Sprint LG G Flex Review

Sprint LG G Flex Review – Image Credit: Jacob Krol Of NJTechReviews

Our friends over at LG USA Mobile have sent us the LG G Flex for Sprint for us to review. The LG G Flex is the first truly curved phone to hit shores here in the United States; It is available on Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. The biggest feature of the G Flex, is the curved design and it truly is different from other smartphones on the market. The specifications are similar to that of the LG G2, a very popular smartphone, but it is a much larger device. Should the LG G Flex be your next smartphone? Keep reading to find out!

Unboxing

Earlier this year, Jacob Krol of NJTechReviews unboxed the Sprint LG G Flex and gave a quick tour of the device.

Design

The LG G Flex for Sprint has one of the most unique designs on the entire market, it truly is different from almost any other device I have seen. When I first got to get my hands-on it back the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, it brings up many ideas. For instance, it brings out the early adopter in all of us and for those who really like design it makes you wonder. The G Flex can flex and it does have a flexible display as well. LG has said that the design of the G Flex we see today, is from many other mockups put together, to put it simply they put some time in to the design of the device.

The G Flex is a big device, coming in at 6.32-inches tall and around 3.21-inches wide, it is a monstrous smartphone with a curve. Like the G2 it is a mostly plastic build, the back has a fake metal brushed finish, that is encased in plastic. LG has gotten rid of the buttons on the sides of the device, you have the rear buttons on the back. The back also houses the 13 megapixel camera with LED flash, a LG logo, an speaker. The left hand side of the device features a micro SIM card slot and the bottom has a micro USB port and headphone jack. Above the display you will find an earpiece, front camera, and notification light. Just below the display is another LG logo. There is no Sprint branding on their variant of the LG G Flex and it does appear to like an international or unlocked variant. Unlike the AT&T variant of the LG G Flex, the Sprint variant does not say G Flex on the device.

The Flex

The LG G Flex is a phone that can flex and in fact it features a flexible display. To be exact a large 6-inch OLED 720p display and it is beautiful. While some flexible display can be rolled up, the G Flex cannot be rolled up. In fact it can flex all that much, but it can flex a little bit. And currently, the G Flex is the only smartphone that can flex. When you lay the phone with the display facing down, you can see the glow or hue of the display, in the little gap. This is also a good way to see the curve of the device. If you push down on the back, the device will flex and then with the pressure removed it goes back to the curved and original shape.

Software

The LG G Flex is running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with an LG user interface out of the box. LG has made a lot of customization to the device and they have not said when 4.4 KitKat will be coming to the device. You get many of the LG’s unique features like Knock On, which premiered on the LG G2. Instead of having to use the rear buttons, which can take some time to get used too, you simply double tap the display and the phone will come to life. LG QuickMemo is on board so you can easily capture screenshots, customize them, and then share them. Q Slide will let you multitask with certain applications. When viewing the display, you can see the curve with the graphics.

On theSprint model of the LG G Flex, you will find a good amount of pre-loaded software. In terms of specific applications from Sprint, you will find Email, Sprint ID, Sprint Zone, Sprint Money, Sprint Music Plus, Sprint TV & Movies, and Sprint Worldwide.

In terms of the other applications that will be pre-loaded on the device, you will find the Google Suite, Google Chrome, LG Backup, Life Square, Lumen Toolbar, Google Play Suite, Qualcomm IZat, QuickRemote, QuickTheater, Update Center, YouTube, 1Weather, BaconReader, Box, CBS  Sports,eBay, Eureka Offers, Lookout Secuirty, Messaging+, NextRadio, POLARIS Viewer 5, Quick Translator, Scout, and a few others.

Hardware

The LG G Flex on Sprint is running on their Sprint Spark network. This gives you access to their fast 4G LTE network. Keep in mind that coverage depends on your specific area, as Sprint Spark is still rolling out. We saw download speeds of an average 6Mbps and upload speeds of an average 2.60Mbps. This network is paired with a 2.26GHz quad core processor with 2GB of RAM. The software experience was fast and fluid. It is very similar to the software experience in comparison to other high-end smartphones.

As I already stated the 6-inch 720p OLED display looks very nice, the only issues is that it is not 1080p. So, in comparison to the display on the HTC One M8, Galaxy S 5, and many other smartphones, it is not as sharp or crisp. Images on the G Flex looks quite interesting, you can really see the curve when using the phone, but it will take some time to get used too.

A unique curved 3,500mAh battery was designed especially for the LG G Flex and it will provide a full day of power. Keep in mind that a flexible OLED display uses less power as well. I was able to use in the entire day, with lots of multitasking and still have power at the end of the day. Power will certainly not be an issue on the LG G Flex.

One issue withe device that I found was wight he back 13 megapixel camera, as it is essentially the same great shooter on the G2, except for the image stabilization. This means that images and videos can sometimes come out quite blurry. It still performs well in day light and okay in darker conditions. But I really do wish they included the image stabilization on the G Flex, it would make the shooter much more reliable.

Bottom Line

The Sprint LG G Flex brings out the early adopter in all of use and it shows LG’s commitment to pushing technology further. The LG Flex is not the smartphone for everyone, but those of us looking for cutting edge design and the true tech lovers will end up liking the device. At first I wasn’t sure about the G Flex, it does take some time to get used to. Since the display is curved and 720p, that was a big part of getting used to the G Flex. The curved display makes for some cool experiences, especially when viewing photos, panoramas, and watching videos. It is running on Sprint Spark’s faster 4G LTE network and of course that is paired with a quad-core processor. While the camera doesn’t have optical image stabilization, it can in certain conditions take a good photo. The Sprint LG G Flex retails for $249.99 with a 2-year contract or for $599.99 with no contract. For More Information On The Sprint LG G Flex, Please Click Here. We would like to thank LG USA Mobile for providing us with a copy of the “Sprint LG G Flex”.