At CES 2021, folding and folding phones are a reason to get excited again

This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the most popular articles from the all-virtual CES 2021.

It might have been just a quick glance at LG CES 2021 press conference, but the teasing of a smartphone with a screen rolling out indicates a return for mobile devices that want to shake up the conventional metal and glass plate. Despite the launch of a few new foldable phones in 2020 – most notably the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold 2, plus the wider release of the Motorola Razr, few people were in the mood to spend as much as $ 2000 amid of a global pandemic.

It’s 2021 and, well, little has changed. The hope, however, is that a rapid spread of the COVID-19 vaccine – which is still large – could cause some normalcy in our lives at this stage, as well as a new appetite and appreciation for more creative and dynamic phones.

Because let’s be honest, we can all use something again to get us excited.

LG did its best with its teasing on the first day of CES. It was the second short look, which this time offered the name of the device, the LG Rollable, on the nose. Oddly enough, LG executives did not even mention it during the press conference – a look at the phones was seen in quick promotional tracks that started and ended the event – but it’s real and coming this year.

TCL, which has been showcasing several foldable prototypes over the past two years and teasing more rollable concepts on Monday, will finally release a foldable phone for consumers this year, according to Stefan Strait, general manager of marketing for the company. The most important aspect is its target on a price tag of $ 1,000. This is in line with Samsung’s comments last month on more affordable folding.

These foldable and rollable phones are not just gimmicks meant to cause a bit of excitement. These new, experimental designs help move the industry forward when it comes to how mobile devices look and work in the years to come. Just as the iPhone has evolved the devices from flip and candy bar designs to smooth metal and glass plates, the foldable can cause a change in the way we handle our phones. Lower prices mean that these phones are somewhat more accessible to people.

Turn the clock back two years to 2019 and the foldable hype was at a fever. Samsung started business with an early look at its Galaxy Fold, followed a few days later by Huawei’s Mate X. Motorola ended the year with the Razr. Things were supposed to pick up in 2020, with more foldable.

We all know what happened after that.

But the early activities at CES suggest that we may still have breakthroughs ahead this year.

An evolution of foldable

The display of the LG Rollable phone is returned to the Signature LG OLED R, the rollable TV that has been a highlight of the last few CES LG conferences. Using flexible screens in a large 65-inch television is impressive, but pushing the technology into a handset is another challenge.

“I can not help but marvel at the technological innovation involved,” said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst. “It says a lot about display technology and its resolution that can be placed in such a flexible form factor.”

Although LG has offered little information about the phone, the name of the device indicates that it is ready to go ahead with the product. The Rollable will mark yet another drastic change in design on even the foldable phone, showing that the industry still has some new tricks up its sleeve.

LG is not the only one who thinks of rollable things. TCL’s display industry also featured two rollable concepts, one a smaller phone with a screen that extends up to 6.7 inches while in portrait mode, and the other a 17-inch screen that unfolds on both sides. like a treasure map.

TCL is nowhere near the launch of a rollaway phone. Strait said in an interview before the show that the company is still refining the mechanics of its prototype.

According to ET, according to ET News (via Tom’s Guide) he also has his own role prototype, and Oppo showed a rollable concept called Oppo X 2021.

Despite the pandemic, LG did not stop experimenting last year, when it was released in the fall LG wing, a strange phone with one screen on top of another, which can rotate in a horizontal position, which can actually create a T-shaped screen. As unusual as it sounds, CNET editor Lynn La said it actually helped with multitasking and video recording.

Though it was not a big hit, it was moving the industry in a different direction.

To make folds more accessible

After years of teasing wild prototypes, TCL is finally ready to get into the collapsible game. While the company had courage during its CES presentation on foldable products, Strait said the company plans to release at $ 1,000 this year.

“We are 100% convinced that it can make us very disruptive,” Strait said in an interview with CES.

As a result, Strait said the first foldable would use more conventional design than the wilder concepts we’ve already seen. It points to a design like a browse phone, which we saw from Samsung and Motorola. These types of devices have lower price points than larger phones with expandable screens like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 or Huawei Mate X.

Similarly, Samsung hinted at even more foldable family in 2021.

“The Z Fold2 has been praised as a smartphone that re-imagines the possibility with mobile technology, and I’m excited to say that it’s just a hint of what’s coming as we explore, develop and expand this category-changing space,” said TM. Roh, president of mobile communications for Samsung, in a blog post.

This is in line with an ET news release that Samsung has four foldable folding items this year, including two variants of its Flip and Fold lineup.

The size of the foldable phones suggests that it will not just be a showpiece or plaything for one percent, and we can all get a taste of where phones are headed in the next few years.