
Video Review:
Build Quality
The G Flex, like any other LG phone, looks plastic but a closer look speaks for itself. First the curved display looks actually pretty even on the 720P display. The front of the handset is very similar to LG G 2 and keeps the bezel space to almost zero. The only thing that stays visible is the LG logo at the bottom.
The sides of the G Flex have no physical buttons except for the he presence of a mini-SIM card slot on the right side. The Volume and the Power buttons are placed on the back, just below the camera. One thing that will draw your attention is that the power button on the back has LED which blinks when there is a notification.
The front 2.1MP front camera, notification LED and the earpiece are located at the top in the front of the device. These are customizable. The 3.5mm audio jack and the speaker grille are located at the bottom of the G Flex. Since the phone is curved, the speakers get some extra space which results in better sound experience. There is also a typical faux-metal ring running around the edges of the device to give it a premium look.
Like G2, G Flex has a non-removable back cover, which squeaks and creaks when pressed hard. However this back cover self heals at an optimal or warmer temperature. This is important if you don’t change your phone often as the marks from keys will go off. You can imitate this by doing this on your own and then rubbing it really hard.
Rating : 9/10
Display
The LG G Flex sports a 6-inch HD (720P) P-OLED display putting it into the phablet category. While LG takes the Plastic OLED with price, the users do get the benefit of stunning display, brightness and near-lac of bezel space. LG claims to have got the viewing angles are natural and I would agree to them to an extent.
When I started using it, I did notice the difference but it eventually vanishes away as you get used it. However, when you switch to a flat display, you get the real difference. The viewing angles, the smooth touch and the experience of swiping across the screen are just perfect. The 6 inch phone feels bigger than 6 inch because of the surrounding lack of bezel space.
However, like G2, G flex fails to please when it comes to the sunlight legibility. There is too much reflection and I can only think of is Nokia’s Clear Black display which is much needed here. The colours are enough to please most of the consumers unless you are a perfectionist.
Rating : 9/10
Camera
This came out as big disappointment specially after using the G2 camera which had the Optical Image Stabilization. Even with a 13MP camera, the images did not came out to be sharp and noises are just visible. Even in low light, the camera did not turn out impressive. Sending so much on the phone and not having a decent performance is just a turn off for camera enthusiastic.
Below is a list of all the camera features that the LG G Flex -:
- Intelligent Auto
- Audio Zoom
- Beauty Shot
- Time Catch Shot
- Night mode
- VR panorama (a.k.a Photosphere)
- Dual camera shot
- Cheese Shutter
- Full HD video recording at 30 FPS or 60 FPS
- Dual recording mode with 1080p@30FPS from back camera and 720p@30FPS from front camera
- HDR video recording
- Live effect videos at 480p
- Tracking Zoom
Below are some examples -:
However the video of LG G Flex keeps up with the same quality that G2 had, thanks largely to the Snapdragon S800. It is among the first Android handsets to record Full HD videos at 60FPS without skipping frames or using any other software gimmicks. The videos recorded had a decent amount of details, and were pretty satisfactory for a mobile phone camera.
Rating 6/10
Battery Life
The battery life of the G Flex is 2nd major strength of the device. The use of a beefy 3500mAh battery and the super-efficient Snapdragon S800 meant that the phone was easily able to last one day of heavy usage. I was easily able to get more than 5 hours of screen-on time over 20 hours from the G2, while being completely on 3G/Mobile data.
With Wi-Fi, I was getting a display time of around 5.5 hours over a span of 24 hours before the battery died. The charging time of the phone was decent as well, and it took slightly above 4 hours for a full charge from 0 to 100%
Rating : 9.5/10
Software/Performance
The LG G FLex runs on Android 4.2.2 out-of-the-box with LG’s own Optimus UI customization on top of it. The software remains largely the same as seen on the Optimus G Pro and G2. LG G Flex carries on the previously mentioned features i.e. KnockOn and Slide Aside.
The KnockOn feature allows users to wake the device or put it to sleep by simply double tapping on the screen. The feature works very well in real life, but also has an unintended effect of accidentally waking up the device when held in hand without any cover. Numerous times, the display on the G2 would wake up while I was just holding the device in my palm.
Using the Side Aside, the company aims to please the multi-taskers by easily allowing them to switch between multiple apps using a three finger swipe across the screen. The problem here is that the gesture is incredibly tough to perform on such a small screen without triggering any other action in the app currently running on the screen.
Performance wise, the G Flex simply flies. The Snapdragon 800 chip inside the G2 makes sure that the device never lags or even stutters for a second, even under heavy load. Lag had been one of my major complaints with the Optimus G Pro but fixed in G2 and it improved in Flex.
There are a lot of other software features Q-Translate, Voice Mate etc. The less said about these features, the better, since they are almost always eclipsed in feature and performance by similar offerings from Google.
Similar to G2, there are a lot of space wasted on the notification bar. It’s like there is so much you can do right from the notification center that it ultimately takes over nearly 70% occupied right out-of-the box.
Rating: 7/10
Gaming:
LG G Flex brings in a HD TV Gaming experience right on the phone. The curved HD display, brilliant experience and zero lag make sure the phone just sets in the mood of gamers to play even more. I played Asphalt 8 on the flex which pulls in lot of resourced both from memory and the graphics processor.
Check out LG G Flex with Asphalt 8 Gaming where I have done some major wrecking, crashes and display test. There is absolute no frame skips and its just outstanding.
Rating : 9.5/10
Conclusion
The LG G Flex is a out of the world phone from LG. This technology used in the phone clearly tells that LG is here to innovate, something which no other phone makers in the Android segment has done. The flexible display, self-healing back, powerful battery are a major step up from all its previous offerings. The only thing this phone misses out is the Camera and improvement in the UI/UX of their Optimus UI.
The 32GB LG G Flex is selling somewhere in between Rs 65,000 and 70,000 at most of the major online retailers which is completely off any pocket. Unless you really a big fan of curved display and self healing back panel, you wont be buying it.
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Nice Features!!!