LG G Flex 2 specs review

The LG G Flex 2 is the first big announcement to come out of CES 2015: after testing the waters with futuristic curved phones in 2014, LG has taken the experiment and concepts to reality with a well-thought out mass-market gadget, the G Flex 2.



After the gigantic, 6-inch original G Flex, LG has taken a more moderate approach and claims to have found the optimal size for the G Flex 2: it’s a 5.5” display.



The signature features include the same, 700R (700mm) curvature, plastic OLED display with a 1080p resolution, the new octa-ocre 64-bit Snapdragon 810 system chip, scratch self-healing back cover, and quick charge technology. What’s not to like? Before we officially approve those new features, let’s first explore them in more depth, though.

Design: a 5.5 incher with a twist

The LG G Flex boasted a unique feature - a self-healing back cover straight out of sci-fi books. The G Flex 2 perfects the concept by speeding up the healing process: it used to take some three minutes for minor scratches (and this only applies to minor ones) to disappear, and now the the self-healing effect is applied within 10 seconds. LG is still not giving away the secret sauce of the ‘self-healing polymer’, but we’ll be on the look for more details.

The more perceptible change in the G Flex has to do with its size: it drops screen size from 6 inches to 5.5, while increasing resolution from 720 x 1280-pixels to 1080 x 1920 pixels. This results in a noticeable change in the size and weight, as the bulky LG G Flex is succeeded by a much more pocket and hand-friendly G Flex 2. The new curved phone by LG is 2.96” wide (75.3cm), a huge change from the 3.21” (81.6cm)-wide original, and the change in height is even bigger: down to 5.87” from 6.32”.



LG has also added a lot of additional curves along the side of the phone making it fit more comfortably within the contours of the hand (LG claims it’s curved four-way, but that’s a rather fancy description that might be confusing). At its edge, the LG G Flex 2 measures just 0.27 inches, while at its thickest it goes up to 0.37”. It’s not a slim phone, but because of the curves, the thickness is much less of a real-life annoyance.

Finally, we should say that the photographs don't do it justice: the colors on the G Flex 2 look very stylish, and the 'flamenco red' version in particular is very eye-catchy.

LG G Flex (left) vs LG G Flex 2 (right)

Display: plastic OLED magic at work

For those with deeper interest in the tectonic developments moving the industry, it’s clear that the LG G Flex 2 is in many ways a vehicle for LG’s new curved screen technologies. Samsung, one of LG’s arch-rivals in the OLED display battle, is obviously going to follow up with a curved-screen phone as well in the near future.



But going back to the LG G Flex 2, we’re looking at technology that is essentially the same as last year. The 700mm (this number refers to the radius of the imaginary circle drawn to illustrate the G Flex 2’s arch) curve is also the same as in the G Flex, and as far as current information goes the bending tolerance is also the same, down to 400mm. LG is not afraid to put the phone into journalists back pockets and have them sit with it. Yes, the G Flex 2 survives this test.



The magical component at work here is plastic OLED (P-OLED). Most of you are probably aware of the fundamental difference between LCD and OLED display technology (LCD screens use a backlight that controls the brightness of the display as a whole, while OLEDs come with individually controlled pixels, and less elements as there is no requirement for a backlight), and to freshen up your mind you can look at the slideshow below. It also clearly shows the difference between traditional OLED displays (like the ones used in non-flexible devices, most notably Samsung Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series) and P-OLED. That difference lies in the replacement of the encapsulating glass substrate with plastic.