CES 2015: LG introduces Flex 2, a new curved phone

THE best way to make sure your second curved phone doesn’t fall flat? Fix everything that was wrong with the first one.

THE best way to make sure your second curved phone doesn’t fall flat? Fix everything that was wrong with the first one.

The LG G Flex 2 is better in every way than the original. The screen still curves from top to bottom like a slight smile, but the fact that the display now measures 5.5 inches makes it far more comfortable to hold than the unwieldy 6-inches. The 1080p display is much sharper now, and is also 20 per cent more durable, because of a special coating LG put on top of the Gorilla Glass.

The flex of the phone also absorbs shock better, and its smooth self-healing back — which can repair itself all on its own from scratches or light nicks — now supposedly does the trick faster.

The software is also much more of a pleasure to use now. (I’m only just recovering from the terrible interface of first G Flex, and I reviewed it a year ago!) And the 64-bit Qualcomm 810 processor makes everything feel faster, too.

IN DEPTH: CES 2015

Gone are all of LG’s promotional widgets and gimmick interface tweaks, and left is all the simplicity of Android 5.0 Lollipop. You’ll still find LG’s extra touches here and there but they’re actually tasteful, and even helpful. I love, for example, how you can slide your finger down the front of the turned-off screen to quickly peek at the time, date and notifications.

LG also claims the 13-megapixel camera has been significantly improved, though like many other phones in the Selfie Age, it’s the front facing camera that gets new powers. It recognised my open hand and when I made a fist, it began a three second countdown. And when I brought the phone back towards me to check the photo, it automatically launched a preview.

The G Flex 2 feels like what the first G Flex should have been. Still, holding it makes me long for a day where these curved phones will actually freely flex and bend. It may be years, but it’s certainly a possibility. “That’s the question my boss asks me every day,” Ramchan Woo, LG’s head of smartphone development, told me.

The Wall Street Journal