LG G Flex review

The future of smartphones is here, but don't get too excited

LG G Flex review
Is the world ready for a slightly flexible smartphone?

TechRadar Verdict

A lofty price tag means the LG G Flex is out of many people's affordability and while the "flexible" feature is interesting, in it's current form it's little more than a gimmick. The G Flex is too ahead of the curve.

Pros

  • +

    Unqiue design

  • +

    Fantastic battery life

  • +

    Capable camera

Cons

  • -

    Creaky build

  • -

    Display is average

  • -

    Childish icons

  • -

    Very expensive

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The future of smartphones is upon us - the LG G Flex is the world's first flexible smartphone and it can be yours right now.

While the curved display on the G Flex isn't exactly new - just take a look at the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus - the ability for the whole chassis to flex gives us a brief glimpse into what the future holds.

The future comes at a cost however, a really big cost - at least £630 SIM-free in fact.

You can always pick up the LG G Flex on contract, but a free handset will require you to part with £37 per month for two years, giving you just 1GB of 3G data in return.

Fancy a bit of 4G action on your G Flex? Then expect to part with some cash up front as well as paying more per month. This phone is a considerably investment.

To be fair you do get a whole lot of phone for your money - a 6-inch display, quad-core processor and 13MP camera are all onboard, but that's still a lot of cash to splash.

LG G Flex review

Don't get too excited about its flexible abilities either - the LG G Flex does boast the most defined top-to-bottom curve of any smartphone (the Samsung Galaxy Round curves side-to-side), but you can't actually go about folding it up.

In fact, lay the LG G Flex face down on a flat surface and at it's most curved point the screen is still just a few millimetres above the surface - but then comes the fun part.

Apply a decent amount of pressure to the rear of the G Flex and you can flatten the handset out - actually flexing the screen, the glass and the chassis without breaking anything.

LG G Flex review

When I demonstrated this to my friends, family and colleagues I was met - without fail - by a sea of wincing faces as the G Flex made some seriously concerning creaking and crunching sounds as I performed the flattening trick.

Sure the handset does flex, slightly, but it never sounds like it's enjoying the workout and I fear that after many months of constant flexing the movement may start to take its toll on the G Flex.

In terms of the phones it's up against we have to look at the phablet market, with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, HTC One Max, Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Nokia Lumia 1520 keeping LG's monster company - although all four are cheaper than the G Flex, making it a tough crowd to break into.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.