LG G Flex 2, the second in the series of curved, flexible phones brought out by LG, is now available in India at around Rs 43,000.
The phone, which is expected to be officially launched only next week, is already available in the market, as well as on eBay, in India. Both on eBay and in the market, the Flex 2 is being sold for Rs 41,250 to Rs 44,500 range. The version available in India has 32 GB of storage.
Please note that since the company has not officially introduced the phone, any purchase of G Flex 2 will come with only seller warranty.
If you want one with warranty, you will have to wait for another seven days, till after the official launch. Meanwhile, the official price of the Flex 2 is expected to be largely in the Rs 42,000 range though the internal specifications are largely comparable to those of the LG G3, which is available in India at Rs 33,750.
However, the key advantage of the Flex 2 is its unique flexibility and the fact that it is the first handset in India to come with the next-generation Snapdragon 810 64-bit processor paired with DDR4 RAM. Because of its flexible, curved display, the phone can be flexed and ‘straightened’ without damage.
Its main competitors — flagships like the G3, Sony Xperia Z3 and Moto Turbo — are on the Snapdragon 8xx 32-bit series. The Snapdragon 810 is about 25% more powerful than the Snapdragon 801 that powers the G3, Xperia Z3 etc.. Add to it the faster DDR4 RAM, the experience should be more powerful than the other flagships in the Indian market right now.
The highlight of the LG G Flex 2 is its P-OLED or Polymer OLED display.
Instead of glass, the display is entirely comprised of polymers or plastic. The technology is widely seen as having bright prospects in the future as, unlike glass, the display won’t crack if dropped, and can withstand curving and bending better.
In fact, the LG G Flex 2 can be put upside down and totally ‘flattened’ without any damage to the phone. When the pressure is released, it will come back its original, curved shape.
P-OLED displays are also much thinner than current OLED or LCD displays, and they are supposed to be more stable over time due to the encapsulation of OLED elements in the plastic. In the future P-OLED displays will feature in bendable or foldable devices and displays.
To go with the curved, flexible design, LG has also introduced ‘self-healing’ technology on the body of the Flex 2, which means that slight scratches will automatically disappear over time as the surface ‘heals’.
The curved display is supposed to ‘draw in’ the viewer into the picture and give a more ‘immersive’ viewing experience. But frankly, we believe that for such a small display size, it may not make much of a difference. But there are reviewers who found the display to be more ‘immersive’.
However, the Flex 2 suffers from one key weakpoint — the display resolution is just full HD and not quad HD as in the case of every other flagship in the market today. Part of the reason for the lower resolution is that screen is curved, which implies that the technology is more challenging that a flat display.
Another factor to keep in mind is that many people actually don’t notice any (big) difference in resolution between a full HD display and a quad-HD display, even though a quad-HD display has twice as many dots (4 mln) compared to a full-HD display (2 mln). At these levels, the human eye may not be able to see the granularity in many people’s cases.
However, the display resolution may put off some people from buying the curved phone, especially since it’s priced higher. The 13-megapixel camera also does not have good reviews, though it is considered respectable.
The 5.5-inch display (down from 6 inches in the previous version) makes the Flex 2 more ‘pocketable’ than the earlier version.
Net net, we believe that LG G Flex 2 is arguably the most stylish looking handset in the market right now, and if you believe that your phone should be as stylish and eyecatching as you, then the Flex 2 is definitely worth checking out.
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