Review: LG G Flex
A curved smartphone? Really?
Rogers, and only Rogers, has one in the form of the LG G Flex. So, why should you get a curved smartphone? First, let’s talk about the curve. It’s very subtle:
The curve doesn’t affect your ability to hold the phone. Though the phone is a bit on the large size. If you have small hands, this might be an issue. It won’t fit in your pockets, so a purse or a man purse is a requirement. The 6″ plastic OLED screen is stunning. Any image or video that I put on the phone looked amazing. The only catches to this are that it attracts fingerprints like crazy and it washes out in bright light. Having said that, running videos is where having a curved phone might be an advantage. Compared to the LG G2 that I reviewed some time ago, there’s a sense of depth and better contrast that I normally don’t see in your average smartphone. So perhaps LG knows what they’re doing when it comes to having a curved smartphone. The next thing that you notice is the location of the buttons. On the back of the phone there are the volume buttons and the power button. There are no other buttons on the phone. It makes it look very clean and stylish. Plus it’s functional as that’s where your finger naturally wants to rest when you’re talking on your phone. The back of the phone has a self healing feature that will keep it looking new by resisting scratches. However, it like the screen doesn’t resist fingerprints.
In terms of what this phone brings to the table, here’s the specs:
- Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean With A Custom Skin By LG
- 6-inch 1280×720 Curved Plastic OLED display
- 2.26Ghz quad core processor
- 2GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage
- 13MP rear camera
- 2.1MP front-facing camera
- WiFi (b/g/n/a/ac)
- Bluetooth 4.0
- NFC
- LTE
It’s easily as fast as the LG G2 that I tested some time ago as anything I threw at it was quick to open and use. In terms of its performance on the Rogers LTE network, I got 62 Mbps downstream and 27 Mbps upstream. Needless to say that’s quick! The skin that LG installs with Android 4.2.2 (Which by the way is over a year old on a device that came out in 2014. What’s up with that?) is highly customizable and well suited for one handed operation. However, compared to TouchWiz (Samsung), Sense (HTC) or even iOS 7.1, it seems a bit dated from a looks perspective and it is in need of an update. One thing to keep in mind is that you get 32GB of storage which is not expandable.
In terms of the camera, it has a 13 MP rear camera that has one handy feature that I tried out at the Toronto Harbour at the Redpath sugar factory. The feature is the panoramic mode. There was a ship that was docked at the Redpath sugar factory that caught my eye. With the default camera settings, this was the best I could do. Click the picture to see it at full resolution:
Now here’s the same ship with panorama mode turned on. Click the picture to see it at full resolution:
You’ll note the picture isn’t as sharp, but it’s still very usable. Next it was off to Person International Airport to get pictures of planes landing. First the still picture. Click the picture to see it at full resolution:
There is a very nice level of detail here. You’ll have no complaints taking still pictures. Now for the video. Set it to 1080P and to full screen to view it:
There was some autofocus issues with this video. Although I will note that it did this less than the LG G2, so that’s a good thing. One thing that I will point out that there was some distortion of the sound. It’s minor, but it’s noticeable. Finally, an image stabilization function would be welcome.
As an aside, if you want to see more example of how the camera on this smartphone works, check out my review of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. All the photos were taken with this smartphone.
In terms of battery life, you can get a day and a half of battery life out of it. Plus you might be able squeeze more out of it by using the battery saver function which aggressively saves power when the remaining charge dips below 30%. All of that is good because the battery is not removable.
My verdict? This is a decent all around phone in terms of capabilities. Seeing as it’s priced at $199.99 on a two year plan or $450 outright exclusively at your local Rogers store, it will get some looks from those who want an Android smartphone. If you can deal with the size of the phone, this might be the one for you.
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