LG officially announces curved-screen G Flex smartphone
After going through renders, spy shots of the real device and hands-on video leaks, LG has finally unveiled its curved screen phone, the G Flex. The G Flex features a flexible OLED screen that can maintain a certain degree of curvature. Despite its unconventional screen design, the thickness of the G Flex is reasonably controlled: the thinnest part measures 7.9mm, while the thickest part is 8.7mm.
The G Flex is equipped with a 6-inch 720p display, powered by the popular Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, with 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel main camera, and a battery capacity of 3500mAh. The overall weight of the device is 177 grams.
Unlike Samsung, which specially designed a series of applications for its Galaxy Round curved phone, LG hasn't made too many system optimizations for the curved screen of the G Flex. LG only mentioned that the curved phone offers better telephoning and movie-watching experiences - the former being more convenient for better facial fit, and the latter due to the fact that the wrap-around screen provides an enhanced viewing experience. However, it remains to be seen just how impressive the viewing experience will be on a 6-inch screen.
In terms of application optimization for the curved screen, there's a feature called "swing lock screen" that allows automatic wallpaper changes through flipping motions. Users can also achieve different unlocking effects by tapping different parts of the screen. Additionally, the G Flex allows users to directly open a multimedia application by zooming the screen.
A hardware feature worth mentioning is the "self-healing" function: the back cover of the G Flex is coated with a special protective film that effectively prevents scratches on the phone.
As previously reported, the G Flex will hit the Korean market next month. LG has not announced international sales plans for the G Flex, so users looking to try it out may have to purchase gray-market units.
G Flex hands-on video: