Tonight we’re at the launch of LG’s latest smartphone, the LG G Flex. It follows hot on the heels of one of our favourite phone from last year the LG G2. The G2 won us over with its superb performance, phenomenal battery life, great pictures and a beautiful, almost bezel-less display. Let’s see if the G Flex can do the same.

The inside: same, same, but different

The LG G Flex shares a lot of its hardware with the G2, which is a good thing in our opinion. Our favourite processor from Qualcomm, the quad-core 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800, returns with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. LTE, 802.11 ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 all make a return to handle the wireless communications duties.

While the similarities are apparent, there are some notable changes as well. The camera still has a 13 megapixel sensor but the optical image stabilisation has been nixed in favour of a slimmer build (bigger pixels). The 6 inch display in the G Flex drops down to a 720p resolution from the full HD 5.2 inch unit that was in the G2. However it’s because of the bigger display that the G Flex packs a whopping 3 500mAh battery. It’s an exciting prospect after the G2 managed to beat our expectations with its 3 000mAh power plant.

The outside: curved and flexible

The LG G Flex doesn’t come by its moniker by accident. The entire phone is curved from top to bottom and “follows the curvature of your face” according to the South Korean manufacturer. The phone can ‘flex’ or bend to push its display completely flat against a surface before springing back into its regular shape. LG has warned us though that you shouldn’t try bending the phone inwards or past the 180° flat unless you’re keen on damaging the phone.

LG’s claimed benefits of the curved screen include

• “a more immersive, panoramic viewing experience”
• “outstanding voice and sound experience by reducing the gap between the microphone and your mouth”
• “reducing the glare caused by reflections”

The G Flex has one more surprise for us, a ‘self-healing’ coating on the plastic back cover which is meant to ‘repair’ small scratches in minutes

In the hand

The first impression of the LG G Flex is that it’s big. That 6 inch display is daunting from the get go even with the small bezels that the LG range has implemented. The repositioning of the power and volume buttons to the back of the G Flex does help with single handed use but overall the display is simply too large for you to operate with one set of digits.

The ‘self healing’ rear cover feels more ‘plasticky’ than the, admittedly, plastic back of the LG G2. The increased weight from the larger battery is also immediately noticable.

Of course being a product from an Asian company there is a specific focus on taking pictures of yourself. Taking a selfie with the rear camera has been made easier with the inclusion of an LED ‘selfie indicator’ that glows green when you’re in focus and in frame.

Obviously we’ll have more of a thorough review of the G Flex when we get one in to review but for now you the gallery below shows off some of the angles when we got our grubby paws on the phone.

Price and availability

The G Flex is scheduled to be available from end of MArch or early April With Vodacom having already confirmed that it will be selling the LG G Flex with the other networks in discussions as well. The expected price on contract at Vodacom is in the range of R469 – R489 and the RRP is currently aimed at R9 999.

The LG G Pro Lite

Also at the event as LG’s G Pro Lite. A 5.5 inch phablet aimed at the lower end of the market. Specs wise it has a dual core 1GHz MediaTek processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It will be available from Cell C and Virgin Mobile stores from Saturday 1 February on contract packages which will come with an extra 300MB of data for the duration of the 24 month contract, the cash price will be R4 799.

Deon Prinsloo, LG’s Mobile General Manager, also dropped the news that every future device that LG ships will come with BBM out-the-box starting with the G Pro Lite. While the addition of BBM might not be the news that LG fans were hoping for, Prinsloo also announced that all LG phones will be running the latest version of Android 4.4 from April.

The LG G2 isn’t being left behind with the addition of the G Flex to the portfolio. Cell C will be adding and additional 300MB of data to its LG G2 deals from the 1st of February with Vodacom adding 500MB of data per month to the Smart Small package for 12 months to its deals from the 7th of February. Unfortunately it will only be available to new subscribers and won’t be retrospectively applied to current G2 owners.