LG G Flex 2 review – the bendy phone that self heals

LG G FLEX 2 CAMERA

The G Flex 2 shares the same 13-megapixel camera as the G3, so it comes with laser auto-focus, optical image stabilisation and a dual LED flash. It was certainly very quick to lock onto targets, but colours came out looking rather cool in our resulting test shots.

This had the effect of making some of our photos look a little wintry, particularly in areas of shadow, but we were pleased to see very little noise and areas of brickwork were pleasantly detailed.

^ Photos could look a little cool on the G Flex 2, but there’s still plenty of detail present and hardly any noise

^ Switching to HDR mode didn’t improve matters, but it did help brighten up darker areas of shadow

LG G FLEX 2 CONCLUSION

Our main concern is the price. At £529 SIM-free, the LG G Flex 2 is one of the most expensive handsets you can buy today, topping the LG G3 by almost £150. This wouldn’t be so bad if the G Flex 2 had all the makings and build quality of a proper high-end flagship handset, but its slightly cheap-looking plastic chassis is nowhere near as smart as the G3’s faux-metal finish, and the imminent arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 blow it out of the water.

There’s better news if you’re after a new contract, as both Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone are currently bundling in either a free LG MusicFlow P7 Bluetooth speaker or LG G Watch R smartwatch. Carphone Warehouse has the cheapest contracts for the G Flex 2, with prices starting at £34.50 per month with no upfront cost for 1GB of 4G data, unlimited texts and 600 minutes of calls, but Vodafone’s cheapest Red 4G deal, which is £39.50 a month with an upfront cost of £19 is arguably better value in the long term, as you get unlimited minutes and texts and 4GB of 4G data on top of six months of Spotify, Now TV or Sky Sports Mobile TV.

These are pretty good deals, particularly if you’ve been hankering after a smartwatch that doesn’t contain the word ‘Apple’, but that shouldn’t distract from what’s ultimately a good but fairly average-looking handset. Right now, we feel it’s a little too over-priced to really contend Samsung and HTC’s incoming handsets, and we’d sooner pick the cheaper G3 over its slightly underwhelming curved cousin. If you’re looking for something completely different, our regularly-updated best smartphone guide will help.