LG might now be a leading player in the smartphone space thanks to the likes of the award winning LG G3, but that wasn’t always the case.

Just a couple of years ago the Korean manufacturer had been cast into the smartphone wilderness, seemingly with little chance of revival.

So, how did LG correct its mobile fortunes? Well, according to the company’s Head of Smartphone Planning, it wouldn’t have been possible without the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5.

Despite being a smartphone outcast at the time, LG was given the nod by Google to make the 2012 released Nexus 4, a handset which, thanks to LG’s foresight, paired a hugely impressive specs sheet with an even more incredible price tag.

“ The Nexus 4 and 5 really helped us to be a mainstream smartphone manufacturer again ,” Dr. Ramchan Woo, LG’s smartphone head said speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews.

“Over the past year we were the fastest growing smartphone manufacturer in the world but partnering with Google on the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 that really helped us.”

Looking to the future, Dr. Woo has predicted further growth for LG and hasn’t ruled out additional partnerships with the Android maker.

“This year we will grow again. In terms of volume and in terms in terms of market share,” he told us.

“We still have a very strong relationship with Google but nothing is ever concrete with the Nexus.

“Even with the Nexus 4 and 5 we didn’t actually realise that they would go into mass production. Nothing is concrete, that’s how Google works.”

Related: LG G4 release date

Now a big wig in the handset space, LG has again been afforded the freedom to experiment.

Highlighting this return to form, the manufacturer this week unveiled the curved LG G Flex 2 handset.

As well as featuring an innovatively curved Plastic OLED display, the LG G Flex 2 is the first commercially available handset to be announced running Qualcomm’s new 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor.