Introduction

Here we go – this comparison was requested by a reader and it is time to deliver. We have the battle of the LG’s with their new flagship, the LG G3 battling the LG G Flex. The G Flex was announced last Fall, but never made it to the U.S. until the end of January, so this will make an interesting comparison of a 4+ month old device – which should certainly be able to weather a year of use – against the G3, which is not yet available for purchase. When the G Flex came out, it was basically a LG G2, that had been ‘tweaked’ a bit here and there. These two devices have a couple things in common, other than both being made by LG – The displays are only 1/2-inch apart in size, but worlds apart in specs.  They both sport a Snapdragon processor, but the G3 is the new and improved model.  The cameras both sport a 13MP main shooter, but are still not the same…one thing that is identical on both models is the 2.1MP front-facing camera for video chatting and selfies.  Like all recent LG’s, they both should have excellent battery life. They both are running Android 4.4 KitKat – the G Flex was recently upgraded from 4.2 Jelly Bean and the G3 is running it out-of-the-box.

Please take a look at the specifications below and compare the LG G3 and the LG G Flex to see just exactly where they are the same and where they differ, then we will look at each individual device and pick out a few pros and cons before making our decision on which of these two LG’s will win the comparison.

Specifications

 LG G3

The LG G3 is being treated as if it is the second coming of a smartphone – when the reality of it is, if you take away the QHD display, the dual flash, and laser autofocus, you would be left with a Galaxy S5 – there, I said it…well someone had too.  That being said, it is a great device and I am in the camp of loving the QHD display – even my poor eyesight can tell the difference, even in a picture on the web, of a side-by-side comparison.  Therefore, the LG G3 trumps the LG G Flex (and the Galaxy S5) in this department.  Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention the looks of the G3 – it is a visually stunning device with small bezels, curved sides to comfortably hold it, and the metallic back all make for a nice looking package. The Snapdragon 801 used in the G3 (and S5) is merely an evolution of the 800 – yes; it is a better processor, but not overly better.  In the 32GB of storage models, the G3 packs 3GB of RAM versus the 2GB in the G Flex – although there is a G3 model with 16GB of space that only has 2GB of RAM, but we are trying to compare oranges-to-oranges here.  To further bolster the G3, it has a microSD slot to add up to an additional 128GB of internal storage.  The main cameras each have a 13MP shooter, however, the G3 adds a dual-LED two-toned flash, OIS+ and new laser auto focus – certainly making an exceptional photo experience.  The device, though large, is much smaller than the G Flex model – many are left wondering why LG chose a 5.5-inch display on their flagship phone when they already have a Phablet sized device in their 5.9-inch LG G Pro 2.  The G3 may have a smaller battery (3000mAh vs 3500mAh), but LG delivered a removable battery this time around.  The G3 will be available on all major U.S. carriers, coming in somewhere around $200 on a two-year contract…or about $100 less than the G Flex.

LG G Flex

The LG G Flex comes to us with a display that is curved from top-to-bottom, so if you place it in the landscape position, it would be like watching a movie on a curved screen TV – and if that is what is most important to you, then maybe the G Flex is your thing. The 6-inch HD display, at 1280 x 720 resolution and only 245 pixels-per inch, looks good for a 720p display, but just cannot compete with the QHD display of the G3 – not even in the same ballpark. The processors are close – a Snapdragon 800 quad-core clocked at 2.3GHz is nothing to sneeze at, but its overclocked and slightly ‘jacked up’ 801 in the G3 is still a better processor, especially for gaming or graphical work. The G Flex only has one model that comes with 32GB of storage – with no expansion via a microSD slot like the G3 – and 2GB of RAM, whereas the G3’s 32GB model comes with 3GB of RAM. It is considerably larger and heavier than the G3, but some of that weight could be from the larger, 3500mAh vs 3000mAh battery. The G Flex does have that ‘look at me’ wow factor when you show off its curve and self-healing back feature – which does work to an extent, but do not expect miracles. The $300 price of the G Flex on a two-year contract was always an issue – yes, it is curved, but is it worth the extra $100 versus its flat brethren…most do not believe it should command such a premium price.

 …and the Winner is…

 Summary

To me, this was a no brainer – no hesitation whatsoever in choosing the LG G3 as the winner of this comparison.  Yes, the G Flex has a curved screen that is one-half inch larger and a self-healing back, but from then on out, the LG G3 beats in in every category. It has a much better display – we are not even talking 1080p vs QHD here, we are talking 720p vs QHD – other than being curved, we are talking about about a 2012 display in the G Flex. The Snapdragon 801 is not that much better, but still better. The extra 1GB of RAM is a positive, as are the improvements in the 13Mp camera – OIS+, laser auto focus and a dual-LED flash – making it better than the G Flex. The removable battery, the availability on all networks, and the better pricing all lead up to a win for the LG G3 in this comparison.

Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know what you think about these two devices – would you take the LG G3 over the G Flex…as always, we would love to hear from you.