Up Close And Personal With The New Banana-Shaped LG G Flex 2

Right after LG’s press conference at CES, we got our hands on the newly announced LG G Flex 2. LG’s new flagship smartphone’s killer feature is its curved form factor that is supposed to resist bending.

The phone falls into the phablet category with its gigantic 5.5-inch display. But it was much easier to grab than an iPhone 6 Plus. The curved form factor is a nice addition that doesn’t seem that useful with the phone in hand. You can see the G Flex 2 as the LG G3 with a banana shape.

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I tried to bend it very hard, and it turns out that it is quite hard to bend, like any other phone. I managed to turn in into a “flat phone,” and sure enough, it went back to its original curve in a few seconds. Yet, when I did so, I could hear the plastic body cracking in my hands.

But this back also has a secret feature: it is resistant-ish to scratches and can self-heal in seconds. This is a nice addition compared to direct competitors, such as Samsung. But it still has a cheap, plasticky feel. It would have made a much better looking device by switching to a metal body.

The device runs Android Lollipop, the OLED display featured some very deep black and is on par with what’s around on the market today. While it’s not visible on the pictures, under the hood you can find the best components available right now — an octa-core 64-bit 2GHz SnapDragon chipset with 2GB of ram, a 3,000mAh battery, a 13 megapixel camera and support for the latest LTE bands.

The phone will be available in late January in South Korea and then in the rest of the world. It comes with 16GB or 32GB, with a microSD slot.

Overall, it’s a nice Android phablet with an interesting shape. It’s light hand runs the latest software out there. If you are looking for a phone that stands out and don’t mind plastic bodies, the G Flex 2 might be the answer.