Roll-up and foldable phones give us something to look forward to in technology

This story is part of THESE, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the hottest gadgets from fully virtual CES 2021.

This was perhaps just a brief glimpse of LG at its CES 2021 press conference, but this tease of a smartphone with a screen that deploys allusions to a comeback for mobile devices looking to shake up the classic slate of metal and glass. Despite the introduction of a few new foldable phones in 2020 – notably the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold 2, as well as the larger version of the Motorola Razr, few people were in the mood to spend up to $ 2,000 in the middle. global pandemic.

It’s 2021 and, well, not much has changed. The hope, however, is that a rapid spread of the COVID-19 vaccine – still great if at this point – can bring some normalcy to our lives, as well as a renewed appetite and appreciation for phones. more creative and dynamic.

Because let’s face it, we could all use something to get us excited again.

LG did their best with their tease on day one of CES. It was the second brief glimpse, this time boasting the device’s name, the LG Rollable on the nose. Oddly, LG executives didn’t even mention it at the press conference – previews of the phones were seen in fast-paced promotional reels that started and ended the event – but it’s real and coming this year.

TCL, which has showcased several foldable prototypes over the past two years and teased more rollable concepts on Monday, will finally launch a foldable phone to consumers this year, according to Stefan Strait, the company’s chief marketing officer. The most notable aspect is its goal of a prize of $ 1,000. This matches Samsung’s comments last month on more affordable foldables.

These foldable and rollable phones aren’t just gadgets meant to generate a buzz. These new, experimental designs help move the industry forward when it comes to how mobile devices look and function in the years to come. Just as the iPhone has evolved handsets from flip and candy bar designs to sleek metal and glass slates, foldables can cause a shift in the way we interact with our phones down the line. Lower prices mean that these phones are a bit more accessible for people.

“Form factor innovation is definitely a hallmark,” said Ronan Dunne, CEO of Verizon Consumer Business, Tuesday. He did not comment on the LG Rollable, but noted that he was “very impressed” with some of the innovations to come.

But can this excitement correspond to this initial burst of energy? Go back two years to 2019 and the foldable hype was at its worst. Samsung kicked things off with a first look at its Galaxy Fold, followed a few days later by Huawei’s Mate X. Motorola closed the year with the Razr. Things were set to speed up in 2020, with more foldables to come.

We all know what happened next.

But early activity at CES suggests we may be in store for further breakthroughs this year.

An evolution of the foldable

LG Rollable phone screen reminds LG OLED R Signature, the roll-up TV which has been one of the highlights of the last CES LG conferences. Using flexible screens in a large 65-inch TV is impressive, but integrating this technology into a cell phone is another challenge.

“I can’t help but marvel at the technological innovation associated with it,” said Ramon Llamas, analyst at IDC. “That says a lot about the display technology and their resolution which can be integrated into such a flexible format.”

While LG has offered little information on the phone, revealing the name of the device suggests that it’s ready to go ahead with the product. The Rollable would mark another drastic change in the very design of the foldable phone and show that the industry still has new tricks up its sleeve.

LG is not the only one to think about rollable. TCL’s display business also featured two roll-up concepts, one a smaller phone with a screen that extends upward to 6.7 inches in portrait mode and the other a 17-inch screen. thumbs up that unfolds from both ends like a treasure map.

TCL is not about to launch a roll-up phone. Strait said in a pre-show interview that the company is still working on refining the mechanics of its prototype.

Samsung would also have its own roll-up prototype, according to ET News (via Tom’s Guide), and Oppo showcased a roll-up concept called Oppo X 2021.

Despite the pandemic, LG didn’t stop experimenting last year, when it released in the fall the LG Wing, a strange phone with one screen stacked on top of another, capable of rotating horizontally, essentially creating a T-shaped screen. As unusual as it sounds, CNET editor-in-chief Lynn La said it had actually helped multitasking and video recording.

While it wasn’t a huge success, it pushes the industry in a different direction.

Make foldables more accessible

After years of teasing wild prototypes, TCL is finally ready to jump into the foldable game. While the company was silent on foldables during its CES presentation, Strait said the company plans to release one this year for $ 1,000.

“We are 100% convinced that this allows us to be very disruptive,” Strait said in an interview before CES.

As a result, Strait said the foldable first will use more of a conventional design than the wilder concepts we’ve already seen. This suggests a design like a flip phone, which we’ve seen from Samsung and Motorola. These types of devices come at lower prices than larger phones with foldable screens like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 or the Huawei Mate X.

Likewise, Samsung was hinting at even more foldables in 2021.

“The Z Fold2 has been hailed as a smartphone that reinvents what is possible with mobile technology and I’m delighted to say, this is just a glimpse of what lies ahead as we continue to explore, d ‘evolve and expand this category-changing space,’ said TM Roh, president of mobile communications for Samsung, in a blog post.

This matches a report from ET News that Samsung has four folds coming this year, including two variants of each of its Flip and Fold lines.

The sheer scale of foldable phones to come suggests that it won’t just be a centerpiece or a one percent toy, and maybe we can all get a glimpse of where phones are heading in the next few years.