The LG G Flex and its curved 6-inch display have certainly gained a fair amount of attention, but these days, not all of that attention is positive. The Korea Times is reporting a small defect with the curved displays on the G Flex, noting that they can develop small bumps on the surface. While the bumps are tiny and LG claims they don’t interfere with performance, there are probably at least a few people who don’t like what they do to the aesthetics of their phone.
If the look of the bumps doesn’t upset those consumers, the fact that LG knew about the defect before launch might. An official with the Korea Display Industry Association told the Korea Times that LG was “initially hesitant” to ship the device because the company was “previously aware of some technical problems.” That official also said LG should have told consumers about the defect ahead of time, while electronics salesman Kim Jun-Hoon told the website that every LG G Flex model he’s seen come through his store suffers from these small bumps.
For its part, LG admits that the handset does have a tendency to form small bumps on the display, but also reassures consumers that they don’t affect the performance or quality of the device. They should go away on their own over time, the company says, while consumers can press on the affected area to get rid of them if they’re looking for a more immediate solution. The bumps are blamed on the fact that some of the components are elastic, which means “excessive or frequent force that flattens the device” may cause them to appear.
All in all, it doesn’t seem like an issue that will get consumers to grab their pitchforks, but we can see some degree of annoyance with the suggestion that LG knew about this problem but didn’t speak up ahead of launch. 13,000 units have been sold in Korea since the device launched back in November, so it isn’t as if these things are exactly flying off shelves there. Supposing everything goes as planned, the G Flex should be arriving on American shores sometime this quarter, so maybe that will give sales a little kick. Will this report make US consumers shy away from the G Flex, though? That remains to be seen, but admittedly, we’re having a difficult time imagining a scenario where this news helps sales. Stay tuned.