LG G Flex review

A large screen, a powerful processor and all manner of connectivity options means the LG G Flex is definitely set up to be a media powerhouse.

LG has realised the G Flex's media potential and included the QuickTheater application on the phone, which is a hub for your photos and videos as well as providing a link to YouTube.

You can launch QuickTheater from the lockscreen by dragging two fingers apart on the display.

A slight downfall though is the issue of internal storage, with no expandable option in sight you're stuck with the 32GB inside the G Flex.

Now that will suffice for most users - although you actually only get 24GB once the operating system has been taken into account - but for those who like to stock up on music, movies and large applications the G Flex may start to feel the strain sooner rather than later.

Music

The LG G Flex comes equipped with a pretty standard music player offering up all the features you'd expect - shuffle, repeat, create playlist, they're all there.

To aid playback the G Flex offers both home and lockscreen widgets for easy manipulation of your tunes, and the well populated notifications bar gets another addition here it the form of music controls.

This means you can quickly skip a song when viewing a web page by pulling down the notification bar and hitting next - without having to exit the app.

Sound quality is more than acceptable, via the internal speaker and through headphones, and the G Flex will satisfy the majority of listeners.

There is a graphic equaliser residing in the music player app if you do feel the need to tinker with the output, and the G Flex can even play files stored in the cloud, saving you precious storage space.

Movies

With its 6-inch display and curved chassis the LG G Flex is set up to be a top movie watching device - with enough screen to enjoy a motion picture and a design which draws in your eyes, concentrating them on the action.

Unfortunately the G Flex is let down a little by its 720p resolution display, which fails to provide the same sharp, powerful images of rival handsets.

Colours appear a little washed out and the lack of clarity is noticeable, especially if you're switching from a phone which boasts a full HD display.

The G Flex may have gotten away with things if the screen was a little smaller, but it's not and thus the pixel density is poorer resulting in a disappointing viewing experience.

That said the LG G Flex is one of the more comfortable smartphones to hold during a movie marathon, with its curving, soft touch back sitting nicely in your hands.

Audio quality from the rear speaker is actually pretty good, and you can turn the volume up a fair way before it starts to distort - although plug in a decent set of headphones for a superior listening experience.

LG has equipped the G Flex with a dedicated video player - something which is sorely lacking on many of today's smartphones - making it very easy to access your movies and get watching right away.

You can even pop the video player into a QSlide mini app, allowing you to continue to use other features on the G Flex while your video continues to play over the top.

I found this worked wonderfully well, and the G Flex had no issue making the switch between full screen and the small floating window - perfect for firing off a quick text without having to pause your video.

Games

With its quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU the LG G Flex can handle pretty much any game your throw at it, from the simple tapping addiction which is Flappy Bird to the rather more intense Clash of Clans and Real Racing 3.

The curved nature of the G Flex helps when holding the phone for gaming, making it feel more comfortable in the hand during extended periods of play and the rear speaker once again gives a good showing.

Unsurprisingly though the one piece of kit which lets the show down again is the screen - with the low pixel density failing to do any favours for the usually fantastic looking Real Racing.

It's a shame, as the LG G Flex is an excellent size and shape (not to mention the top notch battery life) for a handheld gaming device - I just wish it had a full HD display.