LG G Flex review: a promising phone, but not one you should buy right now
It's not too often we get to review a product with a completely new form factor, but we relish the opportunity when we do. This time, we're taking a closer look at the LG G Flex, one of two curved smartphones …
Context & Ripple Effects
LG has been building this reveal all quarter: the October announcement of the curved-screen G Flex with its 13MP camera and Snapdragon 800 set up the Korean launch, and the self-healing-backing hands-on earlier this week primed reviewers for a genuinely new form factor. Engadget's verdict lands alongside write-ups from The Verge, Business Insider, SlashGear, BGR, LAPTOP Mag and others on the same day — an unusually broad syndication footprint for a single phone review, which says more about curiosity around the hardware than about sales prospects.
First-order effects
- Early adopters face a clear wait signal: reviewers across outlets agree the curved, self-healing design is promising but advise against buying the first generation now.
- LG gets the marketing value it wanted from a new form factor — broad press attention — without needing the G Flex to be a volume seller.
Second-order effects
- Rival handset makers watching the coverage now know curved displays generate headlines even when reviewers say don't buy, lowering the bar for shipping experimental form factors of their own.
- Carrier and retail partners will likely treat the G Flex as a limited-availability showcase device rather than a flagship commitment, keeping inventory and subsidy exposure small.
Third-order effects
- If first-gen reviews keep following this 'fascinating but don't buy' template, flexible-display phones settle into a niche R&D lane where each generation refines the last instead of displacing flat slates — with LG positioned as the willing guinea pig for the category.
The trend: Flexible and curved smartphones are entering the market as headline-grabbing experiments whose commercial case depends on second-generation refinement, not first-generation sales.