At the recently held CES 2015, LG presented a magic trick that looked like something out of Harry Potter: a phone that heals itself in around 10 seconds. You read that right. And you don't even need a wand.
The G Flex 2 is LG's second curved, flexible Android smartphone after the release of the first generation LG G Flex in 2013. LG's first phone received decent reviews with regard to its innovative curved screen and the whole "bendability" aspect, but critics agreed that the phone's hardware didn't really offer anything special. According to The Verge :
The G Flex is, like the G2, a deference to the software — and LG's not the only company implying that smartphone hardware doesn't really matter. But hardware matters incredibly here: the G Flex could have been the ultimate futuristic smartphone machine, a vision of what could and might be. Instead it's just a cool new screen grafted onto an old, average body.
This time, however, LG is certainly offering a better package with the 5.5 inch 1080p curved display, 2GB RAM and 13MP OIS rear camera. It is also one of the first phones to sport Qualcomm's brand new Snapdragon 810 processor. This means that if you're fan of big, fancy power-demanding apps, the G Flex 2 will certainly be able to handle it. The handset will only be available in South Korea later this month and will eventually be shipped to North America and Europe.
The first generation G Flex could heal very minor scratches in around 3 minutes, while the G Flex 2 is allegedly able to go from zero to healed in 10 seconds. How do they do it? There has certainly been much speculation, but as far as LG is concerned, the cat remains in the bag, locked up tightly in the company vault and guarded by laser alarm systems. All we do know, is that the process requires a minimal amount of heat.
What I'm more curious about, is just how much better will the phone be able to heal itself than if I used a wand? Thankfully, Jon Rettinger at Techno Buffalo has tested this feature and no one needs to fly out to South Korea to find out.
For minor nicks and scratches that is pretty impressive. If you're anything like me, your phone will likely suffer far more damage than it can self-heal in the time it spends with you. But bendability and self-healing do not an unbreakable phone make, proven by the G Flex 1's inability to survive a drop test . LG has learned from the past, and if the following video review from The Verve is evidence of anything, it's that you can casually throw the G Flex 2 in the air and not catch it. You can also step on it.
Forget that it has a curved screen. For the specs it comes with, the self-healing ability, the bendable body and the likelihood that it won't break when I drop it during the first ten minutes of ownership, I'd likely shell out the estimated $750 to buy this beast.
Featured Image by UberGizmo.com