Quicker than Sprint: AT&T to Offer LG G Flex on January 24

Last week we reported that Sprint had arranged to be the first US wireless carrier to sell the LG G Flex, the weird Android phone with a six-inch curved display for some reason. But it turns out that Sprint wasn’t fast enough: AT&T announced today that they would start selling the G Flex on January 24, a full week sooner than Sprint’s date of January 31.

Are you on AT&T and curious about the weirdo curved phones for weirdos? Watch this video that gives you the skinny on what sets the G Flex apart:

One of the phone’s benefits that both LG and AT&T seem to be touting hard is the way that the curved display improves the quality of the visuals on the device. The press release says that it offers up “an immersive viewing experience that also helps reduce glare.” The first part of that description sounds like bogus marketing speak. And while I can believe the second part—that it reduces glare—it also seems like pointing out that painting your car helps prevent rusting. Is this really the best feature that a curved display can offer?

The only other aspect of the curved display that seems to stand out as an actual benefit is the claim that it’s more ergonomically shaped. Back in the days before smartphones took over, making us think all phones had to be glossy black rectangles, most phones actually were shaped just like the G Flex, curving from your ear to your mouth in such a way that seemed to say, “hey, look at me. I’m a phone.”

To me, a curved smartphone is a gimmick in the same vein as a phablet or a smartwatch; it’s an unnecessary addition to what’s already a feature-packed product. I have my doubts that it’ll find much of an audience here in the States. But until it launches, I’ll just have to wait and see.