LG G Flex (AT&T) review

Are we ready for phones that bend, but not really bend? You can't fold it in half to slip it in a pocket, but it will likely be OK if you sit on it. It's not designed for be bendable, but designed not to break if it flexes. There's an important distinction that needs made here. Grabbing each end and trying to fold it in half will do little more than crack the glass if you have the strength in your

hands. But pushing on the rear of the phone will cause it to flex and flatten out, hopefully saving the screen.

LG calls it the world's first bendable flexible display. You can't look at the LG G Flex and not talk about the curve of the body, and once you learn that it actually does flex and give a little bit before breaking, you want to try it. Pushing and bending a phone is fun, because we've never been able to push and bend them before.

The three things that stand out about the G Flex are easy to see in the video above. First, it's big. It's sporting a 6-inch display, which puts it into the really damn big phone category with phones like the Galaxy Mega and HTC One Max. If you don't want a big phone, you don't want the G Flex.

Next, you notice the screen. You can't help but notice, because it's six freakin' inches. The issue here is that it's only 720p in resolution. I say that because I'm supposed to say it, not because you can still buy a 42-inch TV that's 720p. I won't tell you that you won't notice the relatively low resolution on a relatively big screen. I notice it, pretty plainly. I'm just not sure I'm bothered by it. The G Flex's 245 ppi is a tighter grouping of pixels than Apple's 13-inch Retina MacBook, and everyone gushed over how great they were. Go to the AT&T store and pick one up. Visit our wallpaper gallery and see if the screen is good enough for your needs — don't let someone else tell you what you like.

Lastly, you see Phil bending it like Beckham right around 10 seconds in. Have a good look at what flexible or bendable means in this context. You can't make origami cranes from your G Flex, but if you have it in your back pocket and sit on it, it might flex enough to save the screen. This is good tech that we love to see. LG (and likely everyone else) needs to carry this one out to it's end point and build us all unbreakable phones.

You'll find the power button — which doubles triples as a notification LED and an IR transmitter smack in the middle of the back, about two-thirds of the way up the phone. Above and below it are rocker switches for the volume — up is volume up and down is volume down. Don't freak out, they're not that bad once you get used to the placement. They also help make the bezels on the G Flex ultra-thin and sexy, so it's not just done for the sake of doing it. Folks with small hands might find the buttons a bit tough to reach with one hand, but the Knock-On feature means you'll rarely have to use them.

Embrace the back buttons. The more I use my G2, the more I like them. And if I were to use the G Flex daily, I think I would like them on the back even more.

LG G Flex

Operating System   

                                     Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

                                     Linux Kernel 3.4.0

                                     LG Optimus UI version D95010c

Display     

                                    6-inch OLED

                                    720 x 1280 resolution (245 ppi)

                                    Multi-touch, 16M colors

                                    Curved, flexible glass and digitizer

Processor

                                    Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800

                                    quad-core Krait 400 at 2.26GHz

                                    Adreno 330

Memory

                                   2GB RAM

                                   32GB internal storage (about 25GB available)

Camera

                                    Front: 2.1MP with 1080p/30 video recording

                                   Rear: 13MP autofocus

                                   Simultaneous video and image recording

                                   Geo-tagging, face detection

                                   Video stabilization, HDR

Battery 

                                  3500mAh Lithium Polymer

                                  non-removeable

                                  Stand-by      Up to 720 h

                                             Talk time       Up to 15 h

Connectivity

                                  GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900

                                  HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100

                                  LTE 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 / 850

                                  802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wifi, Wifi Direct

                                  DLNA, Wifi Direct

                                  Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP, LE

                                  A-GPS, GLONASS

                                  NFC

Miscellaneous

                                  Accelerometer

                                  Gyroscope

                                  Proximity sensor

                                  Compass

                                  Ambient light sensor

Dimensions           160.5 x 81.6 x 8.7 mm (6.32 x 3.21 x 0.34 in)

Weight                     177 g (6.24 oz)

LG G Flex software

Again with the G2 references. And like the G2, LG has crammed a million and one things into the operating system, but have done enough optimization that they all seem to work as intended. Q Slide is there, as are other LG goodies like Knock On and Quick memo. You'll spend several days exploring all the tricks inside the G Flex, and still not cover it all. 

enjoy