Introduction
This is an interesting comparison – two innovative devices, with curved displays. The Samsung Galaxy Round is curved from left-to-right and the LG G Flex is curved from top-to-bottom. The Galaxy Round was introduced in Korea to gauge the interest and most likely to test out the display and may never even see the shores of the U.S. The LG G Flex was also introduced in Korea, but may be coming to AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in early 2014. Both devices are based on their “flat” counterpart – the Samsung Galaxy Round is essentially the popular Galaxy Note 3, with no stylus, a smaller battery, and a curved screen. The LG G Flex is based largely on the popular LG G2, with a display downgrade from Full HD to HD, and curved. It is another battle between these Korean electronics giants – fighting to provide us with the first flexible/curved display…remember, these are not flexible displays, but simply curved displays, in a fixed position, along with newly designed curved batteries.
Both devices have many similarities – each has about the same size display, 32GB of internal storage, the option of a microSD Card to expand storage, identical 13MP shooters (different lenses, etc), and identical Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 Quad-Core processors, clocked at 2.3GHz.
Although the curves are going opposite directions, there are many advantages to a curved screen when it comes to reflections, making it easier to read the screen in the sunlight, and helps eliminate background shadows.
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Round
The Samsung Galaxy Round has the same specs as their Galaxy Note 3, except the battery capacity drops from 3,200mAh to 2,800mAh, the S-Pen is removed, and the screen is curved from left-to-right, allowing the user to cradle the phone in their hand, thusly, holding it securely. Software was also designed to allow the user to tip the phone in either direction to turn on the display and present you with the time, date, and notifications. The Samsung Galaxy Round maintains its Full HD 1920×1080 Super AMOLED Display with 386 PPI, only curved, and has 3GB of RAM vs only 2GB for the LG G Flex.
Samsung Galaxy Round SM-G910S Real Round Curved Display smart phone Factory unlocked
LG G Flex
The LG G Flex is designed after the LG G2, except for one very important difference; LG choose to drop the display from its Full HD resolution of 1920×1080 down to an HD display of 1280×720 with a PPI of only 245, way below the acceptable level for a current flagship device. The LG G Flex has 2GB RAM vs the Galaxy Round’s 3GB, and the curve from top-to-bottom is a little more difficult to hold. The LG G Flex may be going to three of four U.S. carriers.
LG G FLEX LG-F340 Real Round Curved Display smart phone Factory unlocked 6″ screen
…And the Winner Is…Samsung Galaxy Round
Summary
The Samsung Galaxy Round comes out on top for a few reasons. The display clearly has better specifications. The curve is a more natural shape to hold the device. The extra 1GB of RAM will certainly help. Love Samsung’s interface or hate it, they are heads above others when it comes to multitasking and software innovation. The only place that Samsung “cheated” with their Galaxy Round was in the battery capacity.
Let us know in the comments or in Google+ what you think about these two devices – would you be interested in purchasing them if they get into the U.S. Do you like the curved screen or will you stay with your “flat” screen.