iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2 comparison
CES 2015 saw the launch of LG's second curved smartphone, the LG G Flex 2, with a 5.5in screen and a self-healing chassis. Here, we put the G Flex 2 head-to-head with Apple's 5.5in smartphone, the iPhone 6 Plus, to find out what the similarities and differences are in our iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2 comparison.
iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2: Price & availability
The iPhone 6 Plus became available in September 2014, with a starting price of £619.
More specifically, the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus is £619, the 64GB model is £699 and the 128GB model is £789.
The LG G Flex 2, on the other hand, didn't launch until January 2015 and is expected to go on sale in February with a price tag of around £499 SIM-free, although that hasn't been confirmed yet so is just an estimate. It's highly likely that it'll be significantly cheaper than the iPhone 6 Plus, though. It'll be exclusive to Vodafone in the UK for the first six weeks.
iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2: Design
One of the biggest differences between these two smartphones is the design. The iPhone 6 Plus is sleek and sophisticated, as you'd expect from Apple. It's available in gold, silver or 'slate grey,' made with anodised aluminium for a premium finish.
With soft, rounded edges and a slight curve to the edges of the display, the iPhone 6 Plus is a joy to hold. It measures just 7.1mm thick and weighs 172g.
Place it on a table and the iPhone 6 Plus will lay flat, but the LG G Flex 2 won't. That's because the entire body is curved, and quite significantly too. The LG G Flex 2 has a convex design that aims to be more ergonomic than traditional smartphones.
At its thinnest point, the LG G Flex 2 measures the same 7.1mm as the iPhone 6 Plus, but at its thickest it's more chunky at 9.4mm. Plus, due to its curved nature, carrying it in your pocket isn't ideal. It's lighter than the iPhone 6 Plus, though, at 152g.
It feels lovely in the hand, and it's true that the curve of the phone matches the contour of your face much like a traditional landline phone so is ideal for those who make lots of long phone calls.
The LG G Flex 2 is made with plastic rather than aluminium so doesn't have the same premium look and feel, but has a metallic finish and benefits from a special coating that can quickly heal from light scratches, making the smartphone's chassis more durable than the quite easily scratchable back of the iPhone 6 Plus.
The LG G Flex 2 is available in Platinum Silver or Flamenco Red.
iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2: Display
The iPhone 6 Plus has a stunning 5.5in Retina HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 equating to a 401ppi pixel density, the same as the LG G Flex 2. Overall, that makes the two screens pretty much the same in terms of quality, but of course the LG G Flex 2's is curved which looks rather nice when watching movies, but it won't appeal to everyone.
iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2: Specs & hardware
Inside the iPhone 6 Plus is a powerful A8 chip paired with an M8 processor for extra efficiency, and 1GB of RAM. It scored highly in our benchmark tests, and can handle powerful games and multitasking without an issue.
We've not yet had a chance to run our tests on the LG G Flex 2, but it has a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with 2GB RAM that we imagine will be super-speedy, particularly as this is the first smartphone so far to feature the new chip. Both the G Flex 2 and iPhone 6 Plus's processors are 64-bit, too.
The iPhone 6 Plus comes with three different storage options: 16GB, 64GB and 128GB, but no microSD slot so you'll need to decide on the capacity you need at checkout.
With the LG G Flex 2, you can choose between 16GB and 32GB, but add to that thanks to a microSD slot for up to a whopping 2TB of extra space.
Connectivity for the iPhone 6 Plus includes 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 4G LTE and NFC (though currently limited to Apple's Apple Pay mobile payments service).
The LG G Flex 2 also offers the 802.11ac WiFi standard and 4G LTE, as well as Bluetooth 4.1 with apt-X and NFC.
Extra features include the iPhone 6 Plus's discrete but effective Touch ID fingerprint sensor beneath the home button, something the LG G Flex 2 lacks.
iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2: Cameras
Onto cameras now, and LG has given its G Flex 2 the same camera as its flagship LG G3 so it's quite impressive. The rear-facing snapper is 13Mp with laser autofocus, dual-tone LED flash and optical image stabilisation, while the front-facing selfie camera is 2.1Mp.
The iPhone 6 Plus also boasts a great camera. It's 8Mp but with 1.5micron pixels so expect some brilliant results. Like the G Flex 2 it has dual-tone LED flash and optical image stabilisation.
The front-facing camera is 1.2Mp.
The LG G Flex 2 has impressive video capabilities, and is able to record in 4K compared with the iPhone 6 Plus's 1080p Full HD.
iPhone 6 Plus vs LG G Flex 2: Software
A big part of the decision making process between these two smartphones is software. The LG G Flex 2 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, while the iPhone 6 Plus runs iOS 8.
Here at Macworld, we love iOS, so moving away from the software after years of using it is not an appealing notion for us. After all, we'd have to rebuy apps, it wouldn't work seamlessly with our Mac and we've got some accessories that only offer iOS apps.
However, we know that it's really a matter of personal choice, and with the most up-to-date Android software running on the LG G Flex 2, lovers of Google's operating system or those open to switching will be pleased with the smartphone's software feature set. It offers the KnockOn security feature and various LG apps. There's also Glance View to allow you to quickly see information such as the time and notifications when the screen is off.
But with iOS 8, you get Apple's brilliant apps, access to iCloud, Siri, Find My iPhone, Passbook, FaceTime, iTunes and more, and you'll soon get Apple Pay, which works with the iPhone 6 Plus's fingerprint sensor.
Find out more about the LG G Flex 2 and what our colleagues at PC Advisor thought of the smartphone in our LG G Flex 2 hands-on review
OUR VERDICT
There's no doubt that the LG G Flex 2 is a smartphone with great specs and lots going for it. The curved screen certainly won't appeal to everyone – it's not the most practical of designs, that's for sure. However, it should be speedy so we're looking forward to carrying out our benchmark tests on it to see exactly how well it performs in comparison to the iPhone 6 Plus when it comes to overall speed, graphics and browsing.
However, we absolutely love the design of the iPhone 6 Plus, and if you're looking for a big screen smartphone with power, and brilliant overall specs, the iPhone 6 Plus delivers. Plus, iOS makes it ideal for Mac users and iPad owners. You'll find that you're able to capture stunning photographs, have access to a wealth of apps (often before their Android counterparts are released), and it'll slide easily into a pocket or bag.
It's a shame that the iPhone 6 Plus doesn't have a microSD slot for adding storage, which is a real boon for the LG G Flex 2, and the iPhone 6 Plus is one of the most expensive smartphones around so you'll save money by opting for the LG G Flex 2 if you're one of the people its curved design appeals to.
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