Flat phones are no longer the rage as phone manufacturers are racing to unveil phones sporting funk new curved designs.

Early in October, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Round, a concave phablet that features a 5.7-inch 1080p screen, a 13MP rear camera, 2.3GHz quad-core processor, 2800mAh battery. What makes the phone unique from other Galaxy devices is what the company call “Round Interaction” wherein if the device is placed on a flat surface, tilting it to one side would allow the user to see information such as missed calls, battery life, and the date and time, even when the screen is turned off.

And now, a second South Korean company has unveiled a curved phablet.  Dubbed the G Flex, LG’s curved smartphone is touted as the “world’s first ‘real’ curved smartphone,” that’s more comfortable to hold when making a call, offers a more immersive video experience, and a brighter and more precise display thanks to its “Real RGB” pixel configuration.

What makes the G Flex unique is its “swing lock screen” which moves the wallpaper in response to the tilting motion and produces different unlocking effects when the user touches different areas of the screen.  There is also a feature that lets users access multimedia apps directly when they pinch the lock screen.

But that’s not all the G Flex has to offer as it features something we have yet to see on mobile devices – self-healing technology.  LG stated that the back cover of the G Flex has a special protective film that is designed to erase scratches within minutes.  The company even compared it to X-Men’s Wolverine in terms of its healing abilities.  Though this feature sounds enticing to people who are quite careless with their devices, it is quite hard to believe that a device can actually self-heal, and we’re sure people will be putting LG’s claims to the test as soon as the phone it comes out.

The G Flex will be launched on South Korea’s three major networks this November, but no news yet as to when the rest of the world will get their hands on the said device.

Samsung Galaxy Round vs LG G Flex:

Dimensions:

Galaxy Round: Height 151.1 x Width 79.6 x Depth 7.9 mm, Weight 154 g

G Flex: Measures 7.9 and 8.7 millimeters thick at various points along its vertical arc, 177g

Display:

Galaxy Round: 5.7 inches Super Flexible AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1080 x 1920 pixels

G Flex: 6-inch 720p video display

Processor:

Galaxy Round:  2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

G Flex: 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

Battery:

Galaxy Round: Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery

G Flex: 3,500 mAh

Camera:

Galaxy Round: 13MP rear camera, 2MP front camera

G Flex: 13MP rear camera, no information on front camera yet

It is too early to tell which of the two devices is the better option, but based on the screen quality, it seems like Samsung has a leg up on LG.  But if the G Flex’s self-healing feature delivers, that may just give it one over the Galaxy Round.