LG G Flex unboxing and first impressions

With curved displays starting to pick up a little bit of steam, LG is at the forefront with its own version of the curve. Here’s our unboxing and first impressions of the LG G Flex!

Unboxing

The box itself is unique looking and eye-catching, and alludes to what we can expect inside, a stylish and good-looking device. Opening the box reveals a delightfully large smartphone, that is curved from top to bottom, unlike the side to side curve of the Samsung Galaxy Round. Its design language closely mimics the LG G2, which is, in a word, excellent.

Also included in the box is a SIM-tray tool in the shape of a G, making it quite stylish, a micro-USB cable and AC charging adapter, and a welcome inclusion of earphones, in this case, LG-branded Quad Beat 2 premium earphones. As you may have noticed, a battery isn’t included in the package, as the G Flex features an unibody curved design, making the battery non-removable.

First impressions

Make no mistake — The LG G Flex is avery large device. Though, with its top to bottom curve, your index finger lands at the top of the device nicely. For those with smaller hands, this might present a bit more of a challenge, but I digress. Holding the G Flex is not uncomfortable in any way, and sits pretty snugly in your hand. Despite its size, the uni-body design of the smartphone makes it quite thin. The curved back houses the button layout at the top, and, because of the curve, is very naturally accessible. One of the stand out features of the LG G Flex is the back cover, which incorporates some very novel self-healing tech. This will, of course, be tested thoroughly in the detailed hands-on review that will be coming shortly.

The UI experience is similar to what you’d find on the LG G2, with the difference coming in because of the larger display size. With the top to bottom curved configuration, there is almost no rocking while typing, with visible back and forth rocking occurring only when you press down at the extreme ends of the device. Even with different curve configurations compared to the Galaxy Round, the purpose remains the same. In the case of the LG G Flex, slightly easier access and reach to the top of the screen is achievable.

This gives us a really good idea of how useful curved displays will be, especially when it comes to smartphones with large displays. Though it’s important to note that it’s ever so slight, and become less obvious with further usage. It still remains a very substantial device.

We’ve already seen that the LG G Flex can be made to go completely flat, which is – we can assure you – quite unsettling to do to a $1000 smartphone. Regardless, it takes it like an absolute champ and shows that it is, in fact, a very durable and curious device. While testing it out, we noticed that forcing the device to go flat did take a bit of effort, and when it bounces back, the shape is still retained. The malleability of the G Flex is a good indication towards its amazing build quality.

The G Flex is on the heavier side, and with such a large display, will mostly require two-handed use, which isn’t unreasonable considering its size. That being said, the phone does fit in the hand snugly, and as mentioned before, the curve does help the cause of one-handed use slightly. The plastic may be fingerprint prone, but the unibody design makes for a relatively thin device. Overall, the LG G Flex boasts a very nice form factor, and is a great looking device. Just look at those bezels!

Specs comparison

Specifications aren’t what makes the LG G Flex stand out, and the only similar device it can be compared to is the Samsung Galaxy Round. Let’s take a look -

	Samsung Galaxy Round	LG G Flex
Display	5.7-inch, Super Flexible AMOLED, 1920 x 1080, 386 ppi	Curved P-OLED, 1280 x 720, 245 ppi
Processor	2.3 Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, Adreno 330	2.26 Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, Adreno 330
RAM	3 GB	2 GB
Storage	32 GB, expandable	32 GB, no expansion
Battery	2,800 mAh	3,500 mAh
Cameras	13 MP rear, 2 MP front	13 MP rear, 2.1 MP front
Networks	4G LTE-A/GSM	4G LTE-A/GSM
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR, USB 3.0	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, IR, USB 3.0
OS	Android 4.3 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Dimensions	151.1 x 79.6 x 7.9 mm, 154 grams	160.5 x 81.6 x 8.7 mm, 177 grams

Gallery

What is your first impression of the LG G Flex? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Let us know what to look for in our review. Thanks guys.